“I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.” ~ Gerald Ford

I guess this former president understood what it meant to improve on your golf swing! Golfing is one of the most popular sports in the world, especially for retirees. It is a great pastime sport that is played, not only competitively, but also for the sheer pleasure of relaxation. I played a 9-hole course with my brother once and I can see why it is a relaxing sport, with the exception of lugging the golf bag around! Many of my co-workers talk about their golf game alot during the season, how good it is and how bad. Sometimes they are smiling and others don’t go near them, don’t ask how good their golf swing was, the whole game, etc. You wonder sometimes why they even went in the first place. The reason is Competition. It’s not only a passtime game is it?

Whether you are already a die hard golfer or are a beginner, you want to learn how you can get the best golf swing so that you can start having fun and enjoying the game. If you want to get a better golf swing, here is how to do it.

Flow of the Golf Swing

One of the most important things to know when it comes to getting the best golf swing is timing and body spacing. Slow anticipation in your backswing, and then launch an accelerated swing forward! Remember your backswing is slow and steady; this is a major step to take. If you just give it and see what happens then sure you might get lucky but you are going to need to have proper rhythm if you want to have the best golf swing. It takes practice, so don’t get frustrated or give up if you are having troubles at first, because over time you will progress and improve your golf swing.

Many golfers make the mistake of thinking that if they copy another golfer’s swing that they are going to be able to improve, - not true. In fact, you will do yourself a great disservice, because everyone’s golf stance is different, depending on their own height, weight and other personal factors that may impact such things as balance and so forth. Remember that you really cannot improve your golf swing by reading a book or watching a video alone, but rather through taking the time to play the game as often as you can, and observing your own actions you can improve your golf swing greatly. It is true golfers offer you great tips and tricks, just make sure that you make your own game and that you create the stance that is going to work for you so that you enjoy the best golf game. Consider hiring a golf trainer who can show you how to stand correctly, correct your posture issues and help improve your golf swing.

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with golf clubs.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

If you think any old golf clubs will do, you haven’t been on the course trying to compensate for a club that’s simply too long or two short. Besides making a shambles of your golf game, ill-fitting clubs can leave your body aching after the game. If you’re spending all your time compensating, you probably aren’t shooting your best or even enjoying the time on the course.

So does that mean that you’re going to spend hundreds of extra dollars on a set of clubs with a custom fit? While custom clubs are one answer, most people can find what they need from a well-stocked golf store. But there are some things to keep in mind.

Length of the club is important, but it’s not everything. The pros say that the size of your golf club’s grip should be comfortable for your hands. That’s why clubs for younger players and women often have a smaller grip.

If you should decide to go for a set of custom clubs, what is the process? It’s nothing like be measured for a suit. The point is not only to make the club reach from the point of your outstretched hand to the ground, but also to make the most of your body - your strengths and your weaknesses. So don’t go for your custom golf club fitting session expecting to spread your arms and stand still while someone uses a tape measure.

A good custom fit will probably take place both inside and outside. The best custom fit clubs will be tailored so that your swing is taken into account. Sound expensive? Possibly.

While some major golf club manufacturers will charge (dearly) for the actual “fitting,” many offer up this service for free, with your commitment to buy clubs from that company. While custom clubs are more expensive than clubs purchased “off the shelf” from your local golf supplier or even from an outlet store or individual, the results will probably show themselves right away on the golf course.

Consider the shots that you may have been compensating for all your years of playing golf. If you’re taller or shorter than the “typical” golfer, or even if you have some muscle strengths or weaknesses that make your game a bit more of a challenge, custom clubs can help you compensate.

But what if you want the clubs immediately? Do you have to go with “off the shelf” clubs? Actually, many manufacturers who provide custom golf clubs promise delivery within just a few days, a week or two at most.

Among the few negatives of custom golf clubs is the potential for offering them up as a surprise gift and the potential for resale. But at the same time, the golfer who is going to receive the custom clubs will likely gladly give up the “surprise” and most who go to this expense and trouble aren’t going to offer the clubs for sale.

Only you can decide whether custom golf clubs are a good investment for you. If you’re going to spend a bundle of money for an awesome set of clubs, you may very well take the extra step to get custom clubs.

There’s a lot to understand about golf clubs. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

When you think of golf training products do you think of training aids? Or do you think of products that work directly on some facet of your game… be it mental, physical or mechanical?

I know what you’re thinking! Work! This all involves work right? Anything that was worth achieving does not ever come easy. Don’t you agree? If improving your golf game is a high priority, you won’t look at the process as work. In fact, you will invite these processes, and quite possibly even enjoy them.

Let me ask you a question. Can you take off a month from playing and expect to come back the first time and shoot a low score? I’ll bet not! If you have not been participating in a golf training improvement program with products that are specific to your golf needs, it will be virtually impossible to expect a high level of performance.

