Golf Around the World

Ernie Els using a fairway wood at the 2009 US PGA Championship practice range at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota – www.iseekgolf.com

Put spin on a golf ball by cleanly hitting the ball, thereby allowing the grooves of the golf club to generate spin. Learn to put spin on a golf ball with tips from a PGA Professional in this free video on golf. Expert: Chris Ardolina Contact: www.mcleangolfschools.com Bio: Chris Ardolina is a class A PGA Professional and a Jim McLean-Certified instructor in Miami, Fla. He graduated from Methodist University with a concentration in professional golf management. Filmmaker: Paul Muller

Anthony Kim at the 2009 US PGA Championship practice range at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota – www.iseekgolf.com

The Net Return is a new patented product. It is the only golf practice net in the world that automatically returns the ball back to the golfer and provides instant feedback after every shot. The Net Return is capable of withstanding ball speeds of 225 MPH and can be used indoors as well as outside. The Net Return is designed for training centers, PGA instructors and serious golfers everywhere. Each and every Net Return is handcrafted, individually inspected, tested and shipped from our …

The Net Return is a new patented product. It is the only golf practice net in the world that automatically returns the ball back to the golfer and provides instant feedback after every shot. The Net Return is capable of withstanding ball speeds of 225 MPH and can be used indoors as well as outside. The Net Return is designed for training centers, PGA instructors and serious golfers everywhere. Each and every Net Return is handcrafted, individually inspected, tested and shipped from our …

(This golf article is followed by a drill, and a link to that drill on video.)

Have you ever noticed that while the golf courses the pros play are getting longer, their golf swings are getting shorter? Tiger’s done it. Sergio’s done it. Phil’s done it. Why? How can players who depend on dominating long golf courses give up distance by shortening their golf swings? Well, guess what? They’re not. Not giving up distance that is.

One of the most important things to remember when learning or even just playing golf is that the #1 variable in swinging a club – that directly relates to distance – is clubhead speed. In my teaching experience most golfers either do not realize this, or wrongly connect size of swing with clubhead speed.

It’s really this simple: given clubhead speed equals distance – with all else being equal – if my swing is big yet slow and yours is small but fast, you will get more distance than I will. The added bonus is that your shorter swing is likely to be more consistent than my big one.

In my writings I have talked a lot about – and explained away – many golf myths. One myth is the supposed need to get the club to horizontal at the top of the swing. Why should the golf club get to horizontal? Why is this the ideal position? What is the reasoning for this? Because it is parallel with mother earth? What if it is a little short of horizontal? What if it goes beyond horizontal (see Mr. Daly)? Getting the club to horizontal is an arbitrary instruction that cripples far too many players in their efforts to get it there, and distracts them from the primary ingredient of the golf swing, which is the downswing. What if I came along and told you it did not matter if you got the club to horizontal or not? What if I told you you don’t need to be a contortionist while executing the backswing? Wouldn’t that lift a big burden in playing golf?

It is ironic that most of us try to make a big backswing, while then telling our friends to slow their swings down. What if someone came along and told you it waPGA Tour there’s nearly as many different golf swings as players, there is one undeniable common denominator among them, and that’s acceleration.

All top players accelerate the golf club to impact. Many a struggling player makes such a huge swing that they either get into a position from which acceleration is difficult, or they are so out of control that they decelerate in order to try to gain control by the time they reach impact. Either way the result usually does not produce the distance desired, or the contact required. Deceleration is contrary to centripetal force while acceleration contributes to it. Suffice to say, two swings that are 90 mph at impact are not the same if one was accelerating from 80 to 90, while the other was decelerating from 100 to 90 at impact. Consider the racecar driver who slows before a curve in the road, and then accelerates into it. Then consider an occasion where you were going too fast for a curve and had to slow down. Remember feeling how hard it was to maintain control of the vehicle as you encountered the turn? The golf swing is no different. A decelerating golf club cannot remain on its intended path and will veer wider than its intended path. This creates a wider arc, the bottom of which is now behind the ball. Hello fat shot. Even if your club was going 200 mph before it hit the ground, hitting the ground will slow it down immensely, not to mention all the other negatives associated with hitting the big ball (earth) before the small ball (golf). The answer is not slowing down.

Acceleration is. Interestingly, while a big backswing tends to promote deceleration, a short backswing does the opposite. A short backswing promotes acceleration. Your ideal win-win. It’s as if you do not believe the short backswing will do the trick, so you accelerate to make up for it. Hello good shot. Being it was so good, you then become willing to try it again. And it works again. The next thing you know, rather than trying to attain difficult physical positions (such as getting the club to horizontal at the top of the backswing) you’re practicing accelerating the club. Imagine practicing something good. Bingo.

