The Three Most Important Factors When Perfecting Your Golf Swing

There are prior factors and there are post factors in a golf swing. Let me call upon a scientific formula to help explain this order of importance that I am discussing. The formula reads as follows:Ultimate results depend on post factor efficiency.These seven words succinctly describe the artistry of a golf swing; there are things to do, but there is a certain time to do them.First the golfer must handle his weight; but shifting the weight from one foot to the other does nothing of itself, it only places the player in a position where he can use and utilize his body correctly.Secondly, only when the golfer has the basic or prior footwork so that he is in a position to use his body to swing the club, are the hands free to exert over the club the proper sense of position and control, and the ability to apply the club correctly to the ball. In other words, a golf shot only flies as the club makes it fly, and how the ball flies is a direct result of the club position. The club position is a direct result of what the hands are doing, and what the hands are doing is the post factor that determines ultimate efficiency.No wonder so much time and effort is concentrated on the correct grip in golf.I have often said that a runner runs with his feet, but a golfer golfs with his hands. Of course, for the runner to get his feet in action, there is a lot of arm and shoulder work, and for a golfer to get his hands working, there is a lot of footwork and body action.To repeat, there are three basic factors in golf:Footwork, for balanceBody action, for powerHand action, for club controlBut to these three factors there is an order of importance, a delicate sense of timing that so many golfers miss. They fail to get the knack of properly coordinating these three factors into a working arrangement.As there is a certain order of importance, so likewise there is a certain order of performance in these three basic operations of a golf swing. In other words, in the properly executed golf shot the player moves smoothly from one operation to the other, but all operations function collectively towards the final goal of applying the club to the ball. So there is in the golf shot an order of importance and an order of performance which precludes any such thing as a one-piece swing. Be prepared to reach your ultimate goal of a smooth, flowing performance through a natural step-by-step procedure rather than through any short cut.The other comment I wish to make is that if there is error in the performance of any operation in the swing, then such an error would multiply and increase as it would be carried on into the next operation. So there must be sure performance in the execution of each of the three factors.

The Essentials Of Golf

At the core of golf there is competition. Yet the most essential part of golf is patience. Patient competition seems like a contradiction. Yet golf is not contradictory at all. On the other hand it has been said one person can find golf relaxing, while another individual might think it the most stressful sport in the universe. Professional golfers tend to be graceful. It is as if they are very aware of how the muscles in their body propel them forward. Languid strides and flexibility are words that come to mind when imagining the professional golfer at work. Some people link golf to sports like bowling or billards. Not particularly something you want to watch unless you understand the game fully and know the participants well enough to be cheering one or more toward the grand first prize. Serious golf fans are loyal and just as radical (in a subdued manner) as any professional football fan can be. As a spectator sport golf ranks high on the television ratings. It is highly unlikely anyone has seen the World Cup void of fans on any given year. The collective silences and cheers of golf fans exude a respect for the game. That respect is the attention grabber. As with any sport, the interest of the young people is a natural part of survival. Without future golf players there is no future to golf. Since golf has been around for arguably five centuries it is not a concern that the sport will ever die away completely or vanish like a lost civilization. Fresh new blood keeps the arterial channels flowing more freely though. The diversity of golf is found most obviously in the participants of golf. Any level of physically fit persons can choose golf as a sport. It is known to be beneficial exercise. When golf becomes a set part of your scheduled regimen it is very likely extra pounds will come off. Any societal level of persons can play golf. It is nit the game of the rich and famous, on the contrary there are many affordable public golf courses emerging. Whether you are male, female, young or mature golf is a game of competitive spirit. We mustn’t forget it is a patient competitive spirit. Not only are you competing against other golfers you are also being constantly challenged by difficult golfing courses. A public or private golf course has its fair share of challenging factors on the fairways, in the sand traps and across the rolling hills. The most appealing challenge for most golfers is the challenge of improving your game. You might have seen the cartoons where the golfer has a club wrapped around a tree limb in frustration or yet another where it appears Zen golf might be a new fad. Either account can be considered a fair account when you are talking about a sport with diversity, versatility and class. If you have never golfed in your life, think about it the next time you have some free time. You might be surprised how much fun golf can essentially be.

