Contrary to what some instructors teach, there's more than one way to swing a club. In fact, many people swing the club differently—all with good results. Some use the no backswing approach. Others use the stack and tilt method. Regardless of which you use, all approaches provide successful good results, if they adhere to certain key principles. Thus, finding an approach that cuts strokes from your golf handicap comes down to choosing one that meets your personal preferences and certain swing "musts."
But how you swing the club results from a natural expression of several fundamental mechanics. The most important of these mechanics is your grip. How you grip the club is a time-honored mechanic that helps achieve an on-plane swing. Watch any of the PGA pros on TV. Almost all of them adopt a neutral grip. In other words, neutral hands fuel an on place swing. Unfortunately, it's not easy to grip the club in this manner. Below are several exercises that help build a better swing.
A neutral grip gives you the best chance of swinging the club on plane from start to finish. If your grip is too strong (hands rotated to the right for right-handers), the natural tendency is too whip the club too far inside. If your grip is too weak (hands rotated to the left for right-handers) the natural move is to raise the club abruptly creating an overtly outside takeaway. Either way, you'll have to make adjustments to achieve solid impact. With a neutral grip, you don't have to make any adjustments.
So what is the proper swing plane and why is it so important? As I tell students in my golf instruction sessions, establishing an on-plane swing promotes accuracy, distance, and consistency. So if you want to build a better swing, you must employ a neutral grip to help you achieve an on-plane swing. The ideal swing plane is defined by the one in which the clubshaft rests at address. Obviously, then, how you position the club at address helps determine your ability to produce the proper swing plane.
Establishing the Correct Relationship
If you have a hard time establishing the correct relationships at address between your spine and the club, try this method. Stand with good posture and hold the club in front of your body. The club's butt end should be pointing directly at your belt buckle. Bend from the hips and sole the club while maintaining the same relationships between the club and your belt buckle.
Having done this, we can now turn to the grip. Make sure it is neutral at set up and throughout the takeaway. This is critical to producing consistently solid shots, as I tell students in golf lessons. To learn to develop a neutral grip at address, try holding a yardstick with your palms with neither side dominating.
To maintain this neutral grip throughout the takeaway, hold a book between your palms and move it with your body not your hands.
* When the book is below your waist (use your belt for reference), it should be perpendicular to your spine.
* When the book is above your waist, it should be parallel to your spine.
Hold these two keys in mind as you make mock swings. Keep working at it whenever you get chance. Soon you'll be grooving a smooth, on-plane motion. Then substitute a club for the book.
Prevent Your Clubs From Getting Slick
Speaking of grips, here's another thought: Don't let the grips on your clubs get worn. They can become hard and slick. To prevent the handle from slipping during a swing, you'll have to grip the clubs tightly, causing tension in your hands and arms. Tension in your hands is the death grip of a swing because it promotes tightness throughout your body, slowing your swing down.
Extend the life of your grips by; (1) washing them periodically in warm water, soap, and a brush; (2) toweling off your grips after each round; and (3) buffing slick grips with fine-grade sandpaper, until the surface is slightly abraded. If you use resin on your grips, or another chemical on your hands to improve your grip wash your grips more frequently to prevent build up. Better yet, replace your grips each year.
(ArticlesBase SC #1015380)
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/building-a-better-swing-starts-with-your-grip-1015380.html#ixzz15PodcIU2
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Learn How To Do A Stack And Tilt Golf Swing
Resources : http://www.golflink.com/how_159_do-stack-tilt-golf-swing.html
It seems like every time you turn to golf on television, you hear about the so-called Stack and Tilt golf swing. It became more of a rage when professional golfers like Mike Weir, Zack Johnson and Aaron Baddeley started to use this swing because it not only improved their accuracy but it caused them to hit the golf ball even farther. The Stack and Tilt golf swing was developed by Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, two of golf's hottest teachers who now work with about 20 players on the PGA tournament circuit. Let's take a look at this revolutionary swing, and then you can decide for yourself if it is right for you.
Step 1
Keep all your weight on the front foot, from the take-away through the follow-through. That flies in the face of traditional instruction that tells you to shift your weight to your rear foot as you approach the top of your swing, and then move your weight to the front foot during the second part of your swing. In fact, proponents of the Stack and Tilt method advocate that you place even more of your weight over your front leg during your take-away, which is totally different from what most golfers were taught.
Step 2
Change your leg action if you choose to adopt the Stack and Tilt golf swing. You were taught to bend both of your knees and to bow your torso on the follow-through. With the Stack and Tilt, you are taught to straighten your back leg at the apex of your swing, and then put the remainder of your weight over your front foot as you complete your swing.
Step 3
Take a steeper backswing as you press on your front foot during your take-away. By doing so, your ball will fly lower causing you to hit longer tee shots because the ball will run further on most fairways. Also, you will hit fewer topped shot and you will become a more consistent golfer.
Step 4
Abandon the Stack and Tilt golf swing if you cannot spend the time necessary to integrate it into your game, because it is different from any other you may have been taught. In fact, while many tour professionals have adopted some of the philosophy of the Stack and Tilt swing, most of them have swings that match their physical characteristics such as height, weight and strength.
It seems like every time you turn to golf on television, you hear about the so-called Stack and Tilt golf swing. It became more of a rage when professional golfers like Mike Weir, Zack Johnson and Aaron Baddeley started to use this swing because it not only improved their accuracy but it caused them to hit the golf ball even farther. The Stack and Tilt golf swing was developed by Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, two of golf's hottest teachers who now work with about 20 players on the PGA tournament circuit. Let's take a look at this revolutionary swing, and then you can decide for yourself if it is right for you.
