Golf Swing Foundations: Learn the fundamentals of golf


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Driving

What makes a good swing

The best drive you can make is the one that you don't think about. There are so many things that you could be thinking about when trying to drive the ball. So how does one put all of that out of your mind while in the tee box? The answer is in your practice.

You may have heard about muscle memory. This happens when you have driven the ball so many times that your body remembers what is is that it has to do for a good swing. That only happens through a lot of practice.



Practice with some frequency and your body will remember what needs to be done without having to think about it so much. Practice infrequently and your body will lose that memory and you will end up having to think through what is going wrong to make corrections. The more you think about the shot, the more room for error.

You don't always have to go to the driving range to practice. Try swinging the driver about twenty times a day either in your backyard or indoors (if you have enough room). Use this in conjunction with the driving range and you will find amazing results. Your drives will start to straighten out and fly further just using this practice technique.

Good muscle memory allows you to think more about where you want the ball to land and not on how to swing. It's the end result of the swing that is important.

The Preshot Routine

The other element of a goood swing is in the preshot routine. This happens before you step up to smack that ball. The preshot routine is important because it will put you into the driving mode. This is where you feel most comfortable and confident that the shot you are about to make is exactly how you want it to be.

The routine you go through is not so important as repeating the steps the same way every time. Watch some of the pros on TV and see what routine they go through. You will notice that every one of them have a routine and every one of them have a different routine. You need to find your own steps to success in the tee box.

You might take a practice swing or two. Find the spot where you want the ball to land and imagine the ball doing exactly that. Then step up to the ball and maybe waggle the club a little to get the feel of the club. Then once you have completed your routine take your shot with confidence. If at anytime during the preshot routine you don't feel comfortable or out of place, STOP and start your routine over from the beginning. This might take a little longer but it makes all the difference when teeing off.

This ones crushed

We just can't resist the temptation to just blister the ball as far as we possibly can; to out drive our friends and show off our golfing prowess. It happens every time I go to the driving range. Someone is out there with their driver and just trying to crush the ball. However, this is not what driving is all about.

Seriously, the intention of driving the ball is to set up the next shot. That is all.

We do not drive the ball to get onto the green in one. So what is the purpose of trying to crush it everytime we step up to the tee box. This is where our ego gets the better of us on the course. You've also heard the phrase, "You drive for show and putt for dough". Really, when it comes down to it this is the truth of the matter. You drive for show. It should be you drive for the next shot.

In pool, the good players are thinking one, two and three shots ahead when they are making the current shot. Of course you should not do that in golf, but you should be thinking about where you want to be on your second shot in order to put it on the green in regulation. The better your position, the better your chances of success.

Course Management

Course management really has to do with how you are hitting the ball on any given day and any given course. When your slicing the ball, you need to aim accordingly. If you can't hit your driver today, leave it in the bag. Play smarter and don't use your round of golf to practice. If there is a dog leg 180 yards down the fairway and your drive will go 230 yards, don't use the driver just because it is a par 4.

Good course management takes into account your playing ability on that day as well as the conditions of the course. When the grass is still wet from dew, the ball is going to come out hot and run further than when it is dryer. This is due to the layer of water between the ball and clubface. However, if the green is wet the ball will go slower than when it is dryer for putting.

Just be aware of your surroundings on that day and be aware of your current level of play. Don't play over your head just because others are playing better than you. You can't let how others are playing affect your game. This is part of the mental game of golf

Tee It Up

With the oversized drivers of today, you need to tee the ball higher than before so that you hitting the ball in the sweet spot of the club. The rule is that when the club is resting on the ground behind the teed ball, 3/4 of the ball should be above the club head.

The swing plane should be different based on the club selection. There is a different angle for each club, because the length of each club is different. Your driver puts you further away from the ball than the pitching wedge. The shorter clubs should be swung up on a higher swing plane than the driver.

To tee or not to tee? Should you tee up those short par three shots. I say absolutely. You gain an advantage when you tee the ball. If it were allowed in the fairway, I would tee it up there too. However, it's not allowed (just in case you were wondering). Any advantage that is given you should be taken. When course rules allow a free drop, you should take it. Not teeing up the ball is usually another one of those ego things that says, I should be able to hit the green from here when it is on the ground. Sometimes, though, it is because the player knows that if it were teed up, they would hit it over the green. Again, it depends on how you are playing.




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Golfers are spending hundreds of dollars on lessons, only to be more confused than ever... and not being able to hit the ball at all! With this scenario, what's left?

Do you take more lessons? Do you hit more balls? I'll bet you've already done that. Did it help? Be honest. I'm a straight shooter... and fessing up is the first step to ending the frustration and getting on the right track quickly.

What the pros won't tell you is it's your BODY that's keeping you from an astonishingly high level of performance.




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