Swing Solutions

• The most important shot in golf is the next one.    Ben Hogan

• A golfer’s diet: Live on greens as much as possible.

• Golf is always testing your skill against your opponents LUCK!    Anonymous

• Show me a good looser and I will show you a man playing against his boss.

• “Isn’t that a new putter?“    Yes, the old one couldn’t swim.

• I found a wood to lower my score.  It’s called a pencil.

• Golf is like Taxes.  You drive hard to make the green, then end up in the hole.

• I can’t retire.  I have a golf addiction to fund

• A Golf Ball: If it goes right it’s a slice.  If it goes left it’s a hook.  If it goes straight it’s a Miracle.

Or you must be practicing with GOLFSTR+ 

Comment received from W. Coleman, Martinsburg, WV, the proud owner of a GOLFSTR  purchased in July 2012 who recently asked us how to get a Black Rubber EXTENDER:   “I use GOLFSTR  every time I practice or am playing a casual round. I can honestly say it has improved my score 3-4 strokes.”   (Of course there was no charge for the EXTENDER when I receive heart-warming comments like that.)

Hope you enjoyed this change of pace for GOLFSTR  Swing Tips.  Love to hear from you about your success with GOLFSTR  and  GOLFSTR+.

Want the solution to avoid hitting fat and thin shots with your irons: Keep your hands forward of the ball through impact.  And now, as Paul Harvey would say: The Rest of the Story.

Jim McLean’s blog this week reminded us to “get forward at impact”.  Get your body forward and over your leading foot through impact.  Don’t cup your wrists.  All pros keep their leading hand forward of the club head to maximize power at impact. [These comments inspired me to find out HOW.]

Thomas Golf provided a great video this week on “How to hit it pure.”   The solution is easy: Setup with your hands leading the club.  Lineup with your hands forward of the ball so that the shaft of your club lines up with your leading arm.  It also sets you up to hit a draw so check it out at the range before you experiment on the course.  Your arms will return to the same point at impact if you focus on swinging down to nip the grass or take a divot after the point of impact.  Hit the ball first as you are driving your hips through the swing to a balanced finish.  CHECK OUT THIS GREAT VIDEO.

I was surprised at the power and release when I tried this.  I know that I have done this in the past but could never understand what was causing me to hit it “Pure”.

Keep your hands forward at impact to connect with the ball first and get more distance.

Sergio Garcia’s secrets for hitting pure iron shots:
Golf.com has an amazing sequence and description (seen by clicking the arrow in the upper right corner) showing the 16 images of Sergio Garcia’s swing.    The wrist hinge helps Sergio to get the shaft leaning forward at impact.  It’s a delofting move that helps add yards to every club.  CHECK OUT THIS GREAT SLIDE SEQUENCE ON www.golf.com

A FINAL THOUGHT FROM SERGIO: If you focus more on staying in balance, you’ll hit more good shots than bad. Try to hold your finish after every shot. Hold it until the ball lands on the ground. If you can’t, then you’re swinging too hard. Dial it back until you can hold your finish position and use that speed on every swing — even with your driver off the tee.

Read back over the points which are highlighted.  Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep that leading arm straight and your wrist flat in the back-swing.   And in the tradition of Paul Harvey’s sign-off:  And now you know the rest of the story. 

When I really want to hit an important shot (especially when I want to avoid hitting out of bounds to the right) I often tighten-up, rush the back-swing and end up spraying my shot to the right (even with a straight arm back-swing).  Hallelujah, I finally discovered that I was rushing my back-swing and limiting the rotation of my shoulders and spine.   

BINGO!   Slow down, loosen the grip and take time for the shoulder rotation, back-swing and wrist hinge.

Snedeker wins COOL MILLION with great body rotation, flat wrist, great lag and straight leading arm

Straight arm in the back swing is so important but if you don’t rotate your shoulders and spine you will never swing from the inside or finish in a single plane down the target line.  SO DON’T RUSH THE BACK SWING.  Let it happen.

Brent Snedeker showed beautiful form as he won the Canadian Open just 600 yards from where I am writing this Swing Tip.  I could feel the vibes.

