Note Sheet - Swing Reminder Sheet My Saved Tips GOLFCRANIUM.COM

Achieving Balance and Rhythm in Your Golf Swing One of the most difficult things for the beginning golfer to learn is how to achieve the right balance and rhythm in a golf swing, whether on the tee or in the fairway. Practice will certainly help. Here's a good technique to follow: As you pivot to the top of your back swing, your weight should move to the inside of your back foot. At that point you should be able to feel about 75 percent of your weight on your back foot. The other 25 percent will be on your front foot. Never let your weight move to the outside of your back foot. When you make your downswing and make contact with the ball, about 90 percent of your weight should have shifted to your front foot, with your head behind the ball and your hips shifting slightly forward, about 4 inches beyond the starting position. Things change once you get on the fairway and start using your irons. For those shots you want your weight evenly balanced between heels and toes.

How to Stop “Looking Up” Many beginning golfers have the “Look Up” problem. They are so anxious to see where the ball might go that they "look before they leap" and miss the ball completely. In some groups, if you do this you get charged with a stroke you have not made. Others beginners will let you get away with it and give you a chance to really hit the ball. Why do beginners do this? Here are four important rules or techniques to keep in mind: - Make sure you rotate your hips properly when you make impact. - Keep your arms fully extended until you complete your shot. - Concentrate on a low follow-through, keeping your eye on the ball. - Make yourself wait until the ball has been hit and is far into the distance before you look to see where it has gone.

When You Consistently Miss Your Putts When you finally get your ball on the green, you have a great opportunity to finish the hole in perfect style by sinking your first putt. For beginners, however, that's more of a dream than reality, especially if the ball is a long way from the hole. Some of the greats, like Tiger Woods, sometimes sink a long putt to the acclaim of watching crowds. One of the keys to making good putts is the position of your eyes over the ball. If you don't focus on your target, you risk the chance of stroking the ball to the right or left of the cup. One test to make sure your eyes are where they should be when putting, which is directly over your ball, is to assume your putting stance, then take another ball and drop it from your eyes down to the ball in front of you. It should land directly on your putting ball below.

When Your Ball Goes to the Right of the Target The term "pushing" in golf is used when you have a problem in placing the ball exactly where you want it during the game. One way to correct this is to take a close look at your stance. Make sure your feet, knees, hips and shoulders are parallel to the target line. Or maybe the problem is in how you address the ball. Where does the ball lie when you're getting ready to hit it? If it is too far back, this will force you into an excessive in-to-out swingpath. In other words, your clubhead will reach the ball too soon, before it has a chance to square up to the target. If you think this might be part of the problem, stand further back behind the ball when you address it. You want to be comfortable when you swing at the ball, but you want to hit it squarely, too, and avoid any chance of a “push.” And never rush your swing.

How to Stop Pulling the Ball It's a frustrating habit for any golfer who always seems to be pulling the ball, and never making a straight shot. To get rid of this problem for good, keep two things in mind: - Stop rushing your downswing - Stop trying to swing too hard. Both of these actions interfere disastrously with the control of your swing and how you hit the ball. When making your shot, let your lower body lead in the downswing. This allows your arms and hands to deliver the clubhead cleanly to the ball when you complete the swingpath. Another thing to watch out for is the coil in your backswing. Make sure you have enough coil so you can avoid producing an out-to-in swing, resulting in exactly what you want to avoid: a pulled shot. By paying attention to all of these mechanics you will be able to straighten out your shots and avoid the pull.

Is Your Ball Hooking? If your ball is hooking, you are probably hitting it with a closed clubface. Check yourself out before you hit the ball. Take a look at your grip. The “V” configurations in each hand should be pointing over your right shoulder. But if they are pointing too far to the right, this means that your grip is too strong, causing a closed face when you hit the ball, and resulting in a hook. If you still can't see anything wrong with your grip, loosen it a bit by gradually moving both hands to the left. Or is your stance the problem? Check that, too. Your feet, knees, hips, and shoulders should be parallel to the target line. Also check your ball address. If the ball is too far back when you hit it, this could be producing an excessive in-to-out swingpath. Your wrists are another key to the problem. If your left wrist is too relaxed at impact, your right wrist will take over, causing the clubface to close too early.

Are You a "Scooper"? Some beginning golfers sometimes have a "scooping" problem. Instead of hitting the ball cleanly, they "scoop" it up. They don't get the distance they want, and the ball may bound off completely away from the target. Essentially, this means the ball is hit high and behind, something that will ruin any shot and especially costly when you are chipping onto the green. Scoopers may not realize it at the time, but what they are doing is hitting up on the ball instead of down. In a strictly upward motion the clubhead passes the hands before impact, bottoming out the club before it reaches the ball. This problem can be corrected by keeping your hands ahead of the clubhead during address and impact. Keep good control of your wrist, avoiding the flip, hit the ball first and then follow-through.

Using Golf Instructors If you want professional golf help and want to learn more golfing techniques, shop around and ask questions about golf instructors and/or watch them teach somebody else. See if you would be comfortable with them and if they are successful in helping their students learn how to golf.

Stay Flexible on Tee and Fairway One of the worst things you can do to your golf game is to tighten up or get too tense when teeing off, or when you're on the fairway or green. Instructors have a cure for this; it's a drill called “the hip blocker.” First fix your knees as if ready to swing at the ball. This will force the body to turn more correctly and increase flexibility. If you're right-handed, while swinging, turn your shoulders back until the left shoulder is under your chin. You should be able to feel a greater stretch along your left side. Do the same thing on your follow-through, but this time with your right shoulder under your chin. With this exercise, in time you will increase your ability to fully coil without using your hips. You'll achieve a new flexibility and at the same time increase the power in your swing.

Golf Driving Tips Try these tips for a longer drive. GRIP IT LIGHT-Many short hitters grip the club too hard, causing tightness in the fore arms, and a tense take-away. A light grip will cause you to loosen up and swing with more flexibility. A good analogy is to grip the club like it was a small bird. SWING IT BACK SLOW-The majority of touring pros take the first 12-36" of the back swing deliberately slow, causing a smooth back swing, getting maximum distance. The Golden Bear said "The slower your back swing, The farther the ball will go", which is true. Extend to a high finish! A full finish adds more yardage to the ball.

