Many experts would agree that most golfers take their swing too seriously. Learn the basics, practice a lot and stay out of your own way!

Here are the basic steps for a full and perfect golf swing:

1. Grip the club with your left hand so that your thumb lies along the shaft. The line between your thumb and index finger should point toward your right eye. Wrap your right hand over your left so that your left thumb fits into the cup of the right palm. If you are left-handed, reverse these instructions.

2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart with your right foot pointing straight ahead and your left foot slightly to the left. Bend at your hips, keeping your back straight and your knees flexed. Distribute your weight evenly from front to back and left to right.

3. For the backswing, shift your weight to your right foot. At the same time, tilt your shoulders vertically so that your left shoulder points down, and right shoulder points up. The left end of the club will be pointing approximately at or behind the ball. As you’re shifting your weight to your right foot, release to the instep of your left foot so you can get behind the ball. Ensure that your right foot, right hip and head are in a vertical line. Begin your backswing with your hands, followed immediately by your arms and shoulders. Don’t hurry. This won’t create a faster downswing. Keep your pace steady throughout your backswing. If you aren’t happy with your golf swing, this is one of the first corrections to try. Slow down your backswing.

4. For the downswing and impact, start with your hips. Shift your weight to your left foot by leading with your hips in a slight lateral motion. Point the club end in your right elbow down at your right foot. At the same time, shift to the instep of your right foot so that most of your weight is on your left foot. Release your hips by rotating them through, so that your hips, belly button, and shoulders are facing the target. Your right toe is just balancing you, not supporting any weight. Hold the finish position. Look down the target line, not down at the ground.

Many golf professionals say that eighty percent of the perfect golf swing is the body pivot. This involves three main components:

o the turning of the body back, down and through

o the correct weight shift throughout the swing

o balance

Any loss of balance throughout the golf swing means that there is a pivot and weight shift problem. That will be reflected in the direction, loft and speed of the ball. Review these steps until you are comfortable and then keep practicing. The perfect golf swing is within your reach!

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By: Dr. Richard Myers

About the Author:

Warm weather is rapidly approaching and you need beginner golf swing instructions,to help you take a few strokes off your game. Playing golf and having your buddies continually dip in your pocket is no fun. You should start to feel excited as you read each word in this article. You are going to learn some simple tips you can use to hone your golf game and shave a few strokes off your handicap.

Use these beginner golf swing instructions and you should start to shoot some lower scores.
Putt better with a chalk line – Playing in a top amateur tournament in my state I saw a contestant using this drill before he played. I adopted it and use everyday for practice and for warm up. Simply take a chalk line, the type carpenters use and drywall hangars. Make a chalk line on the green 5 feet from the hole. Then repeat it on the opposite side of the whole at 10 feet. Continue this around the cup till you have four lines 5-20 feet. Place your putter on the line and practice holing putts using the chalk line as your guide. Chip right – Start using your 8 iron to chip around the greens. Way to many beginners grab their sand wedge and use it for chipping. Please keep the wedge in the bag. When near the green you want to keep the ball as close to the ground as possible. One of the biggest mistake beginners make is by pitching shots near the green with a lofted wedge. Driver – The key to hitting the driver farther is to swing the driver slower. Grip your driver very lightly and swing it slower than you expect. I know on TV it looks like the pros are swing hard and fast. In reality they are swinging only 90%. You should probably only swing 80% until you consistently make contact. You also should concentrate hitting the ball on your upswing. The ball placement is so crucial to your golf swing. Find the spot in your swing when you begin the upswing and place the ball there, it will help you hit it straighter.

Using these beginner golf swing instructions should help you drop strokes and begin dipping into your friends pockets. And there is no more sweeter taste of success, than a cool drink from a buddies pocket.

By: R.T. Bucher

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Can improving your golf swing be as easy as just putting your feet together? The answer is, Yes! Can golf instruction really be that easy? Yes. Let me explain why. The feet together drill is definitely an oldie but a goodie when it comes to full swing drills. This full swing golf drill promotes many good things such as good balance and rhythm as well as improves your timing during your golf swing. Below we will discuss the ins and outs of this simple golf drill and what it can do for you.

