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Posts Tagged ‘golf improvement’

Swing Tip: The Most Important Swing Checkpoint You Should Know

There are several key checkpoints you can rehearse as you practice hitting balls, and this is one of the best:

Perfect Drive Shots By Using Perfect Posture

To hit perfect drives, your feet should be shoulder-width apart with the toes splayed out slightly. The ideal ball position for the driver is opposite the inside of your left heel, because it encourages a sweeping angle of attack, striking the ball slightly on the upswing.

The weight should slightly favor your back foot

Iron Play Tip: Understanding Ball Position

Ball position is a fundamental aspect of iron play. Any confusion or lack of awareness of this part of the set-up can, and probably will, have dire consequences on the state of your approach today.

Here is a useful rule of thumb: Play your wedge shots with the ball in the middle of your stance, then move the ball progressively further forward in your stance as the club gets longer.

As a guide, the 5-iron is just over a ball’s width forward of center; the 3-iron is further forward still, inside your left heel.

The reason for doing this is that it helps encourage the correct angle of attack as the clubhead approaches the ball

Putting Tip: Keep Your Eyes Over The Ball

Ball position is as important in the putting stroke as it is in the full swing. There are two factors to bear in mind:

1) Firstly, the ball should be forward in your stance to encourage a slight ascending blow when the putter-face meets the ball. This imparts a good roll on your putts.

2) Secondly, your eyes should ideally be directed over the ball, as this gives you the best perspective of the line from the ball to the hole.

A Simple Routine

Here is one simple routine that helps give you the perfect ball position:

Adopt a comfortable posture and then drop a golf ball from the bridge of your nose. The spot on which it lands represents perfect ball position for you.

How To Hit A Long Bunker Shot

The number one rule from any fairway bunker is to take a club with sufficient loft to clear the front lip. If it so happens that the club also has the distance to reach the green, consider that a bonus.

Clean contact is everything with this shot, because sand soaks up the energy in the swing and therefore even slightly heavy contact results in catastrophic loss of distance.

1) Choke down on the grip about an inch. This will hold the clubhead up off the sand and help to promote clean contact with the ball.

2) Shuffle your feet into the sand to give yourself a secure footing. This will lower the base of your swing, so choking down on the club is key.

3) Make a smooth, well-balanced swing and make sure you hit down into the back of the ball, rather than trying to help it into the air.

You should be striking the back of the ball rather than the sand. If you catch the sand before the ball, it will feel heavy.