Why You Should Warm Up For Golf With Your Driver (And Save 2-3 Shots Per Round!)

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It’s long been a tradition prior to playing a round of golf to warm up by hitting shorter clubs – sand wedge, pitching wedge, or 9-iron – and then work your way up through the bag to the driver.

The theory behind starting with the shorter, more lofted clubs is that because they are not designed to go far in the first place you will be starting your warm-up with shorter, more controlled swings at less than 100% speed. That way you will give your body a chance to get used to the movement of a golf swing. Then you gradually increase your swing speed as you move to progressively longer clubs.

The Problem with Starting Your Warm-up with Short Irons

Here’s the challenge with this approach.

1. You are too bent-over with the shorter clubs: It’s much more difficult to move freely when bent over than it is standing up straighter. When you first start warming up you want your body to move as freely as possible.

2. Results-focus vs. Rhythm-focus. With the shorter clubs you are probably going to start thinking about hitting a target right away. That means you will be trying to control both your direction and your distance. Your first priority when warming up should be to establish your rhythm and timing for the day. Focusing on a target too soon will take your attention away from feeling and establishing good tempo and timing.

Here’s Why I Think You Should Start With Your Driver Instead.

1. Better Posture: Starting your warm-up with a driver will allow you to have taller posture, from which it will be easier to move. When you first get to the range you need to let your body know that it is ok to turn, pivot, and shift your weight. It’s easier when you stand taller with the driver.

2. Focus on Rhythm: Your first goal when warming up should be to establish good rhythm – NOT hit good golf shots at targets. It’s just as easy to focus on rhythm with your driver as with your lofted clubs.

3. Discipline: You’ll practice slower swings with the club that gives most golfers tempo trouble. You’ll learn to feel comfortable taking a less-than-100% swing with the driver, which is great discipline when you take it to the course. Your most effective, consistent drives will generally happen when you swing at 80%.

Here’s how to Warm Up With Your Driver

First, stand tall with your driver. Focus on moving freely, feeling a good weight shift. It’s more natural with the driver than with the shorter irons.

Second, hit your first 5 to 10 balls at less than 50% of speed. We call these swings low-energy golf swings. If you hit your normal drive 200 yards, pick out a target at 100 yards (50%) and make a full swing, trying to keep the ball from flying past the 100 yard target.

Third, make a full backswing and a full finish. You’ll find you have to slow down your swing to keep it under 50% of your normal distance with a full swing.

Fourth, focus on your rhythm. Your backswing should be 3 beats to a 1-beat downswing. Count out loud 1-2-3-swing. It should take you to the count of 3 to get to the top of your backswing, and you should make impact on the “swing” count. Think of the beat as a waltz and you’ll pick up on the rhythm easily.

Be Ready When You Step on the First Tee

How many times have you heard someone say “It took me a couple of holes to settle down.” That “settling down” process is really just another way of saying “finding a good rhythm.” Why waste the first few holes trying to find a good rhythm when you can find it on the range and have it by the time you are on the first tee. This approach alone will save you 2-3 shots per round! Focus on find your rhythm as your first priority when warming up and try finding your rhythm with your driver.

ERIC M JONES is a Class “A” PGA Professional who is dedicated to helping golfers learn, play better golf, and have more fun. Winner of the 2003 Re/Max World Long Drive Championship, 2004 LDA Tour Rookie of the Year, and the 2006 Players Tour Championship, Eric is a recognized expert on distance.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2808907

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The Golf Down Swing

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Your golf swing is made up of many components. The final part of the swing consists of the golf down swing. This is the part of your golf swing that will help you deliver an efficient, solid shot.

How To Deliver A Solid Golf Down Swing

Once your right arm starts to bend (for right-handed golfers – reverse this for left-handed golfers), and your left hip starts to rotate towards your target, you have begun your golf down swing. The downswing will help you drive speed into your club head through impact with the golf ball. Your left arm will then pull your golf club down during your golf downswing. The more strength you have in your left arm, the more stability you will have as your left arm pulls the club down.

