This process is multi fold 1. Learn what YOUR neutral grip , Swing Series: Thinking Your Way Around the Course is 2. The CORRECT ball , Abnormal Ground Conditions position for every club 3. The CORRECT swing , Sit Up Straight! It Will Help Your Game shape 4. How far back YOU can take the club 5. How to play , Stretching For Isn't What You Think within YOUR style You will have many options to choose from and I'll show you how to , Sit Up Straight! It Will Help Your Game find the ones that will work for you. Once you have all of your "components" you won't need to experiment any longer! WHERE TO START - GRIP AND POSTURE While this may be obvious to some you would be surprised by the number of people that work on their swing , Exercises - Improving Fitness for Power and Consistency without starting with their grip. , Club, Do You Know Which One is Most Important? There is only ONE neutral grip , Are You Having Trouble Sustaining Energy On The Back Nine? for any golfer! , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your Swing That grip , Will A Night Tournament Ruin Your Course? is where YOUR arm , The Proper Swing Technique hangs down from the shoulder , 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy Instantly with a Performance Diet socket and the angle of YOUR target side hand. It makes no difference whether you use an overlapping, interlocking, and ten-finger (baseball) grip. , What Night Ball should I use for my Glow Ball event? What IS critical is the angle the club , Golf: How to Play Effectively lies in your hand. To find YOUR neutral grip, , The Proper Swing Technique first take your address position, but without a club, , Types and let both arms , A Layman's Guide to Custom Club Fitting hang downward from the shoulder , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your Swing sockets with NO TENSION. Most golfers , Training For Combines Technical, Physical, Mechanical and Tactical will find that their target side arm , 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy Instantly with a Performance Diet hangs somewhere between the middle of the target side thigh to the inside of the thigh (depending on the width of stance , 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy Instantly with a Performance Diet and/or the width of the chest). As you look down at your target side hand pay attention to the angle it hangs. Some of you will see two knuckles of the hand, some will see three, and some may even see four. It doesn't matter how many you see! Whatever the number, this is YOUR bodies way of telling you its natural tendency and that is the neutral angle for YOUR grip! , Abnormal Ground Conditions When you place your target side hand on the club , The 3 Types of Handicaps it should be at the same angle you just saw. The club , Effective Training Equipment Isn't What You Think then runs diagonally from between the first and second joint of the index finger to just under the heel pad. Close the fingers and then close the hand with the heel pad on top of the shaft with the thumb to the backside of the shaft. This supplies pressure from the heel pad downward and the last three fingers exert pressure upward. Then take the lifeline of the trailing hand, located between the thumb and heel pads, and place it on the thumb of the target side hand. The lifeline against the thumb exerts the pressure here; the right forefinger should be separated, in a "triggering position", but with no pressure. It is important to understand that the forefinger and target side thumb both be on the same side and angle of the shaft for the best support. The trailing thumb should be on the target side of the shaft. You never want the thumbs to exert any pressure. Finally, in order for the hands to work together, they must be parallel to each other. POSTURE Regardless of the player's level of golf , A Layman's Guide to Custom Club Fitting anyone can get into a posture that looks as good as any Tour Player, , Here's A Training Tip To Boost Your Drives it takes no athletic ability to get into a proper posture! For full swing , Want to Play Extraordinary ? shots, other than a Driver, , Want to Play Extraordinary ? the inside of the heels should be as wide as the outside of the hips , Improve Your Performance With These 5 Tips (for a Driver , Want to Play Extraordinary ? the inside of the heels as wide as the outside of the shoulders). Push the hips , Stretching For Isn't What You Think sockets back and up so that the pelvis is at an angle, not horizontal to the ground. As you push the hips , The 5 'Keys' To A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Pre Shot Routine You Can Learn Immediately back, and up, this will lower the chest and place the weight , Sports Psychology for Golfers: 4 Tips for Beating the Yips toward the back of the arch of the foot. Simply unlock your knees, you'll feel a little pressure above the kneecaps, and let the arms , Club, Do You Know Which One is Most Important? hang limply downward from the shoulder , Sports