Archive for the ‘Improve your golf swing’ Category

Ernie Els Swing

Ernie Els is one of the greatest ball strikers in the game – his seemingly effortless and beautifully rhythmic swing disguising serious power and great compression of the golf ball at impact.
It’s one of the many reasons why his iron shots fly so pure, straight, and far!

There is much in Ernie’s swing that every golfer can learn from, such as the way his arms are fully extended as he swings the clubhead into and through the ball. This helps him carry good speed into the ball and deliver that all-important descending blow.

To emulate Ernie’s positive move through impact, visualize your right arm extending fully toward the target and the clubhead traveling low to the ground after the ball. This will encourage you to swing freely through the ball and extend your arms like Ernie does.

* The right arm should be fully extended at impact.

* Keep the clubhead in line with the target through the shot.

* The legs provide a solid platform for the powerful unwinding of the body and a free swing of the arms.

A pulled iron shot is a nuisance, mainly because when you pull one you tend to repeat the mistake, much as you do when you start shanking. Of course the pull doesn’t look too bad, as it does not hook or slice, and it feels firm coming off the clubhead, but it ends up 25 to 30 yards to the left of the green.

There are 3 common causes for pulling an iron:

1. Hitting the ball with an outside-in swing.

2. Closing the clubface somewhere during the swing.

3. Starting with the ball too far forward in the stance.

The first thing to do is check your stance. Every iron shot should be hit off the left heel, but no further forward than that. Now concentrate on taking the clubhead back in a straight line and bringing it onto the ball on that same straight line.

Finally, make sure that the follow-through throws the clubhead out towards the hole and that you finish with your hands high. A proper follow-through like this makes it almost impossible to pull the ball.

As odd as it sounds, you have to hit the ball with a downward descent from the club in order to send ball forward and up into the air. This is true for every club in your bag, besides the driver and your putter,

Beginner golfers tend to miss this important factor when learning to swing their clubs properly.  It is easy to reason that you should hit the ball upwards in order to send it flying into the air, but quite the opposite is true. 

By hitting the ball with a descending blow, this enables the clubhead to hit the ball into the air because of the club’s built-in loft. When you make the mistake of hitting “up” on the ball,  as most new players do, it only ends with missed hits and lack of distance

To get a better understanding, watch a good player swing his or her club the next time you are on the golf course.

Many golfers think that over-swinging automatically creates more power, that there is a direct ratio between the size of the swing and the power it generates. But this thinking is wrong.  You get maximum power only by swinging within the confines of your feet. There are two basic rules governing this:

1. You do not want to let your weight to be on the outside of your right foot during the backswing.

2. You do not want your weight on the outside of your left foot until after you make contact with the ball.

Here is how you should work with your knees, ankles, and feet during a swing:

Start with your weight evenly distributed on the balls of your feet. As you shift your weight to the inside of your right foot on the backswing, roll the left foot in. The knee turns in naturally, but the right knee remains fairly stationary.

Now, as you come into the ball, your right knee should turn and your weight should move off the ball of the right foot and onto your left. Meanwhile, the right knee is moving straight at the hole. After impact the weight moves farther, until it is on the outside of the left foot. Eventually your weight will be far off to the left and your right heel off the ground.

The golf swing is nothing more than a series of unnatural turns and twists that, when properly executed, produces a fluid-like athletic movement that sends to ball into the desired location. So it should go without saying that to get better at your golf swing means making every attempt to make it more natural.

Let’s discuss what I like to call the “stiff arm” problem.

It seems that most golfers come in one of two groups: Either you position your elbows at address so they are pressed towards one another tightly, or you twist your arms so much that they are coiled and the elbows are both pointed at your belt buckle.

Either positioning is rigid placement, which may work for a professional golfer, but most players that attempt this will just waste time with a poor shot due to having too much tension.

Now what I like to do is to let my arms remain loose when at address. This helps them feel as natural as possible. It may be a bit awkward for you to start your swing off like this in the beginning, but a regular practice routine will eventually make it a habit:

1. Start by relaxing the shoulders.

2. Drop the arms to your sides so that they are “hanging” naturally.

3. Now just simply reach out and grab your club.

Every golf player loves the feeling of hitting the ball with everything they’ve got, coming from a smooth and graceful swing, and giving all their power in order to send the ball skyrocketing down the fairway.

There is no better feeling!

That is all well and good, so long as your power shots are done with enough accuracy. In order to achieve having the right strength and precision, the key is to make contact with the ball on a consistent basis, and every time you swing.

For this to happen you must:

1. Learn to make contact with the ball on the club head’s sweet spot. The sweet spot, as it’s called in golf, is a small central area on the face. Hitting the ball even just a half an inch from the sweet spot will reduce power and lessen accuracy.

2. Hit the ball so that the club face makes contact in a perfectly square matter. In other words, perpendicular to the ball’s target path.

3. Swing your club in a certain way so that when the ball has been hit by the club head, the club head is moving in the direction which is directly down the intended ball flight path.

Do you want to know a common trademark of golfers who have the knack for sending the ball flying with phenomenal distance? It’s the turning of the hips to the left during the downswing, while at the same time extending the right arm through the swing.

Here is a quick drill that can help you accomplish this:

1. Start by teeing up the drive in your normal stance.

2. Now set the ball down off of your left heel (and/or opposite of the left armpit).

3. Without moving your stance, reach down and slide the ball towards your target at approximately the same distance of the grip.

4. Tee up your ball at that very spot, which should be 10 to 12 inches closer to the hole. Your address for the ball should be back where your normal position was at.

5. Now to finally hit the ball you will have to move the hips to the left so your arms will be able to “reach” the ball. This will invariably cause your right arm to extend.

This drill should be practiced at least 30 times before hitting the ball in its normal position. By that time you should have made significant improvement in your distance.

Over the past few months I have found myself being impatient in business. This has also transferred itself onto the golf course. Anxious to see where were the ball has gone my head is moving.

As I consider this I’m reminded of a quote I often consider in business about the importance of being patient:

“Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.” – Brian Adams

The same is true in golf. Patience will lead to success. When it comes to the swing, keeping your head still is one of the most basic and fundamental requirements. Keep the head still until the end of your swing and you will reap fine rewards.

When a golfer has a head that wobbles, sways, or dips, it is more likely to cause him to hit “behind” the ball. And if the head is swaying more towards the target, then topping the ball is usually the result.

It is not always easy to spot this so the next time you are playing a round ask your partner to look closely at your head. If there are any movements then have him or her point out the details so that you can work on keeping your head position still. You will be pleasantly surprised at the results!

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