2016 November

We can all swing a golf club but are you aware that a few minor adjustments can change your game forever?  Why not shake your game up and lower your scores. That’s exactly why you may want to take a golf lesson to discover simple changes. Another option could be in these tips. Each one was published by a professional golfer to tweak their game. I’m hoping that a few of these will light up your game .

1. For longer drives, keep your head behind the ball at impact as you swing from the inside with more power through the ball.

2. Focus on the words LAUNCH for drives and POWER for fairway shots. LAUNCH your drives as you swing up and POWER your fairway swing through your ball as you graze the turf after impact.

3. Golf Digest Tips to eliminate Yips in putting and chipping: Great idea to get rid of this problem is to practice by letting go of your club with the tailing hand at impact. This forces your leading hand to accelerate through the ball to finish your body rotation and swing.

4. If you can’t hit the turf after the ball with your iron shots, try positioning your ball slightly back of the center line in your stance. This will de-loft your club, give you more distance and add power when you swing down through the ball and then the turf.

5. The #1 page searched on the GOLFSTR website is: “Swing with your chest first for distance” [Click to check it out].  Just start your downswing by rotating your chest and leading hip. Relax your swing to improve your release sequence.

6. You can’t generate maximum power if you don’t turn your shoulders in your backswing. If your shoulder turn is limited make sure that you create a 90 degree wrist cock (with your flat leading wrist), hold this lag position at the start of your downswing and release through the ball. It creates amazing straight shots.

Tiger has not played a tournament for 15 months, he’s ranked 879 in the world BUT HE IS BACK: He made 2 eagles on the front 9 in the Hero Pro-Am. His old, old swing looks great.  CONFIDENT?   You bet!

7. Confidence is only built by what you put into your game. If you have a problem swing with a specific club then work on it at the driving range. Use your GOLFSTR+ to practice until you hone in on the right swing. Lock in the feeling of that perfect swing and then take that FEELING with you to the golf course.

8. How can a scrawny kid hit a ball over 240 yards? It’s not his strength. It’s timing! Hold your wrist lag as you start your downswing and whip your wrists through impact. Whipping the head of your club to cause a whooshing sound is definitely creating more speed and power and distance.

9. Club head speed is only part of the equation for your consistent swing success. A square club face impact by driving through the ball will minimize the top or side spin which is killing your shots.

10. Practice with your GOLSTR+  for every swing in your game. Learn to control your straight leading elbow, your flat leading wrist in putting and chipping, your limited lag in your trailing wrist for chipping and lag for power. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

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If you treat your round of golf as a game against YOURSELF, you can win every time. Your environment and your golfing partners are not your competition. Golf is an individual game where you are totally in control of the outcome. You control every shot so it’s up to you to not let others or your environment control your game.   So set your mind to control your game and to make every shot an improvement over the last one.

First you need to understand why hazards attract balls? Actually they don’t but it appears that they do. When you start worrying about a hazard, your body starts to tighten up and your muscles shorten your arms. You can aim away from the hazard but your tight and shortened arms may still top or toe the ball into the hazard. Your tight grip may also close the face of the club so that you pull the shot into the rough on the other side of the fairway. Don’t let this happen!

Remember that every swing of your club is a chance to improve your game. Do it for yourself and enjoy your game.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MIND TO WIN AGAINST YOURSELF: A tense body will destroy your swing. Recognizing this will allow you to free yourself from your golf demons. A lose grip and relaxed swing will win every time. Don’t rush your swing. Let your club accelerate from the transition to create your power.

I recently saw a blog by Golf Info Guide sponsored by Thomas Golf which described a plan to help you win against yourself. They broke the game down into 3 areas: Tee Shot, Approach Shots and Patience.

Tee Shots
-These are your longest shots so set yourself up to allow your normal draw or fad to land in the fairway.
-Avoid penalties such as Out of Bounds (white stakes), water hazards or a fairway bunker.
-Decide on the best location to approach the green and plan your shots for the best approach to avoid bunkers and heavy ruff.