To do this golf instruction drill, address the golf ball for a full swing and simply put your feet together. Once in position, take a few .small. swings with a golf ball on a tee no matter what your handicap is or is not. The more comfortable you become swinging with your feet together the larger swing you can make and eventually place the golf ball on the ground. As you will quickly find with such a narrow balance point, this drill tests and promotes good balance and pace during your golf swing. Your goal is to hit a solid golf shot and not to hit it 300 yards. The feet together drill demands that you swing within your capabilities or you will find yourself literally falling down!

If you are not hitting solid golf shots, do the feet together drill whenever you start to lose confidence in your golf swing. If the golf ball keeps going to the right for a right handed golfer then drop your right foot behind you until the right toe is equal with your left heel and make some swings. This will promote the golf club releasing and in a perfect world, you should start to see the ball turning to the left while in the air.

By: Brad Myers

About the Author:

Many people believe that to hit a golf ball properly, all you need to do is step up, and swing. This might be a successful approach for some people, but most people need a little bit more instruction. The golf instruction swing sequence is actually a very complicated series of events. Here is a brief, and simple description of what goes into a properly hit golf ball.

The first thing you need to concern yourself with is the approach. This is the step that will deal with your stance. Many people overlook this aspect of the swing, but the approach is a very important part of this process. In fact, the way you line up with the ball can actually change your distance, and the height of your stroke. You will need to look out for the position of your feet, the angle of the club, the angle of your body, and your grip. Many people believe that the grip is the most important aspect of the swing.

Next you’ll look at the back swing. This is another part of the golf instruction swing sequence that is often over looked. But if you have a bad back swing, it will be very hard for you to make good contact with the ball.

The down swing is the part of the stroke that most people concern themselves with. This is because its actually the part of the stroke that makes contact with the ball. If you only concern yourself with the down swing, however, you might make contact but you will not like where the ball lands.

The last part of the swing is the follow through. Many golfers rush their follow through so that they can watch their ball. This leads to a lot of problems in a golf swing. Proper golf instruction swing sequence emphasis a proper approach, backswing, downswing, and follow through.

By: Rob Jeffries

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Naples, Florida is the “golf capital of the world.” How can it make that claim? Well, it has 80 championship golf courses, either within the city or within spitting distance. Naples residents claim that there are more golf holes than any other place in the world, per capita.

Being such a golf place, Naples is a great place to get golf instruction. The town is full of golf academies, golf schools, and resorts that are all about golfing. Here is a sampling of some of the great golf instruction programs in Naples, Florida.

Dennis Meyer’s Golf School

Dennis Meyer, who won the 1999 PGA Teacher of the Year award, has schools in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Florida. While the other two close during the winter season, the one in Naples stays open all year round, making it the most popular. The school is connected to a luxury hotel that is just minutes walk from the beach, or from Naples’ downtown shopping area. Dennis Meyer’s school has a 3 students to 1 professional ratio, making it easier for students to get one-on-one, individualized golf instruction. Rates start at $195 per half day, but package deals, which include food and hotel also, start at about $700 for two full days. You can call them toll-free at 1-800-445-4554 for more information.

Paradise Golf Academy

Paradise has schools all over Florida, and they couldn’t pass up having one in the Golf Capital of the World. They also have a 3-1 ratio of students to teachers, and offer small group golf lessons as well as those for individuals. They also have video review so that students can see how what they’re doing and improve their swings. Paradise students play at the Hibiscus Golf Club, one of the oldest and most respected courses in the city. Paradise offers many programs, including the Masters Program and corporate classes. You can get more info or make a reservation at 1-800-624-3543

Naples Golf Academy

Naples also uses the Hibiscus course, and offers half-hour and quarter-hour private lessons. They pride themselves on tailoring their instruction to individuals, to work with their particular golfing style and help them improve. There are a variety of courses for all different levels of golfers. Half day programs start at $225 and private half-hour lessons start at $60 a lesson. You can reach them at (239) 732-9944 to get more info.

