There are many problems that can develop with a golf swing.  Everyone that plays the game develops swing flaws at one time or another so it’s pretty safe to say that they aren’t going to go away any time soon.  The root cause of these various swing problems is lack of proper instruction. If you have a golf swing problem do not feel like you are alone in the world.

Receiving the proper instruction from a qualified professional will go a long way in preventing chronic swing problems, especially with beginners.  When a player develops a golf swing problem, most of the time, they tend to want to self-correct.  This usually does not work very well if there is not the adequate knowledge of swing fundamentals. Fellow players are happy to volunteer swing-fixes but do they really know what they are talking about?  The point here is that the best thing to do when a swing problem develops is to go to a golf instructor for help, not your well meaning playing partner.

A very common golf swing problem is the slice.  The slice is caused from an outside to inside swing path.  With a right handed golfer the clubface strikes the ball from outside the swing plane from a right to left direction. This causes left to right sidespin on the golf ball.  The ball starts straight for a short distance, the spinning action takes over and it curves sharply to the right.  This golf swing problem is easily corrected by taking the club back on an “inside” plane and striking so that the ball is struck squarely at impact.  If the club path is correct the clubface will impart reverse spin to the ball which causes it to go high and straight.

Another common golf swing problem is lack of shot distance. There can be several causes for this problem but the most common causes are not making a full release of the clubhead and not executing the proper body turn on the backswing.  The best way to release the club fully is not to “try” to release the club at all.  Just take the club back properly, start forward with your body and allow the club to release on it’s own. Remember, if you do not make the correct body turn on the backswing, you cannot generate the kind of torque that will create a good release. The natural release occurs automatically and results in much greater shot distance.  A full and complete body turn going back and a proper release of the club at impact are essential in playing good golf.

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When most people think of a golf guide they think in terms of information that will help them find a golf course.  There are a wide variety of golf guides online and there should be no difficulty finding one that will help you to decide which course/s you would enjoy playing. 

A golf guide web-sites give very accurate and informative information about golf courses located all over the U.S.  Every site should give you a “course profile”.  The profile should include information such as the name of the club pro, complete course details, green fees, restaurant facilities and any other information that would help you make an informed decision.  The course specifications should also be available along with any other course information.   Some of the web-sites have all sorts of other helpful information also.

There are some sites that include volumes of information with such topics as golf equipment, golf instruction, golf vacations, golf real estate, golf jobs and even golf gifts.  They can even make arrangements for you to find a new golfing partner or learn about U.S.G.A. Rules.  They offer golf lessons and swing analysis while others may offer golf classifieds where you can either purchase or sell golf equipment.  A good golf guide is very similar to a travel agency, they will take you anywhere you wish to go.  You can find a golf vacation package that suites your needs and even make travel arrangements for you.

So what would you do if you had a vacation planned for Myrtle Beach, SC?  Locate a golf guide web-site and start researching.  Look for the type of resort you would like to stay at.  Is there a golf course attached to the resort and if so, what is it’s rating?  How many restaurants are available at the resort? How far is the nearest big city?  These are just some of the questions that you can learn about when researching a golf guide web-site.

You should look for a great resort location, proximity to several championship golf courses, plenty of good restaurants and things to do other than play golf.  A good golf guide will help you to find the ideal location for your next vacation.

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We all need to be very honest about the topic of golf distance.  The reason being that everyone that plays the game of golf is preoccupied with getting good distance.  This article will examine the many misconceptions about shot distance.

Almost every bit of advertisement these days, whether it is about golf balls, clubs or accessories, entices the golfer by offering greater distance of some sort or another.  “Using our driver will give you more distance off the tee” or “try our new xxx golf ball for greater distance,” they exclaim! In the meantime they try to convince you that “distance” is really number one.  Golf distance has been so ingrained into our psyche that we even make sure we inquire about distance when buying just about any new golf item.

