Not so long ago, the average set of golf clubs consisted of some woods (usually 1, 3, 5) some irons (usually 3-SW) and a putter (usually the shortest club in the bag). Of late all that has changed. The advent of rescue clubs and iron/wood hybrids mean that we are using more wood type clubs for shots from the fairway.

As technology improves and enables further distance with our driving, we tend to use long irons less – many players are actually leaving longer irons out of the bag so that they can carry more wedges of varying lofts. So, how to improve golf swing techniques to compensate?

Here, I am going to concentrate on fairway shots with rescue clubs, iron/wood hybrids, and even good old-fashioned fairway woods!

One of the most common mistakes I see, apart from players trying tohit the ball too hard,is golfers trying to help the ball into the air. Fairway woods are designed with plenty of loft and require a sweeping swing to make effective contact with the ball, you are looking to brush the ball away – making no divot.

Ball position should be just inside your left heel (for right-handers), this will encourage the required sweeping swing and allow contact to be made on the up. If the ball is too far back in your stance, you will tend to steepen your swing and, invariably, make a divot.

Now you know how to improve golf swing techniques for fairway shots, you can take this to the course – especially the range as you can hone your skills for fairway shots by hitting balls straight off the mat.

By: Jim P Martin


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A lot of people have a tendency to get on their computer and search the internet for golf lessons or tips that can lower their score in even the slightest way. A not so well known media for learning how to play golf or just learning how to improve your game is golf video instruction. It allows people that are visual to see everything as well as control what they are seeing.

One of the biggest advantages of golf video instruction is that you can pop it in your DVD player at anytime and watch the videos. You can switch around chapters or DVDs to find the thing that you want to focus on. Then whenever you have it switched to that and you are watching it happen you can pause the video or slow it down so you can get an in depth look at what you are trying to learn.

Another big thing is that a lot of people simply cannot understand something in a written down pallet they need pictures, or even better they need moving pictures. This is where golf video instruction comes into play. It allows the watcher to focus on certain things whether that means straightening out their left arm or the approach.

The possibilities of golf video instruction are endless. As they are today they can benefit any kind of player whether you are a beginner shooting well above par or a pro who just wants to shave a shot or two off of the score card.

By: Lee L Campbell

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It seems as though many golfers are unaware of the importance the hands play in the execution of the golf swing. Obviously, we know that the hands grip the golf club and attach the body to the club. But what is the importance of them during the swing?

The answer has to do with releasing of the club. Lets go back and do a quick golf biomechanics review. During the swing, from address position to follow-through, the hands are active in a passive type of manner.

Let me explain. The goal of the golf swing is to move the club on the correct swing plane to induce the intended golf shot that you want. This occurs through the bodys moving through a series of positions. These positions are found within the different phases of the golf swing.

The phases of the swing are address, take-away, backswing, transition, downswing, impact, and follow-through. During all of these movements the body is performing, the golf club is being moved upon a swing plane. The swing plane is the path upon which the golf club is to travel. Proper impact with the golf ball requires the golf clubs traveling upon the correct swing plane.

In order for the club to travel on the correct swing plane it is necessary for the clubface to open and close. Oftentimes, in golf terms the opening and closing, of the clubface is termed releasing of the club. This is where the hands become an integral part of the golf swing.

If you talk to almost any instructor, they will say that any good player has great hands. This statement refers to exactly what was described above (the releasing of the club correctly). Its obvious if you look at players such as Tiger, Phil, or Vijay.

I even remember walking the course at Doral in Miami with top-5 teaching instructor, Rick Smith. One point he continued to return to in terms of discussing the golf swing was hands. He stated more than once how any PGA Tour player has great hands. This just provides additional support for how important the hands are in terms of the golf swing.

But what does this all mean? Well, we know the hands are involved in the opening and closing of the clubface during your swing. This movement allows for the proper release of the club. As I mentioned, the hands are active in your golf swing, but in a passive manner.

Again, to open and close the clubface during the golf swing the hands move back during the backswing, hinge at the top of the backswing, return the club to square at impact, and release the club afterwards. In order for this to occur the hands must be passive!

What do I mean by passive?

You cannot force the hands to move through the golf swing and release the club. This creates tension in the golf swing, affects tempo, and, overall, results in poor shots. If you do not believe me, go to the driving range, grip a club as hard as you can, and attempt to swing. The results will be much less than optimal.

I think Dean Reinmuth, ranked by Golf Digest as a top-30 teaching pro, puts it best when speaking about the hands in the golf swing. He discusses feel as an integral part of the golf swing. He states that in order to have a successful golf swing you must be tension free.