Know the Basic Rules of Golf Learn to use the basic rules of golf to make the most out of your troubles. For instance, you hook a ball into the woods and it is unplayable. You are only 50 yards from the green but blocked out by the woods. The rule states you can bring the ball out and place it along the line of flight (even all the way back to your tee shot). So go back along the line until you have the best distance and approach angle to the green. This golfing technique could save you a stroke or 2. Get every advantage you can.

No Arms, No Wrists, No Errors For good golf chipping techniques, try locking the wrists and arms and have them move in one piece using the shoulders. You should start seeing improved distance and accuracy. Less moving parts means more reliability.

Tee Height When you tee the ball for a driver shot, put the tee height at the middle of the driver´s face, this puts half the ball above the driver. This is the recommended height for driving.

Hitting the Ball Longer Tiger Woods, one of the best golfers in the world, only weighs 180 pounds but he hits the ball 20 yards longer off the tee than the average tour player. If you're like most golfers, including those who have been playing for quite some time, you'd like to add yards to your tee shots, too. How does Tiger do it? Watch him and you'll see the same small, dark grass area next to his hips when he is at the top of his swing and at impact. Many amateur golfers make the mistake of pushing their hips toward the ball when they make their downswing. Tiger rotates his hips in making his downswing but he doesn't make the mistake of moving them toward the ball. There's something else Tiger does that you might want to follow. When he begins his downswing, he starts rotating his left forearm. With that action he begins to square the face and gradually release the clubhead. His swing is already halfway down when the uncocking of his wrists begins.

Lead Foot Tip To help get your weight shift going at the target, try slanting your lead foot a little towards the target.

\...| vs |...| <---target line

Where In My Stance Do I Play the Ball? There is no one perfect golf ball position for everyone because of the differences in height, weight and flexibility of golfers. There is a general rule of thumb for ball position: with your driver, woods, 2 and 3 irons, play the ball just inside of your left heel. With your 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 irons you would play the ball halfway between your inside left heel and the center of your stance. And with your 9 iron and wedges you would play the ball in the middle of your stance. But, the best way to find your proper ball position would be to go to the practice range and hit balls. After you have hit a few shots place the ball at the beginning of your divot and do this until you have found your proper ball position with all your clubs. You will hit more good shots off the sweet spot on the club and the ball will go more consistently towards the target.

Loose Grips Sink Ships Everyone knows the proper putting stroke starts with the correct shoulder movement. But not everyone knows that your grip could play a huge role in isolating your shoulder movement and creating a more consistent putting stroke. Try gripping the putter with your left hand as if you were holding a baby bird. You don't want to hold it too tight, because there's a chance of hurting it, then again you don't want to hold it to lightly, for it might fly away. When you grip the putter with your right hand, remember, it's only along for the ride, it won't be doing any of the driving. Once you've found your comfortable grip, slightly strong with the left hand, weak with the right, you'll then push the putter back with your left hand and also pull it through. It might help to try a few stokes with just your left hand!

Golfing Techniques - Golf Tee Shot Rule One golfing technique to use is that when you are in doubt about a lost ball on a tee shot, always hit a provisional ball and make the ball recognizable to the group, so there is no disputing which ball is which.

Make Your Putting Like Clock Work For better, more consistent golf putting, swing a putter like a pendulum with equal back and forward swings. You will see better control of distance and accuracy.

Swinging Through the Golf Ball A common swing flaw is to swing AT the ball, rather than thinking about swinging on the target line and along this path. This gives you the feeling of hitting THROUGH the ball and will improve your distance and accuracy.

Stance Width The width of your stance should be about the same width as your shoulders. If your stance gets too wide it allows you to develop swing flaws such as head sway, poor finish, and weight back.

Where To Put The Ball Since every golf club is different in length we need a general ball placement guide for every club. Iron golf clubs are played at center and rear of center to allow a hit in the downward part of the swing arc, while woods are played front of center to give the feeling of sweeping at the ball.

Stop Topping Having problem with topping the ball? You may be looking up too soon, lifting up the back foot or over-swinging. Keep the swing smooth and easy. Wait for the sound of impact before you look up. Let the head turn with the body as it moves forward after impact.

Weight Distribution Start with the weight favoring the left side at address for the normal shot.

Use the Golf Practice Range One good golf tip for beginners is to know that the golf practice range is the place to test out a golf tip or try improving your golf swing, not the golf course. Dedicate time to work on your faults; don´t go there to smack golf balls around aimlessly.

Timing Tip Having timing problems? Try swinging a heavy broom and making it sweep along the target line and hit the same spot on that line. The heaviness will make your body make the most efficient weight transfer and balanced swing. You will start to feel the broom speed increasing with less power applied as your timing is enhanced.

Improve Bunker Shots Getting out of a green side bunker can be easy when you know these three rules.

#1-Use a Sand Wedge with a large sole to slide through the sand.

#2-Strike the sand behind the ball as you accelerate to a full finish. Most players hit the sand behind the ball and "quit" on the shot, leaving the ball in the bunker.

#3- Make sure you use a light grip pressure. Holding the club too tightly will "freeze" your wrists making it difficult to slide the club under the ball in the sand properly.

Ball Position For Fairway Bunker Shots To successfully hit a fairway bunker shot, begin by playing the ball back in your stance. By setting up with the ball slightly right of your zipper, you will help your club face to strike the ball before the sand.

Everything Must Be Square to the Target To be sure you are aimed at the target, picture a set of railroad tracks. The track furthest from you is where the golf ball will be and that track runs directly to your target. The track closest to you will be the track your feet will square up to and this track will run left of the target the same distance your feet are away from the ball at address. Have a fellow golfer stand behind you and ask him/her to see if you are lined up properly. You can also lay clubs down on the ground at your feet and on the target line. Be sure your knees, hips and shoulders are also parallel to the target line. Practice your aim. It is very important in hitting a good golf shot.

