When developing a technique to use in regards to improving your golf swing, you must first break the golf swing down into segments and the segments should be as follows, feet placement, hip swing, shoulder placement, grip and head position. With these five important components in relation to the golf swing, you can help your golf game by carefully taking a look at each one. From this position, you’re much less likely to cut across the ball through impact. With minimal practice, those killer pulls and pull-slices will turn into powerful draws. The golf swing is a sequence of movements, and if you start in the right position and engage the right movements, the rest will follow. If you make a poor start to your swing, then those effects can be negative, affecting consistency and distance.

Fundamentally improving your golf swing requires the golfer to maintain a fixed spine angle, rotate around a fixed spine angle, and maintain specific postural positions in every phase of the swing. In order to accomplish this the muscles of your body must have certain levels of strength. In relation to the golf swing it’s your ability to sustain the proper spine position and center of gravity during movement.

To start improving your golf swing, please think of your body as divided at the waist into two parts, each of which is going to feel as if it’s being used wholly differently. The rotation of the lower followed by upper body turns the hips and shoulders to face the target. At impact the body weight will move onto the left foot (approximately 80%) and the right heel is ‘pulled’ from the floor by the rotation of the hips.

Try this exercise, take an ordinary coat hanger and grip the longest part just as you would a golf club with the hook between your wrists and directed away from your body. The widest points making a line between your torso and the “ball. With this setup, work through your golf swing and watch the rotation of the triangle through the air. In order to do this, your wrists have to turn as you shift arm position. Loosening your grip allows your wrists to rotate in a natural motion.

Golf weight and training exercises are one of the best and the quickest ways to improving your golf swing speed and power. The heavier the shaft, the lower and straighter your shots will be, and the lighter the shaft the higher and more variable your shots will be. Many players try to make their clubs heavier by adding lead tape to the head, which changes the overall weight, the swing weight, and the shaft flex.

Oftentimes, in golf terms the opening and closing, of the clubface is termed releasing of the club. This is where the hands become an integral part of the golf swing. The simplest way to improving your golf swing and to shape your shots is to make sure your clubface faces the target but your body lines are right or left depending on the ball flight desired. Do not change your grip or swing.

Moreover, the angle of the club head must be checked on two fronts: First, the face of the club head, or the horizontal angle, must be pointing in the direction you want the ball to fly. Second, the vertical angle, which is largely effected by how you hold the club and address the ball, must be set up so that you do not lose distance in your shot.

As you slowly lift your club, do not cock your wrist too soon. Try to shorten your swing and make sure you stay down and get the ball through on your down swing. Perfect golf swing drills centered around the takeaway continues with your left wrist cupped, right arm above your left and right knee flexed.

Depending on your dominant hand the club should rest against the palm of your opposite hand and be held somewhat loosely at the fingertips with the heel of your hand providing pressure. The dominant hand should then be placed in the same position creating a V with the thumb and index fingers.

While you must work on technique and position, when it comes to actually playing the game, you need to rely on the platform and motion you have started. The next time you practice, try hitting some balls starting with the clubhead a foot or so in front (toward the target) of the ball. The address stage is about the body’s position and the proper grip. The backswing is the start of the body movement and positions the body before beginning the downswing.

As a solution to improving your golf swing, and to the kinds of problems faced by average golfers, David Nevogt : a.k.a. “Golf Swing Guru” has written the ebook known as “The Simple Golf Swing” By adopting this simple golf swing system, golfers can improve the way in which they hit the ball so that they can help hit it with a fuller force and can do this consistently.

It is not realistic for any golfer to expect improvement in their golf swing if they practice once a month. The same can be said about a golf fitness program. Improving your golf swing begins and ends with you. Training the muscles of your body to properly perform specific movements takes time and practice. Out of these golf swing tips and methods, whichever should be convenient to you should be mastered correctly if you want to look forward to improving your golf swing. Let’s face it, golf is probably the most difficult sport in the world. It takes a great deal of skill, mental fortitude and perseverance to excel at it.

By: John J. Foley

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The slice is probably the most common problem that all golfers encounter when playing. In fact, some golfers spend years in frustration trying to remedy slice. Usually, slice happens just when you think your tee shot is just fine. Suddenly, the ball starts to curve to the right and promptly misses the target.