Recurring themes in blogs that I received over the past week:

• Straight arm in the back-swing is wasted if you let your lagging elbow fly like a chicken wing.

• For some time Jack Nicklaus turned his head to the right and focused with his left eye on the ball during his setup.  He felt that because he was left eye dominant that his right eye was distorting his focus on his ball.  What he was really doing is initiating (or allowing) the rotation of his shoulders and spine in the back-swing.

• Mike Breed feels that a pre-swing waggle loosens up the arms and hands.  Mike Weir had a better idea.  He does a pre-swing waggle by taking his club back to start the shoulders and spine moving.   The Jason Dufner waggle seems to be a nervous tension release.   The Weir Waggle is just loosening up the shoulder rotation (to avoid swinging over the top).  Try it!

• Jim McLean at the Trump Doral Golf Resort reminded us to stay connected.  Rotate the arms back and keep the body rotating back and then through the shot.  “Stay connected.”

• Martin Chuck, Revolution Golf Blog suggests:  Tuck a golf glove under your arm pit to keep the trailing arm connected to the body.  It also forces an inside out swing.

GOLFSTR+ helps you train for wrist hinge, flat wrist and straight leading arm in the back-swing but it’s all wasted if you rush the back-swing and forget to rotate your spine & shoulders; swing from the inside and swing up the target line.  That is how I found my Hallelujah Moment for consistent hits.   You will be amazed.

Set your goal to break 100 or 90 or 80 on your next round.  Keep your mind focused and don’t freeze up before you complete your back-swing with a nice straight leading arm and flat wrist.

Recreational players often grab a club like a baseball bat.  It’s the first club that they ever grabbed so it feels natural to hold it in your palm (not your fingers).  But it is not helping in your swing, tempo, arm muscles and game.  This week a number of pros commented on the right grip, the right pressure and the right speed to get the results that you want.

Don Trahan discussed the importance of gripping in the fingers not the palm.  Holding the grip in the palm or the fleshy base of your hand will cause strain all the way up your arm.  It will cause strained muscles in your arm and elbow if you grab it too tightly.

A doctor commented in the Trahan blog: “For someone with frequent elbow soreness they may be gripping the club too tight”.  He recommended thicker grips to help anyone with elbow issues.

Holding the grip in your palm also gives you less flexibility when you hinge your wrist for lag.

“A light grip will calm the nerves and slow down your swing and give you control.”

In a recent interview, one of the contestants in a Longest Drive event said: You can’t develop lag with a tight grip.  He also suggested that the driver head needs to impact in the center of the face, with an ascending blow on the inside of the center line of the ball (swinging from the inside).

Gary Player talked about a 3 knuckle grip to hit further.  When you are ready to swing make sure that you can see the 3 knuckles on you glove hand (leading hand) to avoid slicing the ball (the primary problem for the recreational golfer).  This actually forces you to swing from the inside and up the target line.

Gary Player also advised that a light grip does not mean that you allow the club to release from your fingers at the top of the swing.  “You must own the club.  Your grip has to be complete throughout the swing.”

Another blog reported:  To hit longer drives you must have relaxed hands for a fast release through impact.  Most golfers who want longer drives grip the club waaaaay too HARD!

So use a relaxed but complete grip in the fingers of both hands so that you can see 3 knuckles on your glove hand.  Practice with GOLFSTR+ to limit the bend in your elbow in the back swing.  Learn to keep your wrist flat (no bowing or cupping of the wrist).  And practice your 90 degree wrist hinge for lag in your back-swing.   CLICK HERE  TO Practice and play with GOLFSTR+  for more POWER & CONSISTENT HITS.

Next Week’s Swing Tip:       Halleluiah Moment!   Don’t Freeze up in the Back-Swing

Why is Tiger Woods back on top of the Race for the FedExCup?  Answer: He works on every aspect that will make him successful: Strategically, Physically and Mentally.