Let Your Body Control the Swing Let your body, not your hands and arms, control the pace of your down swing and follow through. Your belly button should be facing the target when you finish. Key on turning your shoulders back and through, while keeping your hands quiet throughout the swing.

A Cure For Slices You need a wide and powerful backswing to get distance on your drive. But if lately you've been slicing the ball, you should find out why this is happening and make the proper adjustments. If you're right-handed, maybe the problem is in your left arm. You need to keep this arm out straight on your backswing, but if it is still straight when you follow through, your ball is going to slice. Tension in your left arm will prevent your right arm from rotating over naturally, the way it is supposed to do when you hit your drives. Result: the clubface stays open instead of squaring at impact and your ball slices to the right. This problem can be fixed if you concentrate on letting your left arm bend when you follow through. If you're too conscious of this, that can create problems, too. Best to practice this correction before you get out on the course with your buddies. They'll be proud of you when they note that your slice is gone.

A Comfortable Stance One of the keys to improving your golf swing as a beginner, starts with improving your stance. Try standing with your feet shoulder width apart, slightly bending your knees so that you are nice and comfortable. Next bend over at the waist so that your arms hang down comfortably with the golf club. Finally, don't tense up too much during the swing, just relax and let your body go through its natural motions.

Fairway Bunker Shots Footing While in a fairway trap, dig your feet in by twisting them into the sand. hen, let your knees pinch toward each other so the majority of your weight is over the inside of your feet. Your foot impressions after the shot should be deeper on the inside half of each foot.

More Golf Driving Tips The proper ball placement for the driver tee-shot is off the leading foot´s inside heel.

Golf Slicing Tip What you have is what some call a slice or fade. This occurs when the golf club head is open at impact causing side spin on the ball. The initial momentum of the golf ball sends it straight, but as the forward momentum decreases, the affects of the spin take over and move your ball right.

Several causes for this condition include the equipment you use and your swing. Golfing equipment problems include golf club shafts that may be too flexible, make sure your shaft is right for your swing speed. Another golfing equipment problem may be that the head of the golf club driver that you have is open faced.

A neutral or closed faced driver, usually called an offset driver, will help stop a slice. When it comes to the swing there are many different exercises that can help you with solving the problem, most include drills on trying to swing from the inside out instead of the outside in.

The one that works pretty good for some people is this: Go to the golf driving range and tee up as you normally do. Now try to hook the ball really bad. Exaggerate turning your hands over. Keep doing this at least 15 times or until you hook every shot. Now try to hit one straight. You will see that the exaggerated swing begins to build muscle memory and causes you to turn you hands over better even on your normal shot.

Bench Your Chip Shots - Golf Chipping Lessons Get those golf chipping shots on the ground and rolling as soon as possible and you will start getting more consistent. As an aid, chip under a bench or a rope or through your bag holder´s support legs, this will help you keep them lower.

Drive Thru Your Drives A good thought process for driving is to imagine the golf club hitting thru the golf ball and not at it. Try to imagine the club´s swing path and the ball simply getting in the way of the club. You swing the golf club along the target line and the golf ball goes along for the ride.

Make Your Trip To The Beach A Short One The sand trap (aka beach) shot should not be feared. Just open your stance a little, play the ball in the center, and hit about 2 inches behind the ball in a smooth continuous swing. The club will glide thru the sand and the ball will ride up and out on a column of moving sand. It is like throwing a shovel of dirt with a ball on top. The ball moves yet the club or shovel never actually touches it.

Pre-Shot Routine Every golfer has his/her own pre-shot routine. An example of a good pre-shot routine would be: Stand behind the ball, pick an intermediate target, take a practice swing visualizing the ball flight to the target. Now, address the ball lining up the club face with the intermediate target, look at the target once again and swing through the golf ball with the same tempo you used on your golf practice swing.

Reduced Back Swing For Fairway Bunker Shot For successful fairway bunker contact, limit your back swing to 3/4 of its normal length, and then mirror it on the follow through. Because you are using such an abbreviated swing, take two more clubs for the distance you are approaching. If you have a good lie, choose that 5 instead of the 7 iron golf club.

Shots to Practice? When you are at the practice range, always take time to practice the shots that are difficult for you to hit. They will eventually become easier to hit with practice.

Iron Thoughts About Divots For iron golf club shots, the golf ball is hit in the descending part of the swing. The golf club should hit the ball first, then the ground second. Any divot should be past the ball´s position on the ground. You will hit longer more solid shots with nice back spin to hold the greens better. So study your divots to see if you are hitting the irons properly.

Play A Round Of Golf At The Range When practicing at the range, pretend you are playing a round of golf. Start with the golf driver, then hit a 6-iron. Go back to the driver, then the 3-wood, and then the wedge. If you pretend you are playing a round of golf your practice will seem more like the real thing because you never go out and hit 15 drives in a row and then 20 8-irons. A bucket of golf balls will last twice as long. Practice your pre-shot routine before each shot.

Are You Using Both Sides? Are you one of those golfers who unconsciously is using only one side when hitting the ball? After all, it is probably your strongest side and so depending on it for most of your strength comes naturally enough, right? It's important to use both sides fully in your shots to play well and score well. Too many players, even those who have been playing for a while and should know better, allow their swings to be dominated by their right side. The left arm and side, consequently, remain weak and do not contribute as they should to every shot you make. Right-side dominance causes poor extension and leads to a lot of other flaws in your swing. If you're right-handed, one way to correct this is to practice swinging with your left arm only. Do this a few times and then add your right arm for a full swing. You should begin to feel the difference in your swing and in the power you can now generate.

Find Your Tempo By Using Your Senses Find the tempo that gets your timing at its best. Look, listen and feel the way good timing occurs and remember it well. When you are struggling during a round, make practice swings until you get the timing to look, sound and feel correct again. Remember to use your senses.

Grip Position Many people have a strong grip that feels too uncomfortable if they try to neutralize it. The problem could be the positioning of the grip is too much in the fingers. Try laying the club across the hand pads where the fingers meet the hands and grip the club. You should have a much easier time getting the grip neutralized.

