Swing Solutions

Your backswing involves your arms, hips and shoulders. You will love the distance with your new drives when you get the combination right. Many golfers have purchased GOLFSTR+ expecting that it would answer their prayers. In fact the backswing has 3 key components and GOLFSTR+ is the perfect guide to help you practice.  You need to change your old swing habits for longer and more consistent hits.

1. Take-away:  When you complete the takeaway with 2 straight arms to bring your shaft parallel to the ground, this forces your shoulders to rotate to about 70+ degrees from the target line. Shoulder rotation generates at least 25% to your distance. If you don’t have this flexibility you should be doing a gradual exercise program to allow for this stretch. Yoga is ideal but whatever you do, make the change gradually.

Sean O’Hair is demonstrating the first critical move in your backswing: Both arms straight to force the rotation of you chest 70 degrees away from the target line.

2. Straight Leading Arm: Keeping your leading arm straight through out your backswing will give you 2 benefits: A wide arc to  rotate your shoulders and hips and a consistent distance back to the ball at impact. Most professional golfer keep their leading arm straight and you should too.

3. Wrist Cock and Tucked Trailing Elbow: I received a great article from Golf-Info-Guide.com by Thomas Golf which inspired this blog today. Use your trailing hand to pull the shaft of your club into a 90 degree angle from your leading arm at the top of your swing.  Keeping your trailing elbow tucked close to your side (avoid the flying elbow), will automatically create lag on the right swing plane.

Holding this lag position to initiate the downswing is the only way to create a whipping action with your club head at the point of impact. It allows you to accelerate your club head at about 4 times faster than your arms at the bottom of your swing. You should hear a whooshing noise in your practice swing. Get it right and your distance will increase significantly (without swinging your arms any faster).

GOLFSTR+ is a great training air to help you learn Straight Arm and Lag in your backswing. Buy it TODAY on our website at www.golfstr.com

Adding lag in your backswing by opening your trailing hand FINGERS may be killing your swing. Two days after I played an amazing low round of golf, I returned with every expectation of a wonderful repeat performance. Unfortunately, the harder I tried the worst my drives, woods and hybrids got. For some reason, I was salvaging my game by hitting wonderful short iron shots. Why were the long clubs all spraying to the right and killing my game?

My flexibility, straight arm swing rotation and transition were allowing me to hit longer than I normally hit but my direction control was some how messed up.

Fortunately, after a few bad rounds of golf, I saw a swing control video by Martin Chuck (Revolution Golf Tips) where he was trying to demonstrate the importance of limiting the arm separation at the top of the back swing. His demonstration using a ball was NOT a good one because your arms must separate as the trailing elbow bends to pull the club into the lag position. When I saw this video, I realized that I was opening the grip of my trailing hand at the top of the backswing to create EXTRA LAG. This loose grip with my trailing hand was causing extra arm separation and creating TOO MUCH LAG.

A great image of Sam Snead with his trailing arm bent to his side and creating lag with both hands gripping for control. [Unfortunately I could not find the Arnold Palmer example.]

My mind was forcing a greater lag and wrist hinge in order to get more distance with each of my longer clubs.  That was a big mistake. Don’t kill the benefit of lag in your backswing by loosening your hands and losing control of your club. You need a continuous grip on your club through impact. Your trailing hand needs to drive your club head through impact to finish your swing.  You need a square club face at impact.  A weak trailing hand grip at impact will allow an open face and your ball will spray to the right.

I’m glad I sorted this little change out. Paying attention to the right grip and right swing will only reinforce your mind and your game. When you swing correctly you will have more control and lower scores. To help practice every Swing in YOUR Game check out GOLFSTR+: www.golfstr.com

Golf is a game of perfection. Jordan Spieth was almost perfect during his amazing Masters victory. We all strive for this every time we play. In reality, the game is won by the golfer who makes the fewest mistakes but we don’t like to dwell on the negative so I have listed habits that will help your game.

We play this game to get outside, to be with friends, to get some exercise and to energize our minds away from work. Every swing of a club creates a good, bad or ugly result. If you want to enjoy this game why not focus on the “good” and let’s get rid of the “ugly”.

