Archive for August, 2007

HOW TO BUILD YOUR GOLF SWING – Part 1 of 9

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

HOW TO BUILD YOUR GOLF SWING – Part 1 of 9

Chuck Evans – Executive Director of Instruction – Medicus Golf Institute

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This process is multi fold

1. Learn what YOUR neutral grip is
2. The CORRECT ball position for every club
3. The CORRECT swing shape
4. How far back YOU can take the club
5. How to play within YOUR style

You will have many options to choose from and I’ll show you how to find the ones that will work for you.  Once you have all of your “components” you won’t need to experiment any longer!
WHERE TO START – GRIP AND POSTUREWhile this may be obvious to some you would be surprised by the number of people that work on their swing without starting with their grip. There is only ONE neutral grip for any golfer! That grip is where YOUR arm hangs down from the shoulder socket and the angle of YOUR target side hand. It makes no difference whether you use an overlapping, interlocking, and ten-finger (baseball) grip. What IS critical is the angle the club lies in your hand.

To find YOUR neutral grip, first take your address position, but without a club, and let both arms hang downward from the shoulder sockets with NO TENSION. Most golfers will find that their target side arm hangs somewhere between the middle of the target side thigh to the inside of the thigh (depending on the width of stance and/or the width of the chest). As you look down at your target side hand pay attention to the angle it hangs. Some of you will see two knuckles of the hand, some will see three, and some may even see four. It doesn’t matter how many you see! Whatever the number, this is YOUR bodies way of telling you its natural tendency and that is the neutral angle for YOUR grip! When you place your target side hand on the club it should be at the same angle you just saw.

The club then runs diagonally from between the first and second joint of the index finger to just under the heel pad.  Close the fingers and then close the hand with the heel pad on top of the shaft with the thumb to the backside of the shaft. This supplies pressure from the heel pad downward and the last three fingers exert pressure upward. Then take the lifeline of the trailing hand, located between the thumb and heel pads, and place it on the thumb of the target side hand.  The lifeline against the thumb exerts the pressure here; the right forefinger should be separated, in a “triggering position“, but with no pressure. It is important to understand that the forefinger and target side thumb both be on the same side and angle of the shaft for the best support.  The trailing thumb should be on the target side of the shaft. You never want the thumbs to exert any pressure.  Finally, in order for the hands to work together, they must be parallel to each other.

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Hit That Golf Shot Low

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007

Hit That Golf Shot Low

from Jim Flick and the Golf Channel

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A significant part of being prepared to play is practicing different shots when you are out of play. By this I mean most of us have the strength to hit it over trees so we need to practice low shots to escape the trouble areas we get into. First, you want to step back and visualize the shot you would like to hit. It is amazing how many times we hit great shots from trouble because our visual commitment is so strong we react to it in a very positive way. I would like to hit this shot and pretend I am trying to keep the ball underneath the height of the clubhouse in the distance. To do this you play the ball well back in your stance, close the face slightly, make a three quarter swing, hit down on the ball, and try to turn it and make it draw. Then you can escape from trouble if you practice it and feel comfortable in executing the shot.

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Golf Tips – The Mental Game

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Golf Tips – The Mental Game

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The game of golf is a game of skill and endurance, but there is also a mental component to the game that can separate a successful round of golf from a nightmare.  The ability to clearly think through each and every shot, without becoming distracted or frustrated, is critical throughout the course of a five-hour round of golf.  Most important, you have to perform self-therapy several times per round to keep your mind clear and focused.

The first, and perhaps most important thing to remember is that each shot must stand on its own.  There is nothing you can do about the last bad shot that you hit, so do not dwell on it.  Conversely, you can’t think too many shots, or holes, ahead.  You must play with the mindset that the most important shot of your entire round is the one you are preparing to hit.

It is important not to dwell on bad shots, but you should take ownership of your mistakes.  Bad breaks can arise that are outside of your control, but you shouldn’t be upset that a ball took a bad carom off of a tree, you should accept that a good shot on your part would not have hit the tree in the first place.  You need not go through the five phases of death – anger, denial, bargaining, regret and acceptance – you should just go straight to “acceptance”, and prepare to hit your next shot.

If you do hit a bad shot, you should spend the time walking or riding to your next shot thinking about what it was that you did to hit the shot poorly.  Once you have analyzed your mistake, make a mental note of it, so you won’t make the same mistake again in the future.  Throughout the course of a round of golf, a golfer should also make mental notes of mistakes and aspects that he can work on at the practice range in between rounds of play.

Finally, remember to have fun.  A day at the golf course is a long one, there is plenty that can go wrong from the very first tee box, but stay focused on why you are there – to enjoy the day and play a game.  It is a fun game to play, and even more fun when you are playing the game well, so remember to put in the hours of practice required to improve your game.  If you have not taken the appropriate measures to prepare yourself for success, then you should lower your expectations of your performance, and play just to enjoy the day with good company.
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