Correct Body Distance While Teeing Off - More Golf Setup Tips If your body is too close or far positioned from the ball, your distance and aim will be greatly effected. First position yourself behind the ball as normal. If you are right handed, grip the club as usual. Let your right hand go from your grip. If you are positioned just right, it will stay in the same location as when you gripped the club. If you are too far from the ball, your hand (when you release it) will fall towards the end of the shaft. If too close, your hand will fall further down the shaft. For lefties, this drill should be done with the left hand. This only takes a couple seconds to do but will improve your distance and accuracy.

TOE-riffic Downhill Golf Putting Do downhill golf putts intimidate you? Do you either whack it 10 feet past or leave them 5 feet short? Take your normal putt for this distance but play the ball nearer to the TOE (front end) of the putter. The toe putt is a less solid hit and the ball comes off the putter with diminished inertia. You can also experiment for lightning fast greens by moving the ball closer to the toe too.

Trust In The Name For Alignment If you are having problems aligning your putts, try this. When you mark your ball on the green, replace it with the name logo in line with the hole, then putt thru this logo line.

Do Not Get Into The Wedge Rut When Golf Chipping For fringe, uphill and longer chip shots try keeping the wedge in the bag and consider using the 6, 7 or 8 iron instead. You still lock your wrists and arms, yet the shot will feel more like a putt. Do not be too surprised when you start holing out more often.

Get Confidence Over Your Golf Putting For good golf putting results, keep your eye over the golf ball at address.

Warm-up Before Your Round Want to play one of the best rounds of your golfing career? Do what the pros in any sport do to get ready for a game: start with a warm-up an hour before the game. Get to the clubhouse early and head for the driving range. Walk briskly to get your blood moving. Maintain a positive attitude and keep your mind intent on making the most of this day. Begin your warm-ups by taking two clubs and swinging them in circles above your head. Do this 10 times with each arm to get your shoulders ready. Put the rest of your clubs on the ground in a vertical position, then put your hands on top of the grips and do 10 squats to warm up your knees, calves, and hips. Now begin your club practice. Hit your irons for about 10 minutes. Start slowly with three-quarter length swings, then build up to full swings. This will give ample stretch to your arm, leg, and core muscles. Do the same with your woods. You are now primed to play a career round, the best you've ever played.

Iron Address At address, forward press the hands so they are in front of the ball. This helps keep them ahead of the ball at contact which gives you a solid iron golf club shot.

Draw the Ball Like a Kicker Watch a kicker make a field goal and you will almost always see him draw the ball inside the uprights with an inside-out move. His foot moves up and to the inside after the kick. Use the same image for your golf swing. Try to attack the ball from an inside path to hit a powerful draw instead of a weaker, outside-in slice.

Stance on Bunker Shots Take an open stance to restrict back swing length and to steepen the swing.

Use a High Percentage Safe Shot Out of a Fairway Bunker If you are a high handicapper, always play the most consistent and safest shot. When faced with a long fairway bunker shot, go with a 7 or 8 iron golf club instead of a 3 or 4 iron golf club.

Buried Sand Trap Lies To get out of a buried sand trap lie, try closing the face of the wedge a little and hit an inch or 2 behind the ball on your down swing. Do not stop at the ball, but rather continue the swing and the ball will come out nicely. I prefer a pitching wedge for the buried lie shot.

It Is Good To Be Square When it comes to golf, it is good to be square. Lay a golf club or a rope on the ground and online with the hole as an aid to help you align your feet at the target.

Natural Instincts Hitting the ball to the hole should be accomplished by the "feeling." When you were a kid playing a game of catch, it was easy to toss a baseball to the other guy (the target). Your mind never got in the way and wondered... "How far away is that guy?" "How hard should I throw it to reach him?" "How should I grip the ball?" You just threw it and it landed in his glove. I promise you that the golf clubs work and were designed for certain distances and situations. The only thought you need to have is, "How far did I hit this club the last time I hit it good?" Pick the golf club, swing freely ... it all falls into place.

Golfing Drills for Stopping the Slice The first step is to stick two tees in the ground on both sides of the golf ball, so they make a 45 degree angle to your target line. The line should point to your front foot. Second, slowly take the club back making sure it stays inside the outside tee. Finally, starting the down swing keep the club head inside the two tees, thus creating an inside out swing plane.

Better Tempo - Improving Golf Swings Keep the same tempo (pace, timing) for all your full shots. A driver has the same swing tempo as a pitching wedge. The same is true for all the clubs in between. Keep your swing tempo at a constant pace and you will become more consistent.

An Inside Tip on Golf Instruction Keep your weight balanced on the inside and on the balls of your feet for better balance and weight shift.

How to Spot a Good Putt For help on longer putts, pick a spot along the line of the golf putt, but closer to you and in the range of your peripheral view, and roll the golf ball over the spot.

Learn to Use The Draw The golf draw shot is a mild curve from the dominant hand side to the un-dominant hand slant as you are facing the hole. Learn to hit and use it to your advantage. It will get you more roll. It will fight an opposing cross-wind. It will help you bend a shot around an obstruction, and more.

Tight Near Lip of Trap If you need to get the golf ball up fast out of a trap during a bunker shot, try starting the back swing by cocking your wrists upward followed by the normal back swing. The down swing is the same but you release the wrists (uncock them) before impact. The result is a steep cut thru the sand popping up the ball quickly and softly on the green.

Golf Putting Basics For more consistent putting try this golfing tip: Get used to the feel of one brand of golf ball and your putts will drop. Your loyalty to one brand will pay off in better feel, consistency, and confidence.

Closed Stance To place your feet in preparation for a draw shot, where the rear foot is moved back off of or inside the parallel target line.

Uphill and Downhill Lies The most important thing to remember when playing an uphill lie is to square your shoulders to the angle of the hill. Think of it as if you were playing the ball from a flat lie, your shoulder angle should be the same in comparison to the ground. On the uphill lie, the hill adds loft to the ball, if you are looking to hit it a certain distance, you may need to add more club.

Downhill lies are treated the same. Square your shoulders to the hill, but in the case of the downhill lie, you may need a higher lofted club.

