YOUR Swing Support Center

Recreational players often grab a club like a baseball bat.  It’s the first club that they ever grabbed so it feels natural to hold it in your palm (not your fingers).  But it is not helping in your swing, tempo, arm muscles and game.  This week a number of pros commented on the right grip, the right pressure and the right speed to get the results that you want.

Don Trahan discussed the importance of gripping in the fingers not the palm.  Holding the grip in the palm or the fleshy base of your hand will cause strain all the way up your arm.  It will cause strained muscles in your arm and elbow if you grab it too tightly.

A doctor commented in the Trahan blog: “For someone with frequent elbow soreness they may be gripping the club too tight”.  He recommended thicker grips to help anyone with elbow issues.

Holding the grip in your palm also gives you less flexibility when you hinge your wrist for lag.

“A light grip will calm the nerves and slow down your swing and give you control.”

In a recent interview, one of the contestants in a Longest Drive event said: You can’t develop lag with a tight grip.  He also suggested that the driver head needs to impact in the center of the face, with an ascending blow on the inside of the center line of the ball (swinging from the inside).

Gary Player talked about a 3 knuckle grip to hit further.  When you are ready to swing make sure that you can see the 3 knuckles on you glove hand (leading hand) to avoid slicing the ball (the primary problem for the recreational golfer).  This actually forces you to swing from the inside and up the target line.

Gary Player also advised that a light grip does not mean that you allow the club to release from your fingers at the top of the swing.  “You must own the club.  Your grip has to be complete throughout the swing.”

Another blog reported:  To hit longer drives you must have relaxed hands for a fast release through impact.  Most golfers who want longer drives grip the club waaaaay too HARD!

So use a relaxed but complete grip in the fingers of both hands so that you can see 3 knuckles on your glove hand.  Practice with GOLFSTR+ to limit the bend in your elbow in the back swing.  Learn to keep your wrist flat (no bowing or cupping of the wrist).  And practice your 90 degree wrist hinge for lag in your back-swing.   CLICK HERE  TO Practice and play with GOLFSTR+  for more POWER & CONSISTENT HITS.

Next Week’s Swing Tip:       Halleluiah Moment!   Don’t Freeze up in the Back-Swing

Why is Tiger Woods back on top of the Race for the FedExCup?  Answer: He works on every aspect that will make him successful: Strategically, Physically and Mentally.

If you are weak in one of these areas you will never reach your goals to improve in this wonderful game.  Why frustrate yourself?  Take inventory of what you are missing and make it happen.  The following points recognize the value of the mental game, core strength, flexibility and balance that you can gain from Yoga  (CLICK reference for the full article: Yoga for Golfers) .

YES, IT CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON YOU GAME!

• Perhaps no game is more wrought with mental hazards than golf. The sport introduces a constant struggle between the conscious mind — analyzing, alert, logical — and the subconscious mind — the well of intuition and long-term memory.

• This clash between subconscious and conscious mind presents an opportunity for the awakened athlete to override the mental strife created by the over analyzing conscious mind and reach toward the wakeful, clear mind state accessible through the intuitive subconscious.

• By incorporating elements of yoga practice, you can develop the mental discipline that golf demands.

• All the instruction in the world won’t help you if you allow stress to seep into your game.

• “in the zone“—a state athletes reach where thought is suspended and focus & concentration are heightened. Many golfers invariably bring in the element of performance pressure and wham!—the zone disappears.

Inspiration for Tiger and all golfers.

• Avoid negative self-talk: In his book, Training a Tiger: A Father’s Guide to Raising a Winner in Golf and Life (HarperCollins, 1998), Earl Woods, reminds his son, “If you don’t clutter your conscious mind with endless pointers and tips, you make it easier for your subconscious instincts to guide you.”

• Striving toward symmetry and balance is the essence of a yoga program, which breaks down tension the body has learned to work around. It is an intuitive process that takes practice to develop, much like a good golf game.

• A balanced body is a flexible body, and flexibility remains the cornerstone of a good golf game. As Earl Woods tells his son, “What you’re looking for is a soft, flexible, fluid swing—that’s power.”