Psychology for Golfers: 4 Tips for Beating the Yips socket. There should be NO TENSION in the arms , 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy Instantly with a Performance Diet or shoulders. , Will A Night Tournament Ruin Your Course? Some players , Are You Having Trouble Sustaining Energy On The Back Nine? like to tilt their upper bodies slightly away from target as the final set-up adjustment and just because your trailing hand is lower than the target side hand this is acceptable, just don't overdue it. Now you have YOUR grip , Training For Combines Technical, Physical, Mechanical and Tactical and posture. BALL POSITION Ball , What Causes Distance? position is the most misunderstood portion of the entire set-up. There have been many opinions about ball , Your Only Connection to the Club position. Some say one position for every shot, others say move it around depending on the club. , Sports Psychology for Golfers: 4 Tips for Beating the Yips All of the guesswork is taken out however if the golfer , Stretching For Isn't What You Think would set the club , 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy Instantly with a Performance Diet at address as the manufacturer designed it. All clubs, , The Ball Throughout History except for the Driver, , Improve Your Performance With These 5 Tips are designed so that the grip , Stretching For Isn't What You Think end of the club , Golf's Most Important Rule - Ball Contact! is ahead of the clubhead , History - A Female Perspective if soled properly, this means the shaft leans forward, not vertical or backwards! If you address the ball, , Exercises - Improving Fitness for Power and Consistency with say a 5 iron, , Club Care and Maintenance: How to Keep Your Clubs Looking and Performing Like Brand New and the shaft is vertical then even before you swing , Why Do You 'Not Benefit' From Coaching Tips you've added loft and turned it into a seven iron! , Proper Shoes On The Course Pay Off. That same 5 iron , The Benefits of a Remote Controlled Trolley is designed to have approximately 8 degrees of forward lean at address. The best players , Get Moving and Save Strokes in the world, using that same 5 iron, , Want to Play Extraordinary ? have upwards of 15 degrees at Impact! , Exercises - Improving Fitness for Power and Consistency This turns it into a 3 iron! , Swing Series: A Simple Change in Your Grip Can Revolutionise Your Game of Having said that you have the option of setting up to the ball , Abnormal Ground Conditions with the shaft vertical as long as you can get into the proper Impact , The 3 Types of Handicaps position'?the shaft leans forward at Impact! , Golf's Most Important Rule - Ball Contact! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER start with the shaft leaning backward! We also need to cover where the ball , Your Only Connection to the Club is located in relation to the player's upper body, not the feet. The width of the stance , The Ball Throughout History changes during the course , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your Swing of a round but the width of the upper body does not. In addition, the target side shoulder , The 3 Types of Handicaps socket is the low point of the arc and the fulcrum of the target side arm , Senior Golfers Can Still Play Great . Do You Want To Know How? swing. Therefore the ball , Are You Having Trouble Sustaining Energy On The Back Nine? with a wedge will be in the center of the chest, in line with the sternum, for full swing , Improve Your Performance With These 5 Tips shots, the 5 iron , Sports Psychology for Golfers: 4 Tips for Beating the Yips under the target side of the chest, and the Driver , Want to Play Extraordinary ? at the low point, which is the shoulder , The Ball Throughout History socket. This could vary depending on whether the player , Get Moving and Save Strokes has exceptionally wide shoulders, , The Ball Throughout History but for the most part these locations will be fine for irons , Club, Do You Know Which One is Most Important? but the target side shoulder , Improve Your Performance With These 5 Tips socket IS the LOW POINT and the Driver , The 3 Types of Handicaps MUST be played at this location for straight shots! Back of this location produces a fade, with no manipulation, and forward of this location produces a draw, with no manipulation. You may see some players , Are You Having Trouble Sustaining Energy On The Back Nine? playing the ball , The Proper Swing Technique back, or forward, of the target side shoulder , Want to Play Extraordinary ? socket but these players , Golf's Most Important Rule - Ball Contact! must either change the shoulder , The Benefits of a Remote Controlled Trolley location at Impact, , Hole In One Displays by leaning backward with the upper body, or must manipulate the clubface , Swing Series: A Simple Change in Your Grip Can Revolutionise Your Game of to hit , The Benefits of a Remote Controlled Trolley a straight shot. AIM and ALIGNMENT As you take your grip , Golf's Most