There are many ways to cure slice. Let us start with developing a good grip. As you hold the club, your left hand and thumb should be along the shaft and is aligned toward your right eye. Your right hand should wrap over the left, with the palm resting securely over your left thumb. Your grip should not be too tight or too loose. Gripping the ball too tightly can cause the ball to hook. On the other hand, a weak grip will open the clubface and cause slice. Take the time to practice your grip. Make small adjustments and try new grips until you find one that works and that you are comfortable with.

Another important component in stopping slice is to develop and practice a good stance. You can achieve this by standing square to the ball with your feet spread as wide as your shoulders. Keep your right foot pointing straight ahead and your left foot pointing a little to the left. Make sure your elbows and shoulders are in a natural, relaxed and comfortable position. Remember that posture is very important. Try to avoid throwing your lead shoulder up in the air prior to hitting the ball. Ask your friends to watch you as you hit a drive to see if you have the so-called ‘uppity shoulder’.

Finally, by simply correcting your golf swing, your goal to stop slice is half done. Remember that a correct backswing involves the hands, arms, and shoulders in one fluid and smooth motion. Meanwhile, the right downswing involves turning the hips, keeping your eye on the ball and making sure that your head is behind the ball as you proceed to your follow-through.

These are just a few of the tips and techniques on how to stop golf slice. You can also try various drills to develop specific areas of your play. These drills strengthen and develop your golf skills for the better. Just keep in mind that you need to devote time and effort through constant practice in order to achieve your goal of stopping slice.

By: Tim Lee

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Any golf enthusiast understands the importance of having proper setup and address position before making a swing. Everything must be parallel to your target and you must achieve the right kind of focus before you go and swing your club.  If you have problems with your swing, there are lots of golf swing trainers available. They help ensure that everything is in proper order so you can maximize your golf game.

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As a golfer, you must understand that you must align your feet, knees, hips, arms, and shoulders with your target. You must learn how to grip the club in such a manner that you do not feel like choking or squeezing something. You will know that you are properly setup once you achieve a balanced position. This simply means that you will not topple over if someone pushes you.

Golf swing trainers will also help you understand the mechanics of the upswing. You must remember that the power of your golf swing largely depends on the torque you are able to create with your body. A proper swing involves a nice shoulder turn and a hinge that will bring your club to the right place. Once you are able to completely wind up your body, you will be able to maximize torque and deliver a complete downswing.

Swing trainers will also help you develop your downswing. During your downswing, you will feel some kind of release in your hips and shoulders. Your wrists will unhinge in a relaxed manner and carry your ball away while your arms go down to impact. You must remember not to decelerate during your downswing as this can negatively affect the accuracy and distance of your golf swing. Do not forget to follow through.

If you want to improve on your golf swing, it is important that you seek help from golf swing trainers. Doing so, you will realize that you already understand the ins and outs of a golf swing which can greatly affect your progress on improving in this game.

By: Chris Jensen

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The first movement from the top of the swing is a lateral thrust of the hips to the left, eventually followed by an automatic turning of the hips.

This is true. But there is more than that. Here are some great tips to improve your downswing.

The hips must not only move to the left and turn, their movement must be so closely tied to the left arm that it pulls the arm and the club down and whips them through the ball.

Finally you must turn your hips toward the target as they reach the extension of their lateral movement. Are your hips ever in this position when you hit the ball?

What happens, actually, is that the left arm itself is being pulled by the hips. The arm is merely the connecting rod between the hips and the club.

When the hips exert this pulling action, they cause the shoulders and the left arm to revolve so fast around the axis of the upper spine that the hands have little or no time to manipulate or do anything whatever with the club except hang onto it.

If there is one single secret to the golf swings this is it. Moving the hips in this fashion would seem a simple thing to do.

It is easy to say and easy to understand. Yet nearly all of the vast army of golfers fail to do it. Millions have read it and heard it and seen pictures of it, but just as many millions keep right on starting down with their hands, or pulling with their arms, or stopping the hips after they start them, forgetting to move them all the way through.

They fail for two reasons.

The first is that this is a big movement and they are afraid to make it. The second is that, preoccupied with what they think they must make the club head do, they completely forget the fundamental hip action and let it die.