Plumb-Bobbing Golfing Technique Plumb-bobbing is a golfing technique to read the break of a putt. Stand behind the ball about 10 feet. Hold the very end of the golf putter grip. Dangle the club so the shaft falls through the center of the cup and the ball. Your looking to see if you can identify any slant that may be in the green on your golf putt. This does not always work for all golfers.

Width of Stance For a good solid base, make your stance approximately shoulder width.

Learn Distances On The Fly When you are at the range learn how far you hit each golf club on the fly. If you are hitting a shot to a green with a water hazard in front of it you will need to know how far your ball will fly with each club without going into the drink.

A Putter's Paradise Want to know how to increase your putting average 50%+ from five feet and in? This simple yet effective putting drill can be completed in less than ten minutes. Pick out a flat spot on a practice putting green and shove a tee in to the ground about half way. Next measure out a five foot putt away from the tee (you can just eye this measurement). Once you're all setup, start putting at the tee. You'll want to start off trying to hit the tee ten times in a row without missing. If you miss one, start over. Do this drill a few times a week and when you gain confidence, challenge yourself to hitting the tee 15 times, then 20 and so on. By the time you get on the course, the cup will look so big that you could make the five footer with your eyes closed.

Working the Second Shift The down swing re-shifts weight from the back swing part of the swing. The weight transfer is from the rear foot to the front foot. The legs should shift at the target, then the down swing of the club is the natural release thru the ball. Learn to transfer the weight first, then the club for accurate, solid, long drives.

Short Golf Putts Hit the short golf putts a little more firm. This will not allow the golf putt to break as much.

Swing The Golf Club Swing the golf club like a full "cut pitch shot," matching the length of the back swing and the follow-through to the force needed for that shot.

Bunker and Golfing Drills To develop a consistent entry point in the sand in correct relation to the ball position: Draw a straight line 10 feet long in the sand with the butt end of the club or rake handle. Straddle the line so it is slightly left of center in the stance. Make swings so you splash sand forward with the entry point starting on the line. Travel down the line repeating the drill until the entry point is consistent. Then add a ball some two to three inches ahead of the line and repeat.

Weight Distribution In The Stance The weight distribution should be on both feet, front to back, left to right. Practice getting comfortable with your stance in your backyard. Good balance is very important towards developing a good swing.

Golf Chipping Length Keep your chip swing smooth and easy. Let your swing length give you the distance you need.

Shoulder Under Chin A good reference for a completed back swing is to feel your lead shoulder under your chin. Get used to it and you will have a perfect length back swing every time.

Golf Putting Pointer If you are having trouble with your putting, but sure to check your golf setup. There are many factors that can cause inconsistent golf putting, but the problem that often occurs is ball placement. The golf ball should be directly under your eyes. If you stand too far away and your eyes are inside the line of the putt, you will probably push a lot of putts. Likewise, if you stand too close, you probably pull a lot of putts. Try dangling your putter from the bridge of your nose. If it points directly to the ball, you are in good shape.

Texas Wedge If your ball is on the fairway short of the green, you can use your putter from a good distance away. This will depend on the speed of the green and the height of the fairway. Practice this shot and you will learn your limits on when to use this shot. This is a good stroke saver if you are not chipping well that day.

Load Up For Power To maximize your distance, you must make a powerful pivot. Use this golfing drill to ingrain the proper feel. Take your stance and then pull your front foot back away from the target line and lift your heel off the ground. Keep the heel off the ground as you make your backswing, rotating the upper body fully. You will end up with most of your weight over the rear leg, the perfect position to unwind powerfully through impact.

Golf Irons: Golf Ball Position To properly hit irons, play the ball in the center to rear of center and swing normally. By playing the golf ball back allows the golf club to hit the ball BEFORE the ground. It makes a big difference.

Keep Knees Slightly Bent Bend your knees slightly. Do not bend your knees too much, just a bit. Do not lock your knees straight or you will be unable to use your legs in the swing. Your legs are one of the three sources of power, so you want to be able to use them in the swing.

Neutralize Overactive Wrists If you cannot seem to consistently keep the club square at impact, try keeping the thumbs off the top of the golf club shaft, rather let them slant off to the opposite side. Example: The right thumb slants left, the left thumb slants right. This simple tip has cured many people.

Look Closely At The Hole Some greens keepers do not cut a hole properly and leave a raised mini volcano-shape. This causes putts from all sides to veer off. If you are playing a course with greens like this, use a little more force on your putts and they will hold the line better.

The Pop Shot If you need to hit over an object and land soft on the green, try the pop shot. Position the ball a little forward, slant the blade back to add more loft, and take a full swing, even though the landing area is only 10 feet or so away. The blade should hit an inch or so behind the ball with a wrist popping (snapping) motion, this makes the blade lead the hands, and the ball pops up quickly and lands softly with very little roll. You have probably seen Tiger Woods do this near the green many times and wondered how a full swing could result in a soft lob.

Proper Golf Setup - 50-50 When addressing the golf ball, think 50-50. Balance your weight evenly on both feet.

Golf Putting Tip When putting, concentrate on the ball´s number, logo, or one of the dimples. This will help your concentration and keep your head steady. Try it.

Square Those Shoulders If you squared your feet and neutralized your golf club grip and still sliced the ball, check to see if your shoulders are also aligned at the target. If not, square them to the hole.

The Slice Golf Club Grip If you slice the ball, see if your grip is too weak. In a weak grip the dominant hand´s back hand is seen and it angles at the sky and/or the undominant hand´s back hand is angling at the ground and fingers are visible. To correct, roll the hands back so that the undominant´s back hand is facing the target and the dominant´s back hand is facing the exact opposite direction.

Less Spin Equals More Distance The next time you clean your golf clubs, skip the driver, let those grooves get a little clogged up. The less grooves there are, the less spin is induced on the ball and it will fly farther. Test it out for yourself.

Take Away Place three quarters of your weight on your left side and keep your eye on the golf ball when taking the golf club back.

Follow-Through on Golf Chipping Be sure your follow-through is the same length as your back swing on your golf chipping.

Quick Fix for Slick Grips If you have worn out grips that cause the club to slip in your hand but don't have the time or money to replace them right away, try rubbing them back and forth on the concrete a few times. This works great on most types of cart paths and also concrete benches. The roughness of the concrete will slightly tear up the grip and add a unique texture. Just make sure you're willing to replace those grips soon after.