Practice with GOFLSTR+ to ingrain success in your mind.  Relax and allow muscle memory and your subconscious mind to give you the confidence to improve every swing in your game.

CLICK FOR:  5 Training Aids in 1 wonderful device!

Watch for next weeks Swing Tip:   GET A GREAT GRIP AND ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS

Relax Like a Boss: This site give you access to blogs that relax your mind.  Yoga gives you mind control, mindfulness, flexibility and strength throughout your body.

Golfers need a change of pace to find peace of mind when they enjoy this wonderful game.  CLICK   to check this out:  YOGA BLOCKS AND GREAT MIND GAMES

We are excited to announce that Mike Calbot www.GolfDoctorUSA.com, a Professional Golf Swing Analyst and Master Instructor at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club,  (a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course) in Naples, Florida is working with us to expand the use of GOLFSTR.  In the following ad Mike is quoted as saying, ” I’ve added GOLFSTR+ in my training program and recommend it to help in so many ways.”  

We now promote GOLFSTR as 5 Training Aids in 1.  It helps you train for EVERY SWING IN YOUR GAME.

We are now re-launching GOLFSTR under the new name of GOLFSTR+.   This half page ad has been released for publication in Golf Tips Magazine and Golf Magazine for a combined circulation of  2 Million subscribers.

Straight Elbow and Straight Wrist for Straight Shots

Mike Calbot’s experience, while instructing with GOLFSTR, woke us up to make changes and offer new applications for this successful Golf  Training Aid.

1.  A Black Rubber EXTENDER has been added to provide 3 options for the pressure on the back of your arm when learning the Straight Elbow Back-Swing.

2.  Mike had previously developed a strap-on Wrist Lock to prevent cupping of the wrist when putting and chipping.  He felt that we could apply the same principle to GOLFSTR.  He recommended that we reverse the direction of GOLFSTR and snug it on the wrist over your golf glove to lock your wrist.  We also found it useful in the back-swing as a guide to prevent cupping and bowing on the wrist in the back-swing.

We also developed a 5th application by reversing the arm band and using the plastic plate to work as a stopping point for your wrist hinge in the back-swing.  We call this application the Back-Swing Lag Trainer.

Place your orders now as we expect to be short of stock this Fall.   CLICK TO check out GOLFSTR+ User Guide on our website.

Hope you enjoyed this release and please pass it along to your friends.

Inbee Park won the LPGA US Open, her third straight major this year.  She isn’t tall or strong.  Her drives are not long or the most accurate but she leads in Putts Per Greens Hit in Regulation.  Strange, Tiger and Matt Kucher were also winning when their putting stats improved too.

Her confidence under pressure and choosing the right line are so important but writers for GLOBAL GOLF POST saw more:  “She keeps her putting mechanics simple: low left hand, head still, her hands ahead of the ball through impact.  Every putt is struck with the same rhythm, so effortless that she reminds you of the swaying arm of a grandfather clock.”  TICK – TOCK

Putt with a locked wrist for a square impact and straight follow through.

Most golfers putt with a conventional grip placing the left hand high.  Inbee’s success is with hitting directly on the intended line and a square putter face at impact.  Light bulbs flashing on!!!  Grip the club any way that works for you.   It’s only the square impact down the intended line that counts.

While practice putting with a locked wrist using GOLFSTR+, I discovered that I no longer “slice” my putts.  Taking any wrist motion out of the putt and finishing along the intended line is so critical.  [By the way, I won a match yesterday on the 18^th hole with a critical right to left downhill putt.  It was a pressure putt and I know that my practice with GOLFSTR+ paid off.]

BEWARE: Golf Liability (found in The New York Times)

Don’t be an to hit when golfers are in-front of you especially when you are impatiently waiting for golfers to clear the green and surrounding area on a Par 3 Hole.  If you hit somebody and injure them — you are  going to be found liable by a court.

Image from The New York Times warning about your liability if you hit before they clear out ahead.

“The golfer is responsible for making sure that other golfers are out of the way before they hit,” said Robert Lang, a New York-based lawyer who has handled dozens of golf-related cases. “Yes, it’s true they aren’t responsible for hitting someone one or two holes away because they slice a ball, but if you’re on the tee and someone is near the green of the hole you are aiming at and you hit that person, you’re liable.”

