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

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You don’t need golf lessons to tell you there are only two times when your swing is static- at the start and the finish. The rest of the time it’s in motion. While your address greatly influences your swing, your finish tells you how well or how poorly you swung the club. If you know what to look for in your finish, it reveals hidden swing flaws that can spell trouble on the course.

In this two-part article we’ll examine six of the most common types of swing finishes. We’ll look at three finishes this week and three next week. In examining each finish, we’ll review why you end with this type of finish and what it reveals about the quality of your swing. Hopefully, this information will serve as a golf instruction session that will help you find and correct flaws in your swing and improve your golf handicap.

High Finish

The two most common finishes I see in golf instruction sessions are the high and the low finish. While finishing high isn’t necessarily bad, what you do to create it can b. High finishers swing on very inside-out swing paths, with the club traveling way to the right of the target. While the inside-out swing is preferred, when taken to extremes, it minimizes control and often spells trouble. Typically, high finishes are associated with push hooks and push fades and with thin shots and shots hit off the heel of the club.

Good golfers almost never move the club more than a few degrees inside. When the club comes too far inside with a closed clubface, you hook. When it comes too far inside with an open clubface you push. In addition, swinging the club too far inside delivers the club below the swing plane, which often prevents the club from striking the ball on a slightly descending path. Shots from this position don’t get compressed and are often hit thin. The key to correcting this hidden flaw is to be subtle with the inside move and not to grossly overdue it.

Low Finish

In contrast to the high finish is the low finish, which I also see a lot in golf lessons. A low finish results from an overly outside-in swing path. A downswing motion that starts with the arms instead of the body causes an overly outside-in swing path. When the arms outrace the body through the hitting zone, instead of being dragged through, the club comes over the top of the swing and into the hitting zone at a steep angle. This type of swing creates pull slices, pull hooks, and toe shots.

Shots from an overly outside-in swing path are seldom well struck and seldom on the desired swing path. If you look closely at the finish, you’ll see that the player’s arms are jammed close to the body. That’s because the arms have moved earlier than the body and their action tends to be impeded by the body. As a result, you have no other choice but to bunch up in the finish and at impact, sapping power from the swing and decreasing control.

Lunge Finish

A common flaw fuels the lunge finish: a severe breakdown of the lower body through the hitting zone. You know you’ve achieved this finish when your head is in front of your lead leg at the end of the swing or you sense you’re in danger of falling forward. Lungers hit a lot of thin shots or shots that travel unusually low. Generally speaking, all’s well with the swing until the hips stop rotating through impact, causing the upper body (including the head) to get ahead of the ball and violating the golden rule of staying behind the ball when you hit.

The key to eliminating this flaw is getting your hips to work properly, you need to work on your downswing hip rotation. In other words, try leading your downswing with your hips instead of your upper body. To do this, try this drill: Place a chair in front of your lead leg with the back just touching you at the side of the leg. Now take some practice swings, being careful to remain in contact with the chair as you turn through impact. Finish with your head directly over your lead leg.

Swing flaws can creep into our swing undetected, affecting how well we hit the ball. If you’re determined to lower your golf handicap, you need to find and fix the hidden swing flaws that can invade your swing. Analyzing how you finish your swing is a good way to spot and eliminate these hidden flaws. But first you need some golf tips on what to look for in your finish and why you finished the way you did. Next week, we’ll look at three more common finishes and see what golf lessons they provide.

Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

By: Jack Moorehouse

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The concept of plane confuses some players. It also confuses some players that come to me for golf lessons. Many are unclear about what it is and what its impact is on your golf swing. Whether you understand the concept of plane or not, swinging off plane is never good.

Focusing on two points–spine angle at address and the position of the left arm on the downswing–clears up the confusion about swing plane and explains its effect on your golf swing and your golf handicap.

Several reasons exist for swinging off plane. Picking the club up with your hands or rolling the clubface open during the swing are two. The most common reason for swinging off plane is adopting the wrong spine angle at address, as I’ve often pointed out in my golf tips,

Spine angle forms the natural axis around which your shoulders should turn at a 90-degree angle. The spine angle you set at address is critical because it decides the shape and plane of your swing. It’s the reason why I focus on adopting the proper spine angle in my golf instruction sessions.

