Problems with your back swing?

Tips to improve your back swing

The key to a natural back swing is to focus on your shoulders turning back and letting your arms go back naturally. You shouldn’t worry about your arms in a back swing too much.  The arms and hands job is to only hold onto the club and the body does the rest. Something to keep in mind while approaching the ball is: turn the shoulders, swing the arms, and cock the wrists. Then swing down and through the swing, turn the hips, swing the arms down and un-cock the wrists. You want the arms and golf club to start their movement back before the shoulders start turning. The club head has a much longer distance to travel to the top of the back swing then do the shoulders. If you start turning the shoulders with the club, hands and arms you won't have anywhere for them to go once the shoulders have reached their max turn. Once the club, hands and arms reached your knees (or so) then it's time for the shoulders to catch up and start turning to the top. Keep the left arm straight (right handed players) during the backswing and go back as far as you can. Your tempo is dictated really by your personality, some people are naturally slow movers so will have a slower tempo while others tend to move faster. The important thing is to do what is most comfortable for you.

 

To your golfing success

 

Fran Watson
P.S.  For more info, click here

Hole In One

How to Get a Hole in One

I've played some excellent golfers in my time but none impressed me quite like the old guy I played with on a weekend tournament.

Soon after we started he hit a hole in one and while everyone else was impressed he didn't seem overly excited.

Assuming it was his first hole in one, we all congratulated him only to find out that he had hit many holes in one in his playing career.

"How did he do it so often" was the question everyone asked. Simple - everyone else was trying to hit his or her golf ball into a small hole and he was shooting for a bucket.

Let me explain. He always visualized the hole as the size of the bucket and having that mindset made it possible for him to get so many holes in one.

After hearing that way of thinking I immediately used the same visualization for myself that day. I didn't get any holes in one but my putting was out of this world.

Every time I got on the green I knew the ball was going to land inside that huge hole, the size of a bucket, I could see in front of me.

It's a fact that good golf is more about your mind than any other factor. Sure you have to know how to hit a golf ball correctly. You need to have a good stance and swing, but those things can be taught to anyone. If you can master your mind you will master the game of golf and that's why so many people go back to the golf course week after week. They never seem to quite master it completely and there is a challenge with every stroke.

I am still shooting for my first hole in one, but in the meantime my handicap has come down.

To a Hole In One in your future!!

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

Get A Grip

Get a Grip On Your Game

More precisely the title of this should be to get the 'Right Grip' and that means get one that is specifically correct for you.

You can't expect the grip on your golf club to be the optimum size for both you and someone else with bigger or smaller hands.

How can the grip on the golf clubs of a large man be the right size for both him and that tiny old lady playing alongside him?

What is right for her will probably be too small for him and a grip that is too small will make him tend to hold the club too tight.

Instantly there will be a problem with his swing if he is holding too tight.
Just changing the grip to a bigger one can alter a game dramatically.

Your hands are your link to the golf clubs and everything that goes on below that point. Your contact point with the clubs needs to be correct if you are expected to play well.

Don't be satisfied with the grips that the manufacturers supply, as they will offer a standard size to suit the majority of buyers.

You need to go one step further and find a grip that will allow you to control the club comfortably without having to hold it so hard that your game suffers.

A slippery grip will force you to hold too tight and that is something you don't want to contend with while you are playing.
Get grips for your clubs that are not only suited in size but also in the type of materials used as this can determine how tight you will hold them.

In addition to this, you need to warm up your wrists before play to ensure they are relaxed and ready for action.

Performing a few simple warm up exercises of rolling your wrist while holding your club lightly will help to reduce the possibility of injury.

Yours for a better grip


Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

Keeping A Positive Attitude on the Golf Course

Golf Tips For Beginners: It's All In The Mind

Many books and other sources of golf tips for beginners cover the technical aspects of playing golf very thoroughly, but do not prepare the new player for the mental side of the game. Golf can be a very frustrating sport and one where your game (and your reputation) can go rapidly downhill if you do not master the skill of anger management and keeping a positive mindset.

The most important thing to learn is to accept any bad shots and move on. This sounds simple but when you are out there on the course it is very easy to think about 'if onlys', going over other ways that you could have played the shot, or even wanting to take it again with another ball just to prove that you could have done better. This is not good for your game and is irritating for your playing partners. Save it for your next practice session.

Although your game will improve a great deal with practice and a good coach, some people simply have more strength or flexibility in their bodies than others. It can be frustrating to see other people practicing less and playing better but that's life. Try to concentrate on your own game without constantly comparing yourself with others.

If you suffer from arthritis or other stiffness in the back or shoulders, it may be difficult to learn a good straight swing. Certain exercises that involve slow movement are very good for increasing flexibility and awareness of the body. These include tai chi, qi gung and yoga. Tai chi, which is often taught as a martial art, is popular.