Power Ball Long Drive Swing Golf

If you want to increase your power and accuracy, there are tools out there that can help you. Practice makes perfect, and adding a little extra weight to your practice can produce some results. This is where the Power Ball Long Drive swing trainer comes in.
The Power Ball Long Drive swing trainer by Power Ball Sports is a tool that helps you strengthen your swing, increase your accuracy, and hit farther.
The Power Ball looks like oversized 5-ounce golf ball. It's made of rubber, and although it looks like a golf ball, it isn't. They just picked that design because it looks good! It has a little 1 1/4 inch opening that allows it to slide onto your club. You slide it over the grip and down the shaft of your club, and it provides extra weight. It sits right on top of the metal hozzle.
The Power Ball has two purposes: One, it adds weight to your club and strengthens the muslces you use to make your golf swing. This will help you hit the ball harder and more easily. Second, it serves as a swing trainer. You can practice getting the ball where you want it with all the extra weight on your club.
If you practice with a heavier club, you'll end up being able to hit that ball farther, and be more accurate. Take the Power Ball out with you and practice with it, and you'll see. At first, it's heavy and ruins your swing. But, once you get used to it, you'll be able to swing recular club like a pro. The Power Ball is a weight training tool.
The Power Ball Long Drive swing trainer is PGA approved. It's used by newbies as well as pros to sharpen their swing. Weight training is a big part of what makes the pros the pros. If you practice with a little extra added weight, you'll see that ball go just where you want it, and you'll be surprised at how far you can hit it.

Can You Improve Golf Swing Speed With Training Aids

Golf swing speed is one of the key factors in hitting your drives as far as possible. Golfers of all ages and abilities are always trying to get more out of their drives…aren’t you? But what’s the most effective way to achieve higher swing speed?There are many new training aids on the market promising more distance and higher clubhead speed, but out of most of them, there are only a few that succeed. I say this, because the one limiting factor is your current physical status. If you don’t improve your golf specific strength and flexibility, you’re “dead in the water” no matter what! Training aids can only do what your body will let them!So that leaves you with a combination of the right training aid for golf swing speed improvement and a program focusing on core strength and flexibility to get you to move that club faster and in control through impact. Does that make sense to you?Just picture it! You are not in very good shape and you step up to the tee with the intention to kill it! What usually happens? Do you get that distance on the shot you hoped for? Did you keep it in the short grass or did you blow it in the woods?Golf swing speed means nothing if your swing is out of control, and some of these new training aids don’t mention this. All they focus on in their advertisements is faster and faster swings. Excuse me if I’m not correct, but ball-to-clubface contact is one of the key factors in maximizing distance. If you have a heel or toe shoe, doesn’t matter if you’re swinging at 140 mph, the ball isn’t going anywhere, or at least anywhere you want it to go!So next time you see a television commercial or read an ad in one of the golf magazines for a training aid that promises higher golf swing speed, does it talk about swing efficiency and control at the same time? If it doesn’t…move on to the next training aid.

Three important steps to lower Scores

The Three Steps

1. Play the shot you’re given, not the one you want

First, understand that you’re not Tiger, Ernie, Vijay or Retief. An honest appraisal of your situation and ability will help you decide the right shot and the club needed to play it. Forget what everyone else is doing; this is YOU. If your buddy is hitting an 8-iron from 160 yards and you need a 6, then hit the 6-iron. Ask yourself if you’d rather lower your score or stroke your ego.If you answered the former, then put yourself in the best position. You don’t need to hit an 8-iron just because everyone else is doing it.You will begin to get the prized lower scores when you start playing the BEST shot and not the one you’re aching to play. Sometimes they are the same shot; most often they are not.Play the percentages: Think about your real chance at nailing the risky low-percentage shot. Consider how many times you got into trouble by playing this shot. Imagine the strokes you can remove from your round by letting your head rule your heart and your ego.How many times have you said to yourself, “I’m going to ‘go for it’”? And how often has this added two more strokes to your hole. On a long shot, it may be best to lay-up and take the bogey, and save yourself a stroke.Try to play within yourself. Know your abilities as they stand RIGHT NOW and forget how good you’re going to be a year from now. Improved play will come if you don’t force it. The less you force, the faster it will happen.

