Increase Golf Swing Speed Easily
August 15, 2010
Golf swing speed is an elusive term for most amateur golfers. We’ve all heard of it and know it relates somehow to longer drives, but how can we increase golf swing speed quickly and effectively?
Do you think it’s swing harder? Have you tried that approach? What happened? I can take a wild guess. The ball didn’t go anywhere! You were so tense that your golf swing speed was actually much slower.
That’s not what you want!
So how do you achieve the ever-elusive higher golf swing speed?
It starts with your engine. Your core. The center of your machine. The stronger and more flexible you get your core, the faster the arms, hands and club will come through without swinging harder. Resulting in longer and much straighter drives.
Just take a look at the main movement in the golf swing!
It’s rotational!
In ALL sports movement?what dictates the power? One guess. It’s your core. That’s why athletes spend so much time throwing weighted medicine balls, pulling weighted cables and doing tons of twisting exercises with resistance.
A Golf Fitness Coach Equals Great Golf
August 12, 2010
Golf fitness coach. Have you ever considered one?and if so, what exactly were you looking for? There are many ‘general fitness’ trainers trying to get a piece of the golf fitness and training market that seems to be rapidly gaining exposure both on the television and in print thanks to Tiger, Vijay and Annika.
But the first thing you need to consider when looking into hiring a golf fitness coach or program is the trainers experience in golf.
Yes?that is high on the list of requirements. Does he/she know golf? Do they know the biomechanics of the golf swing? How about muscle function during the golf swing?
An easy test is during the initial interview or if you’re researching it online is to either ask very golf specific swing technique questions; or take a look at the information on the website. You’ll find out real quick if this person or program can help your golf swing, game and health.
A golf fitness coach or program should incorporate strength, flexibility, endurance, body awareness, balance, stability and even a nutrition component.
Golf Tips ? Tips to Improve Your Putting
August 10, 2010
If you are seriously considering lowering your scores, then you must take your putting seriously, as roughly half the strokes you play in a round of golf are likely to be on the putting green. However good you are at driving, pitching and chipping, if your putting is not up to standard, you will never make the next level. My Dad told me the famous quote when I was probably about 12 or 13, ‘Drive for show putt for dough’, this says it all! That is why it is quite incredible that putting is not often concentrated on.
Tips for setup:
First of all I’d just like to say that there is no one correct putting grip/posture/stroke, there are wide variations, so if your technique is different, don’t worry, some of the top golfers have very different putting actions e.g. Bernhard Langer, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Watson all have very different techniques. These are basic tips that can be applied to most techniques to help improve your game.
An ideal putting stroke should strike the ball on the up, to do this the ball should be placed opposite the inside of the left heal (for a right hander), this results in the ball being hit on the up and top spin is generated.
Golf Core Exercises For More Power
August 7, 2010
Golf core exercises. You hear that phrase quite often on the television by the commentators referring to the area a lot of the touring pros focus on to improve their power output and prevent low back injuries.
Vijay Singh for example uses weighted medicine balls to work his golf core muscles throughout the whole week of the tournament. In fact his caddie is his rainier. How convenient! The best of both worlds!
But hearing the phrase golf core exercises and knowing what your core is are two different things entirely. As a fitness professional it’s easy for me to throw out that phrase often to impress would-be clients or customers to my golf fitness training products.
But that’s not the case. Understanding what your core is and how it plays a critical role in producing maximum power; injury prevention and even stability is very important. Once you know?you’ll soon realize this may be your missing link to a great game.
This area (core) starts roughly at your belly button and goes up to the bottom of your sternum. It is the engine of your body and awareness of your core affects golf the most. Think of it as the link in the chain that needs to be the strongest, not the weakest.
What Do Trees Have to Do With Golf?
August 5, 2010
On our way back from a recent round of golf, Fritz and I were discussing the way most golfers evaluate golf courses. We’ve had this discussion before, and it inevitably gets around to my heartfelt conviction that trees do not enhance the “golfing experience”.
Most golfers in North America assume that golf is not golf without tree-lined fairways. If I am not mistaken, this is a bias created by a century of golf course design compliments of a relatively small number of trend-setting designers. In Canada, Stanley Thompson was the main man. His course designs can be found across the country, and inevitably they feature lush green (soft) fairways lined with majestic trees.
Of course there are many reasons for this, both practical and esthetic. For starters, eastern North America has lots of trees, and just as important, it is impossible to replicate the sandy turf of Scotland or Ireland in other parts of the world that do not share the same climate.
Nevertheless it struck me as a bit odd when on a recent trip to Saskatchewan we found the same type of fairways in that relatively dry prairie climate as we have here in our much more humid environment in southern Ontario.
