Swing Solutions

You can’t be good at this game if you have blow-up holes. Why are you trying to hit your record long drive or miracle shot with pin point accuracy when the pros have a hard time doing it every time they swing a club? In many of the major tournaments MOST OF THE PROS are not even breaking par. The TV cameras only focus on the top 10 golfers who are making the miracle shots or birdie putts. The rest of the field is struggling (but not as badly as we do). Don’t try to play the same game!

Golf is a game of consistency for 18 holes with 3 to 5 unique shots on every hole. You need to set a plan to give yourself the best chance to par every hole. Here are some suggestions that you should be considering:

FOCUS! Close your mind. Its just you against the course. Make it happen!

1/ Swing at the same speed with every club. If you alter your swing speed, its difficult to change the cadence of your body with relationship to your club speed. If you don’t synchronize every motion in the attempted slower version of your swing, you will most likely end up leaving your club face open and spraying your shot wide.

2/ Adjust your distance for each club by gripping down on your club and swinging at your normal speed. When you know that you have too much club, just choke down on the grip to hit a shorter distance. This is the only way to ensure consistency.

3/ Play a game with your mind to hit 18 out of 18 fairways in regulation. Blow-up holes are typically caused by a bad drive. Every golfer should know their “big miss”. If you tend to stand too far from your ball and hit it off the toe, check your setup every time. It takes constant focus to get this right so add a tick on your score card to track your success. Check to see if you bogie or double bogies correlate with your missed drives.

4/ Hitting your GIR (Greens in Regulation), is the real focus for your game. The pros are happy when they hit 75% of their GIR so anything over 50% is a good target for you too.

5/ If you are having problems keeping your leading arm straight and creating lag with your trailing arm, you should buy a GOLFSTR+ and use it to train for a more consistent swing. Improve the cadence in your backswing and limit your backswing when you feel GOLFSTR+ touch your forearm as you make your transition to your downswing.

Learn to focus on each shot. Make your shot selection, select your club and select your last perfect shot with that club (out of your memory bank). Hold that thought and enjoy your success.

Take your mind into a trance as you recall your last perfect swing with the club that you are about to swing. Use the words “calm and relaxed” to take your mind into your focused state of mind. If you need more practice to learn the right swing, buy a GOLFSTR+ and use it for 6 swing fixes with your driver, fairway clubs, irons and putter. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Golf tips that we read or see on TV may be damaging our thought process as we prepare and execute every swing in our game. I started to realize this while reading a blog from Top Speed Golf. Clay asked the question: Is it better to drive longer or straighter? He referenced the earnings of the longest driving pros to declare that longer is more important than straighter. If you are not a pro, I don’t think that this relates to YOU.

Don’t get sucked in by the blogs that you read about swinging faster to hit longer. What you read about the top 1% of golfers, most likely will not apply to the recreational golfer. Consider the following facts to improve your game:

1/ The Haney Project on the Golf Channel tried to train celebrities like Charles Barkley to learn a proper golf swing. Some of the celebrities like Ray Romano, improved their games by controlling the tempo of their swing but Barkley could not get rid of the hitch in his downswing. Swing change is difficult.

2/ Jim McLean endorsed the amazing improvement that you can expect with a wedged plastic boot that was worn on your trailing foot to force you to push forward and finish forward in your swing. It was a nice endorsement but the product died when the contract ended. Don’t believe everything you hear.

3/ Have you ever noticed that a golfer who hits 3, short hits, straight up the fairway on every hole will avoid the rough & hazards and typically avoid double bogies?

I predict this!   Tiger is back!    Hit more fairways like Tiger and your scores will drop. 

4/ Tiger hits long drives. When Tiger is missing over 10 fairways in a round, he seems to be able to scramble from the trees or the rough but his score still suffer. Don’t try to scramble like Tiger because it is so much easier to hit from the fairway.

5/ When you swing with a smooth rhythm; hit your ball in the center of your club face; finish your swing in perfect balance and see your ball land exactly where you wanted to hit it: were you trying to kill the ball or were you trying to lay the ball up to a nice comfortable location?