And here’s the bonus to the bonus. Practicing (consistently) leads to muscle memory. Muscle memory leads to speed. Think of anything you do that requires muscle memory and that which you do repeatedly. Whether it is tying your shoelaces, or your tie, or phoning home, you do it quicker now than when you first started. I highly doubt that since you mastered phoning home, you began trying to phone home harder. I highly doubt that since you mastered tying your tie, you began trying to tie your tie bigger. I highly doubt that since mastering tying your laces, you began trying to tie bigger laces. Okay, I am pushing the point. But I think you see the point.

Surprisingly, Tour players don’t enjoy one luxury that we do. They do not have the luxury to mess around with their golf swings. We can mess around and only our recreational hobby suffers. They mess around, and suddenly their day-to-day subsistence suffers. Ian Baker-Finch will tell you. Tour players have learned that by shortening their swings and working on acceleration they can attain just as much (or more) distance than they used to, and improve ever-critical accuracy and consistency – two staples to life on the Tour. That is why we are seeing, and will continue to see a growing trend of shorter backswings on the long golf courses of the PGA Tour.

Clive Scarff is a teaching professional and author of Hit Down Dammit! More info can be found at www.hitdowndammit.com.

Drill: Right Hand Thrust Drill

The Right Hand Thrust Drill is one of several found on “Hit Down Drills!” which is one of four DVDs in the Hit Down Dammit! DVD series. The goal of this drill is to learn to accelerate from a shortened backswing position. It’s harder than it looks, but the results will be surprising.

Repeatedly swing your club back to waist-high, pause a split second, then use your right hand to “thrust” the clubhead toward the ball. In doing so, you may find you have created sufficient speed with the clubhead that it follows through to the target automatically, leaving you in a finish position whereby the clubhead is pointing at the target, the toe is up, and the shaft is roughly horizontal (waist-high) and parallel to the target line. This position should roughly mirror your top-of-backswing position.

As you get more proficient at this exercise, you will create more clubhead speed, the momentum from which will see a follow-through that “naturally” swings through a little higher than the height of your backswing. It is important this follow-through is natural – neither forced or abbreviated.

(To see this drill demonstrated on Video, visit: http://www.hitdowndammit.com/#Drills)

For more information or more articles on golf, contact Clive Scarff at clive@hitdowndammit.com

A golf simulator is one way you can tackle that pesky slice –

by Rick Hendershot – Without a doubt, the most common golf swing problem is the tendency to “slice” the ball. If you are a right handed golfer and your shots are constantly curving to the right, then chances are you have a slice.

Many golfers who slice the ball have tried unsuccessfully for years to cure this swing fault. Even experienced golfers who play 100 rounds or more a year will admit that the slice is always there waiting to rear its ugly head.

Slicing is caused when the golfer puts sidespin on the ball. If the ball is hit so that clockwise rotation is put on the ball it will curve to the right. Counter-clockwise spin will make it spin to the left.

Ball spin is a feature of most games played with a ball, but in golf it is more critical than in most other games because you are essentially aiming the ball at a target. And it is obviously a lot more difficult to hit a target when the ball is curving.
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A great golf swing is more than just swinging with your arms.

If you start with a bad golf stance, you’ll probably follow with a Bad golf back swing, a bad downswing, and a bad follow through. Towards the end of the golf back swing, some golfers make the Mistake of letting the heel of their front foot leave the ground.

The golf back swing starts from the top your shoulders and arms start turning and works its way down to your hips and legs. The golf backswing is effectively the coiling up of a spring until an optimal point of tension; then releasing that tension as a controlled explosion. However, you should keep that foot on the ground to make back swing well-anchored.

A great golf swing is not only to swing with your arms and turning your body, many golfers do not think about the importance Of there hands in the golf swing.

An athletic golf stance and golf swing setup is the launching pad for your swing. The fundamentals of the golf swing are based on scientific facts such As centre of gravity, power, thrust, consistency triangle and more. The ability to execute a powerful and balanced golf swing is the key To mastering golf.

The backswing is when you take your club away from your ball while Keeping an imaginary line through the ball. A good backswing gives your club Power and control. Swing your golf club behind your back while you turn It to your target. Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm.

Try to take your club back like a backswing in baseball. The good golf swing takes a good rhythm and a good balance. The rhythm of your swing can be fast or slow, depending on your body type and natural rhythm, but whatever the rhythm is, it should be done nice and easy. Rushing on your swing will take you out of centre and cause a bad balance.