Feeling the club move on the swing plane is an indicator of being tension free. And in order to have this feeling, your hands must be relaxed (i.e. passive).

How do you develop good hands in your golf swing?

Easier said than done. In order to develop feel in the golf swing, remove tension from your golf swing and develop great hands, you must develop three fundamentals.

Fundamental number one is an understanding of the golf swing. In order to know what the body and golf club are to do during the swing you must know the biomechanics of the golf swing. If you dont, how are you going to know what the body and club are to be doing during each phase of the golf swing?

Secondly, you must develop the mechanics of the golf swing. Your body and mind must integrate the movements of the golf swing into a repeatable movement. This occurs through proper instruction and practice of the correct golf swing mechanics.

Finally, it is necessary to develop the body. Yes, the body! Your body must have the flexibility, strength, endurance, and power to perform the golf swing correctly. If the body is inflexible, weak, and powerless, how are you going to be able to perform the mechanics of the swing correctly?

The obvious answer is: you are not! Developing great hands in your golf swing comes down to developing a basket of fundamentals within your golf swing. Understand the biomechanics of the golf swing, develop the proper mechanics within your golf swing, and develop a body to support your swing. These are the keys to developing great hands in your golf game.

By: Sean Cochran

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How do I improve my golf swing? This has got to be the number 1 question on the lips of a large percentage of amateur golfers. Well, there’s one simply way to approach it.

Golf swing improvement can only begin once you know how the golf swing works – you need to know the why as well as the what to do.

The reason for this is explained in the following example:

You have been given a golf swing tip (this might be from a friend, a pro or even have seen it in a golf swing magazine). You use this tip the next time you go out to play a round of golf.

What happens… this tip might suddenly give you a great improvement in your swing consistency, it might have you knocking the flags down and peppering the holes. You think ‘great I’ve finally susssed this game’. Does this sound familiar? If it does then I’m with you all the way as I’ve been there.

What happens next? You feel all cocky and think I’ve got this game mastered. You see a magazine with the tag line ‘Improve Golf Swing’ and you think ‘I don’t need that anymore I’ve got my swing sorted’!

Next time you go out with your friends you’re feeling all confident and are ready to rip the course up!
But this time you hit a duff shot, then another, you start really analysing every move you make, you start doing slow practice swings to see what’s happening, you start to think really hard during your proper swing… and all of sudden you’re back to were you were before that great swing tip made your sudden transformation, it’s as if that great last round had never happened. I’m with you, as it’s happened to me before.

So how do we start to resolve this, how can we stop this cycle of boom and bust and really improve our golf swing?

The answer is in the first words you read on this page ‘golf swing improvement can only begin once you know how the golf swing works – you need to know the why as well as the how’. To truly benefit from golf swing instruction you must understand the WHY and HOW as well as the WHAT to do. If you understand HOW and WHY you are making a change to your swing then you are far more likely to stick with any advice you are given because you can test it against your own logic. I simple tip gives no supporting evidence that you can draw on when things don’t go so well.

Next time you are given a golf swing tip then ask WHY you are making a change and HOW it effects your swing – that way you will know whether you should stick with it.

By: Jonathan Barrett

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The rules of golf state that you can have up to fourteen clubs in your bag.

As a beginner you really shouldn’t be thinking about anywhere near that number, (too damn heavy anyway)

Too many clubs when you’re starting out is nothing but confusing.

A much better way forward is to choose a set number of clubs where you can be clear what each clubs is really for.

The best beginner golf clubs need only consist of five clubs, say, a putter, a sand wedge, a seven iron, a seven wood and a three wood. This will get you started and get you used to the different club lengths and the different heights each club has to travel.

Golf can be a frustrating game when you’re a beginner, (it can be a frustrating game when you’re a decent player)

The club set recommended will give you a good chance of getting the ball in the fairly easily without having to concentrate on getting lift on the ball. It gives you grounding in the different flights each club gives you and helps you start to get a feel for the game of golf.

Best Golf Beginner Clubs.

OK, so you know what clubs you will start with.

That’s great, but do they fit you?

Another big mistake people make when buying their clubs (yes, me included) is to go and buy a set of clubs straight off the rack. The likelihood is that your brand new, shiny set of clubs doesn’t fit your body shape.

What happens next is that you spend the next two years adjusting your swing to suit your ill-fitting clubs. This problem is even more pronounced for women golfers, the choice of equipment is not so wide (but getting better) and women often end up with misfit clubs (or God forbid the husbands spare set) which are a sure fire way to swing defects.

The moral of the story is to always spend time in the golf shop, make the sales guy work for his money and don’t leave till you’re happy you and your clubs make a happy marriage.