I love the recent thoughts from GolfersRx: “A golfer’s finish position tells you whether or not they made a well-balanced swing. It basically comes down to this… If you’re off-balance at any point from set-up to follow-through, you’ll be off-balance at the finish.”

When you swing your arms faster than your hips and body rotation, you are swinging out of sync. Use your practice swing to feel the start of your weight transfer from your trailing leg as you approach the top of your swing. Feel like your club is heavy at the top of your swing so that you will swing from the ground up (trailing foot, hips, torso and finally the arms). Take your time to hit with the same 80% swing rhythm every time.

Faster and harder is NOT farther especially if it lands off the fairway. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn the right swing cadence for YOUR body. Learn your calm and relaxed swing on the driving range and THEN take it to the course. Learn to control your arms and wrists during your swing with GOLFSTR+ and hit more fairways. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Why are golf training videos of professional golfers always showing a straight leading arm in the back swing and down swing? It seems so easy to bend your leading arm and wrist to achieve the same effect? A bent arm works well for baseball. Unfortunately, Golf is a whole new ball game.

The primary focus of golf is to hit that little stationary ball on the center of the face of each club. Swing speed and direction control are really secondary concerns but your game is destroyed without them. Your straight leading arm gives you a consistent distance to the ball at a maximum arm distance for maximum power. Distance control is wasted if you don’t cock your wrist to create lag in your back swing and release your wrist at the right time in your down swing. In addition to a more consistent swing on your chosen swing plane, you will increase your club head speed for more power and distance.

Test your Destructive Bent Arm Swing
Try to make a backswing by only bending your arms and wrists to wrap your club around your back [without rotating your shoulders and hips]. Notice that your club will naturally point down across your back. You can also bend your wrists and arms to lift your club and point it up over your head. When you swing your club from either of these positions, it’s difficult to make enough corrections to find the right swing plane to consistently hit your ball with direction control. This test proves that you need to use your shoulders and hips to add power to your smooth swing in a consistent plane.

Tiger does it and you should too. PREDICTION: Tiger will win this year.

Lesson Learned
Another benefit of keeping your leading arm straight in your backswing is that it forces the rotation of your shoulders and then your hips. That coiling effect by your spine in your backswing allows your club head to travel a longer distance as it accelerates back down through your ball. The sequence of uncoiling your body and releasing your wrists, generate your club head speed.

Benefits:
1/ A straight leading arm forces you to rotate your chest in the takeaway.

You can feel GOLFSTR+ touching the back of your straight leading arm. It’s a great reminder.

2/ If you don’t keep your leading arm straight, you will naturally swing over the top .

3/ Rotate your shoulders and hips before you lift your arms and cock your wrists.

4/ Reverse the order when you uncoil from the ground up. Shift your weight from your trailing leg as you uncoil your hips, shoulders, arms and finally your wrist release through the ball.

GOLFSTR+ is the ideal training aid to remind you to keep your leading arm straight in the backswing.  It can also be used to create a 90 degree bend in your trailing elbow for the perfect lag at the top of your swing. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

I was shocked to hear this: “Golfers over the age of 50 lose 10 pounds of muscle every 10 years”.  Guess this means that the extra weight that I’m putting on is at least 10 pounds of FAT.  I found this information in a promotion for a seminar about the proper way to exercise if you want to lower your scores after you pass 50.

It was even more disturbing to read in Morning Read (Golf at a Glance),  that most golfers peak in strength at about age 30. Pros train more, so they maintain strength through their 30s better than the rest of us.  An overwhelming majority of golfers are older than 30, meaning that we are losing strength and distance every year.

At the very least you should be doing some basic stretch exercises before you play a round of golf.

Most of GOLFSTR customers are over 40 so you should be interested in these recommendations.

1/  Flexibility is the #1 cause of poor consistency and loss of power.

2/  Golfers over the age of 50 are more prone to back, hip and shoulder injuries.

3/  If you want power from your golf specific muscles then you better exercise them.

We all know that endurance, strength, balance and flexibility decrease as we age.  If you want to enjoy your life over the age of 40, take up golf , swimming, tennis or pickle ball.  They will also drive you to do more strengthening and flexibility exercises.   I you don’t keep in shape, your body and game will suffer.