If you are weak in one of these areas you will never reach your goals to improve in this wonderful game.  Why frustrate yourself?  Take inventory of what you are missing and make it happen.  The following points recognize the value of the mental game, core strength, flexibility and balance that you can gain from Yoga  (CLICK reference for the full article: Yoga for Golfers) .

YES, IT CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON YOU GAME!

• Perhaps no game is more wrought with mental hazards than golf. The sport introduces a constant struggle between the conscious mind — analyzing, alert, logical — and the subconscious mind — the well of intuition and long-term memory.

• This clash between subconscious and conscious mind presents an opportunity for the awakened athlete to override the mental strife created by the over analyzing conscious mind and reach toward the wakeful, clear mind state accessible through the intuitive subconscious.

• By incorporating elements of yoga practice, you can develop the mental discipline that golf demands.

• All the instruction in the world won’t help you if you allow stress to seep into your game.

• “in the zone“—a state athletes reach where thought is suspended and focus & concentration are heightened. Many golfers invariably bring in the element of performance pressure and wham!—the zone disappears.

Inspiration for Tiger and all golfers.

• Avoid negative self-talk: In his book, Training a Tiger: A Father’s Guide to Raising a Winner in Golf and Life (HarperCollins, 1998), Earl Woods, reminds his son, “If you don’t clutter your conscious mind with endless pointers and tips, you make it easier for your subconscious instincts to guide you.”

• Striving toward symmetry and balance is the essence of a yoga program, which breaks down tension the body has learned to work around. It is an intuitive process that takes practice to develop, much like a good golf game.

• A balanced body is a flexible body, and flexibility remains the cornerstone of a good golf game. As Earl Woods tells his son, “What you’re looking for is a soft, flexible, fluid swing—that’s power.”

Practice with GOFLSTR+ to ingrain success in your mind.  Relax and allow muscle memory and your subconscious mind to give you the confidence to improve every swing in your game.

CLICK FOR:  5 Training Aids in 1 wonderful device!

Watch for next weeks Swing Tip:   GET A GREAT GRIP AND ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS

Relax Like a Boss: This site give you access to blogs that relax your mind.  Yoga gives you mind control, mindfulness, flexibility and strength throughout your body.

Golfers need a change of pace to find peace of mind when they enjoy this wonderful game.  CLICK   to check this out:  YOGA BLOCKS AND GREAT MIND GAMES

We are excited to announce that Mike Calbot www.GolfDoctorUSA.com, a Professional Golf Swing Analyst and Master Instructor at the Old Corkscrew Golf Club,  (a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course) in Naples, Florida is working with us to expand the use of GOLFSTR.  In the following ad Mike is quoted as saying, ” I’ve added GOLFSTR+ in my training program and recommend it to help in so many ways.”  

We now promote GOLFSTR as 5 Training Aids in 1.  It helps you train for EVERY SWING IN YOUR GAME.

We are now re-launching GOLFSTR under the new name of GOLFSTR+.   This half page ad has been released for publication in Golf Tips Magazine and Golf Magazine for a combined circulation of  2 Million subscribers.

Straight Elbow and Straight Wrist for Straight Shots

Mike Calbot’s experience, while instructing with GOLFSTR, woke us up to make changes and offer new applications for this successful Golf  Training Aid.

1.  A Black Rubber EXTENDER has been added to provide 3 options for the pressure on the back of your arm when learning the Straight Elbow Back-Swing.

2.  Mike had previously developed a strap-on Wrist Lock to prevent cupping of the wrist when putting and chipping.  He felt that we could apply the same principle to GOLFSTR.  He recommended that we reverse the direction of GOLFSTR and snug it on the wrist over your golf glove to lock your wrist.  We also found it useful in the back-swing as a guide to prevent cupping and bowing on the wrist in the back-swing.

We also developed a 5th application by reversing the arm band and using the plastic plate to work as a stopping point for your wrist hinge in the back-swing.  We call this application the Back-Swing Lag Trainer.

Place your orders now as we expect to be short of stock this Fall.   CLICK TO check out GOLFSTR+ User Guide on our website.

Hope you enjoyed this release and please pass it along to your friends.