If a player tilts too far over at address, the flatter spine angle causes the shoulders to “tilt” during the swing. As a result, your left arm comes off your chest during your swing, your backswing becomes upright, and your swing plane too steep. Fat shots, deep divots, and pulls and slices are symptoms of a steep plane.

If a player leans too far back at address, the more erect spine angle causes the shoulders to flatten during the swing. As a result, your left arm squeezes too tightly against your chest, your backswing becomes flatter, and your swing plane too shallow. Hitting behind the ball, thin shots, and loss of power are symptoms of a shallow plane.

Keep in mind that a taller player has a naturally steeper swing plane than a shorter person does, and a shorter player has a naturally flatter swing plane than a taller person does.

While your shoulder turn and arm swing are related, a good backswing requires a left arm swing that’s on a slightly higher plane than your shoulders. This arm angle allows your shoulders to have more of a free passage to the ball on the downswing. If your left arm swing is off, you’ll automatically be on the wrong plane with your swing will be off.

Here’s a test I use in my golf lessons to tell if a player is on plane with his/her swing. Take a club, assume your normal posture, and swing to the top. Hold that position for a second. Now, loosen your grip and let the shaft fall.

If the shaft hits you on the top of the right shoulder, your swing is on plane. If it hits you on the head or neck, your swing plane is too steep. Conversely, if it falls behind your back without hitting your body, your swing plane is too shallow.

Employing a simple move at the top of your backswing ensures that you’re taking the right swing plane as you start into the downswing. As you begin your downswing shift your weight onto your left foot while, at the same time, bringing your right elbow back down to your body. Remember to retain the angle of your wrist as you complete this move. It’s the seat of power and the key to maximum distance.

As the weight shifts to the left and the elbow drops down, the club falls automatically into the right slot for the correct swing plane. This movement flattens the swing ever so slightly. It’s the ideal position from which to swing the club down at the ball, delivering the clubhead squarely to the ball.

In essence you’re actually employing two swing planes to hit the ball correctly, one slightly different than the other. The first comes from executing the correct take away. The second from dropping down your right elbow just before the downswing.

That slightly different swing plane is crucial. It runs right through the correct angle of your spine, the natural axis around which your shoulders should turn, enabling you to deliver a clean crisp blow to the ball with a square clubhead and good power. And that’s the goal of all golf instruction on swing plane.

I hope this article clears up the confusion about swing planes. If you work on taking the club back on the right plane and on dropping your right elbow down during your swing, you’ll see results. That, in turn, will help you lower both your individual golf scores and your golf handicap.

By: Jack Moorehouse

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MatChris56 asked:

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Is a single-axis golf swing the best way to hit a ball? Fueled by the success of the Moe Norman, who popularized the single-axis approach and was widely known for power, consistency, and correctness at impact, the debate rages on. He introduced a concept called “Natural Golf” many years ago. It’s not likely to stop anytime soon.

Norman is among the best ballstrikers ever. Even the great Ben Hogan admired his swing. Hogan was once quoted as saying, “Moe is the only guy that I would walk across the street to watch hit balls.” Hogan was not alone. So what’s behind the debate? Let’s take a closer look at the single-axis swing.

While the single-axis swing isn’t something I talk about in my golf lessons and golf tips, it still intrigues. Taking away and returning a club on a single plane–not the two planes of the modern approach, simplifies the golf swing. At the very least, as I explain in golf instruction sessions when asked about it, it improves the most important part of the swing–impact.

Key Difference Between Swings

The key difference between the conventional golf swing and the single-axis swing is the relationship between address and impact. With the conventional swing, the player sets up with his arms and hands directly below the shoulders, forming two separate lines that create an angle between the arms and clubshaft.

With the single-axis swing, the address position aligns the club on the same plane as the impact plane. In other words, the single-axis swing starts the club on the same impact plane and stays there throughout. Thus, the golf swing is simplified. Solid ballstriking, which I emphasize in my golf lessons and golf tips, is facilitated.

