Golf Basic Tips

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau

Putting is the smallest form of the golf swing, but is also the last thing you do to complete the hole. If you master putting, you master the game of golf.

Putting is an art, and it requires a proper tool to express that form of art. The putter is quite different from other golf clubs. First of all, there are many different designs in putters. Generally, putters are the shortest of all golf clubs, and they are designed to roll the golf ball when it is on the green. The most significant difference between the putter and the rest of the golf clubs is the grip: it is flat on the top of the shaft to allow you to place your hands comfortably on the grip without exerting undue pressure on the equipment. To master putting, select the right putter, with which you are most comfortable.

Putting is the simplest golf swing because it requires of you the fewest movements. However, these movements are critical to your golfing success.

To master golf putting, it is important to keep your body still and in a solid position before you start your stroke. Hold your putter around the handle with both palms facing each other, while your thumbs are pointing straight down the shaft to the head of your putter. Your putter has a sweet spot, which is the weighted spot of the club that enables the golf club to spring off the face of the club. Now, rest the flat spot on the bottom of your clubhead flat against the surface of the green, and set your putter on the green such that the sweet spot (indicated by a dot or line on the putter) is directly behind the center of the golf ball.

Focus your eyes directly on the golf ball. Bend comfortably as far as you can, while keep your arms hanging freely. Ease up on your legs and arms with your feet shoulder-width apart. Flexibility of muscles is essential to mastering the stroke.

In a pendulum motion, strike the golf ball with your shoulders and arms moving together. And that is it! It is just that simple!

However, to master putting, you need to remember these golf putting tips.

Always keep your legs, hands, as well as head and torso, still and solid while moving your shoulders and arms to create the pendulum motion in your putting stroke.

In golf putting, distance is more important than direction, because a golf ball rolling with the correct distance tends to come closer to the hole than one with only a correct direction. Therefore, it is important to control the length of the stroke and the contact off the face of your putter. Accordingly, for a shorter putt, do not slow down the motion; likewise, for a longer putt, do not speed up the motion. Learn to master maintaining pace consistency with different distances. Given that the direction of the golf ball is controlled by the face angle of your putter, always align the clubface perpendicular to the target line. Maintain that position when you strike the golf ball.

Putting is a simple game to play but difficult to master. However, it can be done through practice and observation of putting tips outlined above.

By: Stephen Lau

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

Golf workouts for winter is a great approach to taking advantage of the time you now have available to improve your golf since you’re not playing as much, if not at all. It’s a way to stay connected to your golf game when you’re not able to play due to the conditions (snow, temperatures, ice, etc.).

Have you gone into depression mode when winter hits and you can’t play golf anymore? I know this use to happen to me until I finally moved to a year-round nice climate. This transition from playing golf regularly to not at all can be depressing.

What do you do with all the time you now have since you’re not playing?

The answer? Golf workouts for the winter! This is your “off-season” and like most athletes they work on their body’s to take their game to the next level. This is a time where you evaluate your game and work on your weaknesses.

A common denominator for most golfers, especially senior golfers is “physical capabilities”. This is your current level of golf-specific strength and flexibility. It is highly unlikely you have no physical limitations in your golf swing. 80% or more of amateur golfers play with an injury during the season. This would tell me there is a physical issue.

What better time than winter to do golf workouts to greatly improve this situation. There is no excuse. You’ve got the time and hopefully you’ve got the motivation to improve your game. You’ve just got to set up a game plan in regards to your golf workouts for winter.

The first step is to get a physical evaluation done to diagnose your current level of fitness specific to golf. You can hire a local golf fitness trainer or look on the web. Golf workouts are becoming so popular you can’t miss finding out information about them.

Once you’ve gotten your golf fitness evaluation, assess the areas that need the most work and spend the majority of your time on those areas. Most likely this would be flexibility and core strength. These are two very common areas that are lacking and can make the most impact on your golf improvement.

