Swing Solutions

Last week we talked about Flexibility and Body Rotation by Steve Sticker.  Just to reinforce this point www.golf-info-guide.com by Thomas Golf released a great Blog about hitting the ball further by turning your chest faster rather than hitting harder (with your shoulders). By turning your chest faster you should feel like you are dragging your arms through the ball. In other words you are pulling the club with your leading arm rather than pushing it with your trailing arm.

To gain more distance you need to increase your club head speed along your hitting line (not across it).   Here is a great shot showing Tiger with a great delayed release and swinging from the inside.   So you need to initiate your swing in this order: CHEST, shoulders, arms and wrists.

Tiger’s chest rotates before his shoulders,  arms and then wrists start to release the club though the ball.

For golfers who are not so strong, a powerful early shoulder action can cause serious swing problems. They tend to attack the golf ball from the top of the swing with too steep of an approach down into the ball or the golfer leans back and ‘pulls up’ out of the shot at the moment of impact. This causes slices and mishits.

SOLUTION:
Practice turning your chest though the ball and finishing by facing the target. This action completes the rotation of the body through impact and maximizes club head speed down the hitting line.  As an exercise, focus on turning your chest faster which should feel like your arms and club are being dragged through the ball. It should feel strange as your chest starts to turn first when your arms drop in the downswing.

Of course a straight arm, flat wrist and lagging release are also key components for your successful swing.  GOLFSTR+ is a great brain trainer to help you with your new swing.

Pass this on to your friends and check our website for more Swing Tips on YOUR Swing Support Center.

If you want to be more consistent with your swing take note of Steve Stricker’s swing.  His success both at the President’s Cup and with recent tour wins after he hit the age of 40 (9 PGA wins) were caused by his new compact swing.  His full shoulder turn, limited back swing and a 90 degree wrist cock helped him hit a driving average of 285 yard.   He may not be the longest driver but hitting the fairway is his priority.  And it looks like he is on the right track.

Robert Cotter, a PGA instructor who provides the Instant Golf blog said: “Steve’s back swing motion is tied to his body movement. I would describe it as a “rolling” or “rocking” motion.”   His arms move in unison with his shoulder turn both in the back swing and in the down swing.

Steve Stricker limits his straight leading arm swing for better control to hit more fairways and greens.

Test Your Flexibility
Flexibility in the back swing may be the key to your future success too.  Stop bending your leading arm to create a full back swing.  Rotating your shoulders and keeping your leading arm straight are so important for a consistent swing plane and consistent connection with the ball.

This exercise looks so easy but I tried it and could not do it.  I was shocked to learn that I could not do this simple exercise and you may be too.   This was my wake-up call to get my body moving again.  I’m recommending that you try Revolution Golf Floor Slide Exercise for more flexibility in our shoulders and more flexibility in our back swing.   Lay flat on your back and slide your hands along the floor as you reach over your head.   CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

Plan to Improve your Game NOW!
Flexibility in aging bodies can be increased.  Just take a few minutes each day to improve your flexibility to get your game back in shape.  I was fortunate that my daughter bought me a few months of personal training to help me figure this out.  Yoga may be your solution but simple stretching exercises are so critical for your golf swing success.

GOLFSTR+ is a great brain trainer to help you limit your back swing when your leading arm starts to bend.    Make sure you have a flexible shoulder turn for the power and consistency that every golfer wants.  CLICK TO LEARN MORE

Alignment and Grip are 2 basics that we think we have covered every time we swing.  But they may be the cause of your inconsistent hits.  Just take a reality check to make sure that your setup is not the cause of your directional and distance problems.  I was amazed to see how well these 2 checks improved my dumb habits that started to creep into my swing.

Ask your Buddies to Check your Shoulders!
Golfers have a natural tendency to line up with their shoulders angled left of the target, even when their feet are perfectly square.

Pete Styles on Golf Info Guide by Thomas Golf has a great video on this.  Short clubs are not so bad because you line up with the ball closer to the center of your stance.  The driver setup is with the ball off your leading foot so it tends to shift your shoulders forward to the left and causes over the top hits (swinging outside to inside across the ball) or just a dead left pull.  So when you setup with your driver let your shoulders tilt instead of letting them point to the left.

The right grip and alignment help Henrick Stenson stay on plane in his perfect back swing.