In other words, multiple courts have ruled that golfers aren’t accountable for errant shots, but hitting someone in your intended line of fire is not an accident.

Like this article and spread the word that GOLFSTR is 5 Golf Training Aids in 1.         5-in-1

Our customers invented 4 more ways to use GOLFSTR.    MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK!    Why didn’t I think of that?   Now you get 5 training aids for the price of 1.  We call it GOLFSTR+

Now you can purchase a wonderful Arm Training Aid for every swing in your game: Driving, Fairway Shots, Pitching, Chipping and Putting. It helps you control bent elbow, wrist lag, wrist cupping/bowing in the back-swing, yips in your putt and cupping in your sand, chip and pitch shots.

It really is the complete GOLF SWING Arm Trainer. CLICK FOR Video of the 5 Uses for GOLFSTR+

#1 USE: Straight Elbow Swing: Some of our customers asked about a more intense pressure on the back of the arm. We decided to give you 3 options by adding a rubber EXTENDER with 3 ways to use it: OFF, UP or DOWN.  All future orders will include the EXTENDER at no extra charge for a limited time.  If you want to purchase an EXTENDER it will soon be listed on the Store Page www.golfstr.com for $ZERO + $10 S&H.

#2, #3, #4 USE: Putting, Chipping and Back-swing: Snug it over your golf glove with the curved end running over your knuckles.  GOLFSTR prevents your wrist from bending forward.

#5 USE: Lag Trainer: Reverse the arm band and mount the plastic plate curved up on the back of the thumb on your gloved hand. WARNING If you don’t have an EXTENDER you should ONLY use this application when wearing a golf glove on your leading hand (on the Left Hand when using Right Handed golf clubs). Feeling GOLFSTR  on the back of your thumb helps you learn to hold your lag in the back-swing for more power and distance in your hits.

For Every Swing in Your Game

GOLFSTR+ is still available on this site at $29.99 and will increase to $39.99 this summer.

Buy it now at    www.GOLFSTR.com

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Chipping close to the pin can save you 1 or 2 shots per hole.  What are you waiting for?  Recreational players often hinge their wrist in the back swing or follow through with an early release cupping the ball.  Often this leads to fat shots leaving it short or thin hits sculling across the green. 

One of the instructors at the Jim McLean Golf School in Doral, Florida recently sent out a great tip to improve CHIPPING.  He called it the Pen Drill. [ Looks like he’s trying to copy the latest release for GOLFSTR. ]

The instructor suggested placing a pen under your watch band on your leading hand to prevent your wrist from bending forward at impact.  Even better, place GOLFSTR  on your wrist over your golf glove for a more rigid control than a skinny pen.

Practice using GOLFSTR: Learn to keep your Wrist Flat when chipping

Close-up view of GOLFSTR locking the wrist when chipping

 The primary use for GOLFSTR  is a training aid on your elbow to keep your leading arm straight in the back-swing.  Fortunately there are 3 more uses for GOLFSTR when you snug it on over your golf glove with the end curling over your knuckles.  Forget the Pen Drill.  GOLFSTR  holds your wrist rigid for putting, chipping, pitching and in the back-swing (to avoid cupping and bowing your wrist).

Practice with GOLFSTR  for the perfect chip.  For shorter chips just open your stance with your feet inches apart and pressure on your leading foot.  Practice the pendulum swing (like a putting stroke) to get the feel for the distance.   Practice with different clubs to see how far they will hit (in the air plus roll) with different amounts of back-swing. 

Your chip swing should always be the same height in the back swing as you swing in the follow through.  Swing the club head directly along the line of your target landing location.   The swing is short so you can almost feel like you are tossing it at the target.

Use GOLFSTR  to master chipping and then use the same motion with more back swing and lower loft clubs for short pitch shots.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

1/ Check www.golfstr.com for more training aid uses for GOLFSTR.   GOLFSTR+  will be announced shortly with 5 training aid uses for every swing in your game.

2/ I just signed a pledge to help SPEED UP THE PACE OF PLAY.   USGA ads just started to run using Rodney Dangerfield’s famous line from CADDYSHACK prompting his playing partner to get moving “While we’re young”.  (We are growing old just waiting for the hit.)   Get with the program and speed up play!  Click to sign-up on the USGA PACE OF PLAY WEBSITE. 