If you were able to do your backswing in the correct manner, your body will Unwind in it self thus releasing the club and striking the ball that Will therefore result in a follow through that is balanced. The club head should be floating just above the ground behind the ball.

The club head should be moving just above the ground behind the ball. Bending your wrists is an important part of creating club head speed in your down swing, amongst the most vital tips on golf swing is to keep your clubface square. Swing your golf club behind your back while you turn your back to your target.

Conclusion

Believe it or not, when you make your golf backswing, it’s not only to swing with your arms. If you look closely, the golf back swing starts in your shoulders. The golf backswing is like coiling up of a spring until a maximal point of tension, then releasing that tension as a controlled explosion in your down swing. My golf back swing is by bringing the golf club over my right shoulder.

If you’re like most golfers, you’ve been looking for your best golf swing for a long time. Investing in golf swing aids will improve your golf swing and your game of golf. My Blog: Get Your Golf Backswing Right.

The golf swing is probably one of the most frustrating parts of the game of golf. People are constantly modifying their swing to get more distance or to correct problems like a slice or a hook. Really, though, the golf swing is just a matter of mechanics and putting body motions together in the right way to be consistent.

Each generation of golfers is better than the golf legends who have preceded us because we all learrn from their experiences. A lot of people (including myself) have also experienced a better drive when they go over the most basic rules of a better swing. Even if you are an experienced player like myself, I would encourage you to learn these basic 10 rules of a better gold swing.

1. Maintain a distance between both your legs which should be equal to your shoulder’s width.

2. Exhale slowly as you alternately press the handles away from you until your arms have just a slight bend in them. Makes sure that the shaft and your forearms are on the same plane. Keep your elbows bent slightly as you keep your arms and hands tension-free.

3. Place about 70 percent of your body weight on your back leg.

4. Straighten your spine and have a slight of bend in your knees.

5. Keep your eyes fixed on your golf ball during your entire swing

6. Grip the club as if you are holding a small, delicate bird. You want to keep the bird in your hands, but you don’t want to crush it either. That’s how you should hold your club.

7. A good golf swing will be a fluid, easy motion with your shoulders turning slightly in the backswing and your follow-through complete.

8. Make sure you keep your feet planted and slow down in your backswing. Most problems with a golf swing are cause by swinging too quickly in the back swing and then not accelerating through the ball.

9. You will want to hit the ball in the “sweet spot” or the center of the club. Hitting it anyplace else will cause your ball to travel in directions that you really don’t want it to go in.

10. Grip it and hit the golf ball hard down the fairway!

There are numerous golf tutorials that exist on the internet that can help you with your golf swing, so always look for information and take as much advice as you can get. Learn and do what you see. The best way is to always practice your swing the same way every time.

There are “a hundred” things to know in swinging a golf club and they all have to be working in exactly the right ways at exactly the right time to a have the perfect golf swing. Sometimes this just doesn’t happen, but when it does, it certainly is a great feeling!

Humiliated regarding the number of turns you require just to hit the ball? Find yourself falling short to have the correct curve in the air once the ball takes flight? Scared of passing up a tap-in that other players are sure to regard a “gimme?”

Believe it or not, you can considerably improve your game in golf by just obeying a few tips that focus to rectify the way you look at the sport.

Golf, as many may say, is more of an endeavor for the mind rather than a challenge for the body. Each swing, each stroke, and each putt will not come from the ankle nor the hip nor the wrist. Each motion you will make in a game of golf will come from your mind.

Here are a few guidelines that can enhance your golfing approach, and in the end , gravely enhance your game.

Believe. This is the first, and likely the most vital, advice I can share with you. Believe that you can whack the ball, and trust that you can whack the ball the immediately. Professional golfers share one thing in general: their conviction in their game. Picture Jack Nicklaus mistrusting himself each time his ball hits the bunker. The acclaimed “Golden Bear” wouldn’t have acquired 18 majors throughout his time if he did. Trusting that you can is most critical at that moment right before you hit the ball. Any form of distrust, any form of faltering, any form of panic, will affect your nerves and bargain your action. Golf is such a game that is responsive to the smallest amount of movement, hence, distrusts, falterings and fears should be purged throughout those precarious moments spent priming to swing your iron.

Find your practice. Observe the best participants now. Some of them will do a twist before a putt. Some of them will perform rehearsal swings before beating the ball. Some of them will even blow a kiss to the spectator. Think these are just efforts to make them look composed? Think again. The truth is, these are routines that are meant to send the proper quantity of electrical charge to the muscles. 90% of a game of golf consists of you and a fixed ball. You will need these routines to keep your muscles, and your tempo, elevated throughout the period of the game.