Grip Pressure

photo credit: dno1967     Nothing hinders distance and accuracy more than the wrong grip pressure.   The way you hold the club has a huge impact on the outcome of each shot, putting not excluded.

The tendency for amateurs is to try  to “direct” the outcome of each shot.   By gripping the club tighter the golfer has a sense of achieving  more control over the shot (distance/accuracy), the reverse occurs.   Gripping the club tighter creates muscle tension in the arms.   The hands and arms should remain passive in a good golf swing.   Using more grip pressure encourages the arms to get more involved in swinging the club which is the root of the problem.

Grip the club only tight enough so it won't fly out of your hands and maintain this pressure throughout the swing.   Simply learn to  TRUST  your golf swing.   Don't try to control the shot.

Left Toe Out

photo credit: mandj98     For Right Handers:   The follow-through is one of the most important segments of a solid golf swing.   Many amateurs have a weak follow-through which robs them of shot  distance.   Turning your left toe out when  in  the address position will help you achieve a full finish.

When in  the address  position turn your left toe towards the target  to about 10 o'clock, doing so will result in two things:   more torque on your backswing and a full  finish with the front portion of your body nicely  facing the target.

Torque is what creates power in the golf swing.   The backswing is a coiling action which results in power generation.   When your left toe is pointed outward it creates more resistance in your backswing which results in more torque.

Grip Fundamentals

photo credit: klavr     Your grip is much more important than you may think.   Suttle changes in the way you grip the club can make a major difference in the outcome of your shots.   Changes in your grip can occur without your awareness.   The following description is meant for right handers:

Grip:   Left Hand –  the crease between your forefinger and thumb should point towards your left shoulder.   Right Hand – the crease between your forefinger and thumb should point towards your right shoulder.

Weak Grip:   tends to  promote an outside to in swing path  producing a  slice  - crease on right hand points towards chin.   Strong Grip:   tends to promote an inside to outside swing path  producing a hook – crease on left hand points towards chin, right hand points towards right shoulder.

Putting Without a Glove

photo credit: danperry.com     The majority of PGA Tour Pros do not use their glove when putting.   Prior to about 25 years ago, when this trend began, a huge portion of touring Pros wore their gloves on the green.

The theory is that putting without a glove allows for  greater sensitivity and “feel” when the ball is struck.   There have been many great putters that putted with their gloves on, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and the list goes on.   Arnold Palmer, during the peak of his career, never wore a glove when putting but for many years now he  keeps  his glove on.   Arnie is no slouch when it comes to golf as we all know.   Did he  conclude  that it's not necessary to putt without a glove on?   You decide.

Sergio Garcia

photo credit: MCHart     After the 2009 Masters tournament, Sergio Garcia had some critical remarks about the Augusta National Golf Course.   Garcia, known for his outspoken opinions, said “the course was unfair.”

The unanimous opinion among every PGA Tour player was that Augusta National has never been in better condition.   Garcia takes it upon himself to be the tour's spokesman on negativities.

In 2009, for the first time in history, Augusta National was rated the number one golf  course on GOLF DIGEST'S 100 Greatest List.   If that is the case then how can Garcia be critical of one of  our nations greatest sporting arenas?   The fact is that Sergio Garcia is a chronic complainer, especially when he's not winning.   With Garcia it comes with the territory.   Maybe  next year he shouldn't be invited back to  Augusta !

Gamesmanship

photo credit: lorenzo stupid kid AKA rockito     Gamesmanship is a  unobtrusive way of throwing your opponent off his/her game.   It is used to gain a psychological advantage when your competitor is winning.   When gamesmanship is used, it is meant to get you opponents mind off his/her game and on something else, thus, a distraction.

Tournament players do it all the time.   In the 2008 US. Open during the playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate, Woods used it to gain advantage over Mediate by playing very slow during the final few holes.   Both Woods and Mediate are known to be relatively fast players but when Woods was loosing to Mediate he decided to slow the pace of play down.   It worked, Mediate lost in the playoff and Tiger Woods went on to win.

TheSwingLoft.com

photo credit: Extra Ketchup     TheSwingLoft.com is a new and innovative way to deliver golf lessons via a computer program.   The company will soon be hosting web-sites for instructors to upload their own videos so that their students may download videos, drills and other information that an instructor has posted.

TheSwingLoft program retails for $249 and features such things as the Capture Screen, Pick Color (pick drawing tools color), Drawing Tools and Export Movie.   You can also  create I-Pod compatible files of movie clips and much  more.  

There are several learning aids which include videos of how to use drawing tools inside SwingLoft and how to export videos to an MPEG4 format.   There are many more ingenious features to this new  program.   For more information contact www.TheSwingLoft.com.

Hitting it Straight

photo credit: Playadura*     The subject that every golfer seems to be obsessed with is “distance.”   We're all  seeking ways to hit longer shots, especially off the tee.   Could it be that, through advertising hype, we have been convinced that longer is better.   I say length is secondary to accuracy.

Most golfers do play within their means with all their shots except the tee shot and that is when they “unload.”   Blasting your tee shot can lead to only one thing, missed fairways.   Question:   Would you rather be in the rough or in the middle of the fairway, even if you are 15 yards shorter than you would like to be?   Most players would love to hit every shot straight, why not just swing within your means?

Golf Balls for Women

photo credit: Fevi in Cayman     Golf  ball manufacturers  are getting very serious about making golf balls suitable for slower swing speeds.   A golfer with a slower swing speed cannot compress a regular ball enough to make it rise and stay in the air, the new women's balls are designed to launch higher than any other category, even when struck at limited clubhead speeds.

Computer generated statistics reveal that increasing the launch angel by 2 degrees – while keeping ball speed and backspin the same – results in about 5 yards more distance.   “The two ways to make a ball fly higher for a slow swing speed player are to give it a high trajectory dimple pattern and a soft compression,” so says Rock Ishii of Nike Golf.

USGA Rule 26 Water Hazards

photo credit: kevindooley     One stroke Penalty and: Rule 26-1a, play the ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played or:   Rule 26-1b, drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped or:    26-1c, with a lateral water hazard, drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the last ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard, or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole.

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