Jordan Spieth won the Masters because he kept his head focused on each shot.  (He made fewer mistakes than the rest of the feild).

1. Arrive early. Relax Your Mind. Stretch your body. Hit some practice balls. Putt to get a feel for the green speed. Manage your food and water intake.

2. Positive Mental Attitude: Focus on each swing and what you want to achieve on each shot in your mind.

3. Duplicate your Practice Swing: For any swing you should learn from your practice swing. Make a perfect swing with a follow-through that ends in balance. Then repeat it with your golf ball.

4. Anyone can hit a second attempt: Play a round of golf where you have the option to use a second ball for every shot and use the best ball. Doing this will build confidence that you can make the shot so do it right the first time.

5. Pick a point where you want your ball to land and then choose the right club and swing to get it there.

6. Start your down swing with your hips on every shot (except your putter). Bottom out your irons after the ball. Focus on this to get your body through the swing and your belt buckle facing your target.

7. Take control after a poor shot. Don’t let your mind take over. Forget about making miracle shots. Stay in control and swing for the shot that you know you can make.

8. Consistency for the perfect swing is all that matters in golf so limit your maximum swing speed to 80% to keep your swing under control. You are not a professional golfer so make a point of watching LPGA tournaments where the ladies crush it with an effortless swing [better than most weekend warriors].

9. Challenge yourself to hit more fairways & greens in regulation. On your score card for each hole, place a dot in the upper left for fairways hit off the tee and a dot in the upper right for greens in regulation. Make it a goal to increase these numbers in every round you play. [Tracking your putts is another good way to drop your score.]  Play these personal games during every round of golf to keep your mind focused.

10. GOLF is a game of preparation and focus. Practice with a training aid like GOLFSTR+ to eliminate faults in your swing. Build muscle memory to eliminate your bent leading elbow and your cupped or bowed wrist. Limit your lag in chipping and control your lag for power, distance and consistency in your drives and fairway shots. CLICK HERE to check out GOLFSTR+.

GOLFSTR+ is the perfect solution for Tiger’s “Chip Yips”.

Successful pros hit about 14 out of 18 greens in regulation on every round. With Tiger’s attempt to hit longer drives he’s hitting fewer fairways and fewer greens in regulation. This is adding a lot of pressure on his chipping perfection. In the last 6 tournaments that Tiger entered (before the 2015 Masters) he was 33 strokes over par.

Unfortunately the more pressure you put on yourself the greater the chance you will miss-hit your chips.  Lydia Ko at 17 just tied the LPGA record at 29 rounds in a row under par.  She has no nerves.  She does not understand pressure.   The yips are definitely caused by pressure.   We have 2 suggestions for Tiger & every recreational player in the world.

1/ BUILD CONFIDENCE in your chipping two ways with  GOLFSTR+.   [GOLFSTR: sounds like Golf-Stir]

Fat chips are really blowing up Tiger’s scores in his last 6 tournaments. Don’t let chipping yips mess up your game too.

a. Limited Lag on your Trailing Wrist: GOLFSTR+ is shaped to limit your lag in your chipping backswing.  Get to the right position as you shift your body forward through impact. Take sufficient backswing to let the momentum of your club do all the work in your forward swing. [Don’t rush the downswing to avoid fat chips.]
b. Flat Leading Wrist: Place GOLFSTR+ on your leading wrist to learn to keep it straight in the follow-through. GOLFSTR+ locks your leading wrist flat. Seeing the result when you practice with GOLFSTR+ will give you more confidence when you play without it.

2/ ELIMINATE BAD THOUGHTS: Think the word “ONE” in your back swing and “Two” in your forward swing as you make your PERFECT PRACTICE SWING. Get the cadence right.  Make sure that you use enough backswing to let the momentum of your club head take your ball to your target landing point. Then step up to your ball and duplicate the exact same swing as you say “ONE, TWO” in your mind.

We are hoping that Tiger is secretly practicing with GOLFSTR+. Pay attention to Tiger’s perfect chips at the 2015 Masters this week. We hope his drives, approach shots and pitches are also on track.  Of course he should be using GOLFSTR+ to practice for Every Swing in His Game.