Playing good golf is more about accuracy than about distance.  Granted, hitting a 275 yard drive off the tee is a great fun but if it isn’t accurate and on the fairway, it won’t do much to help your score.  What good does it do to hit a Pitching Wedge 140 yards if it is not hit accurately?  Distance is important but I’ll take accuracy over distance any day.  To prove my point just look at the L.P.G.A. Tour.  There is no way that these excellent women golfers can hit the ball as far as most male PGA Tour Players, yet, their scores are very commensurate with men.  Yes the courses they play are, for the most part shorter but this proves my point, which is that golf distance is not as important as golf accuracy.

I think every golfer needs to step back and ask themselves just how important golf distance really is to their game.  Which is more worthwhile a 275 yard drive that lands in deep rough or a 240 yard drive that lands in the center of the fairway?  In my view, striving for greater distance is the single biggest contributor to poor scores.  Rather than swinging “within themselves,” many golfers try to “kill” the ball.  This is a chronic problem which is relatively easy to correct with the use of the proper mental discipline.

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Is your driver golf swing any different than a 3 or 4 iron shot?  Let’s take a second and all be honest about this.  When we place the driver in our hands and step onto the teeing area, the first thing that comes into our mind is “I’ve got to knock this out there at least 280 yards so I can make a birdie.”  If you’ve never thought about “out-driving” your playing partners you are living in a whole different world because we all want to be “the longest” off the tee.  Sorry folks but this is a true recipe for disaster.

The driver has the longest shaft of all the clubs, around 44 to 45 inches.  It is the heaviest club used and it is designed to hit the ball farther than all the other clubs.  These facts contribute to our strong desire to swing this club so much faster than all of the others.  Let’s take the time and examine some common sense physics to the driver golf swing. 

The only way for any golfer to truly know how far he or she hits each club is to swing exactly the same on every shot.  That being the case, each club is different from the other in that there are different lofts, lengths and weights assigned to each of them. Why then, should a driver be swung any harder than any of the other clubs?  Shouldn’t the design of the club determine the distance of the shot instead of how hard it is swung?  The answer is a resounding yes! The driver golf swing, in reality, should not be different than any other club in the bag.  Should you be able to “crank one” every so often whenever the need arises, you bet you should. 

The driver golf swing should be fluid and consistent. Your tempo and timing should be no different than a Wedge shot.  There should be no “strong-arming” or overuse of the hands and arms which is the natural tendency, especially with the driver.  Try to remember that the farther away you are from a target the harder it is to hit it.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that.  So, if you are trying to hit an area in the fairway that is 35 yards in width and 250 yards in distance it would seem that accuracy is much more important than distance.  Use your normal swing with your driver and watch how much your game improves. 

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Just exactly what does the term ” classic golf instruction ” mean?  In this article we will talk about golf instruction as it used to be prior to the invention of computers and swing analysis machines.  Since the very first game of golf, played in Edinburgh Scotland, in A.D. 1456, the game has known many forms of classic golf instruction.  There have been two in particular that stand out to me above all the rest.

Bobby Jones, considered to be one of the top 5 athletes in American sports history, wrote 5 books on the subject of golf and swing technique.  Jones was the first of only two people ever to receive two ticker tape parades in New York city (John Glenn was the second).  One of the things that made him stand out amongst all of the most noteworthy golfers in history was his classic golf instruction method !  His method was based on two principals:  1. grip the club very lightly, 2.  start the backswing with a slight wrist break.

His theory was that gripping the club too tightly creates muscle tension which causes over control of the club.  If you have an opportunity to watch him in a clip you will see just how relaxed he is during his swing.  Most amateurs use a death grip on every shot including the putter.  They reason that in order to hit the ball farther they need to grip the club tighter.  Nothing could be further from the truth according to Jones’s classic golf instruction.  To him the club will do it’s job only if the player allows it to.  His theory is that gripping the club too tightly greatly decreases clubhead speed.  We all need to think about this one!