Important Rule - Ball Contact! you must be sure the leading edge of the clubface , The Best Vacation You Will Ever Have - Overview square. The leading edge is the edge closest to the ball. , Swing Tip - A thought About Swing Thoughts Always set the clubface , Sit Up Straight! It Will Help Your Game first, perpendicular to the target line, then set your feet, knees, hips, , How to Unleash Your True Potential (Part 1) eyes, and shoulders , The Ball Throughout History parallel to the target line. THESE LINES ARE PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER! NEVER AIM YOUR BODY AT THE TARGET! What is the object of golf? To get the ball , Club Care and Maintenance: How to Keep Your Clubs Looking and Performing Like Brand New in the hole , Want to Play Extraordinary ? with the fewest strokes , How an Empty Box Improved My Swing as possible! To aid in alignment it is imperative that you utilize a procedure called an "Intermediate Target". The intermediate target is something between the ball , Golf: How to Play Effectively and the target. It could be a piece of discolored grass, an edge of a divot, a broken tee, , Will A Night Tournament Ruin Your Course? etc. It should be within your peripheral vision, so that you don't have to lift your head. MOVING THE CLUB Because we play golf , Here's A Training Tip To Boost Your Drives on an Inclined Plane this dictates that the club , - Hole-In-One Insurance MUST move on an arc. That means the club , The Proper Swing Technique head is only on the base on the Plane Line approximately 2 inches during the swing! , Senior Golfers Can Still Play Great . Do You Want To Know How? It also means that the club , Why Do You 'Not Benefit' From Coaching Tips always moves in 3 dimensions. The Backstroke dimension is backward, upward, and inward all simultaneously and On Plane. The keyword for Backstroke is "BACK". The hands and arms , Practise Time - Making The Most Of It control the backward and upward movement of the club. , Proper Shoes On The Course Pay Off. Therefore, if you did not make a shoulder , Improve Your Swing And Driving Distance With Stretches turn the clubhead , Stretching For Isn't What You Think WOULD NOT move inside the baseline. The shoulder , Clone Clubs May Be The Best Way To Go turn moves the club , Swing Series: Thinking Your Way Around the Course inward, NOT back and up. So if the player , Clubs - Which Are Which? just turned their shoulders, , Clone Clubs May Be The Best Way To Go without any hand or arm , Here's A Training Tip To Boost Your Drives movement, then the club , A Layman's Guide to Custom Fitting would be inside but not back and up. These two movements MUST work together to achieve the proper sequence. The trailing forearm moves the club , Practise Time - Making The Most Of It on Plane by "tracing" the Plane. The bending, and folding of the trailing elbow also raises and lowers the club , The Best Vacation You Will Ever Have - Overview and cocks and uncocks the target side wrist. Never raise the arms , Stretching For Isn't What You Think and club , Hole In One Displays by lifting from the shoulders , Club, Do You Know Which One is Most Important? sockets! The Downstroke dimension is downward, outward, and forward. Once the player , Training Impact and Dust Training has reached full extension (follow-through) then the club , Get Moving and Save Strokes moves again upward, inward, and backward. This completes the 3 dimensional swing. , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your LENGTH OF ARC What does this term mean? Simply put, length of arc means how far back YOU can take the club. , - Hole-In-One Insurance Some players , The 3 Types of Handicaps may be able to take their hands high above their heads in the backswing , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your Swing while others can only get their hands to shoulder , Swing Tip - A thought About Swing Thoughts height, or less. It doesn't matter! However far you can take the club , Types and still maintain structure is the end of YOUR swing! , - Hole-In-One Insurance You can increase your length of arc by increasing your range of motion. (see your local physical therapist for exercises to increase your range of motion). LET'S GET STARTED Before every shot you play , Swing Tip - A thought About Swing Thoughts there must be a sequential order of events. First of course , What Causes Distance? we have to find our golf ball. , Abnormal Ground Conditions Once the ball , - Hole-In-One Insurance is located we then must examine the type of lie we have, the distance to the target, the shot shape desired, the wind conditions (if any), how we're feeling that particular day, whether to play , Want to Extraordinary ? aggressively or conservatively or somewhere in between (this depends on our style), and finally choosing the correct club , The Ball Throughout History for the type of shot. We can't call this a "pre-shot routine" because there is nothing routine about a golf , Proper Grip Primer shot! There are always