PGA Trainers are telling us that their students are having great success improving their chipping by training their students with GOLFSTR+. CHECK OUT all the uses for GOLFSTR+ in this quickie video 

Buy this training aid on our website today by CLICKING: www.golfstr.com

Understand the direction of your club face and swing path to control your game. Professional golfers do this and you should too. It’s that easy.

Pros like Jack Nicklaus visualize the impact, flight and landing area before each shot. Bubba Watson has never taken a lesson. He just figured out what caused the ball to rise, sink, draw or fade. He plans this for every shot that he makes. I also noticed that Michael Breed just released video lessons which focus totally on the point of impact. You need to understand what you are doing to a ball to cause it to move left or right and up or down.

Each of the following comments are described for a person hitting with right handed clubs. [I had to describe it this way as I am a left handed person who hits with right handed clubs. If you think this is strange then you should try playing golf with this inverted mind.]

Bubba Watson is the master of ball flight and distance. You really need to focus on club face and swing direction to get it right every time.

Face Orientation and Swing Path: The orientation of the face of your club at the point of impact causes 80% the initial direction of your ball. An open face pushes it right and a closed face pulls it left. Your swing path only causes 20% of the initial direction. If your swing path is out to in, your ball will fade or slice away from you. If your swing path is in to out, your ball will draw or hook

Swing Thoughts: You also need to understand why your best effort to keep a ball away from water on the right will invariably cause you to tighten up your grip which shorten your arms so that the ball slices to the right and into the water. By sweeping across the face of the ball to hit the ball left we tend to open the face and allowing the ball to slice right (toward that magnetic water). The correct motion is to ensure that you are hitting a draw shot by coming from the inside to out and swinging straight up the line slightly to the right of your target.

Relaxed Grip: A tighter grip (as in “grip it and rip it”) causes 2 problems which often result in a “duck hook”: A tight left hand grip pulls the club face closed at impact. Closing the club face directs the ball to the left. Compounding this problem is an excessive inside to outside swing path. Bingo, another Duck Hook! To avoid this, lighten your grip so that your leading hand does not pull the club face closed before impact. Don’t kill the ball with a violent inside to outside swing. Swinging from the inside is the preferred path but let the club do the work to cause a gentle draw.

Fat Hits: When you rush your swing from the top on any swing (drive, iron, pitch or chip), you will not give your body time to shift forward to allow the bottom of you swing to bottom out at the right point. Rushing the downswing with your arms will kill the shot. Let your legs and hips pull your shoulders through the shot.

When you focus on the right solution in the right frame of mind you can solve each of these problems. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ to build confidence in your swing. Get the right feel and enjoy the right shot. www.golfstr.com

Have you ever played a round of golf where every hit is so clean and easy. Sure you may hit them long over the green but who cares. You don’t expect perfection in every swing but it just happens. Then your next round is a disaster. Your drives, your approach shots, your chipping and your putts are just not happening. Do you ask yourself, “Who was that person playing yesterday?  How do I get him back? ”

I am like every recreational golfer who loves this game but I publish these weekly swing tips so I tend to focus on what make golfers tick. I know that I have my good and bad days – and I often wonder WHY?

For the past 3 months I have been observing golfers as they play past our lani (screened porch for Northerners). It’s painfully obvious that at least 75% of the golfers may have taken lessons but they need to practice what they have learned. There are so many ways to watch the correct swing:  on YouTube; on the Golf Channel and by watching tournament golf on TV.   GOLFSTR+ is a great practice aid to help you correct 6 swing faults but it won’t help you just sitting in your golf bag.

The next time you play a round of golf, don’t you wonder which version of YOU will show up?

With all of this support you would think that everyone should be able to play a reasonable game of golf. So why is it that you occasionally experience an “out of body experience” where your game is shockingly great.

What causes a great round of golf for anyone, whether you are a pro or an amateur? If you have learned the skill to swing a club correctly there are only 3 other issues that you face on the golf course. You and every professional golfer need to overcome these GAME BREAKERS before you will have a good round of golf:

Flexibility: If you want to hit longer shots, your body needs to be flexible. You can’t expect to be successful in golf with brute force. An aching back is even a worse problem. Your neck, spine and hips need to be flexible. You need to work on this with proper exercise or just accept your limitations and limit your rotation to achieve an acceptable result. Bending your leading elbow might work for you but if you want consistent results, work on a straight arm swing, wrist lag and a powerful release at the point of impact.