2. Keep it simple: Process vs. Outcome

Simplify your round of golf by always focusing on process versus outcome. Never mind what you can’t control: think about what you can control. Consider your breathing, rhythm, your set-up and swing. Watch your pace between shots and visualize every shot before you attempt it. These are the processes that determine your success.You can control these things. What you CAN’T control are variables such as the weather, course condition, course layout and playing partners’ attitudes.Reflect back on all the times you focused on outcomes, like when you thought you just had to break 90. You probably didn’t. Your head was too full of what you were going to accomplish and not how you were going to accomplish it.Remind yourself that all the information you need to make the right choice about which club to choose and which shot to hit is laid out for you, if you just pay attention. Study the course design and its obstructions and you will know exactly where to go and where NOT to go. Focus on WHERE to go. And understand that the most perfect shot is the one that’s best suited to your current ability. Also remember the “fairways and greens” concept and play within those parameters – meaning ALWAYS stay on the fairways and greens. This applies to those with a 30, 15 or 5 handicap. Deep inside, you know that you can’t ‘outsmart’ the course. No one ever has, except Tiger or Jack, and then only on rare occasion.

3. Practice Your Short Game

Think about all the pros that lost a tournament when they got to the green in one or two shots but simply couldn’t get the ball in the hole from there. Everyone likes to go to the range and hit a buck of balls, and admire them fly. But many players badly neglect the short game.The next time you golf take a look at your partners and how many strokes they lose because of poor chipping, pitching and putting. Then think about how much better you could score if you did even a slightly better job – even if you can’t drive the ball as far.It’s important to spend as much or more time chipping, pitching and putting as you do driving the ball. As you know, the idea is to get the ball closer to the hole with each shot. You will do this far more efficiently by improving your short game. You will also build confidence in making tough shots, plus those easy ones that are far too often missed.The greatest players spend hours on their short game because they understand that hole after hole is lost as the shots add up on or leading up to the green.The short game is a huge weakness in many semi-pro golfers and it’s the very reason they haven’t graduated to a higher circuit. While they are busy admiring their long game, they are building strokes on the short game.

3 Simple Golf Practice Steps To An Effective Golf Game

Without constant practice, you cannot expect your golf game to get better over time. Even with the help of lessons, instructional videos and other aids that you purchase, you cannot get better without consistent and efficient practice. You need to practice consistently because with every practice session, your body goes through a series of exercises that help develop muscle memory. Also, you need to practice efficiently because it is important that you learn to pace your energy through the different kinds of exercises.Although this advice sounds simple enough, many tend to overlook it. It's tempting to go straight and tee-off as soon as you get to the golf course. Many golfers, even the pros are guilty of that too. This is simply because there are many golfers out there think that their score will improve as long as they spend enough time practicing at the practice range or even worst, on the course.This could not be further from the truth. In order to play a better game of golf, it is vital that you hold regular and disciplined practice sessions, the way that you would treat your golf game.Instead of thinking how boring practice sessions can get, do remember that it is with constant practice that you are able to develop better playing habits when you next play a round of golf. Also, it would help you to think of practice sessions as a fun part of learning and not look at is as a heavy burden or a chore .If you think practice sessions are fun, you would naturally play better and have more enjoyment in the game.

You practice sessions are generally divided into three parts. They are the:

- warming up stage

- fresh stage

- fatigued stage

In each of these stages, you will be doing different sets of activities, and when they are carried out in the right stages, they will effectively get you the results that you want and this can be seen when you are out playing golf with your friends.