3/ Please LIKE this Swing Tip to share it with your friends!

When the putting stats for Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar hit the top 10, they win tournaments.   If putting success is so important and they are the best putters in the world we should all try to understand why.  Both Tiger and Kuchar lock their wrists and swing with the rotation of their shoulders and spine but Kuchar is unique.

Kuchar recently started to win by setting up with a longer than normal putter which he lines up with his leading forearm.   (It’s not locked into his  belly but you may see more belly putters cut down to the size of Matt’s now that they are being  banned from tournament play.)

He shifts his body and weight to his left foot and lines up the ball forward in his stance to allow the putter grip to lean directly up his left arm.  His elbows are bent and tucked into his sides.  His feet are wider than his normal relaxed stance.  Like Tiger, he sets up with his shaft leaning slightly ahead of the ball (forward press).

The lineup of his leading arm and putter never breaks.  His knees are locked like a statue so that his only motion is caused by his spine rotation as he rocks his shoulders in a pendulum swing. 

He swings in an arc. Open in the back swing and closed at the finish, exactly the same way Tiger does it.

You can duplicate this swing with your conventional putter!

1/ Practice with GOLFSTR  by wearing it over your golf glove (on your leading wrist) to get the feel for putting with a locked wrist.  Take the same posture as Kuchar and gain confidence as you sink more putts.

2/ To lock your hands together, point the first finger on your leading hand over the knuckles of your right hand.   [This takes the small twitching muscles out of your putt and eliminates the yips.]

Lock your hands by extending your first finger over the knuckles of your lower hand.

You can forget about the benefits of long putters as long as you lock your wrists & hands and use your spine & shoulders to swing the putter.  GOLFSTR  is a great training solution to help your get there.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  GOLFSTR  is a training aid for the straight arm swing as well as the straight wrist putt, chip, pitch and back-swing.  Check out www.golfstr.com for the latest updates.  4-in-1 Arm Trainer.

Please LIKE this Swing Tip to help others enjoy it.

Now that the US Golf Association and the R&A have killed the anchored putter, GOLFSTR has the solution!  Take the small twitching arm and wrist muscles out of the swing.  Lock your wrist during the putting stroke. Tiger did it.  Why don’t you?

Tiger is the best putter in the world.  Why not copy success.  Instead of anchoring his putter to his chest or belly he just eliminates all motion in the arms and wrists.  He simply uses his spine to rotate his shoulders and keeps his arms and wrist in a relaxed and locked triangular position.

•   Take a stance with the forward foot flared about 20 degrees, rear foot is perpendicular to his hitting line.

•  Practice with GOLFSTR mounted over your gloved hand with the curved end over your knuckles to lock your wrist in line with your forearm.  Tiger uses this straight wrist position to keep his hands slightly ahead of the ball.  His shaft angle is at 5 degrees ahead of the ball and directly in line with his wrist and forearm.  NOTE: The GOLF CHANNEL recently showed a slow motion comparison of Tiger and Rory McIlroy.  Rory starts with about a 10 degree angle, bends his wrist in the back swing to create up to a 20 degree angle bend at impact and he can’t sink a putt to save his life.

• Rock your shoulders/spine to swing your putter to practice your locked arm swing and get the feel for the right distance

•  Change the distance of the expected putt by increasing or decreasing  the length of your pendulum swing. 

• When you feel that you have the right amount of swing, step up to the ball

• Choose your perfect line 

•  Keeping your eyes focused directly on the spot where the ball is at rest, repeat the same swing as your last practice swing, pause and look up to see if you picked the right line.  Learn from any break for the next putt.

• Practice using GOLFSTR and you’ll sink ’em like Tiger in no time.

One More Tip: Mike Calbot, our technical adviser at Old Corkscrew Golf Club (Jack Nicklaus Signature Course), Ft Myers, FL locks his hands together by pointing the first finger of the gloved hand over the fingers of the lower hand.  It really works!  Practice helps too!