Tips to Keep in Shape:

1/  Find you favorite strengthening and stretch exercises for golf on the internet.  There are so many floor exercises and stretch band exercises to choose from on the internet. ( I hope you saw Lindsy Vonn working out with a stretch band before her Olympic ski runs.)  Or you can look up exercises recommended on Your GOLFSTR Swing Support Center. 

2/  When you sit down in front of the TV, make that your trigger to start your exercises.  Get your lazy butt on the floor and start stretching and working out.

3/  When the weather is beautiful, get out and work on your yard and gardens or just go for a long walk.

4/  Golf is a great sport but you may want to consider taking up indoor sports when the weather is not ideal for golf.  Swimming at the YMCA or racquet sports are excellent sports to keep your muscles active.

5/  Join an aerobics class (for muscle mass) or yoga class (for flexibility).

Whatever you do, get moving!  Your game will suffer if you don’t get rid of some of that belly fat and replace it with your new macho look.  You can also go to the the driving range and practice with your GOLFSTR+.  Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

You may have heard the old proverb that “a Stitch in Time, Saves 9”. It really is the reminder not to procrastinate because the longer you wait, the worse it gets. I thought of this as I was watching the Winter Olympics. Every sport is a game of inches. It’s the difference between winning and losing. Unfortunately in golf, every time you swing a club you are faced with the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. Fixing a problem before you play, can save 9 or 18 holes of agony.

You arrive for a round of golf with your mind and body in a different condition every time you play. You may be uptight or your muscles may be aching from a bad night’s sleep. Put your mind in a positive state by executing shots with a variety of clubs to see what is working for you.

For consistent hits, make sure that your setup, takeaway and finish are all in a comfortable balanced position.

Consider These Adjustments
DRIVING: I have been hitting my drives up the slot from an in-to-outside path. Unfortunately the open face on my club was pushing and fading shots consistently to the right. I found that by moving my trailing foot 1 inch back from my target line, I was able to create a draw instead of a push, and it improved my consistency. A ONE INCH ADJUSTMENT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

Fairway Woods, Hybrids and Irons: Each club has a different weight and length. It’s easier for you to swing lighter clubs faster. CONTROL YOUR SPEED! The faster you swing the more difficult it becomes to keep your body rotating and keeping up with your club during the swing. Why not try swinging your clubs at 80% so that your body rotation can keep up with your swing. By doing this:
– your club will not bottom out before the ball
– you will improve your direction control as you finish your swing.

PUTTING: Never start a round of golf without getting a feel for the speed of the greens. You don’t need strength to be a good putter. It’s all feel and practice. Rock your shoulders and drive your putter up your target line. You can’t be a successful putter by looking up as you swing through the ball (it changes your body and shoulder angle as you pull through the ball.)
–If you have the yips: Change your putter, your grip and your underwear. Good luck.
–If you are slicing across your ball, you will never hit a straight putt.
–Choose your target point, take a practice swing for distance and swing straight through the ball.
–Focus on hitting the ball in the center of the putter face and straight up the target line without lifting your head. An early peek will only pull your putt off line.

A stitch in time can save 9 and most likely 18 holes of grief. Fix your game at the practice range before you play each round. Then it’s up to you to maintain your swing speed and body motion throughout your round. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to make sure that your swing is under control for all 6 swing fixes. Check it out at www.golfstr.com

How often do you putt on the perfect line when your ball decides to dive away from the hole for no good reason? There are imperfections on every green caused by inconsiderate golfers that spoil more putts than you will ever know. If every person walking on a green took a little more care, we could all sink more putts.

I just thought that it was time to speak up about the stupid things that golfers do to greens. This is not a crisis like the “#MeToo” movement but at the moment that you miss a putt, it certainly is a mini disaster in your life and may just be the reason why you are losing money in your weekly golf game with your buddies.

Are You One of the Culprits?

An amazing shot of a perfectly manicured green at Pebble Beach Golf Resort, CA. Wishing that all greens could be protected as well as this one.