Now the question is what type of golf training product is right for you? Well… that’s something you need to figure out based on your current golfing results. What is happening on the golf course for you? Are you fading on the back nine? Are you having focus (mental) issues throughout the round? How about swing faults? What is your main swing fault when you mishit a shot?

Taking all these factors into consideration will help you make your decision on what approach and products you need to look into to take your game to the next level. The more specific you can get, the bigger the return on investment.

How many times have you purchased a training aid only to use it one or two times, not see improvement and throw it into the golf cabinet in the garage with all your other “not-being-used” training products? I’ll bet your wife has given you a few jabs here and there eh? I know mine has!

Golf training products can be physical training like fitness programs specific for golf; they can be mental books or tapes to improve your focus; or they can be swing fault training products that work on a specific issue in your golf swing be it a slice, topping the ball, thinning the ball, hooking it or the other 62 different swing faults you can possibly have.

The most important thing of all is commitment. Make a firm promise to yourself that you will be consistent with whatever product you choose. That is the only option you have to really see if it will be effective. If you don’t give it a real try you’ll never know.

Biomechanics and Golf

There is information available widely through the web, PGA courses and magazine articles that brings you up to date with the latest thinking in golf. They teach you the latest on how to swing each club correctly, how to putt, how to analyse your swing, how to get mentally ‘tough’, how to improve flexibility and how to fitter and stronger for golf.

Today there is a plethora of information being offered about golf. Some of it correct, all of it interesting, but how much of it is relevant to you? And how do you know which of these generic exercise tips is going to help you? Even if you trained using each one for 6 weeks and then took the results onto the course and tried them - how do you then know whether your performance is ‘that exercise’ or that you just had a good day?

Even video/digital analysis, although interesting from all points of view measure the movement discrepancies in a golfer’s swing, it doesn’t tell us why you are performing these movement aberrations. Knowing what you’re doing wrong, but not knowing why you’re doing it is sometimes worse than not knowing what you’re doing wrong!

Golfers and Coaches need a simple system of analysis that they can use in conjunction with their coaching techniques to find out why golfers perform their particular swing. Although there are fundamental similarities to all good swings, each swing is like a finger-print and unique to that individual. Why is it unique? It’s because we are all biomechanically different and unless you understand what those differences are, how can you identify whether your swing is due to poor technique or something that has to done to compensate for a mechanical problem? You can’t. The variety of golf swings that exists represents the many ways that the human body can compensate for its biomechanical problems.

For example, let’s take a typical handicapper’s slice. You know the typical causes of a slice and the things you would normally work on, bearing in mind the individual and what you see. At the same time we also know that these ways don’t always work. There may be a number of reasons for this, the you may not be practicing, it may take some time to work out which is the best method for you or quite simply it may be that the person doesn’t have it in him to do what you want. Alternatively, it is likely that he can’t do it. If that pupil has a longer right leg (assuming he’s a right handed golfer), then he will have a tendency towards a more upright back swing. We know this because of the way spine and pelvis work biomechanically. A longer right leg compresses the joints in the spine on that side and so they can’t rotate easily. They therefore have to side bend to gap the joints and initiate movement, which causes an upright backswing. We also know that this then leads to a more out-to-in downswing and therefore a slice (depending upon grip and ball position of course). So you could work all day on preventing this upright backswing, which you know is leading to a slice, but it will not change until you’ve addressed the leg length discrepancy.

Invariably these leg length discrepancies are cause by a rotated pelvis and often they don’t cause symptoms, you won’t even know it exists. If this is the case then doing some simple exercises can help re-align the pelvis, reduce the leg length discrepancy and allow you to flatten that back swing.

There are many more of these examples. As well as leg length discrepancies, other biomechanical issues can include, poor motor programming strategy (the way the muscles link together in movement patterns), poor control between the pelvis and shoulders, nerve adhesions or stiffness, faulty core muscle control, immobility around the hips, pelvis and spine as well as simple lack of flexibility. Some of these issues sound quite technical and complex, but they’re actually very simple to test and eradicate.

Biomechanics works ‘hand in glove’ with your teaching, it is crucial Pro’s understand and embrace this as its going to be the next big thing in golf.

There is a system that exits that can help you and pros to learn about and address these issues. It comes 3 forms. Firstly there is a software package that takes you through some simple biomechanical tests and the expert system takes you through as series of exercises to eradicate their biomechanical problems. Secondly there are courses, which are endorsed by the PGA, which teach PGA professionals how to assess their own pupils and administer the exercises themselves. Or, thirdly experts can come to your club and assess your pupils individually and make bespoke recommendations based upon a detailed assessment of their biomechanics and following a discussion with their PGA professional, a decision can be made as to the best programme for them to follow.