The 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational Golf Tips

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Golf Tips From The 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Who to Watch at the 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Vijay Singh –

Vijay is the defending champ of this tournament and is at the top of the leader board after two rounds. If you have watched him before you know that he is quite tall and hits the ball a long way. He does a couple of things really well that could benefit your own game. Try watching for these two keys to his swing while you check out the tournament this weekend.

1)Golf is a game that you need to play relaxed. The less tension in your muscles the better…and that goes for your whole body. As soon as we start to tense up we lose feel, club head speed, and consistency. Those are three things that you don’t want to lose when playing this game. Nobody keeps their muscles as relaxed as Vijay. His body is so loose and fluid it is really amazing to watch. It is certainly not easy to keep your muscles relaxed, especially when the pressure is on to hit a great shot.

Golf is a funny game. The more you try to control where the ball goes the more tension is built up in your body, and the less likely the ball will go where you want it to. If you take proper aim and make a fluid, tension free swing, the more likely you will hit it to your target. Try to get a feel for Vijay tension free swing.

2)Another key thing to look at in Vijay’s swing is his hips during his back swing. Many tour players these days are taught to restrict the turning of their hips so that they can create more power. This is great if you have awesome flexibility…but most of us don’t. What I like about Vijay is that he keeps his hips relaxed during the back swing, and they just turn as much as they need to.

If you start you swing with your hands, arms, and shoulders and leave your hips relaxed, they will turn as much as they need to for your level of flexibility.

If you stop turning your hips and don’t have enough flexibility then your swing will get steep and off line.

Tiger Woods –

The great thing about Tiger is that you will see a lot of his shots during the telecast. He is the best…time will tell if he will be the greatest ever, but it is certainly looking that way. He truly is a master magician of golf.

When you watch him this weekend…pay particular attention to the start of his back swing. Especially, as the club goes from address to parallel to the ground just below hip height. The ideal position has the club in line with your toes. He gets there every time. It is amazing. He is so consistent and that is one of the key reasons. To see a picture of the position please click here to go to “the Takeaway” lesson in the “Driver” section.There are so many things that we could watch in Tiger’s rounds, but that is one we can all get better at. I hope you enjoy the 2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

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PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Steve Stricker on his victory at the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

I believe the commentators said he has won 9 times in his 40s. That is amazing!I also agree with Sir Nick and Johnny Miller that his swing will be copied in the future. Technology has reduced the need for hand action in the golf swing to generate power. Watch the old videos of Bobby Jones to see how much action he created compared to that of Steve Stricker.

A great objective for any player is to eliminate any unnecessary movement. Stricker does a great job of that. His hands stay very quiet on the backswing. His wrists hardly hinge at the top of his backswing. You can see from the above video that his backswing is all shoulder turn.

His downswing starts from the hips and he simply turns everything through the golf ball at the same time. His hands and wrists release naturally without any effort. This is a great way to have a consistent rhythm through the golf ball on every shot. This swing delivers enough power to win on Tour.

European Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen and his victory at the 2012 Africa Open.

Louis burst onto the scene with his dominating performance at the Open Championship. Many have predicted multiple wins for this player. His victory this past weekend is likely one of many to come.

In the video above pay really close attention to when the video ends. Take a look at his left foot. Notice how all his weight his on his left heel. This is a great sign that he has cleared his hips properly.

One of the key reasons for starting the downswing with your lower body is to clear your hips out of the way to create more room for your arms to swing through impact. It is a great indicator as to how well you cleared your hips, when almost all your weight is on your heel.

If your weight is leaning on you toes or even the middle of your foot then you have not rotated and cleared your hips enough through your downswing and past impact. You really want to feel the pressure of your weight on your heel like Oosthuizen.

Make sure you start your downswing with your lower body. At the top of your backswing; either pull your left knee or your left hip (right handed player) towards the target. Also make sure your hips keep rotating through impact and into your finish position with your weight on the heel.