Grip, Get it right!
Watching Henrik Stenson (and for that matter, all 30 golfers in the season ending thriller) I was reminded of this tip.

Grip your clubs with your lower hand “weak” to generate more power.  Yes, that’s what I said: weak to generate more power (with the V between your thumb and first finger pointing up to your right shoulder for right handed golfers).  If your grip is strong (V pointing to the right of your right shoulder) you are limiting the club head rotation in the back swing and you are depending on swing speed and body rotation to power through the hit.  Extra distance comes from wrist lag and the whipping action when your wrists release and turn over at impact.

Alignment and Grip Are So Important:  They can destroy your swing plane (the angle that the club travels around your spine). A good swing plane gives you the best chance to hit straight shots by returning the club square to the ball at impact.  Groove a consistent, repeatable swing plane like a pro and you’ll have the ball striking consistency, length and accuracy that every golfer is looking for.

GOLFSTR+ may help you with Every Swing in Your Game but if your alignment and grip are in trouble don’t blame GOLFSTR+

Click Here for a great training aid to help you with Every Swing in Your Game.

I have reprinted the following Arnold Palmer Tip to highlight his opinion of the importance of the STRAIGHT LEADING ARM in the back swing.      GOLFSTR+ was developed to help you with your straight arm, flat wrist and to know your limitation in your limited or  “Compact Back Swing”.

On September 10, Arnold Palmer celebrated his 84th birthday.  He is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955.  Jack Nichlaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer played in an era where they had to depend on their swing and less on the equipment.  Today’s equipment just exaggerates your swing mistakes so you should pay attention to the old masters of golf.

Limit your back swing and keep your leading arm straight for more consistent hits and Keep Arnie Happy.

TIP PUBLISHED By ARNOLD IN HIS PRIME
“Try to keep the club under control at all times, especially at the top of the backswing. Each of us has physical limits. We can take the club back just so far. You’ve got to keep the backswing compact and well within your natural capabilities. Because the minute you’re stretching yourself as you swing back, the minute you’re fighting the weight of the club instead of remaining easily in control of it, you’ve swung too far.   When you go too far, one of two things happens: You bend your left elbow, or the grip gets loose in your hands. Either way, you’re lost.”

WHAT ARNOLD THINKS TODAY
“Long and loose is still a bad idea. There aren’t very many good players like John Daly. “

GOLFSTR+ is not just a passing fad.  The all-time greats like Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer understood the benefit of the Straight Leading Arm in the Back Swing.  If you have a serious interest in improving your game, why not SWING LIKE A PRO.

GOLFSTR+ gives you 5 training aids: Straight Arm Back Swing, Flat Wrist in Putting and Chipping and in the Back Swing and also a Wrist Lag Trainer for more distance.

CLICK TO check it out and pass this on to your friends.

Not everyone can rotate their body as well as young professional golfers but there is hope.

Aging bodies have greater limitation in hip and spine rotation.  So just use what you have.   Martin Chuck, Tour Striker Training Program, did a recent blog stating that most of your distance comes from your wrist hinge in the back-swing.  Body rotation is nice but the correct wrist motion and timing is where most of your distance comes from.

Aging bodies end up with lower back and spine problems so you may have started to bend your elbow in the back-swing to compensate.  Big MISTAKE!  Bending your leading arm elbow is only creating more mishits, pulls and slices.

Jim Furyk with Straight Leading Arm and Wrist Hinge near the top of his limited back-swing.

The good news is that most of the head speed in your club is generated by the release of you wrist hinge as you swing through the impact zone.  If your hip and spine rotation is limited, just limit your back-swing and let wrist lag take care of the distance.

Sweeping your club head in a wide arc to force rotation in your back-swing along with a straight leading arm are ideal.  You want some rotation of the hips and spine but make sure that you keep your wrist flat while you hinge to create a 90 degree lag in the back-swing.  [Cock your wrist to create a 90 degree angle from your forearm to your club shaft.]  Pull down on your straight leading arm and release your relaxed wrists with a whipping action at the bottom of your swing.

Jim Furyk may have a wild looking back-swing and the shortest driving stats on the Pro Tour but his wrist release and swing from the inside sure do produce straight shots.

REMEMBER:  the longest drive should not be your #1 goal.  Hit’em straight and keep’em in the fairway to lower your score.  It may help you shoot a round of 59 someday.

