The golf club is held in the hands and feel from impact is felt first through the hands and is then sensed throughout the body. Good golfers are often described as having great ‘hands’ or a great ‘hand action’. this is misleading as it implies that the hands have a role in manipulating the club throughout the swing. While this is true in rare instances, most often the wrists are hinges between the arms and club and, as such, should be free and soft. One thought you can have to keep your arms and wrists soft Continue Reading→
A good swing starts with a good grip. A bad swing starts with a bad grip. Because most amateurs fail to put their hands on the club properly, they’ll never be able to play as well as they should.
I use the Vardon overlapping grip. I feel it unifies the hands and promotes better wrist hinging. My left hand goes on first, and I turn it to see two knuckles. My left thumb rests just right of center on the shaft.
I like those molded practice grips for learning how to hold the club. The grooves will put your hands in the correct positions. Even though it makes the clubhead feel too light, I suggest you get one and hit balls with it to improve your grip.
The mistake I see most is a grip that’s too weak. People put their thumbs straight down the shaft, and the result is usually an open clubface at impact–and a shot that peels off to the right.
A grip that’s too strong, where you see too many knuckles, will likely cause the clubface to be closed at impact. It’s a power grip, especially if you’re a slicer. Still, I’d rather see your grip too strong than too weak.
Golf is a rotational sport. It’s no different from baseball, hockey, shot put–anything that requires the trunk to twist from one direction to another in ballistic fashion. For that to happen effectively, the muscles that allow you to walk upright and maintain various postures have to be strong. Even the simplest tasks such as reaching out and lifting an object require assistance from the muscles that are located in the mid-section of the body.
By now, you’ve probably heard these muscles referred to as “the core.” Many people mistakenly think the core are the six Continue Reading→
Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott are perhaps two of the most successful teachers in the game today. I say that because they coached Annika Sorenstam when she was dominating the LPGA Tour, and they also give advice to Yani Tseng, who is currently dominating the women’s game. But make no mistake, Nilsson and Marriott, founders of the Golf54 academy and Vision54 Coaching for the Future, also work with plenty of male golfers, including PGA Tour stalwart Kevin Streelman.
Nilsson and Marriott have written three books on golf with Golf World’s Ron Sirak. The latest, Play Your Best Golf Now, crystallizes the concept of the Think Box and the Play Box. Their first book, Every Shot Must Have a Purpose, however, introduces the concept. I think their approach will help you shoot lower scores almost immediately. Hey, if it works for Annika and Yani, why not give it a try. Continue Reading→
How do you handle lies in such deep rough? First you need to understand why the clubface closes so dramatically. It’s because the tall blades of grass wrap around the club’s hosel, stopping the heel of the club from moving, but the toe keeps turning over. The result: a closed clubface. Tiger was quoted after his round that the grass was so tall on his first shot that it wrapped around the actual shaft, not just the hosel. That’s deep rough, for sure!
Lee Trevino always said the worse the lie, the tighter you should hold the club. He said to start with the clubface open, “then hold on real tight, as tight as you can.”
The shot routine is one of three routines associated with playing each golf shot. This one is usually called the pre-shot routine and is often considered the only one. The three routines are the decision routine (selecting club, shot type and target), shot routine (from standing behind the ball to hitting the ball) and the post-shot routine (responses to good and poor shots).
Learning a strong mental pre-shot routine is the single most important thing you can do to improve your mental game, and your golf.
But not just any mental routine. Your mental routine must:
Compliment your learning style
Ease you into narrowing your focus
Free you to hit athletic, artistic, creative, right brain shots or putts
And tap into your powers of self-fulfilling prophesy!
Sound complicated? It’s not. In fact, an effective mental pre-shot routine
Simplifies your thoughts
Makes the game easier
Allows you to think the same for every shot and putt, whether it is to win the Masters or a friendly round with your friends.
We regard the mental pre-shot routine as one of the essentials of a strong mental game. It lends to a very challenging sport….
Consistencey
Longevity
And simplicity
We have long used the pre-shot routine as an excellent and effective standard for measuring and monitoring skill development in all other parts of your game.
The Three Step Journey to a Great Mental Pre-Shot Routine
Tip:
To make this fun and easy, start by assuming that you are of two brains. Let’s call the left brain the “thinker/analyzer” and the right brain the “athletic/creator”
If you have a hard time getting your tee shots up in the air, you’re giving up serious distance. I’ve got a tip that will help you: Check your stance width. I see so many amateurs who stand too narrow. They set their feet about as wide as their hips, head in line with the ball, shoulders level(below, right). That’s not a stable position, and usually sends the ball short and right.
Try this instead: Take your normal stance, then drop your right foot back a few inches, letting your head go with it. Your spine will tilt away from the target, with your shoulders angled upward(below, left). Now you’re in position to really launch the ball. In fact, you’ll hit it slightly on the upswing without changing anything in your swing. That’ll give you a higher trajectory and more carry distance.
Low back pain is the most common injury seen in golfers of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to touring professionals. Low back pain in golfers is
usually due to overuse, or repetitive strain, rather than due to a single incident, and often has many factors that contribute to its development. Poor posture at address, and throughout the swing, places extra stress through the discs, joints, ligaments and muscles of the lower back. Poor postural habits at work, when sitting in the car or at the computer, and while watching TV, all impact on your posture on the golf course. This poor posture places your spine in a vulnerable position and greatly increases the risk of injury.
Restrictions in other parts of the body often result in injury to the lower back. The golf swing requires rotation, and most of this rotation occurs in your upper back and hips. Tightness in these regions is very common and causes increased rotary stress on the lower back, resulting in injury. Several swing faults have also been identified as causes of low back pain in golfers. Often these swing faults are due to physical restrictions that cause you to swing in a certain way, which can result in injury to the lower back.
For a thorough assessment of your low back pain, including a comprehensive assessment of the relationship between your golf swing and your body, consult a Golf Specific Physiotherapist.
The vast majority of errors in technique begin with poor set-up, so by adopting the correct set-up you will be on track to improving your pitching.
Like most short shots, the set up for the pitch shot is designed to achieve control rather than power from the shot. Setting up correctly is Continue Reading→