It can be very useful to experiment with your game when you are beginning, and later in your golfing career too. You can decide on an approach that you will take for a particular round, stick to it all through and then evaluate where it was useful and where it was not. For example you might decide to play safer shots all around the course, and you might find that this worked well on some particular holes, but not others. This is very useful information and will teach you a lot about your own game as well as how to play different holes and courses.

Visualization is another mental technique that can have a positive effect on your game. With every shot, try visualizing the ball arriving on the green and rolling straight into the hole. Accept bad shots and let them go, focusing on the positive. Think of the advancements you have made in your game, or what you can learn from that shot, or just enjoy the physical activity of playing golf.

While it is possible of course to improve your game, it will never be perfect. If you are a perfection-seeker then golf will either teach you a different mindset or frustrate you to the edge of a coronary. The perfect game of golf, after all, would be 18 holes-in-one. Did you ever hear of anybody doing that?

Most players are able to handle a bad shot or a bad round but a bad run where your play seems to have deteriorated for no clear reason can sometimes be difficult to deal with. Usually this is just chance and things will soon turn around for you. If not, you could try taking a few lessons. This is likely to help in the long term although experimenting with new playing styles could have a negative effect at first.

Understanding your mindset and the emotions that a good or bad game arouses is as important as taking in any technical golf tips for beginners.

Yours for a positive attitude

Fran Watson

Amazing Golf Mind Mental Audios

P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

Retrain Your Mental Approach To The Game

Golf is like a love affair. If you don't take it seriously, it's no fun; if you do take it seriously, it breaks your heart.- Arthur Daley

Making changes to your mental approach can see you take control of your game and slash your score faster than you might imagine.

In most professional sports, psychologists are an integral part of the coaching team and golf is quite possibly the sport that can benefit from mind power more than any other.

It is more than just self-doubt and negative thought that you need to eliminate from your game.You need to focus purely on the shot you are about to play.

There should be no thoughts about the last hole or the next hole.

You shouldn't be focusing on the water hole.How many times have you hit the ball into the water knowing that the ball would never have landed there if it were grass?

It is almost as if we will it into the water sometimes.This happens when you are so focused on the water that you can't play the shot, as you should.

This can be likened to a learner driver in a car when they are having their first lessons and find that they are veering towards cars that are driving beside them simply because they are so focused on those cars rather than where they are going.

If you believe you are going to slice the ball you are bound to do so.

If that bunker is constantly on your mind you can be sure that the next shot you play will be from the sand.

You need to train yourself to play one shot at a time and only give thought to that one shot.Nothing else matters - Not what your competition is doing or what your score is at that stage of the game.

Thinking about a bad score will only make matters worse.No matter how bad the round might be there are still opportunities to make the most of the remaining holes and that's all that matters.

Yours for a better golf game

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

The Most Common Golf Problem Is

The most common problem beginners have playing golf would surely be the slice shot.

This is where the ball curves through the air from left to right assuming the player is right-handed.

The flight of the golf ball is determined by the spin of the ball and a slice is caused by the ball spinning clockwise thereby causing it to travel in a clockwise arch.

The most common reason why this happens is people tend to lift their head when they strike the ball.The action of lifting the head causes the face of the club to hit across the ball and not through it.

By hitting across the ball, you are essentially hitting the ball from the outside in and this is the action that causes the ball to spin clockwise.

If you tend to slice the ball try to keep your head down until after you have hit the ball.By keeping your head down, and your eye on the ball to the point of contact you will play through the ball and your swing will remain straight, which will cause the ball to follow a straight path.

Keep your head down until after the ball has taken flight keeping your head and shoulders solid.
Another reason why you will get slice shots is by trying to hit the ball too hard.In doing so you could be using your arms to pull the club in and this will also cause it to spin.By hitting for less distance you can concentrate on getting the correct swing and playing for accuracy rather than length.

Try reducing your swing with these smaller shots to see if this starts to correct the problem.

As you begin to hit straighter you can begin to increase the length of your back swing and go for more distance.

Concentrate on accuracy first and distance follows. That is a good rule to always play by.

Yours for a better golf game!

Fran Watson
P.S. Instant Slice Cure

P.P.S. Here are some other links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

Some Driving Tips

We don't always want our drives to be the same.If there is a strong tail wind you should take advantage of the extra distance that can be gained with wind assistance.To do this, tee the ball higher.As a general guideline a ball placed higher on a tee will gain more height.

The inverse is the case when we want the ball to stay low.Lower the tee and the ball will travel lower.This is helpful where there is a headwind and when the fairway is fast and you can take advantage of the ball running on along the ground.

Depending on the conditions and your ability to use your driver it might be more beneficial to use your iron.

When the fairway is narrow and there is little room for error it might be better to use an iron for more control and even reduce your swing to maintain a more accurate trajectory.

The driver, being the longest club, is also the hardest to control.You might find that you get better results from a driving iron.It doesn't matter what club you use provided it delivers accuracy first and distance second.