Of course GOLFSTR+ is a great solution to help you train for straight leading arm, flat wrist and lag in the back-swing.  Try it!  You’ll like it!  CLICK HERE to learn more!

GOLFSTR+   For Every Swing in your Game

We have now created a new video to show you an improved way to use GOLFSTR+.    Golf Professionals and our customers have been suggesting these changes for a softer feel on the back of the wrist.   We have already introduced GOLFSTR+ with the new Black Rubber EXTENDER for increased pressure when using GOLFSTR to remind you to keep your LEADING ARM STRAIGHT in the back-swing.

We now realize that for all 4 of the other uses for GOLFSTR+  you should be flipping the plastic plate over so that the curved tip is pointing UP.  Mounting the curved edges and the curved tip UP will give you a more comfortable fit on your wrist.

We are no longer recommending that you mount the curved end over your knuckles for PUTTING and CHIPPING.  Assembling the curved tip in the UP direction helps to fit all sizes of wrist and hands.

The same applies for FLAT WRIST in the BACK SWING.  By mounting with the edges and curved tip pointing up it is much easier to hold the wrist flat while hinging the wrist to lag your club in the down swing.  With this setup GOLFSTR+ just slides over the back of your flat wrist on your gloved hand during the back-swing and down-swing.

Training for WRIST LAG requires that the curved tip of GOLFSTR+ is pointing up the back of the thumb on your gloved hand.  Ensure that you use the Black Rubber EXTENDER bulging toward the thumb for a soft impact on the back of the thumb.

If you own a GOLFSTR+, why not try these new mounting methods today.  If you don’t own one, don’t be left behind.  Buy one today and CLICK HERE to Improve Every Swing in Your Game.

ATTENTION OWNERS OF GOLFSTR:   HERE ARE 2 OPPORTUNITIES

1/    REFER YOUR FRIENDS TO GOLFSTR TO RECEIVE A $10 REBATE:     Tell your friends to buy GOLFSTR+ on our website at  www.golfstr.com  to earn a $10 rebate.  If you email sales@golfstr.com with the names of people who purchase a GOLFSTR+ on our website, we will credit your account with $10 for each unit sold.

2/   BUY AN EXTRA ARM BAND FOR A SIZE OR COLOR CHANGE:  If you want an extra arm band in either size or color, just enter the coupon code:   arm band       when you place an order for the size and color that you want on our website www.golfstr.com.   Your order will be discounted by the listed price of  GOLFSTR+.  You will only be charged the shipping and handling fee of $10 .

Your comments and GOLFSTR+ usage ideas are always appreciated.  Please enter them at the bottom of this message or enter a message at the bottom of our website  Contact Page  /contact/

Enjoy

Bill Curry, President

That famous quote by Ben Hogan is so true: “The most important shot is your next one.”  Learn from the past and move one.  This is easier said than done but your game will never improve if you don’t develop the right mind set and confidence.  GOLF TIPS MAGAZINE recently provided a great summary of the 5 Mental Mistakes in Golf.  So use your MENTAL CADDY to help you avoid dumb mistakes?

1/ Getting Distracted: Let your mind slow down and dump all of the clutter from outside of your game (emails, to do list, your last poor shot, that annoying bird >>> )

2/ Focusing on Your Score:  If you are having the best or worst round of your life, it will not improve your game by focusing on your score.  It can only get worse.  So just stay in the moment.  Clear your mind with thoughts about preparing for your next shot by focusing on your routine.  Make your next shot count.

3/ Reacting to Poor Shots:  We all react in different ways when we screw up a shot.  The harder you get on yourself the longer the impact and worse the effect on your next shot.  You came to play this game so don’t waste the time stewing about it.

4/ Lack of Course Management:  If you mishit your ball into a poor location just chalk it up as a penalty and hit your ball back into an area when you have a clear shot.  Don’t expect that you can hit like Phil or Tiger to save your butt 9 out of 10 times.  Odds are you will only end up in a worse position.

5/ Losing Confidence:  If you make a poor shot, try to understand what went wrong and get over it.  Negative self-talk is not going to help you.

So get on top of your game.  Build confidence in your game by practicing or warm up with GOLFSTR+.  Get the feel for great shots and use that feeling when you get out on the course.  Straight leading arm and straight wrist shots will give you better results.

We all make mistakes but don’t make 2 in a row.  Keep your mind focused and you will drop strokes in every round that you play.

