Creating More Power In Your Swing

To maximise the power potential of your swing, your body has to work in a certain way. To generate the most amount of power, you must use something that is called levers. Levers are what create the power in the golf swing.

Your body, arms and club are all levers and used in the correct way create enormous power.

From the top of the swing. your left knee starts to move back towards the target, your weight shifts to the left, your body starts to rotate, then your right elbow starts to straighten and then your wrist starts to unhinge.

As you can see here, the sequence is going from the largest muscle to the smallest. If you use your body in the correct way, it is impossible to come over the top or hit a snap hook. These two shots are the result of the body not working properly.

The Ten Commandments of Golf

I love this! These ten commandments are taken from The Golfer's Mind, written By Dr Bob Rotella. They have been pinned to my wall since I got the book. It is how every golfer should think.
I. Play to Play Great. Don't play not to play poorly.
II. Love the challenge of the day, whatever it may be.
III. Get out of results and get into process.
IV. Know that nothing will bother or upset you on the golf course, and you will be in a great state of mind for every shot.
V. Playing with a feeling that the outcome doesn't matter is almost always preferable to caring too much.
VI. Believe fully in yourself so you can play freely.
VII. See where you want the ball to go before every shot.
VIII. Be decisive, committed and clear.
IX. Be your own best friend.
X. Love your wedge and your putter.

If you use these ten commandments, then you can't help but improve. This is by far the best book by Dr Rotella. To get your copy from Amazon,
click here.

Golf Stretches = A Better Golfswing

If your hamstrings are tight, it is going to wreak havoc on your swing. Golfers are notorious for having tight hamstrings, hips and glutes. Ooops!! These are the muscles that you want to be strong and flexible.

If these muscles are tight, then you will not be able to get into the proper positions in the swing, and as a result will have to make compensations. Not something that you want to start doing. Remember the rule of Cause and Effect? Well whatever happens has an equal and opposit reaction.

For example, if your hamstrings are tight, then your right leg will want to straighten as you coil to the top (Notice how Vijay has kept the flex in hist right knee as he has coiled to the top). If this happens, then you will have to make the necessary adjustment on the downswing. To check if your hamstrings are tight, grab a golf club in each hand and hold them three feet in front of you. This is to help you keep your balance.

With your right leg, take a step back two feet. From here, keeping your legs straight, you went to lower the upper body down as far as you can. If you can't get your upper body parallel to the ground, then you have a problem with your hamstrings. Does for both legs.

If you have tight hamstrings, then I want you to lie on the floor on your back, with one leg on the ground and the other in the air. Wrap a towel round the bottom of your foot and grab each end in your hands. Gradually straighten your leg against the towel and see how far you can go. Hold the stretch for thirty seconds and then repeat for the other side. You should do this twice for each leg and once per day if possible.

This is a great stretch and will soon have those hamstrings loose and you making a better swing in no time.

Dial in the Distance with Your Wedges

Watching Phil at The Players this week was rather special. It makes you realise how important the short game is. If you have got a good short game, then you can get away with murder. Phil's wedges definitely saved him a few shots and was instrumental in his win.

Well, if you want to realise your potential or maybe one day play on the PGA Tour, you need to be good with your wedges. So, what can you do to improve your wedge play?

First of all, you need to be able to control your distances. If you can control your distance, then you will knock it a lot closer and the closer you knock it, the higher the probability that you will make the putt. Golf is a numbers game, and to lower your score you need to know your numbers.

If you have three wedges in your bag, then you have essentially NINE distances at your disposal. If you visualise your swing as a clock, and your arms as the hour hand, then you have three positions on the clock per club.

The three postions that your arms should swing to are: 7.30, 9.00 and 10.30. If you can swing to these three positions with each wedge (pitching, sand and lob wedge) and measure the distance, you will give yourself a better chance and getting up and down more often. All three shots should be played at the same rhythm.

This is one of the quickest ways to lower your score, and is something that anyone can do regardless of athletic ability. I have played against golfers that don't hit it as far as me, but have beat me because they were better with a wedge in their hand.