Please LIKE this page and pass this tip to your friends.  Thank you for promoting this website.  In the last 7 days we  increased our Facebook LIKES from 65 to 157.  Check it out, see why:  https://www.facebook.com/golfstr1

[Why is it that we enjoy seeing the female form of the STRAIGHT ARM SWING?]

In recent PGA Tournaments the pros averaged 53% to 73% hitting Greens in Regulation.  Recreational golfers average well below 40% for GIR.  Chipping close to the pin and finishing the hole with one putt is critical for the weekend warriors to make par.    You really should spend more time pitching, chipping and putting if you want to get your score down.

Mike Calbot, Golf Doctor USA, developed a product called Wrist Lock to help golfers practice short range shots with a flat wrist.  When GOLFSTR  was presented to him as a training aid to keep the leading arm straight in the back swing, he immediately recommended it for use on the back of the leading wrist (or golf gloved hand).  Locking the wrist flat is so critical for consistent short range shots.  [Not very flattering but that’s Mike demonstrating with GOLFSTR on his wrist.]

Golf Tips Magazine and Revolution Golf Blog both provided recent articles covering the following points for chipping close to the hole.

1/ Take a narrow, open stance: Heels are 2 to 6 inches apart and the leading foot is moved a few inches back from the direction of the hitting line.  This give you room to swing along the target line (without bending your wrist)

2/ Weight is on the leading foot:  Shift forward so that 70% of your weight is on your leading foot to ensure that you impact with the ball before your club gets caught in the grass.

3/ Ball Back in your Stance:  Having the ball lined up with your rear heel forces you to sweep down and through the ball to finish straight up the hitting line.   Let the loft of the club do the lifting.

4/ Flat Wrist: Keeping a flat wrist prevents scooping the ball and flipping it off line.  Low back swing and low follow-through will allow you to get crisp shots at the pin.

Direction and distance are critical for this shot.   Knowing the right club to choose for the density of the grass and the distance to the pin can only be learned with practice.  You need to feel the shot and know what the loft of each club will do for you.

I thought that this series of shots from Golf Tips Magazine is a great chipping illustration.

If you enjoyed this Golf Tip, please LIKE it and spread the word.

GOLFSTR is designed to remind you to keep your leading arm straight in the back-swing and through impact for more power and consistent hits.  Best of all you can wear it while you play 18 holes as a constant reminder and watch your game improve.

Thanks to the comments from many of our customers and also from Mike Calbot, Professional Golf Swing Analyst, Master Instructor and famous golf trick shot artist at the Old Cork Screw Golf Club (a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course) in Ft. Myers, Florida we have discovered 3 more Training Aid Solutions for GOLFSTR.

GOLFSTR has 3 New Training Aid Features when mounted on your wrist and over your knuckles.

Each of these Training Aid Solutions use GOLFSTR mounted on the wrist over your golf glove with the curved end over your knuckles.  (Applies to GOLFSTR with a One Size Fits All arm band)

#2:  Flat Wrist Putting Solution:  Hinging your wrist in the putting stroke causes inconsistent control of the ball.  For consistent, straight putting strokes you need to lock your leading wrist and let your shoulders and spine rotation create the swing. 

#3:   Flat Wrist Swing Solution:  A cupped or bowed wrist on the gloved hand at the top of the back-swing causes inconsistent hits.   For straight shots with controlled trajectory your gloved hand should remain in-line with your arm.  A flat wrist keeps your club face square to the arc of the swing plane. This makes it easier to square the club face at impact for more consistent straight hits.  [The Flat Wrist Swing Solution uses GOLFSTR as a training guide and should only be used when wearing a golf glove and is intended for limited swings to recognize if you have this fatal problem.]

#4:  Chipping Solution: Cupping the leading wrist and scooping the ball at the point of impact creates mishits.  For chip shots your leading wrist should bow slightly at the point of impact and never cup to allow the head of your club to flip ahead of your leading arm.  GOLFSTR prevents you from cupping your wrist and give you more control and distance in your chips.

GOLFSTR sounds like Golf-Stir and it stands for GOLF STRaight.                                          Straight Arm = Straight Shot

Please LIKE this article to share it with your friends and spread the word about GOLFSTR.   We hope to hear about your success with these new Training Aid Solutions.