Posts Tagged ‘Backswing’

Golf Swing Genius asked:


Swinging on plane is a big key to hitting solid golf shots.  The first thing that needs to be correct is your setup.  A good setup position with a correct grip, good angles, and proper alignment will all aid you in swinging on plane correctly.  

Starting your backswing on plane requires a slow smooth takeaway with the arms and shoulders.  At the point where the golf club is parallel to the ground in the beginning of your backswing, the golf club should cover up your hands if you were looking in a mirror or someone was standing behind you this is what you would see.  If the clubhead is too far in front of your hands, it is too far outside the plane line.  If the clubhead is too far behind your hands, the club will be inside too much.  Both of these incorrect positions will cause problems with keeping the club on the correct swing plane during the rest of your swing.  

Halfway into the backswing, your hands should be set in the middle of your chest.  Also, from this halfway back position, if you drew a straight line down from your left elbow (for the right handed golfer), it should point right at the golf ball.  If your left elbow is pointing more towards your feet, your swing plane is too steep.  If your elbow is pointing too far out away from the ball, your swing plane is going to be too laid off or flat.  This is a great drill you can use to make sure you are starting your backswing on plane correctly.



Helen Hecker asked:


If you’re like most golfers, you want to improve, not just hack around the golf course. When you’re playing golf badly it isn’t a lot of fun. Most golfers don’t know that eighty percent of the world’s golfers have a handicap of 18 or more.

Visualize where you would like the ball to land, as you swing. The positive energy you send out will influence your game, just as negative thinking and therefore negative energy will affect it also. Golf requires tough mental fitness as well as physical fitness and is often overlooked.

Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. Ask your golf pro to evaluate your posture while swinging. Make sure to use the proper technique.

Use the muscles in your legs and trunk when you swing. The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it. Accomplished golfers purposely use sidespin to steer their ball around obstacles or towards the safe side of fairways and greens.

Pick out a spot on the course, preferably the green of the fairway, and concentrate on hitting the ball to that spot. At the end of a swing, the weight has shifted almost entirely to the left foot, the body is fully turned to the left and the hands are above the left shoulder with the club hanging down over the players’ back. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left.

At the end of a backswing the hands are above the right shoulder, with the golf club pointing more or less in the intended direction of ball flight. Use the basic ‘hitchhiker’ position when you’re working on your backswing.

Most golfers don’t know there are techniques that will greatly affect swing mechanics; you can get an edge by just changing your approach. Don’t underestimate the value of fitness when it comes to your golf swing and your overall golf game. It’s no secret; most of the professional players actively participate in workouts.

Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust or stance for example. If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find. Aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a golf club add-on accessory to monitor your swing.

You can find aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position. Golf aids are often for sale at your pro shop or local golf shop. Golf magazines often review the newest golf swing aids and are reviewed by golfers, making it easy to choose the right one for you.

Most of all don’t waste your money on an aid you don’t need or will never use. Sporting goods stores have golf aids to improve your game. Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or you’re just starting out, pick just one aid and go to work on your swing.

Look for golf swing aids at your local golf course. If you’re a golfing novice just starting out, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

If you’ve hit with your golf driver perfectly once, you can do it every time. Get some golf DVDs and commit yourself to a time to practice what you learn. Pick out something every week to concentrate on and help you improve your golf swing and golf game.



Helen Hecker asked:


It’s important to remember, your golf swing is what drives your score; not your clubs or ball. When you’re playing golf badly it isn’t a lot of fun. It takes a great deal of skill, mental fortitude and perseverance to excel at golf.

If you’ve hit with your golf driver perfectly once, you can do it every time; the subconscious mind knows the correct number and sequence of muscle contractions and nerve impulses needed, called muscle memory. Always be aware the mental aspect of the game contributes one way or another to the difficulty of the golf swing. It’s been proven that thinking positively about bettering your golf game will benefit you more than playing to compete with your partners and trying to win for winnings sake.

At the end of a swing, the weight has shifted almost entirely to the left foot, the body is fully turned to the left and the hands are above the left shoulder with the club hanging down over the players’ back. Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. Accomplished golfers purposely use sidespin to steer their ball around obstacles or towards the safe side of fairways and greens.

Use the muscles in your legs and trunk when you swing. When you swing if you have problems with your left knee buckling, imagine you’re holding a soccer ball between your knees. As the body matures, the ability to rotate the upper torso is affected by age, and the hand action can also slow down requiring a slightly stronger grip.

The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it. Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. Sidespin occurs when the clubface is not aligned perpendicularly to the plane of swing.

The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left.

It’s no secret; most of the professional players actively participate in workouts. To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible. Hold a medicine ball and turn back and forth; it must be rotational to improve your driving distance.

Sporting goods stores have golf aids to improve your game. Ask an expert, who is not associated with the shop you would buy your golf aid from, for advice on the right aid for you. There are a number of good golf swing aids on the market today.

You can find golf swing aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position. Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust or stance for example. Overall, investing in aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game.

Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just starting out, pick just one golf swing aid and go to work on your swing. If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find. Keep in mind that with some aids, you may still need advice or help from an expert.

Most of all don’t waste your money on an aid you don’t need or will never use. Be careful about the claims on TV commercials and magazine ads; seek expert advice before you buy because they may not live up to their claims.

Get some golf DVDs and commit yourself to a time to practice what you learn. Try to concentrate on one golf swing weakness at time. If you apply both physical and mental workouts, golf swing improvement will be your reward.



Michael Harris asked:


 

Every golfer should invest some time and effort into fine tuning their backswing. Although there are many tips that can help develop better aim and form, the best advice is to stick with the basics. This holds true for beginners and amateur alike.

Mustering as much power and accuracy as possible while maintaining form and balance is the goal for every golfer. To accomplish this, you must be able to give the ball everything you’ve got, but without what is commonly referred to as “coming over the top”.

That describes a swing flaw which causes the clubhead to veer off to the outside of your target line during the downswing. The result? A horrendous slice.

Come From The Inside

The best way to avoid such a shot is to learn how to avoid coming over the top, thus keeping your clubhead from moving outside of the target line. This can be accomplished by simply working on a technique which is opposite of coming over the top: come at the ball from the inside.

More accomplished golfers can do this each and every time they try, but coming at the ball from the inside may be easier said than done for the beginner golf player. Practice, practice, practice is the key and once you get the hang of it, you can rid yourself of that terrible slice shot by making impact with the ball from a downswing which comes from the inside of the target line ever so slightly.

Train Yourself To Target The Inside

There are drills that you can practice which will help you train yourself so that you can come from the inside on your swing whenever needed. Below is a simple training procedure known as a swing path drill:

1. Take 3 tees and placed them into the turf approximately 3 to 4 inches apart from one another, and in a perfect line at a 45° angle with your target line. If you are a right-handed golfer then the line should be pointing to your left foot. Make sure that you have enough room in between each tee so that you can swing the club through.

2. Now it is time to find your swing path. Take out your 5-iron and initiate a few swings by attempting to hit the top portion of the middle tee. In order to do so, your clubhead must pass between the outside tees in a pathway best described as “in-to-out” in order to avoid contact with them.

By practicing this technique and hitting the middle tee in this fashion on a consistent basis, you are making contact correctly from the inside. If you happen to hit the outside tees then you are still coming over the top and need more practice on your swing.