The Lower Body During The Golf Down Swing

The downswing is actually commenced by your lower body – not your arms. As stated above, your hips begin the rotation back towards the target, and therefore start the downswing. You want to start your downswing from the ground, and work your way up. Your hips in golf swing – and your body – should be moving parallel to your target line. As your hips and legs begin to rotate and turn towards your target, your hips will have the chance to move out of the way for your club to swing down through the target line.

Once your lower body drives the downswing, your right shoulder (for right-handers) will start to lower, therefore lowering the golf club during the down swing. Your shoulders will also start to rotate towards the target.

The left leg/knee will move the force from your golf swing towards the front. During the downswing, you want to post your left leg, and straighten it to about 90%. Any more than this (including hyper-entension) is dangerous and can cause injury. The most stable downswing will only require that front leg to straighten at 90%.

By the time you complete your downswing and follow through after contact with the ball, your hips should be fully rotated causing your belly and back knee to face the target. Your hip rotation will lead the upper body rotation, and will produce power in your swing. Don’t forget to fully follow through with your swing after impact with the ball. The end of your swing should result in your hands being near your left ear (for right-handers).

Don’t Forget To Keep Your Head Down!

One of the most common mistakes that golfers make is that they lift their head too soon at impact. Doing so can throw off your golf down swing. By keeping your left eye focused on the back of the ball, and keeping that focus right through impact, you will have a better chance of having a more solid shot.

- Lisa, author of howtoperfectagolfswing.com. This website has all the info you need on learning the mechanics of swinging a golf club, stance, ball position, hand grip, backswing, downswing, and more. Shave strokes off your score by learning tips, tricks and secrets to improving your golf game.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6686896

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4 Tips For Hitting Straight Tee Shots With Your Driver

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Many golfers want to learn how to hit the ball farther and often golf tips on the driver are focused on the aspect of increasing distance. However, equally and maybe even more important is your accuracy with the driver. If you can hit the ball 300 yards but aren’t keeping it in the fairways, it’s still going to be a challenge to score well. I’m going to share 4 helpful tips that will help you hit your drives straighter so you’ll be splitting the fairways on a consistent basis.

1) The first tip is to complete your shoulder turn and your backswing. Many golfers are in such a rush to start their downswing and hit the ball that they actually fail to complete their backswings! This is a huge step for longer drives but also for more accuracy and here’s why. If a golfer fails to turn his or her shoulders all the way in the backswing, the upper body will tend to get too open at impact which will pull the club head across the line towards left field (or left of your target). The goal after impact is to swing your club head down your target line just after impact. This will help keep the ball going straighter. If the shoulders are open at impact, the club will be dragged left and it’s much more difficult to hit a straight drive.

2) Widen your stance. This can seem like a simple tip but a slightly wider than normal width stance is helpful for driving for a couple of reasons. A wider stance allows you to stay balanced and make a good turn and a proper weight shift. The wider stance will help keep the body stable and allow the upper body to coli against the lower body better for a good swing sequence. Good balance from a wider stance will help you keep your club on a correct swing path and swing plane which will in turn lead to straighter golf shots.

3) Swing the club over your right shoulder and then over your left shoulder. This tip helps get your swing plane on track. Without having a swing that is on plane, it is difficult to hit straight golf shots or straight drives. If you can get your club on plane at the top of your backswing, it’s much easier to keep it on plane correctly in your downswing. This will allow you to get the club in the slot near the impact zone and send the ball flying straight down the middle of the fairways. Swinging the club over your left shoulder in your follow through will keep it on plane also. Working on this tip in your follow through will actually improve the rest of your golf swing. When you get one part of your swing correct, it tends to carry over into other parts of your swing.