The Warming Up Stage

Many people have the misconception that golf is an easy game that doesn't require any physical activities, as it only involves walking and swinging. Again, this is wrong. Even when you are swinging your golf clubs, you use your muscle groups to move and work in ways that you normally don't in your everyday routine.This means that when you play golf you can expect to have your arms, torso, and lower back muscles to work hard. This shows that it is very important for you to first go through some stretching activities for warming up. You should start from the top of your head and work down towards your feet.Remember that what you want is to get your muscles to move in full range and to achieve flexibility. Should you be unfamiliar with stretching activities, do consult your trainer or instructor at your club for some advice.

The Fresh Stage

Rightafter warming up, you could start practicing exercises that help build on a certain golfing skill which you would like to master. On the other hand you could work on parts of your game that you think needs the most work. These could include driving, chipping or putting.The aim is of course to work on your techniques and skills while you're still fresh and flexible from a good stretching exercise during the warming up stage as your body will be able to respond in a more positive manner to whatever exercise that you are practicing.Some people have the wrong idea about practice sessions. They think that golf practice means spending time on a golfing range. Why would you want to work on your driving, unless that is the area that you would most want to improve? If you think your putting needs serious practice, then by all means, work on your putting as soon as you've warmed up. (By the way, it has been noted that almost 60% of a golfer's strokes take place on the golf green. However, this is not considered by many golfers, which result in poor ineffective golfing habits).

The Fatigued Stage

Once you get a bit tired or breathless from all the earlier exercises, you can move on to other parts of your game that needs minor practice. As your body is already familiar with this facet of the game, you only need to reinforce and maintain this technique.Should you require any correction to your technique, your already stressed body will not be too pressured in trying to master a particularly difficult skill. As stated in the example above, only after you have done enough practice on your putting should you move on to the driving range reinforce and maintain your drives.Last but not least, take note of these suggestions and observations when you are practicing next.In order to get continuous and consistent improvement, do remember that a good practice to play ratio is about 2:1. This means that you have to spend twice as much time at practice as to the amount of time spent playing.On the other hand, remember to get sufficient rest in between your exercises and also in between the various stages. Even though it is considered as a work out, you should not exert yourself to the point of panting and gasping. That would not bring any good but will bring even more harm to you.Your golf game should improve as your practice sessions get more disciplined and more organised. Remember to be consistent and to note the results of all your exercises so that you can improve your golf game one stroke at a time.

By: Juzaily Ramli

How Golf Ball Spin Can Help You Beat Your Competition

Have you ever wondered what in the world can make a golf ball fly so far to the left or to the right? How do you hit those unintentional duck hooks or wicked slices? Why can you never turn or move the ball when you really want to or have to, say to hook it around a tree. Some of these problems have to do with the players swing, and some has to do with the golf ball the player is using.The golf ball of today has so much technology packed into such a little piece of equipment it's incredible and picking the right one is almost as important as having the proper irons fitted to your game. Some fitting experts believe that almost 50 % o players are playing with the wrong type of ball. One of the main characteristics in the golf ball is the amount of spin the ball is designed to attain. There are some simple guidelines to follow so you get the proper spin golf ball. Here are the three main types of spin golf balls.

Low Spin Golf Balls

The lower spinning golf balls will help to eliminate the side spin on your shots, which in turn eliminates the chances of that big slice or hook. The ball will end up flying straighter through the air at the target. The one thing to mention about these types of balls is that they may not travel as far through in the air but they make up for it when they hit the ground. Due to the minimal amount of spin produced the balls will roll further when they hit the ground and not spin back. It's because of these two characteristics that these types of balls are geared toward higher handicappers. They help them hit their shots straighter and they also run out on the fairways.

Mid Spin Golf Balls

The mid spin golf balls are basically here to fill the gap between the low and high spinning balls. They are designed to incorporate both feel and distance together. Thus they attract a huge rage of golfers and with mid handicap games. These golf balls produce a nice feel and control to them as well as allowing some good distance when needed. This will vary depending on the manufacturer as they are offered by most.