You will be shocked at your progress if you stick with it through the entire winter. The first time you step on the range, you’ll feel like a different golfer. It will be like an “out-of-body” experience. You’ll soon realize this is what you’ve been missing all along.

So when you put those clubs up for the winter and go into depression mode…remember this article and start your golf workouts for winter.

By: Mike Pedersen

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content

The golf swing take away tip I use is one that is used by most of the conventional players like Tiger, Adam Scott, and other modern day golfers. This take away tip for the golf swing is what I call the “one-piece” take away. It’s is moving the club back by using your shoulders and not just your hands.

Picture a triangle between your hands and shoulders and the shoulders are going to move the hands. This take away tip works for me every time, but you must have good core strength to be able to do it consistently.

If your core is weak, you will no doubt get lazy and start using your hands more which will decrease your consistency bigtime. Moving the club back in one piece is easy to repeat and is more consistent to a better take away than getting to handsy.

If you watch Tiger Woods Golf Swing he does this take away tip beautifully. He takes the club back in one piece for a long time before he lets his wrists cock. This creates a wide swing arc and a tremendously higher clubhead speed and distance. Tigers take away is bar none the best on tour. He is the model for all golfers wanting a consistent take away that’s loaded with power.

In addition to this golf swing take away tip, I would strongly urge you to work on your core strength and even flexibility if you want to be able to do this take away on a consistent basis.

Do you want to discover the secret to creating more power and consistency in your golf swing… AND eliminating ALL your swing faults?

Download this: http://www.performbettergolf.com/ebook

By: Mike Pedersen

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content

When you watch and analyze the golf swing of different pro golfers, you can see that they vary in their golf swings. How to swing golf clubs like them? You will also wonder that with different variation of their grips and swing planes, how could they all arrive with an impact of consistency and send the ball on its way that is seemingly perfect every time? Each swing looks different to you because each players swing has its own personality. But, their swings are very much alike, fundamentally. They have to be the same, or they would not be playing on the tour. The reason for this is because fundamentals of golf swing never changes. They are always based on scientific facts such as power, thrust, centrifugal force, levers, and more. Everyone who plays golf wants to hit the ball farther and straighter.

Swinging golf clubs like the pros is easy to achieve with the right approach. You do not need to take more lessons in golf, hitting more golf balls, or waste time and money on clubs and training aids. All you have to do is realized what swings the golf club. Yes, you and your body are the essential factors that affect your golf swing. Various websites online offers instructions an advices on how to improve your golf swing. Some even sell teaching e-books, books, and videos about it. However, the area that you need to be concerned is fitness. It may really benefit you from improving your muscles that you use when you swing. There are two requirements for a better swing; strength and flexibility. So when you decided to focus on your golf swing requirements, there are quite a few different things you can try on how to swing golf clubs like the pros.

It may seem to you that it is just a waste of time working on this area, but it does make sense if you think about it thoroughly. If you want to be able to swing properly and get better every time you play golf, you need to be flexible. You can start doing exercises that specifically work your muscles that you use for the swing. A simple example is by using weighted golf club when swinging. You cold use resistance while swinging and this is a good combination. Also, you could use hand weights, exercise tubing, or dumbbells for the improvement of strength and power of your swing. There are also many exercises which are specifically designed for golfers that you can find in the internet. Free information on different techniques, positioning, increasing swing speed, improving your mental game and many more other which can help your swing and the overall play of the game are available.

It is a good idea to try one technique at a time in order to find out if there is an improvement in your swing. In this way, you are likely to find out that with the combination of techniques you can be able to improve. For example, try to do some golf exercises while changing the position of your body when you take a shot. Then try to do those exercises with the different golf clubs and see whether this makes you improve or not. Different individuals have different styles and techniques that could work for them. You can always experiment trying different combinations of techniques until you find the best combination for you. These things can really help you on how to swing golf clubs like the pros.