Phil Rodgers, who in the 60s won only five PGA tour events, had a major influence on one of the games greatest players, Jack Nicklaus.  At age 40, with 17 major champianships behind him, Nicklaus put his faith in Rodgers and radically changed his whole short game.  Rodger’s was a short game magician and Nicklaus has contributed much of his succes to the help he received from him.  So what is it that makes Phil Roger’s classic golf instruction so unique?  He beleived that to score well everyone has to have not just a good short game but an “excellent” short game.  He taught Nicklaus his various techniques such as the “stiff wristed chipping stroke” and the “whirllybird pitch”.  Phil Rodgers is one of those classic golf instruction guru’s that played a very large role in shaping the game of golf as we know it today!

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A draw shot curves slightly from right to left. It is one of the best shots to hit with a driver because the shot creates overspin on the golf ball.  The overspin will make the ball run a bit farther which obviously adds more distance. 

This is an ideal shot to hit if you are playing a hole with a dogleg left (angled right to left).  Many PGA Tour players always hit a draw with their driver.  Let me explain their theory:  If they hit a draw they aim staight down the fairway.  If the
ball does draw it will land left of center and still be in the fairway.

If they do not hit the draw as planned and unintentionally hit the ball straight they still land in the middle of the fairway.  Either way they can’t lose.  Let me answer the main question: “how to hit a draw“?

The important thing to remember is that the ball has to have a bit of right to left spin on for it to curve to the left.  There are two changes that I make to create a draw. I turn my clubface slightly inward.  Instead of my clubface being square to the target I make sure the toe is turned in just a bit. 

The next thing I do is to bring my right foot slightly back from it’s usual position.  Doing this tends to promote swinging the club from inside.  There are all kinds of theories on how to hit a draw, a lot of them can be very misleading.  I think the best thing to do is just keep it simple.  Don’t change your grip or grip pressure.  Don’t alter your stance to any great degree.
You should still be standing square to the target.  Make sure you don’t change your swing. 

The main thing to keep in mind is, just like any shot, hitting a draw takes practice.  Before you try to hit a draw on the course you should spend plenty of time on the practice range. You will find that a draw is not that difficult to hit and 
may very well become an integral part of your golf game.

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Amateur golf in the United States is governed by the United States Golf Association.  The USGA is comprised of the national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities of golf in the U.S. and Mexico.  The primary responsibility of the USGA is to interpret the rules of golf.

One of the tournaments, among many, that is organized by the USGA is the U.S. Amateur Championship which is held at various prominent courses throughout the United States.  Winning a U.S. Amateur Championship is the epitome of amateur golf in America.  Most winner’s of the Amateur Championship go on to join the regular PGA tour.  Some have done exceedingly well like Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods while other’s have quickly faded from view.

Being on the PGA tour is much different than playing amateur golf, the environment is much different. As a PGA tour member you play weekly, against some of the best golfers in the world which creates intense pressure.  The tour also requires adequate sponsorship to afford the high costs of travel and entry fees.

If you are not doing well on the “money list” sponsorship can be very hard to aquire.  A couple of top 10 finishes can make all the difference to a newcomer on tour.  It can catapult them to the kind of prominence that will bring notice from corporate sponsors.  Corporate sponsorship could mean the difference between continuing or quitting the PGA tour.

Many very talented amateur golfers have the ability to play on the PGA tour but do not have the resources to do so.  It is
very unfortunate in some cases because I feel that new faces on tour make the game much more interesting.  Tiger Woods is a very good example.  He won the U.S. Amateur Championship at a very early age and immediately joined the PGA tour
to break every conceivable record.  He is approaching the all time record for major championship wins presently held by Jack Nicklaus.

Playing amateur golf for Tiger was the stepping stone to the regular tour and I’m sure he wouldn’t disagree that he owes some of his success on tour to his U.S. Amateur victory.