Choosing the Right Club for Chipping Most golfers should use a variety of golf clubs around the green. For a long shot covering a lot of green, you might use a middle iron. A mid-range chip could be 7, 8 or 9 iron. A short shot to a tight pin could be a wedge. Change loft, not the swing.

Be a Square Golfer on Your Golf Setup Square your stance and your shoulders at the target for the correct alignment and swing plane. Lay a club at the target, then butt your feet against it. Now, you are square. At this point make sure your shoulders are pointing at the target, also. Alternate method is to lay the club across your thighs. It should also point at the target.

Bend At The Hips - Golf Swing Lessons Hold your golf club straight out in front of you. With your knees locked, bend forward from the hips until the club is on the ground. Now slightly bend your knees. You are in a great position and posture.

Killer Golf Putting Tips To make more putts, let the putts die into the hole on the last few revolutions. The ball has a better chance to fall into the cup, and less chance to fight against gravity over the hole when golf putting.

Get Down To Get Up When in a sand trap, wiggle your feet into the sand a little. This gives you a feel of the hardness of the trap and gives you a good solid base.

Drawing Woes It's been said that the perfect golf shot is a Draw, eight yards from right to left. However, the average golfer doesn't have the time to put in on the range to create a consistent draw pattern. With the right amount of practice, these few tips will allow golfers of all skill levels to experience the thrill of hitting that perfect draw. The best part about these draw tips is you don't have to alter your grip or your swing. The first thing you always want to do is pick out your target and line up as if you were to hit a straight shot. When you feel comfortable with where you are aiming, try closing your stance as if you were to hit the ball ten feet to right of the pin (left of the pin for left handers). This will create a natural tendency to come across the ball, in turn creating a counter clockwise spin. Take a few normal swings to see how it feels. If you need to, while aiming at the target with a slightly closed stance, line the ball up on the toe of your club head. This will also create more spin to shape your ball from right to left.

You Can Take It With You - More Golf Putting Tips The next time you take the kids miniature golfing, bring your own golf putters along so you can get used to the feel of your own golf club under all kinds of situations.

Make the Most of Miniature Golf For a good golf putting tip, make that trip to the miniature golf course count. Get a competition going, it will help you focus, get you used to pressure situations and help your golf putting stroke.

Shaping Up Your Golf Putting Stroke For more consistent golf putting, keep the v-shape formed by the hands and arms constant throughout the swing.

Learn Your Yardages When you are at the practice range learn how far you hit each and every golf club. When you are on the course use the yardage markers, choose the golf club you hit from that distance and hit it with confidence.

Stop That Slice! Slicing the golf ball is one of the most common errors that average players make. The definition of a slice is a ball flight that curves from left-to-right for the right-handed golfer (opposite for lefties). To fix the slice you must change the position of the clubface at impact. Turn both your hands to the right on the grip (opposite for lefties)and be sure to hold the golf club in the crooks of your fingers. This will help square the clubface at impact resulting in longer and straighter shots.

Coming over the top - More Golfing Techniques One reason players come over the top is that their arms and body are not in sync. Try extending a golf towel across your chest and hold it in place under your arms. Tee up a golf ball and take a 7 iron and hit some balls. Notice how the towel makes you turn your body more in sync with your arms. You will also notice that the balls you are hitting have a draw. Practice this for a while to get you muscles use to the timing of the body and arms swinging closer together then try a few without the towel and see if this helps.

Yips The term "Yips" is the constant missing of short putts. Practicing these short putts won´t always help. The main mind thought is to forget the last putt you missed. In other words, forget the fact you have the yips.

Golf Draw Technique Using Swing Path You can draw the golf ball by swinging the golf club a little more inside on the back swing. This shifts your swing plane to an inside out pattern which causes the ball to turn from outside the target to inside the target.

On The Fringe When your golf ball is on the fringe, putt it if possible. Most golfers can hit a putt closer to the hole more consistently than a chip shot.

Chip With A Fairway Wood? You can chip with a fairway wood. Best to do when your ball is lying on short grass and taller grass is behind your ball. Grip the club below the grip right on the shaft and take a normal chip shot swing. You may feel better moving the ball a little more forward in your stance.

Hit Extra Shots If you are playing a practice round, and not holding anyone up, hit extra shots. On the greens, hit extra putts from all over the green to get the overall contour of the green. A practice round is just a round to get the feel of the course. Try playing smart golf on the tough holes and go for it on the easier holes.

How Many Balls Should I Hit At The Practice Range? Hit golf balls at the range until you start to feel tired. After you are tired, stop hitting golf balls or else you are likely to develop sloppy habits.

Buried Bunker Shot The most important thing to remember when you have a buried bunker shot, is you don't have to swing hard to get the ball out, whether it be a fairway bunker or a green side one. Hitting the ball properly on the clubface is far more important than how hard you swing. If you are buried in a bunker always use a sand or a lob wedge and address the ball as if you were to hit a normal shot. Open up the clubface on your SW or LW and make a nice, smooth, powerful swing at the ball. When you make this swing, be sure that you're driving the heel of your wedge towards the ball, trust me you won't hit it with the heel, this just adds extra power to lift the ball from it' s cocoon.

Half Wedge Thoughts To control your half wedge, limit your back swing to the 9 o´clock position, do not freeze your hand and arm motion (like many people will with these shots), and simply take your normal, but abbreviated, swing with natural cocking of your wrists.

Hitting Behind The Ball in Bunker Shots Strike the sand from two to four inches behind the ball, although slightly more or less distance can still be useful.

Backswing - Golf Chipping Techniques Keep your wrists locked with a pendulum motion on the back swing.

More Golfing Techniques - Aiming for the Fade Learn to use a fade to your advantage. Practice dialing in different degrees of fading by weakening your wrists, and having the corresponding alignment for each degree of fade. You will need it to score better on occasion.