VIP Naples Golf School

VIP uses the Twin Eagles course which has courses designed by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. They emphasize the traditional approach to golf, and specialize in one-on-one instruction. They have package deals where you can stay at the Ritz for a discounted rate while you attend the school. They offer a golf vacation with 5 days of instruction and 5 nights of accommodation. Their toll free number is 1-800-679-2916.

This short article is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’re serious about sharpening your golf skills, or a beginner who wants to start on the right foot, you can find the golf instruction you need in Naples, Florida, the Golf Capital of the World.

By: Rich Fuller

About the Author:

Are you a left-handed golfer in need of help on improving your game? Here are some quick tips to help get your golf game on track and lower your scores!

A big mistake that many left-handed golfers make is a rather common one. They attempt to golf right-handed! As incredible as this may sound, it really is quite easy to understand. When most people first set out to learn how to play golf, they will borrow a friends set of golf clubs, unless they have the money to buy their own. This makes sense because most folks want to know if they are really going to like golf before they invest in an expensive set of golf clubs. So the clubs they borrow are likely to be right-handed.

There are a majority of left-handed golfers who will eventually go on to buy left-handed golf clubs. Again though, some will continue to play with right-handed clubs because they now have been playing with them for so long. They don’t want to try and learn how to play all over again with left-handed golf clubs.

It goes without saying that they will never be able to play golf as well as they could if they would only play with the proper clubs. When searching for golf tips, left-handed golfers have already discovered the most important tip of all and that is to play the game using left-handed clubs with their natural swing.

A good tip for left-handed golfers is to be cautious when choosing your new clubs. Unfortunately, left-handed golfers have a much more limited choice when it comes to purchasing golf clubs. This is especially true if you are shopping for clubs at a small golf store or local club.

Rather than simply buying a set of right-handed clubs that are not meant for you, consider holding off for a while. Wait until you can go to a bigger retail store or pro shop that will have a larger selection of golf clubs to choose from.

There is also one other option for you if you live in a small town and there are no sporting goods stores or golf shops nearby. You can buy your golf clubs through a mail order catalog. There are many good, reputable, mail order companies out there to choose from. You can find them by doing a search on the internet. A company like Golfsmith will have every conceivable golf club and equipment available to left-handed golfers.

Finally, one of the best tips of all for left-handed golfers is to get some good, quality instruction. A golf teaching pro can help you learn how to play golf successfully. You’ll receive correct swing tips and instruction that are tailored to fit your game.

One thing to keep in mind is to pick the right instructor. Ask if they teach left-handed golfers. If not, do they know a good teacher who does? Many right-handed pros have a very difficult time trying to teach left-handed golfers. It would be a great idea to have a left-handed pro teaching you how to play golf correctly.

By having the right (left-handed) clubs and good quality instruction, you will see your golf game steadily improve. That means lower scores and much more fun!

By: Michael Russell

About the Author:

We have all heard the word tempo in relation to the golf swing. Announcers on television speak of the “great” tempo Ernie Els has in his golf swing. What does tempo mean to the amateur and their golf swing?

Tempo in the Golf Swing

Tempo in the golf swing is a combination of many parts. Tempo is part timing in all aspects of the golf swing. It is part sequencing of each position within the golf swing, and it is part “feel”. Putting all these golf swing parts together creates tempo in your own golf swing.

Interconnecting each phase of the golf swing; address, take-away, backswing, transition, downswing, impact, and follow through is one part of tempo, Performing each of these phases with the correct timing is also tempo. And finally “feel” for the clubhead is part of tempo.

We can probably say tempo is the end goal of all our practice and time spent on our golf swing. Once we have developed tempo in the golf swing, there is definitely a level of mastery within it.

How Do We Develop Tempo in the Golf Swing?

A great question that does not have a simple answer: Developing tempo in the golf swing is a task that requires patience, practice, and time. There really are no short cuts to developing it within your golf swing. One practice session at the driving range will not do it. The use of a single training aide will not get you there. The implementation of a golf fitness program will not achieve this task on its own.

