Free Golf Tip For January 2008
A Free Golf Tip to Improve Your Back Swing I ran a golf school in my home town for a number of years. It was a small town of about 4000 people, with larger towns surrounding ours. One of the major roads that led to my town went right past the driving range. There were many people who would drive by and see me with a player, or a group of players, throwing basketballs back and forth. When I went down to the grocery store, the number one question I would get was ‘Kris, how in the world does a basketball make you a better golfer?’ This article is dedicated to answering that very question. As we all know, golf is a difficult game that we are passionate about. It is also not easy to improve. Not because of ability, but more often because of time and not knowing what to practice during that time. It is hard to get to the driving range enough to groove a new move. The reason I bring the ball on the range is to demonstrate how each player can improve at home. It helps if you can hit balls for hours and hours. However, if you can put in a few minutes a day of well focused repetitions at home, you would be amazed what that will do to your game. Now, you can use any type of ball, pillow, or pot to work on your swing. I recommend a basketball because it is big and when properly inflated weighs between 7-9 pounds. This means that it will help develop some of your core golf muscles at the same time as you develop your swing. Since the ball has some weight to it, it will help develop some golf muscle endurance. The great part of practicing this way is that you really see what a strong back swing position looks and feels like. We are going to focus on the shoulder turn. There are many players out there that don’t turn their shoulders to their full capability, and that causes them to lose power and consistency. The drill is simple in nature, but often the simplest drills are the most effective. The Basketball Backswing Free Golf TipFree Golf Tip Step #1
Free Golf Tip Step #2
Same position but viewed from the side Free Golf Tip Step #3
Free Golf Tip Step #4
A Final CheckIf you have made a proper turn you hands will stay in front of your chest. If you see any still photos of the best players in the world, they all get to this position. This position is the key to an effective back swing. If you can keep your hands in front of your chest, you will keep your club on the proper line (swing plane), create more power, and use less energy to hit better shots. If you follow the steps in the drill, and when you get to step 4 and you find that your ball is not in front of your chest it means you are out of position.
This will make it much harder to hit great shots. If your ball swings out around your body and ends up behind you it means you did not turn your shoulders enough during your back swing. This will make your swing very flat and lack power. Please use this drill on a daily basis, as I know it can only positively benefit your game. Good luck with your practicing and playing. May you ‘Play Your Golf Dreams’ sooner with the help of free-golf-lessons.com. Return to the Main Free Golf Tips Page
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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.