Address:

With the conventional swing, the player takes a narrow stance with the lead arm on a different line than the clubshaft. The trail hand is on top of the club and the hands are behind the clubhead. With the single-axis swing, the hands are positioned in front of the clubhead with every club. This position forms a straight line–the same line that occurs at impact when the lead arm and clubshaft align. Moe Norman called it “the rod.”

Backswing

Since the conventional swing starts on a different plane at address, the player must hinge his or her wrists to get the club back on plane. The address position also creates a steeper shoulder plane. Also, the spine tilts forward a little, away from the original spine angle going into the downswing. Since the single-axis swing starts on the same plane, the player keeps the club on plane by maintaining the relationship between the lead arm and the lead shoulder established at address. The spine tilt remains the same as at address and the shoulder remains on plane.

Top of the Swing

The traditional swing forces a steeper, more vertical arm movement to the top of the backswing. The spine moves toward the target, in a reversed C position, and the right elbow (for right-handers) has been lifted and will need to drop down to get the club back on plane in the downswing. With the single-axis swing, there’s no need to drop the arms into the slot. They’re already there. The wrists are cocked and ready to deliver as much power as possible into the back of the ball.

Downswing

With the conventional swing the lower body rotates with the lead leg straightening and the back foot lifting to create room for the lifting of the clubhead into impact. The trail elbow is slightly behind the trail hip, which can “trap” the arm behind the body. With the single-axis swing, the head remains behind the ball, the trail foot is on the ground, and the player’s spine tilt maintained. The lead leg remains flexed and stable. Nor is there any need to move the body to make room for a steeper shaft.

Impact

The impact positions of both the conventional and single-axis swing are similar at impact, as they should be. The key difference is, as we have pointed out, how they arrived there–through multiple planes or on a single plane. What’s more, the single-axis swing produces minimal movement throughout the swing, compared to the traditional swing.

Release

The conventional swing requires a full release of the entire body, with excessive hip rotation and the need to lift the trail foot off the ground. Also, the forearms must cross to square the clubface. That’s unlike the single-axis swing, where the arms power past a flexed, yet posted lead leg and moves straight toward the target, like a pendulum.

That’s the single-axis swing in a nutshell. Many of the fundamentals of the single-axis swing can be seen in today’s Tour players, like Craig Perry, Tom Lehman, and Mike Weir, while Mark O’Meara is almost a carbon copy of Moe Norman in the release position.

So the debate rages on. The conventional swing has many proponents, but the single-axis swing also has its share of advocates. If you struggle with consistency, you may find it worth while to investigate, what is at the least, a simpler way of achieving a solid impact position. It certainly can’t hurt.

By: Jack Moorehouse

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swailgolf asked:

Golf swing instruction and online tips. Get free online golf lessons at www.swail.com

I decided to begin this series of free online golf tips & instructions with the lessons and methods my grandfather taught. My grandfather was a Golf Professional for nearly 50 years and competed in many tournaments. His career highlights include qualifying for two U.S. Opens and being invited to play in the British Open. Although my grandfather was an accomplished golfer, he felt most rewarded when teaching others how to play and enjoy the game. Although golf instruction has come a long way since my grandfather’s time, these golf lessons still include very important fundamentals to be learned and remembered. Sometimes the best golf lessons come in the simplest form and are made easier to understand and execute. The following instructions have been taken from my grandfather’s notes entitled, “Improve Your Golf”, and I am very happy to share these with anyone wanting to learn how to play golf, or revisit the basic fundamentals of the game.

Improve Your Golf – Setup & Address At Ball For Proper Swing

Your setup at address will be an important part of starting your swing with proper stance, ball position and distance from the ball.

Stance: will vary with clubs as you move from short irons to long irons, but ball is consistently played inside your left heel (right heel if you’re a lefty). What should happen with your stance is you should start with your feet approximately 12″ apart with your 9-iron and gradually widen your stance with each club until you get to about a shoulder-width stance with your driver. Also, you need to have a slightly open stance with your shorter irons (7-p.w.) and a square stance with your long irons and woods (3-6 irons, fairway woods, driver). A slightly open stance is when you pull your left foot and side back just a bit from the ball to slightly turn the front of your body towards your target. A square stance is when you can draw a line across the tips of your feet and the line will lead straight to your target. After you are properly aligned at address with your feet, it is good to turn your left foot slightly pointed out. This will help stabilize your weight when you finish your swing.