Stepping on the Head of a Wedge to Lift the Handle: Don’t you realize that the back cavity is cutting into the green when you step on the head of any club that is resting on the green? The impression that your club leaves on the green will be there for every golfer to follow you.

Using Your Putter as a Crutch when you Lean Down to Retrieve your Ball: We even see pro golfers do this on TV. Too many golfers use putters for balance and to lift their fat butts as they retrieve their ball from the hole. No matter how flat your putter head is resting on the green, it will make an impression which will deflect the next 50 incoming putts.

Repairing a Divot by Smacking it Down with Your Putter: How stupid is that. Even using a tee to fix a divot is the height of laziness. Make sure that you are carrying a divot repair tool to complete the job properly. Move the grass from the sides to fill the gap without pulling the roots out.

Jumping for Joy When you Sink a Putt: Your 180 pounds is magnified by the speed that your body crashes down to the green on the heel of your shoe. Your happiness brings sadness to so many to follow.

Why is anyone still wearing metal Spiked Shoes? There are still some inconsiderate slobs who are too cheap to replace their old spiked shoes with any of the wonderful new options. Can’t your see the mess that you are making on the green?

Leaving a Trail of Sunflower Seeds Shells: Cigarette or cigar butts are bad enough but who do you think is going to pick up the shells? Would you putt over them?

I know that you are expecting to read GOLFSTR Swing Tips every week but I thought that you might appreciate this public service announcement. It explains why some of your putts just don’t follow the slope of the green and there is only one thing that we can suggest to minimize errant putts:

Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to learn to keep your leading wrist flat as you rock your shoulders straight up your target line with enough pace to pass the hole. Extra ball speed will help you minimize the impact of ruts in the green. Please do your part to improve the greens so that your playing partners will follow your example. And why not buy a GOLFSTR+ to improve your putting today at www.golfstr.com

If you play golf, you already have the bug to improve your game. That’s why we get so frustrated at times when errant shots happen. We are always searching for ways to improve our power and consistency. One thing that I have learned is that you will never improve your game if you don’t experiment and commit to changes that work for your game.

I was inspired to write this Swing Tip by a recent success that I experienced. I was not happy with control the control of my tennis shots. I did the unthinkable by asking for a lower tension for the strings on my tennis racquet. Lower tension should give me more power and less control (but I wanted more control). Fortunately for me, my topspin swing with this new lower string tension is giving me much better control. I’m not sure why this is working for me but I’m happy with my new found success.

This strange occurrence got me thinking that every golf swing rule can be broken with great success. I’m hoping that some of these examples will give you ideas to improve your swing.

Jim Fuyrk may have one of the strangest backswings but a modified version is working for me. High plane swing, loop at the top and swing up the slot — BINGO!

Jim Furyk’s Swing: I have started using a backswing where my club points at the reverse of my target line as I swing high and loop at the top to swing up the slot like a baseball player hitting a low pitch. My friends pointed out that it looks like a Jim Furyk’s swing (without the very high plane swing). I had a perfect driving game last week. It works for my driver by not for my irons.

John Daly’s Swing: His over rotation in his backswing gives him a lot more power but swing consistency and flexibility will most likely make his swing impossible to duplicate.

Justin Rose Plumb Bobbing his for Putts: He is only using his putter to Plumb Bob from behind his ball. His game has been going downhill recently so he may want to start checking the slope from behind the hole (instead of behind his ball). I love to find the slope at the hole using PB but Justin Rose needs to understand that he is only determining the slope under his feet (which most likely is not the same as the slope where the ball breaks as it slows down near the hole).

Rickie Fowler’s Waggle: Rickie does a 2 foot takeaway rehearsal waggle to make sure that he is starting his rotation with his shoulders, core and waist. I love to do the same waggle because it also slows down my backswing to give me time to set my lagging wrists at the top of my backswing.

Nick Price Swing: His backswing is almost as fast as his forward swing. I have no idea how this helps the consistency of his swing but it works for him.

Hideki Matsuyama has a pause at the top of his swing as if he is checking to see that his club is loaded. I really believe that he is allowing time to start the loading transition from his trailing to his leading leg. If you rush your swing you will never have time to make a smooth transition (and weight shift).  It also helps him to avoid casting his club outside.