I say this because developing a PGA Tour type golf swing requires a “basket of tools” in your arsenal. Developing tempo and a silky smooth golf swing requires you to:

* Receive proper instruction on the fundamentals of the golf swing

* Maintain a consistent practice schedule with your golf swing

* Use swing drills to develop every as of your golf swing

* The possible implementation of training aides into your practice sessions

* Implementing of golf fitness program to develop your body around the golf swing.

The “basket of tools” listed above put together can lead you to developing great tempo in your golf swing. It requires a comprehensive approach in which no short cuts can be made. Let’s take a look at the bullet points above to get a better understanding of how to go about this process.

Proper Instruction in the Mechanics of the Golf Swing

Learning the fundamentals of the golf swing is key to developing tempo. This can be achieved through quality instruction. This will allow your body to learn the nuances of the swing. This is the first step in developing tempo.

Consistent Practice of the Golf Swing

As they say practice makes perfect. In order for your body to learn and be able to repeat to proper mechanics of the golf swing, you must practice on a consistent basis. The body learns biomechanical movements through repetition. The golf swing is no different. Repetition through proper practice session is the second key to developing tempo.

Swing Drills to Develop the Golf Swing

The golf swing as a whole is one of the most intricate athletic movements to perform. In its entirety, it is a very difficult movement to perform and master. It is best when learning the golf swing to break it down into parts. Breaking the golf swing down into segments allows you more easily to master each phase of the swing. This is accomplished through the implementation of golf swing drills. Swing drills break the swing down into manageable parts.

Training Aides in Association with Your Golf Swing Drills

Training aides assist the body in developing the golf swing. Think of training aides as “training wheels” on a bicycle. They simply help your body learn certain movements and positions associated with the golf swing.

Implementing a Golf Fitness Program

Your body swings the golf club and performs the biomechanics of the golf swing. In order to perform the biomechanics of the golf swing correctly. It is necessary for your body to have certain levels of flexibility, balance, endurance, strength, and power. If your body is lacking any of this aforementioned list learning the biomechanics of the golf swing correctly will be very difficult. A golf fitness program is the final key to developing tempo in your golf swing.

Summary

To summarize the development of tempo in your golf swing requires a “basket of tools”. Tempo requires; proper instruction on the golf swing, consistent practice of your golf swing mechanics, the utilization of swing drills, training aides, and a golf fitness program. Put all of these aspects together and a golf swing with tempo will be yours.

By: Sean Cochran

About the Author:

The discovery of the five swing principles is a real breakthrough for golfers. They not only define the golf swing and the athletic motion used by all ground based sports, but make all the positive effects every golfer wants in their swing to happen automatically.

I want to talk about how the Concept Golf swing principles create the swing positions that make high quality shot-making common place rather than an accident. It occurs to me that I know and understand the connection between the principles and the positions that cause excellent, consistent shot-making but that it may not be so obvious to many golfers.

Today I am connecting the dots between one of those important positions and two of the Concept Golf swing principles.

One of the necessary positions for excellent ball striking is for the hands ahead of the club head and the ball as the club hits the ball. This is a truth-position for all clubs all the time. Especially the wedge, the putter, the 7-iron, the driver, the 3-wood, the 1-iron, the chip shot, the pitch shot, the sand shot and any other club and any other shot you can think of.

ONLY with the hands ahead of the club head will the ball be struck squarely and fairly. If the club head ever gets ahead of the hands during the swing, many unpleasant results can be expected. Such as: fat shots, crooked shots, very short shots, high aimless shots, shots that no one could love.

As an example, did you ever try to make that little wedge shot near the green only to have the club get some dirt before it got to the ball? The resulting shot is a short dribbler causing an occasional utterance of golf words.

What caused that manly shot? The club head got ahead of your hands. That made the bottom of the arc before the ball rather than beyond the ball. We could focus on what caused the poor shot or what’s wrong with this swing, but we are going to focus on the truth that will eliminate that ugly little shot from your quiver forever. OK with you? Good. Let’s go on.