The moral of the story: Better Wedge Play, Means Lower Scores.

So what you waiting for? Lets go and shoot some lower scores!!!

It Don't Mean a Thing, If You Ain't Got That Swing

Are you struggling with your distance off the tee? Then don't try and hit the ball harder.

Remember, it is a swing and not a hit and to be a swing it must have rhythm. If you improve the rhythm of the swing, then you will improve your timing, which means that everything is working together. If everything is working together, your ball striking will improve and you will find the sweetspot more often.

A drill that I like to do is to count to three. You count one on the way back, then 2 as you start your downswing and three as you reach the follow-through position. A good tool to use is something called a "metronome". These can be purchased from any music shop. They are designed to count the beats for you. With a metronome, you can adjust the tempo. Doing this, you can find your ideal tempo. Start with the tempo set at 60 beats per minute and gradually increase it by no more than 2 beats per minute until you feel that the tempo is a bit fast and then gradually slow it down until you get you optimum speed.

Two great golfers to copy for their rhythm is Vijay Singh and Ernie Els. It is silky smooth and they both hit the ball a long way.

If you ever feel that you are losing your rhythm during the round, I want you to visualise yourself swining into the follow through position. If you can get to the follow through position, then more often than not, you have made a good swing.

Think Better & You Will Score Better

There are three areas that need to be developed for you to reach your potential as a golfer. Everybody knows the first one. That is the technical aspect (the swing). More and more people are realising the benefit of the second aspect, which is fitness and lastly golfers now realise how much the

mental game

comes into play.

My shelves are full of books on the mental game of golf, but

Golf - The Mind Factor

is probably my favourite. Rather than just telling stories about great comebacks, it gives you the techniques to equip yourself on the golf course.

We have all heard that voice in your head saying "Don't hit it in the water, please don't hit it in the water" and then "Splash". What you say to yourself on the golf course can be the difference between shooting your best ever score and that dreaded "c" word that me just wont mention.

Just to show you how good the book is I will give you one of the techniques for you to go away and work on. It is all about Self Talk. Here it is:

"Many people absolutely torture themselves with their internal dialogue. Over the next couple of rounds try stepping out of the action and just listen to what's actually going on. Most of this internal dialogue has become so habitual and so unconscious that you're unaware of its presence and effect. Go out next time and just tune in to what's occurring; you may even start to smile at the abuse and torture that you're inflicting on yourself. After the round, take a pen and jot down a couple of the things that you have said to yourself out on the course. When you actually see this on paper you will see it for what it is - ridiculous. This first step is vital though, because you can't change something unless you know what it is! Have fun with this and maybe even observe the self-torture your playing partners are inflicting upon themselves."

I have tortured myself on many an occassion. I have completely revamped my thought process and now have a lot more fun on the course, and as a result, what do you know, I play better and my scores are better.

This is a tiny investment in your game, but can give you such lucrative rewards if you take that bit of time to implement these techniques. You can get your hands on a copy of

Golf - The Mind Factor

from Amazon.

Fitness Level Up, Golf Scores Down!

Put your hand up if you work on your fitness? Give yourself a patt on the back. Golf Fitness is all about tuning your body to allow it to do what you want in the golf swing. Have you ever considered your body as a 15th golf club? Why not? It is essentially a tool in your bag.

If you are in good shape, then you won't tire as much towards the end of the round, you will also be able to hit the ball longer, better and use less energy. There are PGA tour pros that don't work on their fitness, but they are becoming a rare breed. Spending 15-20 minutes a day working on your fitness is nothing compared to the benefits that you will receive. How about knocking your drive past your playing partners? Or being able to reach that par 5 in two.

There are three main components in

fitness

. You need to combine strength training, stretching and cardio. You need to strengthen and lengthen your muscles when you train. This will prevent injury and improve the range of motion. What is the point in strengthening your legs if you can't even touch your toes. Doing some cardio work e.g. running will make a round of golf feel like a walk in the park, like it should be, rather than a trek across the Himalayas.