Mental Outlook: If you are frustrated over your last shot and you try to compensate for a poor shot by swinging harder, you will not like the result. This game tends to compound anger so you need to understand that problem. Get over your last shot. Realize that you need to relax your grip and swing without trying to kill the ball. It’s that easy.

Focus: When your mind is at ease and your muscles are relaxed you can now focus on the right swing to get the result that you want. Focus only on the draw or fade or height of the shot based on your stance and the wind condition. Great pro golfers take their minds into the moment of each swing. There is nothing else on their mind. Your lessons and practice can all result in perfect shots every time you swing a club.

Next Week’s Swing Tip is about Understanding the point of Impact to Control Every Shot.

Buy your GOLFSTR+ today on our website:  www.golfstr.com

Should your head be moving during your swing? Mark Richmond who writes the Consistent Golf blog studied 23 of the most recognized golfers. He found exactly the same tip that we published by one of our GOLFSTR+ users. Terry Scanlon (St Andrews, Scotland) said: “keep you left ear (leading ear) behind the ball until impact when driving the ball“.

Mark Richmond wanted to verify the statement: “the average PGA Tour player moves his head only one inch during the swing”.

Adam Scott is shown here keeping his head in the same line-up with the ball during the backswing until impact. This seems to be the ideal swing thought.

Of the 23 golfers that he studied, when swinging the driver, all of them drop their head lower at impact but only 3 barely moved their head out of the original alignment during the swing:
• Adam Scott
• Phil Mickelson
• Jack Nicklaus

Most of the golfers shifted their heads 1 to 4 inches back during their backswing.

Only 3 of the 23 golfers in the study had their head forward before impact:
• Moe Norman
• Gary Player
• Arnold Palmer

Your forward hip press should start the transition of your club at the top of your swing but your head should remain relatively still until impact. Test your swing by standing with the sun behind you and watching your shadow.

Don’t get the wrong idea! Your whole body is in motion during your golf swing. Freezing your body and swinging with your arms will guarantee that you will dig your club into the ground well before the ball. Making the perfect practice swing and then duplicating that swing is the key for success in this sport. I’m not sure why a little white ball causes the mind to freeze-up but when you solve that problem, I guarantee success.

Relax your mind & body, focus on duplicating your practice swing, start you downswing motion with your hip and keep your head behind the ball. Of course you should practice with GOLFSTR+ FOR EVERY SWING IN YOUR GAME.

ENJOY

Recreational golfers who purchase GOLFSTR+ Training Aids are committed to improving their golf game. They are on the right track. Golf is a game of skill and mind control. If you put your effort into the right swing, the right practice and the right state of mind: you WILL improve your game. This week’s Swing Tip is intended to help you understand that YOUR MENTAL FOCUS can improve your game every time you play.

Most golfers start playing this game well after they learn to swing a baseball bat, cricket bat or hockey stick. You need new skills. The golf swing for each club must be changed to account for the angle of the lie, the target landing surface and wind conditions. You need a constant mental focus to compensate for each of these conditions and to improve your game.

Golf appears to be an easy game if you live, eat and breathe it every day. This is not possible for the recreational golfer so where should you focus your effort?

1/ Starting at a young age is ideal. Learning the right golf swing at an early age and as your primary sport can be a real asset. Lydia Ko, now 17, has won 10 worldwide professional victories. At 6, her family moved across the street from Pupuke Golf Club in Auckland. Her mother wanted her youngest daughter to have four one-hour lessons per week. Practices often involved three locations over an 11-hour span. Her first coach, Guy Wilson, said she took off Christmas and New Year’s Day two years ago only because courses were closed. Her family obviously invested a lot of time and money to develop Lydia.

Tiger started swinging clubs when he was 2 and his father was also his early mentor and motivator.  It paid off!

Don’t expect to achieve their success. Work on anything that will improve your flexibility. Learn the right swing for each club and practice to BUILD MUSCLE MEMORY in your swing. GOLFSTR+ gives you 6 swing solutions to break down your old habits and learn the correct motion for every swing.