Inbee Park won the LPGA US Open, her third straight major this year.  She isn’t tall or strong.  Her drives are not long or the most accurate but she leads in Putts Per Greens Hit in Regulation.  Strange, Tiger and Matt Kucher were also winning when their putting stats improved too.

Her confidence under pressure and choosing the right line are so important but writers for GLOBAL GOLF POST saw more:  “She keeps her putting mechanics simple: low left hand, head still, her hands ahead of the ball through impact.  Every putt is struck with the same rhythm, so effortless that she reminds you of the swaying arm of a grandfather clock.”  TICK – TOCK

Putt with a locked wrist for a square impact and straight follow through.

Most golfers putt with a conventional grip placing the left hand high.  Inbee’s success is with hitting directly on the intended line and a square putter face at impact.  Light bulbs flashing on!!!  Grip the club any way that works for you.   It’s only the square impact down the intended line that counts.

While practice putting with a locked wrist using GOLFSTR+, I discovered that I no longer “slice” my putts.  Taking any wrist motion out of the putt and finishing along the intended line is so critical.  [By the way, I won a match yesterday on the 18^th hole with a critical right to left downhill putt.  It was a pressure putt and I know that my practice with GOLFSTR+ paid off.]

BEWARE: Golf Liability (found in The New York Times)

Don’t be an to hit when golfers are in-front of you especially when you are impatiently waiting for golfers to clear the green and surrounding area on a Par 3 Hole.  If you hit somebody and injure them — you are  going to be found liable by a court.

Image from The New York Times warning about your liability if you hit before they clear out ahead.

“The golfer is responsible for making sure that other golfers are out of the way before they hit,” said Robert Lang, a New York-based lawyer who has handled dozens of golf-related cases. “Yes, it’s true they aren’t responsible for hitting someone one or two holes away because they slice a ball, but if you’re on the tee and someone is near the green of the hole you are aiming at and you hit that person, you’re liable.”

In other words, multiple courts have ruled that golfers aren’t accountable for errant shots, but hitting someone in your intended line of fire is not an accident.

Like this article and spread the word that GOLFSTR is 5 Golf Training Aids in 1.         5-in-1

Our customers invented 4 more ways to use GOLFSTR.    MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK!    Why didn’t I think of that?   Now you get 5 training aids for the price of 1.  We call it GOLFSTR+

Now you can purchase a wonderful Arm Training Aid for every swing in your game: Driving, Fairway Shots, Pitching, Chipping and Putting. It helps you control bent elbow, wrist lag, wrist cupping/bowing in the back-swing, yips in your putt and cupping in your sand, chip and pitch shots.

It really is the complete GOLF SWING Arm Trainer. CLICK FOR Video of the 5 Uses for GOLFSTR+

#1 USE: Straight Elbow Swing: Some of our customers asked about a more intense pressure on the back of the arm. We decided to give you 3 options by adding a rubber EXTENDER with 3 ways to use it: OFF, UP or DOWN.  All future orders will include the EXTENDER at no extra charge for a limited time.  If you want to purchase an EXTENDER it will soon be listed on the Store Page www.golfstr.com for $ZERO + $10 S&H.

#2, #3, #4 USE: Putting, Chipping and Back-swing: Snug it over your golf glove with the curved end running over your knuckles.  GOLFSTR prevents your wrist from bending forward.

#5 USE: Lag Trainer: Reverse the arm band and mount the plastic plate curved up on the back of the thumb on your gloved hand. WARNING If you don’t have an EXTENDER you should ONLY use this application when wearing a golf glove on your leading hand (on the Left Hand when using Right Handed golf clubs). Feeling GOLFSTR  on the back of your thumb helps you learn to hold your lag in the back-swing for more power and distance in your hits.

For Every Swing in Your Game

GOLFSTR+ is still available on this site at $29.99 and will increase to $39.99 this summer.

Buy it now at    www.GOLFSTR.com

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Chipping close to the pin can save you 1 or 2 shots per hole.  What are you waiting for?  Recreational players often hinge their wrist in the back swing or follow through with an early release cupping the ball.  Often this leads to fat shots leaving it short or thin hits sculling across the green. 