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Most people that are new to the game of golf have a natural swing, youngsters between the ages of 5 and 12 years of age. They swing the club with good rhythm, balance and grace. The beginner has not yet been tainted by an overly enthusiastic golf instructor.

The first few golf instructions create a unique opportunity for the instructor to instill a strong desire in the student to do better. This is most easily done through simple instructional techniques. Let’s face it-  the student is there to learn and have fun, and “having fun” is what the game is all about. Too many instructors just don’t place a high emphasis on having fun. Think about it, how many students will actually be scratch players in 5 years, or for that matter, ever? The point is that most players do want to improve their games but not at the expense of having fun! This is certainly not to underestimate the importance of instruction, practice or good technique.

There is a common tendency with most instructors, in spite of their best intentions, to over instruct their students. Let’s face it- their job is to try to find flaws and correct them, however, sometimes tampering with a natural swing can be detrimental to the student.

Instead of sticking with the major elements of the golf swing, instructors usually attempt to get into details of the swing that the beginner does not understand. For instance they may use terms such as “strong” or “weak” grip. To the beginner that could mean many things. Terms like “swinging from the inside “, “parallel at the top” could mean different things as well- you get the idea. As the instructor tries to explain and implement these various terms and techniques the beginner becomes confused and in some cases discouraged. That is the last thing the student needs.

Most beginner golfers, especially below the age of 12, are just concerned with being able to hit the ball, never mind “hook or slice”. If anything they may tend to swing too hard because the natural tendency is to think that the harder you hit the ball the farther it goes. The smart teacher knows that for a beinner just getting the ball in the air consistently is a major accomplishment. Getting the ball airborne and flying towards the target should be the goal of the first lesson.

Beginner golf instruction should be kept simple and uncomplicated. The golf instructor should be concerned with the basic fundamentals such as grip, aim, stance and posture. When a student sees their ball going straight they instantly become more enthusiastic and motivated. This type of motivation should be the initial golf of beginner golf instruction. Golf can be fun and exciting, and if the instruction is simple it will be! 

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The best golf instruction involves a willing student and a patient, knowledgeable instructor. It involves hard work on the part of the student going through swing moves that are very repetitive and seem extremely awkward at times.

Let’s begin with the instructor and explain what their real purpose is. To provide the best golf instruction you have to have a keen perception as to what improvements should be made in your student’s swing pattern. It all starts with the word GASP and every instructor should be familiar with its meaning.

G stands for Grip. The only part of your body which is attached to the club itself are your hands. That makes it pretty important that you establish a really good grip first and foremost. Are you gripping the club too tightly?

A stands for Aim. Everyone must live up to the fact that if you’re aim is not correct you can hit the greatest shot you ever hit and not be on target. Aim is critical. Are you aiming directly at the target?

S stands for Stance. Your feet must be completely square to your swing path, shoulder width apart and your weight should be on the insides of both feet. This is one of the simplest to learn. Where is the ball in your stance?

P stands for posture. Is your back straight, are your knees bent slightly, weight on the inside of your feet and are your arms hanging straight down in a comfortable fashion? Are your knees bent too much? If so, you will it a “fat” shot!

Now let us talk about the student. Students are known to be impatient and this should be foremost on the instructor’s agenda. By not going too fast and getting into too much detail during the lesson an instructor shouldn’t have to worry about a student’s impatience. The reason being that most people, if given something that is too difficult, become impatient with themselves. So once again we should say “keep it simple”.

Students love to be challenged so they can prove to their instructor that they can accomplish what is suggested to them. They love to be able to prove to themselves and their instructors that they “really can do it” ! The problem with most teachers is their own ego- meaning that instead of being concerned with their students abilities and/or shortcomings they are concerned that they themselves are “wasting their time with this student”. A good instructional program is not only beneficial and rewarding for the student but also for the instructor and in the long run it benefits the game itself.  This is truly the best golf instruction.

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