Ernie El’s Swing: Big Easy earned his name because he appears to be swinging at 80%. That is a great thought for everyone. He is actually accelerating through his downswing to generate 100% of the club head speed that he needs to generate distance.

You may want to try new clubs, new types of golf balls, exercise for flexibility or a golf training aid like GOLFSTR+ to learn new swing habits.  It may be just the miracle that you need for your game. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

How often do you start a round of golf and wonder WHO will be showing up that day? Did you ever consider that your tight muscles may be throwing your game off? If your body is tight and you make swing mistakes on your first hole, it will start to tighten up your mental outlook frustration too. Ideally you should plan to start every round relaxed, confident and physically flexible.

I first recognized that flexibility was important when I played rounds of golf with much younger, weaker players. I noticed that even skinny teenagers were easily able to drive 250 yards with limited effort. Flexibility should be at the top of your list if you every want to improve your game.

Get Flexible
A few months ago, I received an email from Jillian Anderson, an Australian Sports Fitness Advisor, who offered her FREE GOLF FITNESS GUIDE. She was impressed by our weekly GOLFSTR Swing Tips and encouraged me to share her guide with you. About 60,000 readers have enjoyed this guide and I think its a great one for golfers everywhere.

By committing to a golf stretching program you will not only increase your power and reduce the risk of injury, but it will also help you maintain a more consistent swing for a lower handicap!

Natalie Gulbis and smart professional golfers depend on flexibility for their best performance.

Critical Area of Focus
There are many sections in this guide but I am focusing my effort on 2 sections titled: Golf Stretching Exercises and Pre-Game Warmup. I was surprised to see that Static Stretching Exercises can actually hurt your game unless you use them to stretch out your muscles on days when you are not golfing. And you should use Dynamic Stretching Exercises just before you play your round of golf.

Jillian provides a sequence of the right exercises to help golfers improve physical flexibility. She points out that you need to warm up your muscles before you start your daily or pre-game stretch exercises. In general, your daily Static Exercises are slow, deliberate stretches where you hold the stretch for about 20 seconds. Pre-game dynamic stretch exercise are all about rapid, warmup motions to wake-up your body and get your muscles firing.

Jillian put it this way: “More research is showing that static stretching before a sport that involves powerful movements (such as the golf swing) can negatively affect performance. Simply put, this type of stretching reduces how powerfully you can contract your muscles and so potentially, how far you can hit the ball. For this reason athletes in most sports are now advised to increase their flexibility either on separate days, or after a game, with Static Stretches and to warm-up (for a round of golf) with Dynamic Stretches.” Click here for a free copy of her guide: GOLF FITNESS GUIDE

The more you relax your muscles during each swing the more your flexibility will improve your game. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ at the driving range after you warm up with your pre-game Dynamic Exercises. Your increased flexibility will create more power and confidence in every shot that you make. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com

Putting is more of an Art Form than Science. Every putt changes with the slope of the green, the height and moisture in the grass and the distance to the hole. The Art Form can only be learned by feel and practice for each putt. Fortunately, determining the break can actually be determined by Science. Just use your putter as a Plumb Bob.

Putts break more as they slowdown. That’s why you should be more concerned with the break or slope of the green at the hole instead of the slope near your ball. On November 6, 2017, we released a Swing Tip about reading putts using your putter as a Plumb Bob. That tip is correct but my recent experience proves that you can speed up the process by focusing more on the break at the hole.

Rules for Plumb Bobbing (PB):
1/ Don’t waste your time with PB if the break is easy to see. Only use it when you are not sure about the break at the hole where the slow rolling speed of your ball magnifies the break.
2/ If you can see 2 or more breaks in your putt, DON’T Plumb Bob. Use your experience to make your best guess at the breaks in your putt.
3/ Your ball will break more as it slows down (near the hole) so you should focus on the break at the hole (NOT the break near your ball).
4/ Don’t try to PB if you have not calibrated your putter

How to Calibrate Your Putter
Hang your putter by the grip with 2 fingers and line up the shaft with a vertical line (corner of a building or door frame). Close either one of your eyes and rotate the putter until it lines up with the vertical line. Ideally you should try to find the matching vertical lineup when your putter face is facing the vertical line. That will make it easier for you to recall the CORRECT PUTTER FACE direction, the CORRECT EYE to keep open and the CORRECT SIDE of the putter shaft for your PB. [Without those 3 pieces of information, you will never be able to use your putter correctly for PB.]