Fairway Shots
-For long approach shots, hit short of green side bunkers or to the easiest approach side of the green.
-Club selection, alignment and distance are all critical. Take a practice swing to get the right swing feel.
-When hitting for the green remember: LOW SIDE WINS.  Hitting the center of the green is always a good shot but putting with speed from below the hole is always easier than putting downhill.

Patience
-One mistake or missed swing can cause the next mistake. So don’t rush your next shot.
-Get over it. You can save a lot of strokes if you just slow down and prepare for your next shot.
– Recover from a mistake. Change your club and go through a methodical lineup for your next hit.

Getting uptight will ruin your game. Decide that you are playing against your inner self. Ben Hogan said that “the most important shot in golf is your next one”. No matter whatever you did on your last shot, look at your next shot as a challenge to ensure that you avoid potential problems to cut strokes.

If you control your mind and temperament, you can save many shots in every round. Missed shots will happen, BUT DON’T WASTE THE NEXT ONE. Accept your punishment and put your next shot in a great position to improve your chances to land on the green for your next shot.

Work on improving your mind control and making a perfect swing with every club. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes and enjoy your next round of golf. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

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To consistently hit a golf ball there is only one Golden Rule: The distance from your shoulders to the ball at address must be identical at impact. That is why repetition of a simple consistent swing is the only way to improve your game. Unfortunately our minds and our flexibility continue to change throughout each game of golf. Adrenalin, extraneous thoughts, aching muscles, energy release from food and the ever changing turf & conditions of the golf course are fighting against your success.

To solve these problems I found a few ideas that you may want to consider:

1/ Mike Bender, a Golf Digest Top 5 Teacher and 2009 PGA Teacher of the Year, has used the secrets he learned from his “robot golfer” to transform the games of multiple PGA Tour Champions like Zach Johnson and Jonathan Byrd. He uses a swing plane board to train for a consistent single plane takeaway and the identical return to the ball. Unfortunately most of us are not designed to swing in a single plane like Iron Byron (the machine that tests golf balls) and the amazing Moe Norman.

We can’t swing or think like a “robot golfer” because the human body has so many moving parts. Power comes from our legs, hip rotation, shoulder rotation and the whipping action from our arm and wrist release. Even Mike Bender adapts the swing into 2 planes: one plane below his shoulders and another above his shoulders. The one thing that we should take away from Mike’s approach is that a simple consistent straight leading arm swing is the only way to hit the perfect shot every time.

2/ Bryson DeChambeau is a new PGA Professional using irons which are all cut to the same length. You still need to learn to use a longer shafted driver and fairway metals for more distance so this approach is not a complete solution. Adopting his concept would force you to reinvent your game and to pay for a pretty expensive specialty set of clubs.

3/ Straight Arm Swing:  We are already accounting for the distance from our shoulders to the ball in our setup using conventional clubs. After we adjust each setup for each hit with the right club selection, grip and stance, we really do need to swing with a similar motion to hit our drives, fairway shots and approach shots. Rotation of your hips, shoulders and straight leading arm, while holding you head in the same position, is the key to your consistent impact with the ball. Rory McIlroy does it so well.

Real progress comes from repetition without adding extra movement during your swing.  Of course there is a weight shift back and then a hip bump in the transition as your weight shifts forward to your leading leg in your downswing. You need to practice the correct straight leading arm motion for the takeaway, backswing (with wrist lag) and downswing (wrist release). Consistency is the key to success. Use an athletic, balanced setup with a straight leading arm. Maintaining the same knee flex and spine angle throughout the rotation of your backswing and down swing with a straight leading arm will create the consistent distance to your ball.

If you are bending your leading arm during the backswing and downswing, you will just add to the complexity of your swing. Timing the return to a straight arm at the point of impact is a problem that you don’t need.

Improve your swing by practicing with GOLFSTR+ to keep you leading arm straight and your leading wrist flat for more consistency. Buy one on line at www.golfstr.com

We all want to drive for more distance. Unfortunately golf is not our day job. As a recreational golfer you should accept the fact that you are not hitting thousands of golf balls every week like the pros.  Why try to hit a ball 325 yards like Dustin Johnson? Be realistic about the priorities for your game.  Shorter hits with fewer mishits will lower your score every day.

In this Swing Tip I’m comparing the comments of Hank Haney and Colin Montgomery.