By: Peter Ward

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Mastering the correct golf swing techniques is crucial to winning games on a regular basis. There are many golf swing tips claiming to teach you how to drive the ball farther. An important point to note is that many of these tips do not work in isolation. In fact some of these tips actually contradict one another!

So does this mean that all golf driving tips are just so much hot air? Of course not. You just need to know that different tips work together to form the correct golf swing technique. And there are many techniques out there. A tip which works well for one technique might just turn another driving technique into a mess. You cannot just blindly copy-cat a particular golf swing tip into your technique and expect it to work.

While there are many different golf swing techniques, all the successful techniques can be grouped into either the “one plane swing” school or the “two plane swing” school. Overall, the “two plane swing” school of driving the golf ball is more common. Its most famous exponent is probably Greg Norman.

On the other hand, you can see the “one plane swing” school in action in the drives of two of the best modern golfers in the world – Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh. Yes, indeed – the respective number one and number two golf professionals in the world today are steadily racking up their victories.

Regardless of your technique, there are two major indicators which show whether or not you have correctly mastered your golf swing: rhythm and balance. How do you know when your rhythm is correct? Well, that is like asking a musician whether or not his rhythm is correct. You need to do it. If you have to ask, then you probably do not have it yet. Having said that, once you have mastered the rhythm, you will be able to repeat the same movement consistently at the same speed all the time.

What about balance, then? For inexperienced players, you achieve the best balance by evenly distributing your weight about both feet. Unlike martial arts, you should not try to gain more power in your swing by shifting your balance around. It is far better to maintain a stable stance around which you build your swing.

A common mistake which many golfers make in their golf is to try and increase the power of their swing. It is true that you need a powerful swing to hit the ball farther, but it is even more important to first develop your accuracy. After you can get the ball going where you want, then you can improve your power. Be patient. This is the sequence of events when you do it right: increase accuracy; accuracy increased; increase power; power increased but accuracy decreased; increase accuracy at the new power level; accuracy increased at the new power level; rinse and repeat. Any other way is an exercise in frustration and hair-pulling failure.

Remember to keep up your strength training and flexibility exercises. If you achieve greater strength and a wider range of movement, it will result in your swing becoming more powerful on its own. In other words, by doing golf fitness training, you can improve your golf swing without changing your golf swing techniques. Definitely a good motivation to go to the gym regularly, yes?

By: Godfrey Swain

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The golf swing is the most complicated action in all of sports. Even the best golfers in the world can sometimes have trouble perfecting and repeating their routine over and over. With that said, it is possible to improve golf swing mechanics. Whether you are a once-per-month duffer or an aspiring professional, these small tips to improve golf swing mechanics can shave valuable strokes off of your score.

Limit your movement

Like with any other type of physical motion, a golf swing is easier to repeat if it requires less movement. The best golf swings are often the simplest ones. This means that if you want to really improve golf swing mechanics and help your game, you will have to eliminate any part of the swing that’s not helping your ball striking. For instance, some players get entirely too much movement from their head during the golf swing. Other players might need to work on their hips to improve their golf swing. If you take the time to really study your swing, you will see that there are certain movements in your routine which are taking away from both your power and consistency.

Balance

Staying balanced is a key if you want to improve golf swing mechanics. Out on the course, it is sometimes difficult to think about balance and all of the other things that go into making a successful swing. When you are in a hurry, you can find yourself rushing through your pre-shot routine and falling off of all of your shots. In order to improve your balance, you need to start at the beginning. Make sure that your stance leaves your feet just wider than shoulder-width so that you’ll have a good base to work with. From there, staying balanced throughout the swing will give you the best chance to improve golf swing mechanics.

Shoulder turn

Have you ever watched Tiger Woods or any other the other top professionals and wondered how they hit the ball so far? After all, it doesn’t even look like they are extending that much effort. The secret to their success is the fact that they have excellent shoulder rotation. One of the biggest problems for amateur golfers is that they want to swing more with their arms than with their shoulders. In order to improve golf swing mechanics, you will need to realize that your power comes not from the arms, but from your legs and from excellent shoulder rotation.

By: Allen Maxwell

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It would certainly be something to play golf like Tiger Woods does. As an amateur golfer, you usually look for ways to improve your golf game in a hurry. To do this, you usually schedule trainings with a professional golf instructor, and you also purchase different kinds of golf swing teaching aids.

Because of the popularity of the sport, many companies are now flooding the market with different kinds of golf swing teaching aids. Some may help you improve your game and some will just be some sort of gimmick than an instructional kit to improve your golf.

In order to know which are best to purchase, it is very important that you first know what your weaknesses and strengths are in the course. By knowing about it, you will be able to find out which aids you should purchase. If you skip this major factor, you might end up buying equipment that is pretty much useless and may have the potential in ruining your game.