The tight connection between the hips and the club, and the consequent pull the club gets from the hip action, is the single greatest source of power in the golf swing. The big muscles of the upper legs and of the torso are giving the club a flying start before the hands do anything.

To visualize what happens it may be helpful to use a mechanical image. Think of a golfer at the top of his backswing.

Now imagine a rope, running from the point of his left hip up his left side to his shoulder and then out through his left arm to his left hand. This rope is pulled tight at the top of the swing. As the hips start the downswing by moving to the left and turning, they will pull shoulder, arm, and club with them so long as the rope is tight. The rope can be kept tight only if the hips move first and only if they keep moving and then turning, on past the ball.

Otherwise the rope will slacken, the pull will stop, and the club never will gain the speed it should reach at the ball. The rope will slacken if, from the top, the shoulders or the hands move first, or if the hips stop moving before they are all the way through. How do we know when to start the hip movement?

We start it the instant we feel the backward momentum of the club start to pull against our hands at the top. This is a reflex action with most of us, but for those who want the moment pinpointed, there it is. And once you start to move the hips, keep them flying-all the way through until they turn toward the target. This action alone will cure a great number of golfing ills.

This is how it should feel:

For you who have been hitting from the top and from the outside for years (and you are about 95 per cent of all golfers), these actions will feel strange indeed, and our problem is how to describe the feeling you should have when you make them.

Words here become of even greater importance than they are customarily. So, since the same action feels different to different people, we will describe several feelings so that perhaps one of them may be recognized.

What all this comes down to is two things. First, we coil ourselves up on the backswing to gain tension that is going to be released as late as possible on the downswing. Holding that tension is the “staying uncomfortable” feeling, the “storing up” feeling.

That is what gives us distance.

Second, as we move our hips laterally and keep our head back, but do nothing else, there is a complete absence of effort in our arms and hands. Then, if we have kept ourselves from uncoiling, the hands and club come down on the inside. That, plus club-face position, gives us direction.

When we have made this first move from the top correctly, where does it bring us? It brings us to a position generally

Called the hitting area. It is not that, exactly. It is only one position in an infinite number that we pass through in the downswing.

It is, roughly, the point in the downswing that we reach before the arm-shaft angle opens up much.. The move brings us down so that our hands are nearly opposite our right leg, our weight is about equally distributed but moving toward our left leg, the body is beginning to bow out to the left, the right elbow is nestled against the hip bone, and the club is nearing a horizontal position.

Right here the check points appear. We can’t see them in the actual swing, of course, but we can stop the swing now and then and take a look.

If the swing has been made correctly and if the hand-wrist position gained by the backward break has been held, then one knuckle of the left hand should be visible and two of the right, the club face should be at about a 45-degree angle with the ground, the right arm should be firm .against the, right side, and if the hips have gone through as they should, the player should be able to see the outside of his right leg from the hip to the foot.

Except for seeing the outside of the right leg, these check points are exactly the same as they were after the stationary wrist break on the backswing.

If you follow these tips your swing will improve no end.

There must be a definite, conscious feeling that this is happening. It is the single most important movement that a good golfer makes. This is not to be confused with the mistaken advice to start part of the body stay back.

By: Gerald Mason

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There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about the so-called stack and tilt golf swing. Apparently about two dozen PGA Tour players have adopted it, including some champions like Rick Weir and Zach Johnson, as well as Aussie Aaron Baddeley, among others. This article will explain where the terms stack and tilt come from and what is going on with this approach to the golf swing.

So What’s With “Stack and Tilt”?

It is really a catchy little phrase that has worked well for the people who promote and teach it. If you are like I was, you are asking yourself, “what is stacking and what is tilting”? Well, here’s an explanation I found while viewing some videos in trying to search for an answer. And by the way the answer is not obvious, in case you are wondering why you can’t figure it out for yourself.

Here’s the deal- the stack and tilt golf swing basically says that most of the golfer’s weight should be kept on his left side during the swing (about 60%), and also that the player’s head should remain pretty much in the same position throughout the swing rather than swaying backwards. His left side should not move backwards much during the backswing but should stay pretty much in the same position it was during set up. In addition, his swing is a bit more upright than flat.

