Golf Tips from the Golf School Staff

We hope you enjoy our Golf Tips.  Golf can seem amazingly simple and frustratingly complicated at the same time.  Hope some of these tips help your game.

Grip pressure during a golf swing is often overlooked as a swing fault.  If a player is squeezing too tight, many of the muscles in the upper body will also tighten.  This may contribute to a loss of swing speed or control which means less distance and decreased accuracy.  One simple fix for gripping too tight is to have new grips installed on your clubs.  If you haven't put new grips on your clubs in a year or more, it's time to treat yourself.  Try it out and save 4-5 strokes per round.

Modern drivers are designed to get the most carry or "hang time" out of your tee shot. Yet many players prevent this from happening with the setup they use. To facilitate the driver head hitting the ball with a slightly ascending blow instead of descending, a few things can be done.  Tee the ball up higher using at least 3 1/4 inch tees and line the ball up more in line with the big toe of your front foot.  Then make sure your back shoulder is lower than your front shoulder, i.e. causing a tilt of your spine away from the target.  Finally, as you make your downswing, keep your head behind the ball.  Pretty soon you should be launching your tee shots higher and farther.

One of the keys to solid ball striking is compression of the golf ball.  In order for this to happen, the club face must hit the ball before anything else.  One simple key to making this happen might be as easy as where you focus your eyes during the swing.  By looking at the front of the ball or even slightly ahead of the front edge of the ball, you have a greater chance of swinging through the ball and creating good crisp contact.  Give it a try.

One of the easiest ways to hit more accurate shots is to fix your body alignment.  Your feet, knees, hips, and most importantly, your shoulders should all be parallel to your target line.  To check your shoulders, grab a club or alignment stick and put it across your chest and touching each shoulder.  The club should be pointing NOT directly at the target but slightly left if you are a right handed player.  Good alignment does not insure a good swing, but does give you a better chance of getting the ball TO the target if you make good swing.

The two aspects of putting that are critical to getting the ball in the hole are speed and direction.  For more consistent distance control, try keeping the speed at which you swing the putter the same on every putt.  Then, to hit short putts make the swing short and to hit longer putts make the swing longer (instead of trying to hit it harder or faster).  And, as you make each putter swing, make sure the follow through is a little bit longer than the back swing.  Do these things and watch your putting improve.

Focus on your target. Let your target calm your mind. Too many times we are thinking about swing thoughts instead of where we want to put the ball. The smaller the target you aim for, the better the chance of you executing the shot.  Have you ever been in a tough situation where you must hit the ball through a tight spot like between two trees and you execute perfectly?  Yet on the next shot from the middle of the fairway, you hit a poor shot.  What was different?  FOCUS. Next time you play, try to have a laser focused vision of exactly where you want the ball to go ON EVERY SHOT, and you WILL execute more good shots throughout your round. 

Tension is a killer in sports that require fine motor skills.  Like shooting a free throw in basketball, swinging a golf club is easier if you take a deep breath in and then exhale before you shoot.  Focus on your breathing during your round of golf or practice session to keep your muscles loose.  

We all know that most of the best players in the world have teams of people helping them with their games.  This may include swing coaches, personal trainers, nutritionists, and others.  If you want to start playing your best golf, the easiest way to begin might be to take a lesson.  Our school can help you improve your game.  Mention this "Tip" and receive $5 off your first lesson with us.  Call 843-450-9034.