Basically, there are two ways on how people choose their golf swing teaching aids. The first is what they can afford, and the second is buying the most popular golf instructional aid available in the market today. As an avid golfer, you have to admit that infomercials about certain teaching aids can instantly attract you into buying it. However, you have to keep in mind that just because it is expensive and also because a lot of people buy it doesnt mean that it is also the same thing that you should purchase.

Here are some aids that you may want to have and also information on why you should get them.

The first type of teaching aid is the speed radar. This radar will be able to measure the speed of your ball. These devices are inexpensive and will be able to accurately check the speed of your golf swing. This means that you will be able to improve the speed of your swings and also give you goals for yourself by making your swings consistent. Always remember that swing speed consistency is a very important part of your game.

Impact labels are also very useful golf swing instructional aid. What you need to do is stick the label in your club and when you hit the ball, it will leave a mark on the ball that will help you determine if you are hitting the ball right or not. With this, you will be able to adjust your swing and let you practice until you get consistent in hitting the perfect shots.

Believe it or not, a video camera is very helpful as well. On your practice sessions, try to record yourself when you swing. This will enable you and also your instructor to analyze your swing and determine which area of your game you should improve on.

These things are just the tip of the iceberg. There are relatively a lot more golf swing teaching aids available today that you can definitely take advantage of. Try searching for it in the internet and you will have an idea on what kind of aids are available. Always remember that you should only buy the right kinds of equipment in order for you to improve your game.

By: Sandra Maria Stammberger

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Improving your golf swing technique, even if it’s just a little tweak, can greatly improve your golf game and make the round that much more enjoyable (and profitable if you have a little game on the side). While there is no one perfect golf swing that fits everybody, however there are techniques that can make sure your getting the best out of the swing you have.

Here are a few routines that will help you get the most out of every shot.

Tip 1
Always take a practice swing or two. Use the swing to test the lie and to envision the shot you want to make. Check that your swing is coming inside out. Use this time to confirm in your mind you have the right club. There’s nothing more distracting than thinking you may have too much or too little club.

Tip 2
Once you have decided what type of shot you are going to play. Make sure you are properly aligned in your stance. For a straight shot your shoulders, hips and the toes should be parallel to the target line. The club should be square with the ball.

Tip 3
Posture is exceptionally important in delivering a controlled smooth swing. You should be bent at the hips. A straight spine is essential. That means your butt is going to stick out a bit. If you don’t feel that, you are probably bending from your back or stomach and that means your spine is curved. Make sure it’s straight.

Your chin should be up. This allows your left arm easy passage across your chest. On an iron shot, 60% of your weight should be on the lead leg and you should be leaning slightly forward of the ball.

Tip 4
Look at what you’re hitting, namely the ball. With an iron shot you want to hit down on the ball pinching it between the blade and the earth. That’s what launches the ball and gives it spin. Some people find it helpful to focus on the front of the ball which makes it easier to hit the back of the ball.

Tip 5
Think about your swing as being long, slow and smooth. Club head speed is developed in the swing arc. The bigger the arc the more speed equals the more power. Many amateurs do not get the left arm fully extended in the turn and as a result they have a smaller arc.

Always finish the shot and hold for a second.

If you make it a habit to check out these areas each time you prepare to hit a shot you will improve your golf technique. Keep your head down and hit ‘em straight.

By: Chris A Smith

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If you happen to be a beginner in the game of golf, then you may be in need or even be looking for some beginner golf swing instruction tips. You may get this with the help of a country club or golf course in your locality. You could also talk to people you are acquainted with, perhaps somebody who is either studying or working with at the community college. Maybe through them, you can find out if their school provides classes for beginner golfers. The newspaper and Internet can also be good sources to look into.

Now, for starters, there are a number of important things that you ought to be considering before you start taking your golf swing lessons. In the game of golf, the mental aspect plays a very important role. Confidence and a positive attitude will help. All the golf pros started out as beginners too, so try not to be too conscious once you have started out in the game.

To get the confidence that you will be needing, try talking to yourself positively or give yourself a quiet pep talk while you are in the process of taking your very first swing. Golf swing lessons can be quite traumatic, most especially for beginners since they tend to be concerned or worry too much about what other people who are watching them might say.

Focus and concentration are the two most important things that you need to do when playing golf. When you train yourself to always concentrate and focus, it will greatly help you with your beginner’s golf swing lessons.

And lastly, but most importantly, get a good teacher or golf instructor and prepare yourself physically and mentally. It will help you more in getting better together with your instructor’s beginner golf swing instruction tips.

By: Mike Darwin

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