So what does that have to do with stack and tilt? Not much, but here’s the explanation I found. When the golfer has completed his backswing using the guidelines mentioned, his shoulders are vertically in line with each other approximately over his left hip. So his shoulders are said to be “stacked” at that point. (All discussion in this article refers to a right handed player, so lefties just need to reverse things.) Also, at this point the golfer’s back is more or less facing the target, and if his head has been kept in the same place it was at the start of the swing, his spine will necessarily “tilt”.

So there you have it, stack and tilt. If you think that explanation is a bit obscure, I couldn’t agree more, but then again, who cares? It is a catchy little phrase, and the fact that this swing has been adopted by some of the PGA Tour’s top players means that it must be bringing something to the party. Let’s discuss now why this approach has been adopted and if it should be used by weekend golfers like you and me.

Why Players Go to the Stack and Tilt

A lot of swing instructors teach that during the backswing it is OK for the head to move backwards a bit, or sway, especially for the driver. Some of these teachers even advocate keeping the head behind the ball to generate more power. The problem with this approach is that sometimes a player cannot fully transfer his weight to the left side at impact, and the club strikes the ball with the face open. Obviously this means a pushed shot to the right. All this is true with the other clubs in the bag as well, not just the driver. So if you are a player who seems to consistently push shots off to the right, this approach might be worth a try.

Who Should Not Use the Stack and Tilt?

As we all know, some recreational golfers don’t have the prettiest or the most effective swings (to put it in the form of understatement). Some in fact keep way too much of their body weight on the left side as it is. So here you have some players that already have too much weight on the left side and who cannot get through the ball squarely at impact. Trying to exaggerate this even more will not help those golfers. So you have to be aware of your weight distribution at set-up, how squarely you get through the ball, and whether you are prone to pushing shots.

Give it a Shot

So if you are in fact a golfer that has a problem with pushing a lot of shots, it is easy to give this swing approach a try. Don’t worry about “stacking” and “tilting”, just address the ball with about 60% of your weight on your left side. Imagine there is a stick or something touching your left hip at address. Keep you left side touching that stick throughout the swing, and you have just tried the stack and tilt. Think about not moving your head backward during the backswing, and this will help. Try it on the range first, of course, and develop a little muscle memory. Despite the name, the stack and tilt is not a big mystery and is easy to try.

One last word, there a lot of short videos on YouTube which discuss the stack and tilt golf swing. They are worth a look if you want to pursue this.

By: Walter Ballenberger

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There are almost as many theories about the golf swing as there are instructors. And one of the least understood aspects of the swing is the rotation of the hips to an “open” position just before impact.

Most contemporary golf instructors believe it is necessary to “clear your hips just before the point of impact” in order to get your hips out of the way of your hands. According to this theory, if you don’t “clear your hips” your hands and arms will be impeded and will not be able to attack the ball with power.

This is sometimes used as an explanation for why an overly “vertical” stance is not a good thing. According to this line of thinking, when you stand too close to the ball your hands will not be able to make a clean pass in front of your body because on the way down your hips will get in the way.

But while hip rotation is very important to the effectiveness of the golf swing, it is not because the hips are in the way of anything. In fact I can’t see that this idea of “clearing the hips” makes much sense. Your hips are not in the way of your hands. In fact, rotating your hips towards the target pushes your backside out further towards your hands and puts your hips more in the way than if you did not rotate them.

Most of us — whether we rotate a lot or not — are not in the habit of hitting our hips with our hands when we swing our golf clubs. The reason is simple: our hips do not get in the way of our swing, and to suggest this as an explanation of the importance of hip rotation is just plain misleading.

In my own research, on the course and in my basement “lab”, I have found that hip rotation does indeed put the club on a more powerful, more direct path to the ball coming into the point of impact. But as far as I can tell, this has very little to do with getting your hips out of the way of your hands.

What happens when you rotate your hips is that this allows you to get your shoulders and arms in the optimal power position. This happens because your upper body and lower body move in a synchronized way. In the golf swing, as in most other movements involving the human body, your upper body, including your shoulders and arms, moves in harmony with and in response to the movement of your lower body — your hips and legs.

