Golf Swing Tips
Take advantage of golf swing instruction from top pros and drop strokes from your game. Our golf swing tips will help you hit the sweet spot and keep your game in the fairway.
Friday, May 11, 2007 Its A Right-Sided SwingWhy hitting with the left is a flawed theory Golf is simple. Check that—golf should be simple. After all, the swing is basically a takeaway and a downswing. Like when you throw a baseball—you rear back then let it go. Then why do millions of golfers have such difficulty making consistent, solid contact? In my opinion, it’s because the golf swing requires coordination of not only all moving parts, but synchronization of the two halves of your body, the left and right. |
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 How Far Is Too Far? Sometimes it just doesn’t matter if you have great posture, a perfect spine angle and even a steady head position. As long as you’re standing too far away from the ball, you’re going to have a devil of a time hitting consistent golf shots. In fact, most students I’ve taught tend to stand too far away from the ball for reasons that make sense, such as a fear of shanking the ball off the hosel or hitting a fat shot. |
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Spine Align Golf is a game of circles, right? The ball is round, the cup is round,the golf swing is somewhat round. So what’s all this business about having a straight spine angle? How does that have anything to do with making successful contact? |
Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Pro Positions: Will MacKenzieWillie Mac Attack! I often long for the days when Slammin’ Sammy Snead and Gene Sarazan played the game, a couple of great sticks with personalities just as bright as their games. Well, fortunately for golf fans, there’s a new kid on the block and he’s brought a unique backstory and stellar game (albeit with a modern flair). His name is Will MacKenzie, or “Willie Mac,” as the 2006 Reno-Tahoe victor is sometimes called. |
Friday, April 20, 2007 Sweet Spot: Jim Furyk Considering the fact that Jim Furyk is the second best-ranked player in the world and he’s in the top five on the PGA Tour in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation, there’s really no need to take apart and analyze the unorthodox movements in Furyk’s unique but effective golf swing. Instead, let’s look at the good stuff we all can learn from perhaps the most underrated major championship and 12-time winner on the PGA Tour. (By the way, he’s definitely going to win a lot more.) Here you’ll see Furyk near impact as he warms up during a crisp Los Angeles morning at the Nissan Open. |
Sunday, April 1, 2007 Turn The Chin Too often, I’ve watched golfers set up to the ball correctly with a consistent routine, good alignment and solid posture. But in the last few seconds of the setup, during the moment when the golfer takes a last look at the hole, the setup falls apart, gets cockeyed and the golfer can’t help but hit the ball any which way but straight. Sound familiar? |
Friday, March 2, 2007 Don't Confuse Fast With Long When I watch a golfer hit a 7-iron, then a driver, he or she invariably amps up the swing speed with the longer club. Surely, the clubhead of the driver moves faster because it’s longer, but it’s because of the principles of physics, not because the golfer is swinging the club with a faster tempo. |
Friday, March 2, 2007 The Release The word “release” sometimes causes confusion among high-handicappers. They know they have to release the club, but they’re not sure how or when to do it. Here’s the skinny: A proper release happens naturally when the golfer allows the clubface to square through impact as a result of the proper path and clubhead speed. It’s not a position that you can just put yourself into at impact—you have to arrive at it via the proper sequence. |
Friday, March 2, 2007 Moment Of Impact The biggest challenge for a golf student is to feel the proper mechanics. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to experience the feeling of the most important moment during the golf swing: impact. |
Friday, March 2, 2007 Fancy Footwork In any sport, the feet and legs must work together in order for the rest of the body to function properly, and golf is no exception. In a fundamentally sound swing, the feet need to roll from side-to-side to provide power and control. On the backswing, the left foot should roll to the inside, and the heel should stay on or near the ground. During the downswing, the right foot should roll to the inside before the heel gets pulled up for the finish. By maintaining contact with the ground, you’ll create leverage and be better able to swing in control. |
Friday, March 2, 2007 Posture Check Recreational golfers who constantly struggle to fix their swing problems would do well to fix their posture first. Rounding the back, flexing the knees too much and tucking the head down to see the ball are common setup faults that can lead to a poor swing. If your posture isn’t right, you’ll be forced to swing with mostly your arms and hands, creating very little shoulder turn. |