Direction: for a shot is an important factor of your address to the ball. Your shoulders should be parallel to the line of flight you are swinging for. It is better to feel slightly aimed left of your target (body open to target) than aimed right of target (body closed to target).

Distance From The Ball: is key for consistency and is measured by standing straight up at address with your left arm hanging straight down in front of your left leg, fingers on left hand are cupped slightly and the **** of the grip of the club is laying across your index and middle fingers only. If it is into your ring finger, you are too close; if it is only up to your index finger, you are too far away from the ball. This pattern will place you at the proper distance from the ball every time and allow for you to make a more consistent swing. This method should be used with every club. Only with chipping and of course putting will you stand closer to the ball.

After checking your distance, remain with your body straight up, grip the club and bend over at the waist only until the club head is placed behind the ball. Then, slightly bend the knees keeping 70% of your weight support towards the front of your feet and toes. Finally, make sure your head is positioned just behind the ball with a slight tilt towards the right. This is where your head should be at impact for maximum control and distance.

By: Scott Powers

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Everyone should learn how to play golf from a properly accredited golf trainer. Unless you get to play golf for free, the money you spend on proper golf lessons will keep you from making stupid mistakes and pay back for itself in a just a few weekends of golf. Many players who hook or slice their balls do so because they tried to learn by trial and error without taking proper golf swing instructions. Maybe you save on a few hundred dollars by learning on your own, but how much do you lose out on enjoyment by playing badly?

A decent golf trainer can give you plenty of golf swing help even after the golf swing lesson is over. Once you form a relationship by receiving golf swing instructions from him, you can always go back and ask for advice and help to improve your golf swing. How much is it worth to you to cut 7 or 8 strokes off your score?

Once you learn the proper techniques from your trainer, you can improve a lot by doing lots of practise. But without first learning the correct way to swing your golf clubs, no amount of practise will help you. You can usually find teaching pros at most golf courses, so there is little excuse for not getting proper lessons.

That said, many players find it helpful to supplement their live lessons with books and online courses. Taking a good online course with plenty of video clips to demonstrate the correct way to swing the club can really improve your golf a lot. However, you should not forget to schedule two or three sessions with your golf trainer throughout the year to double-check your golf swing techniques. This keeps you from developing bad habits which can quickly blow up into slices and hooks.

In a certain way, your swing is a bit like your stock portfolio. As Warren Buffet said of stocks, the best way to make money is to avoid losing it in the first place. If you make the effort to keep your swing from turning bad, it becomes easier to improve your golf swing and score by doing more practise.

It is worth making the effort to improve your golf swing. After all, most amateurs spend 10% to 20% of their time swinging their drivers. Once you master the basics taught by the trainer, a good online video course can really help to improve and fine tune your technique. One important area is in the accuracy and control of your ball. An amateur hits the bunkers and water hazards much more often than a pro because he does not have enough control over his swing. A pro can impart enough spin on his ball to let it land and stop just before a bunker. Most amateurs can’t.

A good golf trainer can teach you to swing your golf clubs correctly and save you a lot of time and effort. When you play better, you will enjoy your golf better. Besides, isn’t it always more satisfying to win money off your weekend ********?

By: Godfrey Swain

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Have you ever heard that you should always hit the ball from the inside to the outside?

Sure you have.

Most golf instruction will make this a center piece of your growth period in the golf swing. It is one of the mainstay ideas related to golf lessons. Hit from the inside. It has to do with clubhead path or swing path as some call it.

How about the guy who figures this out by himself? Or, perhaps he reads it somewhere. That you must have an inside swing path in order to hit the ball straight.

So what does he do? He runs to the range and he decides that it doesn’t seem that hard. He’ll just drag the club inside on the take away and he’ll be all set to hit it from the inside.

This makes perfect sense to him. So it isn’t long before he is wrapping the club around his ankles in an attempt to get the damn thing inside more and more and more. Only to find that he is still hitting a big banana because, try as he might, he is still hitting from the outside to the inside.