Step 1
Keep all your weight on the front foot, from the take-away through the follow-through. That flies in the face of traditional instruction that tells you to shift your weight to your rear foot as you approach the top of your swing, and then move your weight to the front foot during the second part of your swing. In fact, proponents of the Stack and Tilt method advocate that you place even more of your weight over your front leg during your take-away, which is totally different from what most golfers were taught.
Step 2
Change your leg action if you choose to adopt the Stack and Tilt golf swing. You were taught to bend both of your knees and to bow your torso on the follow-through. With the Stack and Tilt, you are taught to straighten your back leg at the apex of your swing, and then put the remainder of your weight over your front foot as you complete your swing.
Step 3
Take a steeper backswing as you press on your front foot during your take-away. By doing so, your ball will fly lower causing you to hit longer tee shots because the ball will run further on most fairways. Also, you will hit fewer topped shot and you will become a more consistent golfer.
Step 4
Abandon the Stack and Tilt golf swing if you cannot spend the time necessary to integrate it into your game, because it is different from any other you may have been taught. In fact, while many tour professionals have adopted some of the philosophy of the Stack and Tilt swing, most of them have swings that match their physical characteristics such as height, weight and strength.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Simple And Smooth Golf Swing
When I get a golf club in my hand, I get that feeling of wanting to knock the cover off the ball. It feels good to put all of my strength into hitting the ball. Just hitting the ball as hard as I can does not mean that I play good golf though.
If you just need to relieve a little stress, then swinging with all your strength may accomplish your goals. However, if you want to play golf well, then you are going to have to hold back on the power a little.
One of the most frequent mistakes is to swing the golf club too hard. A hard swing shows that you have power, but accuracy is the name of the game in golf.
You need to relax when you are swinging. This will help you swing easily and will help to reduce your power. If you put your feet closer together, then you can further reduce the strength of your swing. Tensing up will also cause you to use too much effort.
Your center of gravity is also very important. Keep your center of gravity the same and your head will stay still. If you keep both of your feet in the same position throughout your swing, then your center of gravity will be stable.
If you jerk your body then your head will move and you will not be able to focus on the ball. This can also change your center of gravity. It is imperative that you keep your feet planted so that all your weight will be concentrated in your feet when you make contact with the ball.
Expending very little effort should be your goal. If you hit the ball correctly, then it will feel smooth and easy.
Don't tense up when you are about to make contact with the ball. If you tense up, your balance will be thrown off. You want the club head to travel in a straight line to make contact with the ball.
To help correct slicing, see how centered you can hit the ball with your club and how low you can send the ball. If you send the ball too high, it gets into the wind and can go left or right on rough ground.
You want to only use the amount of power that you are able to control. The goal of the game is not power, but accuracy. You want to be able to control every facet of your swing so that you hit the ball cleanly and it goes where you want it to go.
The distance will come from your clean and correct swing, not how much power that you put into it.
You want to try to gradually increase your speed during your swing until you connect with the ball solidly. If you do not have a smooth swing, then you are pulling your hands somewhere during the swing. Keep your head as still as you would if you had a glass of water balanced on top of it. This will help to improve your swing and help you to swing more smoothly and fluidly.
Swing at a decent enough speed to keep yourself from becoming tense and stiff. Don't swing too slowly or so hard that you feel the effort of the swing. Stay relaxed.
Try to keep the idea of power out of your head. Keeping your power under control so that you can be more accurate is what counts!
(ArticlesBase SC #438092)
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/simple-and-smooth-golf-swing-438092.html#ixzz17fu7cCiO
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
If you just need to relieve a little stress, then swinging with all your strength may accomplish your goals. However, if you want to play golf well, then you are going to have to hold back on the power a little.
One of the most frequent mistakes is to swing the golf club too hard. A hard swing shows that you have power, but accuracy is the name of the game in golf.
You need to relax when you are swinging. This will help you swing easily and will help to reduce your power. If you put your feet closer together, then you can further reduce the strength of your swing. Tensing up will also cause you to use too much effort.
Your center of gravity is also very important. Keep your center of gravity the same and your head will stay still. If you keep both of your feet in the same position throughout your swing, then your center of gravity will be stable.
If you jerk your body then your head will move and you will not be able to focus on the ball. This can also change your center of gravity. It is imperative that you keep your feet planted so that all your weight will be concentrated in your feet when you make contact with the ball.
Expending very little effort should be your goal. If you hit the ball correctly, then it will feel smooth and easy.
Don't tense up when you are about to make contact with the ball. If you tense up, your balance will be thrown off. You want the club head to travel in a straight line to make contact with the ball.
To help correct slicing, see how centered you can hit the ball with your club and how low you can send the ball. If you send the ball too high, it gets into the wind and can go left or right on rough ground.
You want to only use the amount of power that you are able to control. The goal of the game is not power, but accuracy. You want to be able to control every facet of your swing so that you hit the ball cleanly and it goes where you want it to go.
The distance will come from your clean and correct swing, not how much power that you put into it.
You want to try to gradually increase your speed during your swing until you connect with the ball solidly. If you do not have a smooth swing, then you are pulling your hands somewhere during the swing. Keep your head as still as you would if you had a glass of water balanced on top of it. This will help to improve your swing and help you to swing more smoothly and fluidly.
Swing at a decent enough speed to keep yourself from becoming tense and stiff. Don't swing too slowly or so hard that you feel the effort of the swing. Stay relaxed.
Try to keep the idea of power out of your head. Keeping your power under control so that you can be more accurate is what counts!
(ArticlesBase SC #438092)
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/golf-articles/simple-and-smooth-golf-swing-438092.html#ixzz17fu7cCiO
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
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