You will also need to practice drives that aren't at 100%.Lowering your position on the grip slightly and reducing your swing can achieve these ‘smaller’ drives.The additional control that you gain will help in 'sticky' situations where you aren't confident to go for a long drive.

Everything is golf is variable even when using the same club and practice will help you to know the results that can be expected from changes in speed, swing and ball height on the tee.

There will be times when you need to decide what club to use when driving because the distance to the flag is between your club range.The obvious choice is to use an iron rather than the driver, as safe shots are more productive to a good score than recoveries from overshooting the hole.

Yours for a great golf game

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

The Right Golf Clubs For You

You invest a lot of money into a good set of golf clubs so it is a wise decision to get the help of professionals to determine which golf clubs are best suited to your style of play.

There are many factors that need to be taken into account including your height and the level of your game play.

Also, you will need to decide how big your pockets might be able to stretch as you can spend a small fortune on good brand name clubs.

But will they make you play any better?Well, all things being equal they certainly will assist with your playing ability.

They are the only thing between you and the ball so you had better make the right choices.
You can always try your playing partners clubs to see how they feel and whether you feel comfortable with them, but there is nothing like the knowledge you will gain by getting a golf professional to help you in your decision.

If you are getting lessons from a golf pro it will make their job all the easier as they will know where your strong and weak points are and the correct club selection might just help to counter any inherent problems that you have.

No matter how many people a golf pro might teach, they will understand that every golfer has a different swing.Everyone from amateur to professional has a different swing and their own unique way that they shift their weight during their swing.

By having a golf pro observe your swing they will understand your dynamics better than anyone else and this will help them to help you decide on your best golf club options.

Once you get a set of golf clubs that match your own unique swing you might be astounded to see how much your game can improve.

You might find that some of the 'bad' aspects of your game can be eliminated with clubs that are suited to your style.I'm sure you have already seen the vast difference you can have when you try out friends clubs. Now imagine the change you could expect if you found the optimum clubs for you.

Yours for an improved golf game

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

Consistency Is The Key

Consistency is the hardest part of golf.It is not possible for any human, Tiger Woods included, to hit the golf ball perfectly 100% of the time.What good golfers can do however is consistently hit the ball very well most of the time, and near perfectly quite a lot of the time.

It is this consistency that sets them apart and even those at the top of their game have days when they don't get their shots right enough of the time.

There is only one thing that can really help any golfer get that consistency and that is through practice.

But there is another matter that needs to be addressed when talking about consistency and golf and that is - Consistently bad shots.

The more you do anything consistently the more it will become natural behavior and this applies to poor technique too.

The sooner you address poor golf techniques, the sooner you will be able to practice the correct methods that will replace them and make those actions second nature.

This is why it is recommended that everyone should get professional instruction before learning bad techniques that will need to be relearned at a later time.

I would even go to the extent of advising a newcomer to the sport to have lessons before ever attempting to play a round.Or alternatively, learn how to use one club well, probably the 7 iron, and play a whole round, or nine holes, using only the 7 iron and a putter.

I knew of one player who made dramatic improvements to his game by using this technique and he had been playing for years.He started playing golf with only the 7-iron and his putter, until he perfected his swing, and then introduced other clubs one at a time.

After getting his swing right with the 7-iron, mastering the other clubs was relatively simple.

Yours for a better game of golf

Fran Watson
P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com

A Balanced Approach

Golf is all about balance.You need to get the right balance on your feet, in the movement of your body, in the swing of the clubs and so on.

Balance goes further than just the body however.You need a balanced approach to the game with your mind in sync with your body.

You need to only consider the one stroke that you are playing and not let other holes impact on your balance.

When we get golf lessons we're taught about the distribution of weight on our feet and the weight distribution when we swing to strike the ball.

Many of the techniques seem foreign to the beginner but it is all about training the player to find balance in their game so the actions are effortless and natural.Our balance should flow through with the movement of the swing in one fluid action to the striking of the ball and even after the ball has been hit with a balanced follow through.

It is a natural feeling that will become second nature with practice.

It is through finding balance in your mind and body that you will start hitting consistently good shots.Without this it will be very difficult to find any consistency in your game.

Once you get your upper body correctly positioned behind the ball, you will find that you are naturally placing more weight on the back foot.

Try it next time you have a practice swing. Stand balanced on your feet with no more pressure on the front of the foot than the back.Position yourself behind the ball and gently swing through without making any effort to concentrate on the distribution of the weight on you feet.

You will find that this will come naturally with no effort at all and that is precisely how you should feel when you are striking the ball.

Yours for a better golf game

Fran Watson

Amazing Golf Mind Mental Audios

P.S. Here are some links you can check out
www.golftipsmag.com
www.golflink.com/tips/videos
www.pga.org/improve/tips/
www.pgaprofessionals.com