Think of a power hitter in baseball. Those classic photographs of Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson or Barry Bonds making contact with the ball always tell the same story. Their arms are fully extended, hips are rotated to an open position, head is back, and they are perfectly balanced with most of their weight now centered over their front leg and hip. In fact they have used their front leg and hip as a pivot around which their upper body has rotated. Take that pivot away — swing with just your shoulders and arms — and you’re left with a much less fluid, much less coordinated, and much less powerful swing.

In the golf swing this connection of upper and lower body is less obvious because the golf swing is a combination of vertical and horizontal. But the principle is the same. The rotation of the hips pulls your upper torso around and gets your lead shoulder into the correct position (the left shoulder in the case of a right hander) at the point of impact. Ben Hogan described this hip movement as a matter of throwing your lead hip around and back against the wall — one of the most useful images in all of golf instruction.

Try it in slow motion. Place your club head along the swing path about 18″-24″ behind the ball (on the inside/out arc). Make sure your lead hand and arm are straightened as they should be in the impact position. Now rotate your hips so the club head moves towards the ball (keeping your hands and arms locked in the previous position).

Notice that when your club head reaches the ball, your hips will be “cleared”, and your lead shoulder will be rotated as well. Your lead arm will be in the correct “power position” with the arm and club shaft forming a more or less straight line down to the ball.

Now pick your club up and swing it more horizontally like a baseball bat. If you have had any baseball training at all, your hips will just naturally lead the swing and your shoulders, arms and “bat” will follow.

In fact trying to make an “all-arms” swing without hip rotation will feel awkward and unsynchronized. Your arms will not be able to follow the momentum that wants to carry them around to a natural finish. This is why golfers who do not “finish” their swing by rotating their lower body will often snap the club back to the starting position.

The basic principle here is one taught by golf teachers since teachers first started analyzing the swing: upper body follows lower body. Coming to a better appreciation of this principle can only have a positive impact on your golf swing.

By: Rick Hendershot

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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

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The golf swing takeaway is a 1 piece takeaway. To achieve this, here’s what we need to do.

1) Keep the left and right forearms straight during address. The arms are relaxed and pointing down. This allows consistency in our setup. The distance from our hands to the body is about 1 palm distance.

2) Imagine a triangle formed between the left and right forearms.
This triangle is maintained in the 1st part of the takeaway.

3) Move this entire triangle to the right during the takeaway.

4) Do not rotate the hands, wrist, or cock the wrist early in the takeaway. Focus on keeping the forearms straight, especially the right forearm. This ensures a wide takeaway and allows the wrist to cock naturally.

5) Once the hands reach around the waist level, allow the shoulders to turn to complete the rotation. A tthe top of the swing, ensure that the left wrist is not cupped or v shaped.

Another point to take note of is the rhythm and tempo. A good rhythm is 1, 2, 3. Count 1 initiates the takeaway, Count 2 is when we reach the top, Count 3 is the transition from backswing to downswing. A slow takeaway and straight right forearm, results in a wide and slow backswing that results in alot of torque and prevents us from jerking down the club too quickly in the downswing.

Last point to note is to maintain the right knee bend angle and prevent it from straightening during the takeaway. We can do this by imagining that we’re sitting down on a high chair and have the pressure on the balls of our feet. This provides enough flex in the knees. Be careful not to flex too much also. We should have the right amount of tension in the muscles to maintain the correct angles in golf, and yet not too much that we get all tense and uncomfortable. Everything in the right proportion will allow us to build a nice and enjoyable golf swing.

By: Sherman Choo

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I decided to begin this series of free online golf tips & instructions with the lessons and methods my grandfather taught. My grandfather was a Golf Professional for nearly 50 years and competed in many tournaments. His career highlights include qualifying for two U.S. Opens and being invited to play in the British Open. Although my grandfather was an accomplished golfer, he felt most rewarded when teaching others how to play and enjoy the game. Although golf instruction has come a long way since my grandfather’s time, these golf lessons still include very important fundamentals to be learned and remembered. Sometimes the best golf lessons come in the simplest form and are made easier to understand and execute. The following instructions have been taken from my grandfather’s notes entitled, “Improve Your Golf”, and I am very happy to share these with anyone wanting to learn how to play golf, or revisit the basic fundamentals of the game.