The Concept Golf swing principles are only five, but none can be ignored. Remember, too, that your job is to understand them, not just try to specifically apply them. Only through understanding will they seep into your being and your swing in a way that lets you benefit to the maximum. The only way you can reach your ball striking goals is to express these principles in your own unique way. That is the only way you can have your own authentic swing, your own homemade swing.

Having your own authentic swing is a way good thing for many reasons. Have your own swing – don’t copy someone else’s swing.

What principles are involved in the hands being ahead of the club head at impact? Just these two, weight transfer and shoulder relaxation. And if I was to put emphasis on one of the two – and I’m going to – it would be RELAXATION. (Didn’t mean to raise my voice.)

I will usually demonstrate relaxation when I am teaching new students. The way I do this is to hit a few shots with my shoulders relaxed to the point of ridiculousness. My arms appear to be uncontrollable string at best. My shoulders are so relaxed that it’s not possible to even sole the club behind the ball before I swing. The students are usually quite amused while I’m preparing to make the swing. They KNOW there is no chance to make any kind of a reasonable shot with that much relaxation.

The look on their face after the first shot is total bewilderment. How in the heck could you have hit a shot that good, that solid and that straight with arms made of rubber bands?

That’s the amount of relaxation that is NECESSARY for high quality, consistent shot making.
When your shoulders are that relaxed, how can you have a backswing?

The ONLY way is to let the legs make the body move so your arms will be flung or swung in what we know as the backswing. That is to say that the complete shoulder relaxation necessitates the weight transfer to cause the swinging of the arms and the club. Other wise you will be standing still at the address position with very relaxed shoulders. Not a very effective method of good shot-making.

When your shoulders are completely relaxed during the entire swing, the club head at the end of the stick actually has some weight. Because of the complete shoulder relaxation your arms have become followers of your body. Both of these effects are good. Now with your arms following your body and the weight of the club head sufficient to cause the club head to follow the hands and arms, you are going to move your body to the finish. At impact your hands will be well ahead of the club head. GOOD SHOT!!!!!!

As you can see, it is only through relaxation of your shoulders and the needed weight transfer of your body that you will ever be able to have your hands leading the club head at impact and enjoy the resulting crisp, solid shots.

Trying to create the “hands leading at impact” through muscular activity or a sense of swing control will NEVER work. I mean never. I have tried it so many times and so many ways that I can tell you absolutely that it can’t work except through complete and trusting shoulder relaxation. The Concept Golf principles work and they will cause the correct positions to be automatically created without any conscious thought on your part. That is the best possible situation.

When your shoulders are completely relaxed, your backswing will start with your legs and leave the club head behind the ball until the body finally drags it into the backswing. That’s exactly how the great Bobby Jones swung – and people didn’t understand it then either. As you start forward through the ball with your legs, your arms will be dragged through the ball to the finish. With that incredible relaxation at the top of your backswing, you will sense your arms dropping in behind your body as your body moves through to the finish. You will love the shots you hit!!!!!!

I hope this helps you understand the positive, desired effects the Concept Golf principles cause.

By: John Toepel

About the Author:

Picture this, you have arrived at the range and are ten minutes into your practice. So far you have hit the ball great and are really getting into the groove that you thought you could. And it sure feels good to get that confident feeling on every shot. Right?

Ok .. so all of a sudden, out of no where, you can’t seem to repeat the earlier move. You are now stink’n up the joint with one bad swing after another. And you know that if this keeps up you won’t be worth a crap. But you keep at it. Swing after swing after swing. Results? You ****!

In total disgust and anger at this point you ponder what the next move is. Go home. Stay and work it out. Go putt. Chip? Maybe hit some mini swings with full swing fundamentals.

And, yes, people are looking at you. Making you feel even more useless and exposed. This is not what you came here for. So, go home. That’s right go home. Go now before you change your mind and start the foolishness all over again. Go on!!

Or……….. you could try and figure out what the heck happened to your swing. Thinking that this could happen while you were playing, you should find a way to fix it.

Ok, I agree. Good idea to fix the thing while you are there. No time like right now. Going home is the sissy way out and will leave a bad taste in your mouth and a bad swing on the range.

Bad ideas, both.