One gentleman that has helped my game significantly is

Mike Pedersen

. He deals with golf specific training and knows everything you could possibly want to know about fitness. One of the most frustrating things I find as a teacher is pupils not being able to get into the correct positions because their body won't allow them.

Please, for your golf game's sake, invest some time and effort in your fitness. You will be glad you did. You can visit Mike Pedersen's

Perform Better Golf

site by clicking

here

.

Hit them Long and Straight!

Do You Wish You Could Hole More Putts?

How many of you actually love putting? Well, you should. It is the simplest stroke in golf and can quickly turn a bad round into a good round. Hands up everyone who has Knocked it straight right into the trees, managed to somehow get the ball to the greenside bunker, thin your bunker shot and then hole a 30 footer for par. A bit extreme I know, but we have all done it. Your putter should be your best friend. It can get you out of trouble in a hurry.

Whether it is a 15 footer for birdie, or a downhill 3 footer for par, holing a few putts is going to make a big difference to your scorecard. Lets have a look at the fundamentals of putting. For today, we will concentrate on the set up. Once we are in the correct position, it is a lot easier to promote a good stroke.

First things first. The stance should be shoulder width apart. Think of yourself as the a building. You need a strong foundation. A wider stance will also stop you from being blown about in the wind. From here, you want to bend at the waist and flex your knees until your arms hang vertically. This will allow you to use a pendulum-style method, which is one of the most consistent and easiest to repeat.

The Grip! Gripping the putter in the lifeline of your left hand will reduce the ability of the hands and wrists to takeover the stroke. It will also keep the putter face squarer throughout the stroke, reducing your misses significantly. By placing the grip in the lifeline will create a straight line between the shaft and the forearm and the putter will feel like an extension of your arm. Your right hand should be placed on the club parallel to your left with your pinky overlapping the middle finger of your left hand. The index finger of the left hand should be extended down the grip and resting on top of the fingers of your right hand.

If you follow this, then you will put yourself in a great set-up position. Once you are here, it is easy to make a good stroke. We will talk about the stroke next week. For now, get parciticing.

Golf Clubs for Beginners

One of the questions that beginning golfers always ask is - How much should I spend on a set of golf clubs? That is a hard question to answer. It really depends how serious you are about the game. If you are going to be playing and practicing a lot, then it is worthwhile spend a decent amount of money to get the best set that you can.

Even if you do want to spend a couple of thousand dollars on a new set, there is no need to. A great place to get some good clubs at a discount is

Callaway Golf Pre-owned

. You get some of the most forgiving clubs on the market, and you pay a fraction of the price for them. Most of the clubs are fairly and haven't saw that much golf. Check out the website. They have got a good selection and they are ideal not just for beginners, but for all of those that fancy a new set of clubs.

Link: Callaway Golf Pre-owned

Great Golf at Orange Lake - Orlando

Orange Lake Resort in Orlando Florida is every golfers dream. It has two excellent 18 hole courses - The Legends and The Reserve course. Then you have also got the Legends Walk, which is Floodlit (A lot of fun playing at night) and the Crane's Bend course. I did like the Lake nine before they changed it to the Cranes' Bend course, but there were quite a few golf balls hitting villas, and event worse, cars on the road on the other side of the villas (It is now a par 3 instead of a par 4).

The Legends course is great, and designed by a true legend in Arnold Palmer. My favourite hole is probably the 10th. It is a fairly wide driving hole, but the second shot is great. Water in front and bunkers at the back. The green is shallow and slopes from back to front (can be a bit scary if you are long). I haven't played the Reserve course since it was re-designed, but eagerly waiting for my trip in a few weeks time to play it. They have got two driving ranges. The new Reserve range is now floodlit with a short game area and putting green also floodlit. I am in heaven. For the fun element, they have two 18 hole Putt-Putt courses, which are a lot of fun.

The pro shops have got a good selection of clothing and the staff are very friendly. I have played golf with a couple of them over the years. The best part is when you return and they remember your name. It is a great feeling, and that is what good customer service is all about. I am counting down the days until my return to

Orange Lake

. It is such a big place and is always a great holiday. If you get a chance, definitely go and play the courses.