You have seen this guy. He is the one that has the funny looking backswing. You know something is wrong with it but you just can’t quite figure it out. He bends in ways that don’t seem possible. His hands practically disappear behind him as he attempts to get the club deeper and deeper to the inside.

You feel sorry for him, but of course you have no idea who he is or what he is trying to do.

Whatever it is, you are thinking, it ain’t working.

The club is so far to the inside that it gets stuck behind him. The only way he can get it back to the ball is to throw it out over the target line and hit …. you guessed it, “hit from the top” or do exactly what he trying not to do and that is use an outside in swing path.

The result? A repeating weak slice that has no hope whatsoever of finding the fairway and so now he is suffering from another problem as well.

He is standing too close to the ball AFTER HE HITS IT! ( Grinning)

There are several golf swing lessons to be learned from watching this guy.

The first is that you almost never can feel what you are doing in the golf swing.

And you can almost never figure it out by yourself. There are millions of words written about the golf swing from some very experienced folks. Trying to re-figure it out by yourself is a very bad idea.

So what happens to our unknown friend?

He finds that after hundreds of swings, his slice is still there and he was unable to hit from the inside. What he did wrong was miss the very idea of an inside swing path.

It is not the backswing that sets this into motion it is the first move on the downswing that causes an inside path of the clubhead.

Have a look at Jim Furyk on the PGA tour. His backswing is a mess. His downswing is a thing of beauty.

Our range friend has a backswing that only his mommy could love, and as he gears up for the massive downswing it only gets worse. He either never knew or never discovered that an inside move is on the downswing and not on the backswing.

It is true that a great backswing certainly sets up a great downswing, but if you are athletic enough you can re-route (not recommended) the downswing as long as you make that one magic move on the downswing first.

And what is that?

It’s the bumping of the hips laterally and the dropping of the right elbow into the right hip. While maintaining the set up position of the head.

Your hips will turn and your elbow will drop to it’s proper position if you allow them to do it. You have no choice if you bump your hips far enough laterally.

And then as if by magic, you will have hit from the inside. Unlike our friend who is totally mired in confusion and correction in his attempt to do what you now can do, but he will never do.

So remember that dragging the club to the inside only promises that you will hit more from the outside and make you look like a great blue heron on a Florida Golf Course.

People love to watch them but they don’t want to get too close to them.

By: Paul Macleod

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Most golfers who are constantly trying to improve their game will work on their swing through golf swing instructions. The golf swing is a complicated biomechanical process that is the most essential part of anyone’s golf game. If you want to work on your swing, instructions can be found in a number of places.

Golf swing instructions can come straight from professionals. When taking lessons, the instructions you receive will be coming from a reliable source that is working directly with you. Receiving golf instructions from a professional that is able to watch your golf swing first hand is a great way to find golf game improvement. The instructor can than decide what part of your swing needs adjustment and work with you step by step to achieve your desired golf swing. Even just one lesson or a group lessons with a golf instructor can bring improvement to your swing and your game.

If you are like many other golfers, you may not have the time or money for golf lessons. There are other ways you can work on your golf swing based on your schedule that are less expensive. For example, many web sites offer golf swing instructions, where you can read tips or watch videos on how to improve your golf swing problems.

Another source is books, which are a great source for golf swing instructions.

You don’t even have to go to the library to get these, you can find them online. Magazines are another source where you can find the most current instructions and innovations from golf professionals as well as leading teachers in the field. I prefer books and magazines because they are great references for golf swing instructions where you can refer to them time and time again for helpful tips and diagrams.

Here are some basic golf swing instructions that will point you in the right path to improving your swing:

You will find that there are many factors that contribute to the success of a golf swing. You need to first examine your grip before you begin your golf swing. Make sure the top thumb is pointing up directly at you and grip the golf club comfortably. If you notice your hands hurting during your round of golf, you are probably gripping the club too tightly.

Make sure your club face is always square with the ball on impact in order to hit the ball straight and avoid hooks or slices. To help you with this, make sure to work on having an even golf swing plane.

Practice, practice, practice… Nothing will help you out more than that!

By: Brent Bonnett

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