Side Hill Lies When hitting a shot where the ball is above your feet, remember that it will automatically shape your ball flight to the left. The angle of the hill will close your clubface at impact, in turn, causing you to pull or in some cases hook your golf shot. With this type of shot, you will always want to choke down on the shaft of the club and aim five to ten feet right of the target. When you make a normal swing and good contact with the ball, your shot will resemble a slight draw. If the ball is below your feet, the shot will do the exact opposite. At impact, unless you are aiming five to ten feet left of the target, the ball will sail right on you, resembling a slight fade

Hands at Impact At impact, make sure your hands are the same distance from your body as they were at address. This action will help you to maintain a good "golf club shaft plane angle" as you make contact with the golf ball.

Golf Setup Take a narrow stance with the golf ball positioned inside your right foot and aim the golf club at the target for the proper golf setup.

Working the First Shift At address, weight is balanced 50-50 on both feet. The first shift of weight transfers some of the weight from the front foot to the rear foot during the back swing. Try to get the feeling of shifting your weight to the rear during your back swing and become comfortable with it.

Is Your Timing Off? Even the best of golfers is conscious of timing. Is your timing good, or is it off a bit – or a lot off? If it's off, then you're not getting the shots you want. What can you do about it? First, think about your swing. Are you swinging the club too fast, or trying too hard to get more distance out of the ball? Make a correction by swinging your clubs using your large leg and body muscles rather than your arms and hands. Then hit the ball with about 80 percent of your power rather than trying to kill the ball with 100 percent impact or more. One instructor advises hitting the ball with about the same energy you would use in hitting a 7-iron. Be sure not to rush your downswing. Take a full coil and start your downswing with your legs and hips. Before turning on the power, get your arms into the hitting position. Try this technique and see if it helps.

Hitting the Draw (Grip Method) Try making your grip stronger to promote a draw by rolling your hands backwards in minute increments. Think of a clock with the seconds (hash line on it). The neutral point is 12 o´clock, so roll your hand to the 12:00:01 (1 second after 12) position and try a shot. Use trial and error as you rotate to different positions. At some point you should see a bend in the ball´s flight pattern. So practice the draw; it will help your game.

How to Stop Swaying on Chips Swaying your weight on a chip shot can cause inconsistency. To stop swaying your weight on a chip shot, try hitting a few chips with 1 foot off the ground, then try chipping again. Repeat the drill until you feel comfortable chipping.

Down Swing Balance Feel your weight shift more to the front foot on the down swing. About 90% on the front and 10% on the rear foot.

Why Am I Losing Distance? Sometimes a golfer who's been playing for a few years starts to lose distance on his shots, which can be a very troubling sensation. One of the first steps in correcting this problem is to concentrate on releasing your hands through the ball correctly. Your forearms should be close together when you hit the ball. After impact they should be crossed or form an “X.” When this happens you'll know you are not blocking the ball, which now has a chance to go the full distance. Other things to watch out for include making sure you make a full turn, with your arms fully extended through impact. Keep your body relaxed, with a light grip on the club. Keep your left side firm and your left knee bent through impact. Swing through the ball, not at it, and finish with a full follow-through.

How to Balance Your balance and weight should be on the balls of your feet. Too much on the toes causes you to get off balance and make inconsistent shots. Too much on the heels causes lack of power and weight shift.

Pick a Spot, any Spot When chipping the golf ball, first find a spot on the green, usually a little left or a little right of the pin depending on the break, and concentrate on landing the ball at that spot. If the greens are fast, you'll have to land the ball ten to fifteen feet shorter than normal. Make sure you give your ball enough green to roll out towards the hole. Once you have picked out your spot on the green, concentrate on only hitting the golf ball at that spot. If you picked correctly, the ball will end up in the hole!

Golf Putting Alignment (Sidehill) Do those long, big breaking putts give you trouble on direction and distance? When you have a hard breaking putt to make, try aiming at the break point you have determined by angling the club face at it, but take your normal putting stance at the hole. Putt at the hole with the amount of distance you think you need for a straight putt, and let the introduced blade-angle put the ball on the calculated break mark. What this gives you is a better feel of the real distance to the hole and a good method of hitting the mark at the same time. This really does work.

Hitting Half Wedges On The Sweet Spot The contact point of your half wedge shot is more important than your normal swing. To get a sense of where you are consistently hitting the ball off your club, stick a piece of tape on the face of your wedge. The golf ball will leave an impression on the tape, and will help you keep tabs on how proper contact points feel through your hands.

Divot Training It's never a bad idea to hit a few shots on the range out of a divot. You never know when you'll encounter one of these obstacles on the course, especially in the middle of the fairway.

Closeout Your Slice A common cause of slicing is an open stance where the front foot is back from the target line causing your body to face the hole more. This promotes an outside in swing-path and spin on the ball. The result is a slice to some degree. Try closing your stance so that your belt buckle points at the ball. This will promote a straight swing path and squarer hit.

Do Not Be A Stiff For a properly balanced stance, do not be stiff legged, rather sit down a little by bending the knees very slightly. This gives you proper balance throughout the swing.

Golf Club Gripping Grip the putter lightly, as though your were squeezing an egg. You will lose feel and touch if you grip the putter too tight.

Impact - Golf Chipping Techniques Keep your right hand ahead of your left and chip the ball crisply off the turf.

Free Golf Instruction Here is an alternate way to get the ball on the green without using your putter from the fringe. Try practicing with and using the 3 wood, it gives you a bit of extra lift, like a chipper club, and can add to your arsenal. You have probably seen Tiger use it on occasion.

See Half of the Ball A properly teed up golf ball extends half of its body above the club head. Remember the tee height depends on the height of the club face, so if you use a lower faced club, for instance a 3 wood golf club, then you would lower the tee height accordingly.

Slant That Tee A common method to tee up a golf ball is to forward slant the tee in the ground a little, then place the ball on it. The forward slant gives you a feeling of sweep direction (at the hole) and provides less resistance from hitting the tee itself.

The Hybrid Craze There are numerous types of new golf clubs on the market, so I can understand the confusion. The newest craze when it comes to golf clubs is the hybrid. Hybrid golf clubs allow mid to high handicappers the ability to hit better golf shots from longer distances. Golfers can replace their hard to hit long irons with hybrids and take strokes off their game.