Hank encourages us to swing faster and Colin never encourages amateurs to swing faster. We all play golf at different levels but recreational golfers have different goals than the pros. The pros play a game of distance and precision but we should strive for a game of consistency.

The pros have built their bodies to be hitting machines and their brains to be in a trance for every perfect swing. We recreational golfers rush from our busy lives, warm up on the range, putt a few balls and then rush to the first tee to share good times with our friends. Then the crisis begins. We seem to transform into strange beings (like the Incredible Hulk) when we step up to the ball. Our muscles tighten, our focus sharpens and our minds try to let loose a John Daly swing as our ball spins out of control into Never-Never-Land.

Ultimately the best solution is to let your club do the work as your hips shift then your shoulders, arms and wrists release through the ball to a balanced finish. If you can’t swing to a balanced finish, you are swinging too hard. You need to swing with a tension free rhythm as you let your club whip through impact with the ball.

Colin Montgomery has a slow, wide (straight arm) takeaway. Easy downswing with power from your wrists at the bottom. CLICK TO SEE THE GOLF CHANNEL VIDEO.

I wanted to share a Golf Channel lesson by World Golf Hall of Famer, Colin Montgomerie, with his best advice for amateurs to hit better drives. He said: “Have I ever told an amateur to quicken up his swing? Never! I’ve only told an amateur to slow down. A slow swing with a driver is a good one. A fast swing is all over the place.” He continues by explaining that you just swing through the ball. You need a full follow through and a balanced finish. Avoid putting all of your energy into the down swing. It only creates inconsistency in your swing. The power comes from the whip of your wrists at the bottom of your swing.

Hank Haney is now promoting a product which helps you learn to swing faster. It actually helps you learn to whip the club with your wrist at the bottom of the swing. Your arms don’t really have to move any faster. Just relax your muscles and loosen your grip. All of the club head speed comes from your wrists releasing the weight of the club at the bottom of your swing.

Practices by letting your club do the work. Use GOLFSTR+ to remind you to keep your leading arm straight during the backswing and downswing with a reasonable pass. Let your wrist do the real work to create the whooshing noise as your club crushes the ball.  GOLFSTR+ is a great Christmas gift for any golfer.  It give them 6 training aids in 1 Gift Pack.  Buy some today: www.golfstr.com

You may have seen this offer in GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE:

Hitting a shot fat or thin is one of the worst feelings in golf. You know that you can make the shot but your body tenses up at times and you chunk the shot 5 feet or you blade it 30 feet over the green. Why is this happening when you feel so confident and you know that you can easily make the shot?

You may want to break your club in half after missing such an easy shot but choking down on a lower loft club is a much better idea. Hank Haney recently pointed out that choking down on a club will rob you of distance but he also pointed out that it will give you more accuracy and consistency.

Jean Van-de-Velde lost the 1999 Open by not playing it safe.  Choke down and play the easy shot with a club that you trust.  Save strokes.

If you are trying to run your shot up on a green because there are no traps in the way, a great plan is to choose a less lofted club and CHOKE DOWN ON IT. Directional accuracy and the feel for distance are so important when you want to get your shot close to the pin especially if you are under pressure and you want to avoid a chunked shot. A sweeping swing (like a putting swing) definitely gives you more control of your club for consistent impact with your ball. Keep your leading wrist flat and your leading elbow straight. Focus on distance and hitting the ball in the center of your club face.

Set Your Plan
1/ Use different clubs from your hybrid to your putter to learn your comfort level with each club.
2/ Sort out the clubs you like for chipping and hone in on 2 or 3 clubs where you feel you have your best control.
3/ Don’t forget to choke down on your longer clubs when you use them like a putter.
4/ You have to learn how much lift and run each of your favorite chipping clubs will give you.
5/ Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist flat when hitting over short cut grass for hits up to 30 yards.
6/ For every shot you are faced with height, slope and surface changes (that will kick you ball one way or another), practice with your favorite chipping clubs to know what to expect.

GOLFSTR+ is a great Christmas Gift for any golfer. It gives them 6 Swing Fixes in 1 Training Aid.  Now being shipped in a gift pack for all purchases through the end of 2016. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com