Dynamics of the Golf Swing Cont'd

       On of the most important parts of the swing is the set-up. This is one position you can incorporate into your game and look as good as any Tour player! It is important to understand the alignment of the body at address is not the not the same as the alignment of the body at impact.  However, good alignment positions at address go along way toward ensuring you will have good alignment at impact.  The checklist below will help you attain a proper set-up, which will give you the best chance of achieving a successful swing.

• For shorter irons, the heels of your feet should be as wide as your hips -- your stance will get wider as the clubshaft gets longer
• Your right (rear) foot should be square(perpendicular) to the target line.  In this position, the foot restricts the hip turn on the backswing.
• Your left (front) foot is approximately 20-30 degrees open (depending on the club)
• Your weight should be balanced equally between the right and left foot
• Your weight is distributed on the balls of the feet
• The proper knee flex should give you the sensation of sitting on a stool.
• Your head is behind the ball.
• The grip of the club should be slightly ahead of the clubface
• Left wrist is flat or slightly cupped
• Arms hang in a relaxed fashion from the shoulders
• On a scale of 1 to 10, your grip pressure should be around 3 or 4
• Your right shoulder is slightly lower than your left shoulder
• Your arms form a triangle
• Your sternum is slightly behind the ball

I know that it is a lot of information there and it can seem over-whelming, If you practice this in your home(I recommend a full length mirror to help see it more clearly), driving range or where ever you can swing a golf club, by the you get on the golf course, your set-up should feel natural to you. And as your set-up improves, your ball-striking will also become better.

Dynamics of the Golf Swing cont'd

Position 1: Backswing  with clubshaft parallel with the ground

If you look at the images below(top row second image from left)  you will notice the following:

Face-on

• That his right knee is flexed
• His weight had begun to shift to the inside of the right foot
• The hands are outside the right foot
• Knuckle count is the same as at address
• the clubshaft is parallel to the ground

Target line

• Spine angle is same as address
• The right knee is flexed
• Clubshaft is approximately parallel left of the target line
• Clubhead is approximately in line with the the hands
• Clubface has the same angle as the spine

Face -on view


Target line view

Dynamics of the Golf Swing

Today I will be discussing the 7 Key Positions of a proper Golf Swing. If your like me, you are probably doing one of these components incorrectly, which in turn is affecting you from getting the most distance and accuracy from your swing. But with this guide you should be able to maximize your swing. I will go into detail on each part, here are the 7 steps:

1. Backswing with clubshaft parallel with the ground
2. Backswing with left arm parallel to the ground
3. Top of backswing
4. Clubshaft parallel to the ground (pre-impact position)
5. Impact- the moment of truth
6. Post-impact with clubshaft parallel to the ground
7. Finish

Mastering the Basics- Grip Part II

The stronger you set your left hand on the club, the easier it is to rotate the clubface to square at impact. To see that you have the proper left-hand grip,extend your arm out with the club toe pointing to the sky. If you have a strong grip, you'll have no problem rotating the clubface counterclockwise almost 180 degrees.  With a weak grip, it's hard to rotate the clubface more then 90 degrees.

To establish the proper left-hand grip, lean the shaft along your body and let both arms hang naturally.  From there, set the club in your left hand while keeping the hand by your side.  If done Correctly, the grip will naturally fall into the fingers, not the palm.

Mastering the Basics - Grip part I

Jack Nicklaus said it best: "The single most important maneuver in golf is the set-up"( meaning how position yourself  to the ball before you swing). "Set up correctly" explained Jack " and there's a good chance you'll hit a reasonable shot, even if you a mediocre swing. Set up poorly, and you'll hit a lousy shot even if you make the greatest swing in the world".

The Three most important parts of any golf swing are G.P.A

1. Grip
2. Posture
3. Alignment

First we will look at the grip.

 GRIP

     To become a good player you must understand the function and importance of the grip.The grip is your body's only physical connection of the golf club. 

     The grip controls the clubface, and the angle of the clubface at impact dictates a shot's curvature, and to a small degree the initial direction.If your shot's tend to slice, the clubface at impact is open in relationship to the path the clubhead is traveling on. In most cases, your grip is to weak - hands rotated too far to the left on the grip(towards the target). If you're hitting hooks, the clubface is closed to the clubhead path at impact, probably because your grip is too strong. Since most golfers slice the ball, they stand to benefit by placing their hands in a stronger position. For a strong grip, set your hands more to the right on the grip( rotated away from the target), so the V's formed by your thumbs and forefingers point toward the right shoulder. This promotes more clubhead and forearm rotation through impact, giving you the best chacne to square the clubface at impact.



Learning the game.

I believe that our overall knowledge of the game is unparalleled and that the approach to teaching golf is unique. The only variable is YOU. If you are willing to work on becoming a better player, then my instructions will be a valuable tool to achieve that.

Here are some beginning pointers

•  Don't expect miracles
• The golf swing is a motor skill. As such, it takes time the become reflexive. The ability to understand what I post takes intelligence. Transferring that intelligence into a motor skill takes proper practice, repetition and time. There are no shortcuts to a sucessful golf swing.
• Be realistic with yourself
• Many amatuer golfers set unrealistic expectations. If you do not have the time or energy to spend 8 hours a day on the range, your home or practice green, you will not play as well as professional tour players. Golfers on the PGA, LPGA and Senior PGA Tours earn the living playing golf all day everyday.
• And most important ENJOY!!
• While everyone is serious about improving thier golf game, it is also important to always remember to have fun at both practicing and playing golf. It is, after all, a game.

Welcome!!

Hello All!!

I am creating this blog to help people improve their golf game. I will be posting tips and infomation based on my experience and what has helped me improve my game.  I hope these instructions will help you as much as it helped me.  Enjoy

“My only goal is to look back at the end of each year and see that I have

improved.” Jim Furyk