2013 April

About 50% of golfers swing a golf club with a bent leading arm!   This appears to be the #1 swing flaw.  The National Golf Foundation  estimates that only 25% of golfers break 90.  A straight leading arm in the back swing and through impact will really help you consistently break 90.

If you watched the Masters, you saw that the pros keep their leading arm straight for more power and consistent connection with the ball. If it was easy you would have done this long ago. 

The key to improving your swing is to first learn the correct swing (video below).  Then you need to continuously repeat this straight arm swing as you practice and as you play (when the pressure is on). 

CLICK HERE for Video: Right Way to Keep Your Left Arm Straight by Golf Info Guide at ThomasGolf.com 

It’s not easy to make the change and that’s why GOLFSTR is such an important brain trainer to help you repeat a successful swing.  It helps you build muscle memory.  So warm up your swing before each round with GOLFSTR and practice with it on the golf course TO KEEP YOUR MIND FOCUSED on the straight arm swing.

The pros make it look easy:   Straight Arm – Straight Shot.

Watching Tiger in the Masters proves that he is back on his game thanks to Steve Stricker and Sean Foley.  What exactly did Steve do for Tiger’s putting and what has Sean done for Tiger’s driving setup?  It’s amazing to see that the following 2 adjustments can make all the difference for Tiger. {Now he needs training to hit approach shots 2 inches to the right of the flag pole.  It would have won him the Masters.}

One thing for sure is that Tiger has a consistent hit with his Straight Leading Arm.

Putting tip from Steve Stricker:  He noticed that Tiger’s putting grip was “strong” and that “his hands were behind the ball”.   Steve said “Just tried to get him set up in a better position where he could feel like he could accelerate down through the line a little bit.”   It appears that he weakened Tiger’s right hand by rotating it slightly toward the front of the putter.  This allows him to putt along his intended line.

Foley gave him Better Balance in his setup: The professionals see that Tiger now puts 60% of his pressure on the balls of his feet and 40% on the heel.  A relaxed balance is so important at setup.  This only makes sense because we lean forward to grip the club.    

So this is what seems to be working for Tiger and may help the recreational golfer but give yourself a shake.  I just got woken up by a 90 year old gentleman in Delray Beach, FL (wise beyond his years) who called about buying GOLFSTR.  He wanted a GOLF SWING TRAINING AID that reminded him to keep his leading left arm straight in the back-swing.  He said “I don’t want paralysis by analysis”. He was so right.

Use the KISS method: Keep it Simple Stupid.  Straight leading arm, hinge the wrists, smooth transition and swing with a lag from the inside, down the target line to a photo finish.

Why didn’t I think of that?

Straight arm and straight shot are your starting points but the goal is distance in the right fairway.  Bent elbow in the back-swing is caused by your desire to swing harder for more distance.  Unfortunately you need to walk before you run.  Get the swing right and the power and distance will come.

GOLFSTR is just a learning device to improve muscle memory for your straight arm swing.  Your swing will never improve unless you commit to change.   You can take lessons at wonderful training centers like GolfTEC  where some of the instructors are training their students with GOLFSTR.  Golf  is really fun when you learn to swing like a pro, so why don’t you commit to change right now.

Golf is a game of basics.  You need to learn the grip, stance and the right way to line a ball up.   The right swing gives you the mechanics to generate speed and distance.  It boils down to these key components:

1/ Relaxed muscles in the shoulders, arms and grip. [if 10 is tight, 4 is where you want to be.]

2/ Leading arm straight in the backs-swing and down through impact.  [GOLFSTR is just the reminder and that’s why we call it the brain trainer.]

3/ Cadence to allow a smooth transition at the top as you press your leading leg to trigger the swing.  [use a moderate arm speed in the back-swing and transition  BEFORE you start to accelerate – – – just think of Ernie Els]

4/ Distance comes from LAG which is delaying the release of the hinged wrists:  This allows a whip action of the club head as you swing from the inside through impact. (like snapping your wrist to skip a stone across water)

5/ Finish in balance and facing your target.  By not rushing the arms at the transition, you have time to rotate your body starting with your hips and then your shoulders through to a balance finish

Now watch the video on this page which shows an amazing slow motion video of  Rory McIlroy’s swing. (CLICK HERE)  

For more tips return to YOUR Swing Support Center  https://golfstr.com/category/blog/

Sure the pros use muscle and technique but I’m talking to you, the mid to high handicapper.  The more frustrated we get with a round of golf, the harder and faster we swing and the worse the result.   Muscle is not the answer.  Your biggest problem is the muscle between your ears.

Accept the fact that you are not qualifying for the pro tour.   A 250 yard drive in the center of your fairway is so much better than a 300 yard drive which lands in the trees or in the next fairway.  The GOAL is to get your game under control and to break that next milestone of 100, 90, or 80.

As a starting point most men have larger frames and more muscle than most of the LPGA players or a 130 pound junior.  So why is it that these skilled players can hit a drive consistently over 250 yards without any effort?   Of course, they have great technique.

They focus on weight transfer, lag and wrist release: ALL WITH A STRAIGHT LEADING ARM in the back-swing and through impact.  [GOLFSTR can help you here. ]   And swing through the ball to a BALANCED photo finish.

• Hitting the ball farther is affected more by club head speed than brute force
• Gain more speed by improving your wrist release through impact
• Practice by holding a club upside down (you can create your loudest whooshing noise by  releasing your wrists at the bottom of the swing)

Weight needs to be shifted to the leading leg at impact so start the arm transition at the top of the swing with a slight weight shift or hip bump to the left.

Lag is considered the holy grail of the golf swing. Golfing greats such as Ben Hogan and Sergio Garcia have had tremendous amounts of lag that allowed them to hit the ball great distances with relatively little effort.  You can do it too.  [Check out my last blog about Hogan.]

Next Thursday’s Blog is on INCREASING DRIVING DISTANCE