2/ Size and strength help (as illustrated by JB Holmes’ 10 under par opening round at Trump Doral, March 5, 2015) but they will not guarantee low scores in your game of golf. Lydia Ko is only 5 foot 5 inches tall. Her size is certainly not giving her any advantage but she sure does outscore her competition.

Luke Donald is 5 foot 9 and 160 pounds. He had an outstanding year in 2011. He became the first player to win both money lists on the PGA and European Tours in the same year. So why is he not repeating his past success?

Focus on the perfect swing to make the perfect shot every time.

3/ Without the right MENTAL FOCUS and skill you can’t succeed in golf. The world record long ball hitters rarely play in pro golf tournaments. There are a lot of pro golfers who drive over 300 yards but they still need that magic touch around the green.

Every golfer has experienced that shot where the ball springs off your club like a rocket, lands where you planned to land it and then rolls to the perfect spot.  Your mind was totally focused so that the shot was executed perfectly. It was your focused mind that made that perfect shot. If you can par 1 hole, you can par 18 with the right focus.

Learn the right swing, practice with GOLFSTR+ and commit to a 100% MENTAL FOCUS on every shot. Think your shot through and make the perfect shot every time.

Check out GOLFSTR.COM

GOLFSTR+ was developed to help me train for more consistent hits and longer drives. I soon learned that I needed to do more than swing with a straight leading arm. 5 additional uses of GOLFSTR+ helped me correct my swing but I was missing one important component: FLEXIBILITY. Strength is important but you need flexibility to Swing Like a Pro.

I found 4 simple exercises that will loosen your spine and shoulders. I’m over 65 and I want to hit drives consistently over 240 yards. I have seen skinny youths and females with minimal muscle-mass hit 280+ yards so I know that it can be done without brute strength. Torque and wrist lag release are so critical to hit’em long and straight. Yoga is a wonderful activity to improve flexibility over your whole body but if you don’t have the time, try these 4 exercises:

1/ Chest Stretch: Lay on your back with arms stretched straight out and the back of your hands resting on the floor. Without lifting the back of your hands and arms off the floor bend your elbows to form a U shape with your arms. Then form a V shape and finally point your arms straight over your head. At any point if your arms or hands start to lift off the floor, just stop and let your muscles relax and stretch for 10 or 15 seconds. Return your arms to your sides and start over again. The goal is to eventually stretch out to reach directly over your head without lifting them off the ground. Kids have no problem doing this. It took you a long time to lose your flexibility so don’t expect miracles to happen overnight.

2/ Knee Roll: Remain on your back with your knees bent and your arms pointing out from your sides. Now roll your knees to one side while keeping your arms outstretched and both shoulders on the ground. Then slowly roll your knees across and to the floor on the other side. Eventually you will get your knees closer to the floor and keep your opposite shoulder on the ground. Over time you will get closer to this goal. Do not push to the point of hurting your back. This is a gradual stretching exercise which will improve your flexibility and release your spine over time.

3/ Pizza Lifts: Kneeling and resting your butt on your heels, bend forward and rest on your elbows on the floor. Now slide one arm forward along the floor, turn your palm to the ceiling and raise it slightly like you are holding a pizza pan. Hold for 5 seconds. Now repeat on the other side. You should feel the stretch of your LATS (Latissimus Dorsi muscles which rap from the base your arm around your back). I found this one on Revolution Golf.

4/ Shoulder Release: Either laying on your back or sitting or standing: fold your left arm across your chest. With your right wrist wrapped around your elbow, pull your straight arm across your shoulder line and hold the stretch for 5 seconds. Rest and repeat about 4 more times. Do the same stretch a few times with your right arm to give your body balance and to help it recover. I found this one on Golf-Info-Guide by Thomas Golf.

You need to build up your flexibility gradually. Do these exercises in the evening when you are watching TV. Children can be encouraged to do exercises that are more like games with the help of best mini trampolines for children. If your back starts to ache, lay off the exercises until you recover. You should not be in pain when you do these exercises as you need to limit the strain on any muscle groups and your spine. It may take a month but your swing will really benefit from your new flexibility.