When you line up your putter with the hole and your putter grip is to the left of the ball, that is the high side of the hole.

How to Plumb Bob (PB)
1/ Because the putt breaks the most when it slows down, don’t waste your time checking the break from behind your ball. Go behind the hole and keeping only your CORRECT EYE open, line-up the hole with your ball.
2/ Then hold your putter up with the CORRECT PUTTER FACE direction so that the CORRECT SIDE of your shaft is lined up with the hole.
3/ If the upper end of you shaft falls to the left (as shown in this image) or right of your ball, that side is the high side of the slope of the green. Your ball will break from the high side back to the hole. The wider the gap the greater the break in your putt.

Plan Your Putt
1/ Stand perpendicular from your putting line to determine if your putt is uphill or downhill.
2/ Know that uphill putts will break less and downhill putts will break more as they approach the hole.
3/ Based on your PB, you know the high side of the green where your ball will break (or curl) down to the hole.
4/ Build your confidence using PB on the practice green. Plan to minimize the break by always stroking to hit your ball about 12 to 18 inches past the hole.

Using your putter to Plumb Bob for the break at the hole will give you more confidence to sink more putts with a committed putt at your ball. Practice the perfect flat wrist swing with your GOLFSTR+ by locking your leading wrist and bracing your hips as you rock your shoulders to putt straight at your target point. Buy one today at WWW.GOLFSTR.COM

Supercharge your swing with lag. Some golf blogs suggest the thought of “shallowing out the club in the downswing” to create lag. Others refer to the generation of lag as loose or lazy wrists during the transition to create a 90 degree club shaft angle from your straight leading arm at the top of your swing. Whatever you do, you need to learn the wonderful feeling of lag to generate more distance for every shot.

I love it when friends ask me if I have been working out. That’s the surprising reaction when my shots take off with unexpected power with seemingly little effort. Lag did it!

Dustin Johnson creates a lot of power and distance by holding his lag in the downswing and you should too.

The only way to generate more club head speed is to snap your wrists as you fling your club through the impact zone at the bottom of your swing. Your leading arm is straight throughout your back and down swing to maintain consistency. The weight of you club head has to do all of the work as your weight shifts to your leading leg and you whip your lagging club head through the ball.

Tips to Create Lag
–Make a least 10 practice swings with a very light grip and lazy, loose wrists.
-So lazy that your arms start their downswing while the club is still changing direction during the transition at the top.
-The weight of your club head is creating a 90 degree angle between your straight leading arm and your club shaft. (Your trailing wrist is actually pulling to create this angle.)
-[CAUTION: Keep your leading arm straight in the backswing and downswing.]
-During these practice swings, don’t worry about hitting a ball, just use your lazy wrists to feel the delayed transition from up to down cause by the weight of your club head.
-FEEEEL the club weight creating a lag (or delay) in the change of direction to your downswing as you shift your weight to your leading leg.
-Don’t rush your arms at the top of the downswing. Let them accelerate as you start the shift of your weight to your leading leg.
-Maximum club head speed occurs as it catches up with your hands as they whip through the bottom of the swing arc with a whooshing sound.
–Now hit some balls by waiting and FEEELING THE LAG at the top of your swing. This is a long list of tips but the lag feeling only happens in a split second. It’s so wonderful when it happens.

Of course your swing starts with spine rotation and pressure on the instep of your trailing foot (without swaying back over your trailing foot). During your downswing, let your right elbow drop down near your side as you swing from the “slot” (inside to out). That’s how you “shallow your swing” and hold your lag angle.

Learn the FEELING of lag by training with your GOLFSTR+. Use it on your leading arm as a reminder to keep your leading arm straight and also on your trailing arm bicep to ensure that you are creating a 90 degree bend in your trailing elbow at the top of your swing. Buy one today at www.golfstr.com