factors to be decided and these factors constantly change. So we would encourage you to use the phrase "PRE-SHOT". Pre-shot may or may not include a dress rehearsal of the swing, , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your a practice , Sit Up Straight! It Will Help Your Game swing. During the practice , Practise Time - Making The Most Of It swing you're getting a feel for the mechanics involved in hitting , Hole In One Displays the shot and visualizing the ball , Stretching For Isn't What You Think flight. ADDRESS AND SET-UP Once we have gone through our pre-shot we now start the initial mechanical and mental programming procedures. Approach , Proper Grip Primer the ball , Clone Clubs May Be The Best Way To Go from behind and follow this order for success. Verify these six Impact , 10 Ways to Increase Your Energy Instantly with a Performance Diet Alignments. 1. Clubface , A Layman's Guide to Custom Club Fitting to Target Line 2. Grip , The Best Fitness Exercises For The Quickest Results to Clubface 3. Hands to Ball 4. the Plane Angle 5. Pressure Points 6. Position of the Trailing Forearm Balance, Grip, , History - A Female Perspective and Plane Line MUST be verified before EVERY shot! Now we're ready to start the backstroke. BACKSTROKE Now that address is completed we can start the backstroke. As discussed earlier, this involves two separate movements. These movements are controlled from the waist up. The lower body should be moved by the upper body if the player , Club Types is flexible enough, if not, then allow it to move freely in both directions. 1. The hands and arms , Why Do You 'Not Benefit' From Coaching Tips '? the vertical plane 2. The shoulders , Improve Your Swing And Driving Distance With Stretches '? the horizontal or inclined plane At this point I would like to remind you that Address and Impact , Improve Your Swing And Driving Distance With Stretches are NOT THE SAME! The only thing that has not changed is the ball , Clubs - Which Are Which? position. You may use any backstroke procedure you choose and there are basically three that the announcers use to describe them. 1. A one piece takeaway'?Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods 2. A two piece takeaway'?Ernie Els, David Duval, Karrie Webb, Anika Sorenstam 3. A three piece takeaway'?Raymond Floyd, Nancy Lopez Choose anyone you wish that feels comfortable and natural. What initiates the backstroke? Ask ten different instructors and you will get ten different answers. Some player's feel it starts with turning the shoulders, , Here's A Training Tip To Boost Your Drives some feel it may be the hips, , Practise Time - Making The Most Of It and still others think and feel it's the hands. I believe it is a combination of the hands, trailing forearm, AND shoulder , Want to Play Extraordinary ? turn that start the backstroke. Earlier I talked about the role of the hands, arms, , Improve Your Hands And Improve Your Swing and shoulders , What Causes Distance? during the backstroke. They absolutely must work together and synchronous if the club , Are You Having Trouble Sustaining Energy On The Back Nine? is to stay on plane! As the club , , Do You Know Which One is Most Important? starts back the clubhead , The Best Fitness Exercises For The Quickest Results must point at the base of the plane line until the clubshaft reaches parallel to the plane line and horizontal to the ground. As the club , Taking The Confusion Out Of Ball Compression starts upward then the butt of the club , , Do You Know Which One is Most Important? must point at an extension of the base of the plane until it reaches the top of the swing. , The 3 Types of Handicaps If you can't get the clubshaft to parallel, then the butt of the club , The Best Fitness Exercises For The Quickest Results Must point to the base of the plane line. If you are one of the few that can get the shaft to parallel, then it should be parallel to the base of the plane line. The hip , Golf's Most Important Rule - Ball Contact! sequence (how the hips , What Causes Distance? move) for full swing , The 5 'Keys' To A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Pre Shot Routine You Can Learn Immediately shots is always the same. They Turn, Slide, Turn. A great majority of players , Senior Golfers Can Still Play Great . Do You Want To Know How? think the hips , - Hole-In-One Insurance slide in the backstroke (shifting weight). While this certainly is an option it eliminates creating any rotating force of the body. A better procedure would be the one described above and is the option that the majority of the world's best players , The Benefits of a Remote Controlled Trolley use. This article is an excerpt of my eBook - "How To Build YOUR Golf , Short Game Tip - Move Your Chipping Circle Swing". Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com (c) Copyright 2004, Chuck Evans You can reach Chuck by calling 480.862.6544 or through the website www.chuckevansgolf.com
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