So here is what we all should do.

First go get a drink of water or take a short walk and take three deep breaths, exhaling slowly.

And believe this, it happens all the time. Even some of the best players have this exact same issue from time to time. It’s no wonder golf is such a brain twister.

So what to do.

It always gets back to basics. I know that sounds kinda cope outish. But it is the most realistic comment that anyone could make in this instance.

Re-check your grip. Double check your alignment. Triple check your ball position.

Is your posture still good? Spine angle still strong and straight. Sometimes there is a leaning toward getting a tad lazy with the little things and it gets a bit too comfortable, forgetting that all the little things in your set- up are precursors to a good solid swing.

Miss one and you mess up all the rest.

Once you have checked all of these, time for the first move. Make sure you set your angles and keep them through out what you are about to do. ( I assume you are using a lofted iron)

Now with good angles, move to the half backswing position, but make sure your shoulders turn fully. That would be 90 degrees to the target line. Or left shoulder under your chin.

The chest moves the arms and hands as they are now not active. Just let them go along for the ride. Remember to maintain your angles. This is a half swing with the arms and hands.

Your move to the golf ball is filled with objectives, but we will only be using one.

Keep you angles intact all the way through impact. However you have to do this, you must do this.

Some find that they can mentally connect the arms to the shoulders and just turn the shoulders and of course the arms go with them.

This is a minny move, you are not trying to hit the ball anywhere. You are trying to get sequence and timing, along with a sense of control back to where you are in charge of yourself.

Tempo, sequence and timing will start to come back to you as you just lazily, but correctly, muddle through this drill.

Maintaining angles is what this is about.

The golf ball should be getting off the ground crisply and may have a slight right to left movement. That is just fine. But if it is moving left to right you will need to pay attention to clubhead path. Make sure you are hitting the inside of the ball.

You are entitled to a slight weight shift with this drill if you like, but it isn’t really necessary.

A very fast review on angles, there are two we are concerned with. The angle of the right wrist to the right forearm. This is the ” trayed” right wrist position. That’s one.

note: the left wrist should not be in the awful “cupped” position.

And two is the angle that is formed by the shaft and the right forearm. That’s two.

The latter, in this drill, will be about 90 degrees as the left arm is parallel to the ground and the shaft is pointed straight up in toward the sky.

Keep this angle.

Take it casually here as you work out the stress of being the driving range laughing stock. In a matter of moments your swing will be back and you will shut them all up.

Nice feeling right?

Oh .. if you read the article on what lag is, you would have read about the drill, bump and drop.

This is an excellent drill to work on your angles and know what they are and how they feel. And the neat part of this drill is that you will never get negative feedback as you will not be hitting any golf balls.

Happy now?

If there is a magic move it’s in this bump and drop move. Harvey Penick knew it and wrote about this exact move in his ” Little Red Book”

So let me be clear that I did not make this one up. Harvey did. Try it. It works.

By: Paul Macleod

About the Author:

People who are new to the game of golf often want to know what a good golf swing is. The obvious answer would be a swing that gets a hole in one – but this is far too generalised and it is sometimes impossible to get a hole I none from teeing off due to the shape of a golf course and the position of the green in relation to the fairway. Instead it is better to think of what contributes to a good golf swing so that you can ensure your swing is as good as it can be, and these are things such as -

Excellent posture of the golfer – this is essential to a good swing as the posture of the golfer creates the foundations of the swing.

The speed of the swing – any good golfer will tell you that one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to think that by swinging the club as fast as you can will create a great deal of force which will make the ball travel further. Trying to do this usually results in a poor swing which often sends the ball in the left hand direction rather than straight ahead.

Concentration – when you are lining up your shot before the swing you should make sure that you have your eyes on the ball and are calm yet fixed on the task in hand. Loss of concentration is a killer if you want to have a good golf swing.

Co-ordination – good co-ordination comes from practising your swing time and time again. Without this you will not naturally swing the club and the movement will feel forced and will not help you to perform well at all. If you want to succeed in golf practise makes perfect so spend as much time on your swing as you can to get it right.

By: Joe Marquart

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