4) Keep your club face square. This is an important concept to get correct at address, impact, and also at various other points in the swing. I like to have checkpoints when talking about or working on a particular technical aspect or part of the golf swing. The checkpoints I use for keeping a square club face are in your takeaway when the club is parallel with the ground, your club head should point straight up towards the sky or slightly inward while the club shaft is pointing parallel with your target line. The next checkpoint is at the top of your backswing, your clubface should be parallel with your left forearm. If you missed the first checkpoint, it’ll be difficult to be in the right place at the top of your backswing. That is why it’s helpful to have an order when learning a particular aspect of the golf swing or important point. In this case, having a square clubface is what we are trying to achieve to improve accuracy with our tee shots.

The Golf Swing Genius is a top golf instructor dedicated to helping you play your best golf. Learn how to bomb your driver down the fairways with our Golf Driver Tips.

Start Playing Great Golf now by learning a golf swing system that works.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6682591

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The Golf Store

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With an increasing market of high-end retailers selling golf equipment, one could possibly miss a “real” golf store.

Typically, golf stores have the latest, if not the best, golf equipment and accessories needed by somebody who plays golf. Things could range from golf clubs to golf balls, to even posters, shirts, and wallpaper.

Most golf stores focus on ensuring the proper equipment for the interested golfer. They will provide hints on how to choose the right club and the appropriate golf ball. Golf stores do not only supply things relative to golf but some also offer services and knowledge about the sport itself.

Additional services could include club repair, club fitting, and swing analysis. Most of these golf stores use the True Temper Shaftlab and Achiever Launch Monitor swing analysis. These machines measure everything, from ball speed, club head speed to carry distance. They also provide printouts illustrating extreme deflection, shaft loading, downswing time and face angle.

Also, there are other golf stores that offer golf classes being thought by local pros.
Golf tutorials can also be offered for juniors along with women’s clinics on the sport.

Golf collectors will find many interesting items in a golf store as well. Hobbyist may find collector items like golf balls used by some of the world’s most renowned players. Signed items may be available too.

Plus, there are golf stores that offer unusual golf gifts. These things range from the most common to the most creative golf gifts one could get for just about any occasion.

Most golf store owners are actually golfers themselves. Usually, they put up a golf store after retiring from playing golf.  Like most businessmen assert, it’s good to be passionate about what you are selling. This “passion” will give feelings of satisfaction and gratification to the golf shopper and this is something money cannot buy.

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How To Purchase Superb Golf Clubs Without Straining Your Purse

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Golf Clubs count among the most expensive of all sports gear and accessories; the reason being that unlike in the case of similar ball striking accessories like bats, rackets and hockey sticks, high technology goes into the making of a golf club which has to be precision designed and balanced to carry the ball exactly where it is intended to by a skilled player; with regard to the horizontal direction, vertical flight and to come as close as possible to the intended target, if not hitting the jackpot at once.

However, such precision crafted golf clubs are superfluous to the needs of beginners or even average golfers who could obtain quite good standard golf clubs to satisfy their requirements at much lesser prices from sports goods stores and online.

The temptation to go for the more highly priced upper range of Callaway clubs used by top golfers is too much for the beginners to resist due to the prestige value attached and the illusion that more expensive golf clubs would boost stroke play to perform like a champion in next to no time. But the hard fact is that you can never wield the more high tech clubs effectively before acquiring the proper techniques from grass root level. Higher priced golf clubs are far more efficient for the experienced players, but definitely not for the beginners, for if not held and swung at the precise angles to get a desired shot, the slightest deviation in your stance and angle of swing could bring the most unexpected results by sending the ball flying in a trajectory far off course from the target. My advice to beginners is to stick to beginners’ golf clubs that are more tolerant to errors in angles of stroke play saving you undue embarrassment by making you the laughing stock of the golf course. With golf clubs designed for beginners, you can slowly but surely build up your technique gradually to handle more expensive precision designed clubs with more confidence derived from the superior knowledge gained as you go on.