Do you arrive to play golf and wonder who is going to show-up?   Will it be your Confident Self or could it be that other guy, your Doubting Thomas?

If you are going to play this game, you need to learn self-confidence from the get-go. Your attitude is based on your state of mind for that day. You need confidence in Every Swing in Your Game before you start.

The best way to build confidence and attitude is to work on your game. Knowing the basics of stance and ball position for every shot needs to be learned.  Of course you need to read about the right technique and take golf lessons to learn the right motion for every swing.  Using a golf training aid to practice and build confidence FOR EVERY SWING IN YOUR GAME is also a great starting point.  If you don’t practice the right motion you will miss two critical components of your game.

• Knowing the right combination for the perfect result: club selection, amount of back-swing and follow-through.

• Building muscle memory for relaxed confident muscles, cadence and mental outlook. [Yes we are including that big muscle between your ears.]

Learn to swing with confidence from the inside. Brandt setups with confidence faster than anyone.

Playing this game without practice is hog wash. All of the pros including Brandt Snedeker are constantly practicing to build confidence in their swing for every shot. Brandt’s mind works a lot faster than most golfers but he still has a swing that delivers.  Practice gave him the confidence.   This is a great shot of Brandt building power by swinging with a straight leading arm from the inside and firing his body through to a balanced finish.

GOLFSTR+ is designed to give you confidence with every swing in your game: Driving, Fairway Shots, Pitching, Chipping, Sand and Putting. Practice with GOLFSTR+ before you play to lock in that feeling for a STRAIGHT ARM or FLAT WRIST or HINGED WRIST. Wear GOLFSTR+ while you play 18 holes to lock in that feeling of success when swinging with a straight arm in the back swing.

Practice allows you to hit well. It’s contagious to the rest of your body. Your cadence, your posture and your focus on the direction will all benefit. Why not buy a GOLFSTR+ and practice with it to build confidence.

CLICK HERE TO WAKE-UP YOUR GAME.

Our son David Curry (www.davidcurry.info) performs opera throughout the world.  He made a surprising analogy between the focus needed to sing opera and hitting a golf ball.   The conscious mind can’t possibly manage the intricacies of music the way you can’t possibly consolidate every component of the perfect golf swing.

Using your conscious mind to focus on the thousand ideas which you have learned about the golf swing tends to cause the occasional mishit.  Only your subconscious mind can get it right.

If an opera singer thinks about the performance of each note, the quality and overall performance is destroyed.  As David explains it, the sound from his voice is like an out of body experience.  It’s as if he has little control as his subconscious manages this amazing sound as it departs his body.

Craig Sigl is promoting a book called: Break 80, 52 Ways to Lower your score WITHOUT Practice.  [52 ways sounds like practice to me.]  He suggests finding a swing that works for you and just do it consistently. 

Jim Furyk may have a strange swing but it works for him and he does it consistently.  Craig suggests that you let your sub-conscious take over.  He even talks about letting your mind rest outside of your body and observe your consistent swing.

There may be some truth in this.  Have you ever hit a golf ball with an effortless swing and wondered where that came from.  It felt like the amazing swing of Ernie Els.  You are actually letting your subconscious mind take over.  The result is surprising.

So learn the right swing using GOLFSTR+ for a straight arm in the back swing, wrist hinge and flat wrist in the back swing, putting and chipping.  Then internalize YOUR swing with words which have meaning in your subconscious.  If you mentally say a series of words while you setup and swing then your mind won’t wonder.   It can’t think of two sets of words at the same time.

I use words for my FOCUS TRANCE: “Calm and Relaxed, STRAIGHT ARM, Sweep in aaand Finish”.

Just figure out what works for your swing to trigger your subconscious to perform a smooth and consistent swing.   The words that I use have the following meaning:

• Calm and Relaxed: I breathe in and out as I relax my arms, hands and shoulders
• STRAIGHT ARM:  The final command as I complete my Mike Weir waggle.
• Sweep in:  Sweep the club back along the ground and let my lagging elbow touch my side.
• aaand: Opening my club face with a controlled transition and swing from the inside to out.
• Finish: F is the point of impact to a balanced Finish.

Create your Swing Mantra (one for fairway shots and one for putting) and let your subconscious take over.

Click HERE to check out GOLFSTR+ and develop your consistent swing today.