Use your GOLFSTR+ to make sure that you are getting the full benefit with flexibility and the proper swing (Straight Leading Arm, Flat Wrist and Full Wrist Lag). To review last week’s Swing Tip about testing your Flexibility Limitations CLICK HERE

You can’t create an effective straight leading arm swing without flexibility. Frankly, I struggled with my straight leading arm until I improved my flexibility. Now I have to use GOLFSTR+ to remind myself to limit my backswing as I lose control when I over rotate. When I get it right, my swing feels smooth as butter and the ball flies out of sight. Friends are asking me if I am on an exercise program but my new flexibility and the whipping action of the club head make all the difference.

As we age we lose our flexibility from lack of stretch exercises.  This week, you are going to determine your current limitation in your straight arm backswing. You need to limit your backswing to that point and enjoy what is natural for your golf swing. Next week we will give you the simple exercises to increase your body rotation and a straight arm stretch to get more length out of every hit.

Golf is a game of patience and practice. If you don’t play that often or you took this game up at a later age, you need to condition your body to change from a baseball swing to a golf swing.  I hear from GOLFSTR+ customers who expect that they will instantly swing like Ernie Els or Rory McIlroy. What were they thinking?  GOLFSTR+ IS an instant fix to remind you where your limitation is in your straight arm backswing. It’s up to YOU to understand your limitation and use it to correct your swing for more consistent and longer hits.

Your backswing has 3 basic components. Any sway of your body as your arms load up should be minimized. The 3 components are: spine rotation, straight arm rotation and wrist hinge. Before you test out the limitation in the back swing, you need to understand your limitation in each of these 3 movements. [These descriptions are for right handed golfers.]

Create your shoulder and hip rotation by keeping both arms straight in the takeaway. Michael Breed (Golf Channel) uses this training method.

1/ SPINE ROTATION (SHOULDER AND HIP ROTATION): Holding a club properly as you address the ball with your spine tilted forward from your waist. Take you club back to horizontal with the ground while keeping both arms straight. This rotation will force your hips to rotate about 30 degrees from the line across your toes and your shoulders to rotate about 90 degrees. Your head must remain facing the ball. If your leading heel is coming off the ground to make the full 90 degree shoulder rotation then you have a flexibility limitation. You may be losing consistency in your hits.

Arnold Palmer is one of the all-time great golfers. He lifted his leading heel on every swing to assist with his 90 degree shoulder rotation. Hank Haney also endorses the use of the heel lift to assist with rotation (only if you need it). If you are lifting your heel to create some extra shoulder rotation you are adding another dimension in your swing and possibly losing consistency in your hits. [See the Rory McIlroy swing video in last week’s Swing Tip for the ideal foot plant. His leading heel is NOT moving as he builds torque in his body.]

You DON’T NEED A 90 DEGREE SHOULDER ROTATION.  If your hips and spine are tight and your shoulder rotation is only 60 degrees then just accept this. No matter what you do, be happy with your limited rotation BUT LEARN TO KEEP YOUR LEADING ARM STRAIGHT for consistent connection with the ball and longer hits.

2/ STRAIGHT ARM ROTATION: Test your leading arm rotation by stretching your straight leading arm across your chest at your shoulder line. Now use your free right wrist to wrap over your elbow to pull it close to your shoulder line. That angle between your arm and your chest is a limitation. Don’t try to force a greater rotation as it takes time to stretch these unused muscles.

3/ Wrist Hinge: Hold a club properly in your fingers and the base of the fleshy part of your left palm. Use your right hand to pull the grip up to force your wrist to cock toward the side of your arm about 30 degrees while keeping your left wrist flat with your arm. Again, do not over stretch as we are only trying to understand your limitation.

All 3 of these rotations will give you the limitation of your backswing rotation. DON’T start bending your leading elbow to compensate for your limitation in rotation. Use your GOLFSTR+ to learn your limitations for straight arm, flat wrist and lag in our backswing. Do this and we guaranty that your game will improve. CHECK OUT the demonstration video on www.golfstr.com

NEXT WEEK’S Swing Tip: Exercises to increase your rotation without pain or injury.