One of the instructors at the Jim McLean Golf School in Doral, Florida recently sent out a great tip to improve CHIPPING.  He called it the Pen Drill. [ Looks like he’s trying to copy the latest release for GOLFSTR. ]

The instructor suggested placing a pen under your watch band on your leading hand to prevent your wrist from bending forward at impact.  Even better, place GOLFSTR  on your wrist over your golf glove for a more rigid control than a skinny pen.

Practice using GOLFSTR: Learn to keep your Wrist Flat when chipping

Close-up view of GOLFSTR locking the wrist when chipping

 The primary use for GOLFSTR  is a training aid on your elbow to keep your leading arm straight in the back-swing.  Fortunately there are 3 more uses for GOLFSTR when you snug it on over your golf glove with the end curling over your knuckles.  Forget the Pen Drill.  GOLFSTR  holds your wrist rigid for putting, chipping, pitching and in the back-swing (to avoid cupping and bowing your wrist).

Practice with GOLFSTR  for the perfect chip.  For shorter chips just open your stance with your feet inches apart and pressure on your leading foot.  Practice the pendulum swing (like a putting stroke) to get the feel for the distance.   Practice with different clubs to see how far they will hit (in the air plus roll) with different amounts of back-swing. 

Your chip swing should always be the same height in the back swing as you swing in the follow through.  Swing the club head directly along the line of your target landing location.   The swing is short so you can almost feel like you are tossing it at the target.

Use GOLFSTR  to master chipping and then use the same motion with more back swing and lower loft clubs for short pitch shots.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

1/ Check www.golfstr.com for more training aid uses for GOLFSTR.   GOLFSTR+  will be announced shortly with 5 training aid uses for every swing in your game.

2/ I just signed a pledge to help SPEED UP THE PACE OF PLAY.   USGA ads just started to run using Rodney Dangerfield’s famous line from CADDYSHACK prompting his playing partner to get moving “While we’re young”.  (We are growing old just waiting for the hit.)   Get with the program and speed up play!  Click to sign-up on the USGA PACE OF PLAY WEBSITE. 

3/ Please LIKE this Swing Tip to share it with your friends!

When the putting stats for Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar hit the top 10, they win tournaments.   If putting success is so important and they are the best putters in the world we should all try to understand why.  Both Tiger and Kuchar lock their wrists and swing with the rotation of their shoulders and spine but Kuchar is unique.

Kuchar recently started to win by setting up with a longer than normal putter which he lines up with his leading forearm.   (It’s not locked into his  belly but you may see more belly putters cut down to the size of Matt’s now that they are being  banned from tournament play.)

He shifts his body and weight to his left foot and lines up the ball forward in his stance to allow the putter grip to lean directly up his left arm.  His elbows are bent and tucked into his sides.  His feet are wider than his normal relaxed stance.  Like Tiger, he sets up with his shaft leaning slightly ahead of the ball (forward press).

The lineup of his leading arm and putter never breaks.  His knees are locked like a statue so that his only motion is caused by his spine rotation as he rocks his shoulders in a pendulum swing. 

He swings in an arc. Open in the back swing and closed at the finish, exactly the same way Tiger does it.

You can duplicate this swing with your conventional putter!

1/ Practice with GOLFSTR  by wearing it over your golf glove (on your leading wrist) to get the feel for putting with a locked wrist.  Take the same posture as Kuchar and gain confidence as you sink more putts.

2/ To lock your hands together, point the first finger on your leading hand over the knuckles of your right hand.   [This takes the small twitching muscles out of your putt and eliminates the yips.]

Lock your hands by extending your first finger over the knuckles of your lower hand.

You can forget about the benefits of long putters as long as you lock your wrists & hands and use your spine & shoulders to swing the putter.  GOLFSTR  is a great training solution to help your get there.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  GOLFSTR  is a training aid for the straight arm swing as well as the straight wrist putt, chip, pitch and back-swing.  Check out www.golfstr.com for the latest updates.  4-in-1 Arm Trainer.

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