Improve Your Golf – Swing Is The Thing

The swing begins with your setup at the ball with the proper grip, stance, ball position, proper distance from the ball, weight and head position as we discussed previously. When you are ready to swing the club, it is encouraged that you waggle the club first. This will help with rhythm and grip pressure as your grip should be secured, but not too firm. The majority of your grip pressure should be with the last 3 fingers of the left hand (middle, ring, small). These 3 fingers are where you should feel most of your control from when pushing the club back and pulling the club through the shot.

Your head is the hub of your swing and you must swing with your arms and body moving together under your head with a one piece motion back and through the shot; maintaining a easy, controlled rhythm & balance. This is done by turning your left shoulder down towards the ball with the club head’s path going back inside slightly, and with your hips coiling in unison with your shoulders as you turn and bring the club up to the top of your swing. Your wrists should feel firm at the top of your swing and your left arm should be fairly straight. Once you have completed your backswing, your first move should be with your legs and hips with your weight shifting towards your left side and pulling your arms back down though the downswing. Arms and body still moving together following the same inside-out path you began your swing with.

As you continue to pull through your shot, you should feel your wrists release (roll back over) as you make contact with the ball, keeping your head still and feeling the clubhead continue out towards your target. As you finish your swing, your body continues to turn and face your target as you bring the club up at your target and then around the backside of your neck. As you are shifting your weight from your right to left side, your right foot continues to turn up up onto the toe as you finish. It is very important to finish up on your right toe, otherwise you cannot rotate your hips out of the way of your swing, causing you to lose proper form and power.

By: Scott Powers

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Fundamentals

Stance

A consistent position helps develop a consistent swing. A square stance will encourage a square impact. Keep feet perfectly parallel to the target line. If you imagine standing on a train track your feet are against one rail the ball is next to the other. Develop a comfortable standing position with your feet directly below your shoulders with your toes slightly outward facing.

Position the ball 2-3 inches inside the left heel for most shots. If it is too far forward you will be more likely to slice.

Moving one foot slightly forward will enable either fade (outside to inside) or draw (inside to outside). Experiment with the shot direction on how much you move your foot.

Do’s and Don’ts

Do always check the position of the ball using your clubs aligned on the ground.

Do take your time to settle into your stance and get relaxed.

Do be consistent with your stance.

Grip

A good grip is the foundation of your golf swing, enabling greater control and reducing your tendency to slice. A good grip helps keep the club-head square at impact and stops the shaft from rotating in your hands.

The most popular grip used by professional golfers is the Vardon grip.

Place your little finger on the lower hand on the club (right hand for a right-handed player – known as the trailing hand) and place it between the index and middle finger on the top hand (known as the lead hand). The thumb of the lead-hand should fit in the lifeline of the trailing hand (the V). Look to get a relaxed and comfortable feel, a tight grip will hinder your swing. The V’s formed by the index finger and thumbs on both hands point between the chin and right shoulder. Turning hands anti-clockwise on the club shaft produces a weak grip, promoting a left-to-right flight of the ball (slice). Turning hands clockwise produces a strong grip, promoting a right-to-left flight of the ball (hook).

Do’s and Don’ts

Don’t grip the club too tightly

Do keep the rubber grips on your club handles in good condition. Worn grips cause problems by forcing you to hold the club too tightly.

Do get a feel for the grip by practising frequently gripping and re-gripping the club regularly.

Alignment

When you are practising, make sure your use you clubs as alignment. Lay one club on the ground parallel to the target line and another from toe to toe indicating the direction of your stance. To indicate the ball position, lay another club at 90deg’s to the target line extending backward from the ball toward your feet. Now check it all. When you are happy with the alignment you can a club across your shoulders, hips and thighs to check everything is aligned parallel to the target!

Do’s and Don’ts

Do check, check and check again, it will be invaluable to troubleshoot any problems.

Don’t leave the club between your feet longer than necessary but feel free to leave one club on the ground parallel to the target line during practice sessions.

Swing Path

To get a straight shot you require an inside to square i.e. hitting the ball squarely swing-path. An inside to outside swing-path encourages a hook, outside to inside swing-path a slice. Imagine a line extending through the ball to the target, your goal is a swing-path that starts on the inside striking the ball while moving slightly to the outside.

Also you can direct the ball with the club face – straight 90deg to the ball

Clubface open (>90deg) to ball encourages a slice or fade

Clubface closed (

By: Dave Furnevall

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