Golf Driving Tip That Will Add Yards Quickly
August 2, 2010
A golf driving tip that can make the difference between being the shortest hitter in your foursome to the longest?consistently would interest you right? Well?the tip I’m going to discuss is not what you’d think, but you need to take notice and apply it?if you want to own your foursome off the tee!
When you think of a golf driving tip I’ll bet you think of swing mechanics. Am I correct? If so, has it worked? I mean?have you added 10,20 or even 30 yards to your swing taking this approach?
If most of you are being honest you’ll say no. For those of you who have accomplished the above with that approach?congratulations. You are a small percent of the golfing community that is successful.
So if a golf driving tip pertaining to swing mechanics isn’t it?what else is left? Well?you’re looking at it if you look in a mirror. It is your physical make-up. What your body is capable of doing at this moment.
All the swing thoughts and golfing tips in the world won’t help if your body can’t physical perform them. And no matter how hard you try?you won’t be successful.
Play Golf in Bed to Improve Your Game
July 30, 2010
I am always looking for new and easier ways to play better golf. So imagine my delight when I dreamed up this way of improving my game.
I was just lying in bed one Sunday morning dozing and dreaming about playing a great round in the competition coming up that afternoon.
For no really good reason I decided that it would be fun to play a round of golf in my head. So up I got on the first tee and that’s where it happened.
As I was addressing the ball in my mind’s eye I suddenly thought “hang on a moment; how about, instead of just watching the ball fly around the golf course, I watch myself actually playing the shots!”
Let me tell you that when I first tried this I was shocked by the way that I kept losing balance as I strove to hit the ball long distances. The question that kept coming into my mind as I watched myself was: “Do I really look like that?”
It was pretty shocking to see the way I was swinging the club. Actually, I’ll rephrase that - it was shocking the way I was trying to club the ball around the course.
Perfect Golf Swing Is Within Reach
July 28, 2010
The perfect golf swing. Aren’t we all look for it? Now the educating part. The perfect golf swing is not attainable! Did that get your attention? Let me say it one more time. The perfect golf swing is not attainable! Unless?you have a higher level of strength and flexibility specific to golf.
I know you’ve probably heard this before?but the question is?did you take it to heart? Or did you just shrug your shoulders and continue on the same frustrating path to your hopeful golf improvement?
When we break down the golf swing mechanically and physically?it’s amazing to see what the body goes through when a near perfect golf swing is performed. There is an enormous amount of core strength and flexibility. Upper spine and low back strength. Then hamstring strength and flexibility. Shoulder stability from a rotation standpoint. Quad strength to maintain adequate knee flex and posture. I could go on and on.
Are you getting the picture?
To achieve a near perfect golf swing takes a physical approach. One that focuses on your current limitations and how it is affecting your golf swing. Once you realize what limitations are causing your swing faults?you’ll be well on your way to a perfect golf swing.
Golf Tips ? Finding that Winning Grip and the Cures for Grip Related Problems
July 25, 2010
The correct grip is a key fundamental component of a golfer’s game and is required to have a consistently good straight game, giving you the ability to shoot low scores with ease.
When the grip is faulty, poor shots often result along with an inconsistent and unreliable game. Therefore it is essential for your game that your grip is correct if you want to take your golf to the next level.
Firstly place the club in your left (opposite for lefthanders) hand, close your left hand around the grip as if you were shaking somebody’s hand. Your thumb should be pointing down the grip, slightly to the right of centre.
Then bring in the right hand, firstly interlock the little finger of your right hand with the forefinger of your left hand. The underside of the grip should be placed on the joints of the second and third fingers of the right hand. Your right thumb should also be pointing down the grip, while your right palm should be facing towards the target with your left hand facing away from the target.
Two V’s should be formed by the thumb and forefinger of each hand, these should both point somewhere between your right shoulder and eyes.
52 Ways To Stop Your Slice
July 23, 2010
If there’s one thing that haunts most golfers more than missing a 3-foot putt, it has to be slicing the ball off the tee. So this week I have written 2-different articles - the first being 52 Ways to Stop Your Slice and the second being If You Understand What Causes A Slice You Wouldn’t Need 52 Ways To Stop A Slice! So consider this a bonus section to Golf Improvement Weekly.
Part 1 - Fixing your slice can be a complicated task or it can be a Simple solution - the choice is up to you. Now the average person reading this will say - “Well Marc, I want the Simple Solution.” Yet, when we go to work on getting rid of your slice using these Simple Solutions, the average Golfer says - “Yeah but, what about working on an inside to out swing path, what about turning my wrist over at impact, isn’t my swing too flat, shouldn’t I work on getting my elbow down to my side to get the club in the correct position on the downswing?” Because of the Golf Instruction Experts or Guru’s that we hear from each week on Television or Magazines or Internet Chat Rooms - we assume that the solutions to simple things such as Slicing the Ball Off The Tee have to have complicated corrections and that there always has to be swing changes made to your swings.