How To Set Up For Tee Off The set up for teeing off is quite simple. When ready to hit, make sure your shoulders and feet are the same width apart. Make sure your feet are pointing in the right direction by placing a club, stick, or rope on the target line, then butt up your toes to it. The rope will show which way you are pointing.

How To Cut Back On Slicing One method that may reduce slicing is to close the club face. Give your golf club a quarter turn or more inward. The reason for this is in some cases of slicing you are opening your club face at impact. Please note this is a quick temporary fix.

Footing - Golfing Information on Bunker Shots Establish a firm footing that will support the swing without slipping, yet will not dig the feet too deeply when performing bunker shots. Longer shots require a better base.

Good Driving Tip: How to Hit the Ball Straighter If you're having trouble hitting the ball straight, there are a few techniques you can brush up on so as to avoid this problem, especially when you're teeing off. Here are four steps to better drives: First, stand behind your ball and look out into the fairway (or on a short hole, on the green). Select a spot where you'd like your ball to land. You can approximate the spot, for instance, make it a 10- to 15-yard landing area. Then visualize an imaginary line from your ball to the targeted area. This will help you concentrate on your focus when you're addressing the ball. Now, get ready to hit the ball, first taking one more look at the targeted area. Keep your head down and fire away with confidence. You know exactly what you want to do, and you're doing it. That will give you full confidence in your shot, and it should be a straight one.

Be Flat At Impact - A Golfing Drill One of the sneakiest slice causing culprits is the karate-chop hand or the home run swing. This is hard to spot unless you know what to look for. Try this golfing drill: Take a golf stance near a chair´s padded back rest and let your hands form your grip against the back rest. At address, the undominant hand´s back hand is flat on the backrest. Make a back and forward swing at the chair, a square impact has the back hand hitting flat against the back rest. If the pinky-side-palm-pad hits first (like a karate chop) you are opening up at impact. Practice this golfing drill until you can hit flat every time and you will be square at impact.

The Importance of Walking Bags In a time where exercise is growing in popularity, more and more golfers are choosing to walk the golf course rather than ride it. Walking bags, or stand bags, are an important part of the golfers arsenal. Not only do they allow golfers to exercise by walking the golf course, these golf bags can aid in how well a player scores. With the new technology of leading manufacturers, golf bags are becoming lighter and lighter. Throughout the course of walking 18 holes, carrying a lighter golf bag will allow you to use less energy, in turn, giving you the ability to lower your score.

Getting Out of the Bunker with Panache If you've been playing golf for a long time, maybe by now you've mastered the bunker shot. But if you're still having trouble with it, maybe you need some refreshing on your technique. Know that when your ball lands in a sandtrap you have your work cut out for you. To make an effective shot, your club must never touch the ball. Your sand wedge must reach into the sand beneath and behind the ball and toss it on to the green at a carefully determined speed and stroke. This kind of stroke should give the ball backspin, limiting the amount of roll. This means you'll want the ball to land near the pin so you'll have a short putt. Maybe then you can make par or even a birdie, depending on how much you lie when your ball falls into the trap. As always, practice makes perfect. If you're still having trouble with your bunker shots, either get help from an instructor or make yourself practice until you get it right.

Golf Etiquette for Beginners Etiquette is a vital part of golf, and there's a few rules you need to know before you ever step on the first tee. Just remember, these are the very basics. Never talk or move around on the tee box when one of your playing partners is addressed to his/her golf ball. Always repair your ball marks on the green. Always pay careful attention to whos turn it is to hit, you wouldn't want to hit out of turn. And lastly, dress like a professional. Not only will you impress your foursome, but if you dress like a pro, you'll play like a pro!

Back Swing Balance on Fundamentals of Golf Swings Feel your weight shift more on your rear foot on the back swing. About 90% rear to 10% front foot.

A Master of The Sand Still not making respectable exits from sandtraps? According to Dave Petz, game consultant for Golf Magazine, you can fix this problem in fairly short order by practicing at home in your own backyard for about 30 minutes each week. All you need is sand, your sandwedge, and knowledge of the right technique to use in hitting the ball out of the sand to the spot where you want it to go. Put a pile of sand on a flat surface (you might want to use a cookie sheet for this), and enough sand to bury your clubface into. Place a ball into the sand and fire away. The ball should be far forward in your stance, just as it should be when you're in a sandtrap on a golf course. Keep your clubface open and swing through the ball aggressively to get the needed backspin. Set yourself a target, the place where you want the ball to land. Keep practicing the shot until you achieve your goal. This is a good drill for you to use in becoming a Master of the Sand.

Ever Try This Scoring Trick? As a golfer with lots of experience under your belt, you've probably learned a lot of techniques along the way to improve your chances of scoring well. For instance, you know how important good chipping can be. But what do you do when your ball lands in a trap near the green, your ball has a clean lie, and the lip of the trap is no higher than your knees? Do you sandblast out as you usually do when your ball is in a trap? Not necessarily. Ever try just chipping the ball onto the green? Your ball will get more roll that way, but that's something you're used to with chip shots. Maybe you've never tried this before but have sometimes been tempted to do it. Choosing the right club is no problem. You can use either a pitching wedge, taking some sand with your shot and putting stop on the ball. Or you can use another iron, maybe a seven or an eight. The advantage is yours because you have a clear look at the green, even clearer if the lip of the trap is a lot lower than your knees.

Taking Some of the Pressure Off Putting You've been playing golf for a long time and consider yourself an "advanced" golfer. Experience has taught you how important your putts can be to your score, but you still can't putt well. Sure, putting is a tense part of the game, so how can I keep tension to a minimum? First make a good study of the line. Crouch down behind the ball and look toward the hole. Know where you want to aim, adjusting for the lie of the green in your trajectory. Then take a couple of practice strokes to give yourself the right feel for how hard you want to stroke your putt. Now you're ready to address the ball. As good instructors advise, "stay in the present." Don't try to anticipate whether the ball will go past the cup, be short, or go in. Stroke the ball with confidence and accept the results. If you make the putt, you will be elated. If you miss, you'll know you've done your best.