Don’t feel ashamed to purchase a secondhand golf club for a start; for it could save you much money, time and regrets in the experimental stages. You could find some seniors willing to part with their golf clubs still in very good condition for a reasonable price in order to graduate to higher priced models. However, be very careful in choosing one without compromising quality for price since golf clubs too age with time that sometimes render them almost unusable. If you are purchasing from a senior player you meet frequently on the course, you would be at an advantage to have a few test shots with the intended golf club before purchasing outright. With luck, you may even find a player who would lend one to you for a considerable period until you decide on its suitability for purchase.

Auctions and pawnshops are two other options for finding used older models of golf clubs. This procedure however would be more time consuming and less certain in finding a proper golf club, than if you were buying from a known person. It is altogether more risky since as a beginner you would be lacking in knowledge to distinguish between a good and a bad golf club, so that you may need the help of a trusted person knowledgeable in these affairs. If you have to go shopping alone at such auctions and pawnshops, make sure you obtain some solid advice beforehand and have a good idea of the features sought by you in making your initial investment in golfing. The advantage of buying from an auction or a pawnshop is the possibility of finding one at a very cheap price.

Don’t be blinded by a bargain to the extent of ignoring or compromising on quality. It is very important that you acquire at least some basic knowledge about golf clubs; that would make all the difference between making a worthy or a wasted investment, in addition to the time likely to be wasted by going fishing in unknown waters. You should be knowledgeable enough to close on a deal with confidence when you spot a worthy golf club. Go scouting for used golf clubs equipped with a good knowledge of the features that constitute a good golf club; and that way you could save yourself a lot of money, time and heartburn.

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Odyssey Golf Putters- Black Series

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The Odyssey company offers extensive lines of putters, and this article will describe one of their product lines, the Odyssey Black Series of putters.

The Odyssey Black Series consists of 3 putter head designs all of which take advantage of the design and technology features developed for this product line.

One feature used on all three models is a tungsten flange at the back of the putter head. This flange adds weight to the rear of the putter head and creates a low CG (center of gravity) which is deep in the club face. This feature helps to lift the ball slightly upon impact and get it rolling quicker. Since the golf ball actually is slightly nestled down into the grass of the putting green, hitting the putt initially with an upward angle helps get the ball rolling. In fact there is a short video on the Odyssey Black Series web site that shows a comparison between these clubs and another allegedly typical putter. The Black Series putter got the ball rolling about 1 ½ inches before the other putter did. Working in conjunction with the placement of the CG is the loft of the putter face. Each of the putter heads in the line, which are simply called Black Series no. 1, no. 2, and no. 3, have a different loft angle of the putter face which is optimized to get the quickest roll possible for the given CG location of each particular putter head. The theory is that the sooner the ball stops skidding after impact and begins a true roll, the more accurate the putt will be, and this certainly makes sense. It should also be noted that the weighted flange helps to create a higher MOI as well, and this provides some forgiveness for putts not hit exactly on the “sweet spot” of the putter face.

These putters are certainly top of the line and carry a retail price tag of $249 each. Black Series no. 1 putter has a rounded heel-toe weighted putter blade with a so called “crank-neck” hosel and a one shaft offset. The crank neck simply means that the offset is achieved by moving the shaft forward at 90 degree angles instead of a gradual bending of the hosel or shaft. The Black Series no. 2 putter has the same features but is more squared-off in appearance. Black Series model no. 3 is a mallet style putter with a double bend shaft that gives the same full-shaft offset.

The putter head is made of 1025 carbon steel and features a mix-milled face design which indicates the proper impact area. In other words the face has two different mill patterns on it. There is also a urethane damping layer between the flange and the milled carbon steel head that dampens vibrations.

The three traditional shaped heads of the Odyssey Back Series golf putters offer an interesting alternative for the serious golfer who prefers a traditional type of look and who can afford to spend $249 on his putter. They are certainly worth a look.

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