High Spin Golf Balls

The high spinning balls are designed mainly to do what the name says; produce a lot of ball spin while they are in the air. A high spinning golf ball will produce a longer carry due to the backspin that happens at impact. They will not get any run on the fairways but they have a huge advantage around the greens. It is this added spin around the greens that allows the player a little more control should they know how to use it. It will help the ball stop quicker on the greens sometimes even with backspin. These balls are mainly used by the lower handicapped players who can take advantage of the characteristics.Now that you know the different spinning golf ball types, it is important to use them to your advantage. Having the ball that is best suited to your skill level and game should give you a leg up on your playing partners or competition. Try out different balls and take notice of the amount they spin. This simple observation can make a huge difference in your game.

Golf Training - The Key To Great Golf

If you’ve watched any golf on the television you’ve no doubt heard the commentator’s mention golf training. It’s no secret that 95 percent of professional golfers are doing some for of golf training.

If there livelihood depends on their performance and they are participating in golf fitness training, why wouldn’t amateur golfers do the same?

The golf swing is one of the most physically demanding movements on the human body of all sports.

Swinging a three and a half foot long implement at upwards of 100 mph, while maintaining balance, stabilization and proper swing mechanics is very difficult.

I don’t think I have to convince you of that do I?

The “only” way to be able to accomplish this is by improving the strength AND flexibility of your golf muscles.

What’s the simplest way to do this? I can tell you not on a machine in your local gym.

Just take a look at the golf swing to realize it’s “on your feet” and bent at the waist. How could sitting in a machine help that?

It can’t! You’ve got to do as many exercises as possible on your feet, involving balance, coordination, strength and flexibility.

You don’t even have to be a golf fitness specialist to come up with some creative golf exercises on your own.

How about making your golf swing while holding a single handweight? You can’t get anymore golf-specific than that.

What about some exercise tubing (that’s inexpensive) attached to your door and make your golf swing? Another very golf-specific exercise.

You don’t need a gym membership to do any of these and many more golf exercises. Convenience of doing these exercises in your home saves time and money.

There is a lot of information (including books) showing golfers on machines in gyms. That’s not “golf-specific”, that’s “general fitness”.

If you want to improve your game quickly and easily, try doing these “in-home” golf training exercises. You won’t believe how quickly your body will respond and how you’ll be the LONGEST hitter in your foursome in no-time.

10 Quick Tips To Improve Your Golf Game

Golf is a sport that attracts such a wide audience. Unlike other sports, golf is a game that one can participate in regardless of age or limits due to physical condition. As a fellow golf professional I instruct golfers of all ages and abilities. In my experience there are many common mistakes that most golfers make. Here is a list of 10 tips that will help improve your game.

1. Grip Pressure. Grip pressure and arm tension is something that all golfers fight. On a scale of 1 to 10, feel like you’re holding the club at a level 3. Golf is hard enough to play relaxed; tighten up and you won’t have a chance.

2. Set Up. So many times students say there is a problem in their swing. 90% of the time the problem is in their set-up. This usually results in poor posture. Make sure that your back is straight to allow for proper trunk rotation.

3. Alignment. Alignment is so important. Make sure that the line of your feet is parallel to your target line. Then make sure your knees, hips and shoulders are parallel to your feet.

4. Tempo and Balance. Tempo and balance go together like peanut butter and jelly. When you have the proper tempo, you create good balance. If you can finish a swing on balance, you have a much higher chance of getting a good result than if you are falling off balance during the swing.

5. Take One Extra Club. Leave your ego at home. Take an extra club and swing it 80%. Your balance will get better and you will start hitting more solid shots.

6. Loosen Up Before The Round. Loosening up allows you to relax and get some of the bad shots out. It also allows you to get familiar with the speed of the greens. Most importantly, it loosens up your body to prevent muscular injury.

7. Make An Aggressive Swing At A Conservative Target. Follow this advice, it really works.

8. Swing The Club; Don’t Hit The Ball. Amateur golfers hit the ball. Swing the club through the ball to a picturesque finish.

9. Don’t Keep Your Head Down. Where is your head when you finish your golf swing? Keep your head up through the swing and let your body turn through to the target.

10. Spend 70% Of Your Practice Within 50 Yards Of The Pin. This is not the fun part of the game to practice but this is the fastest way to cut strokes off your game. If you have any further questions, consult your local PGA Professional.

By: Marc Spencer