Archive for the ‘A+Featured Swing Tips’ Category

Short Game Tip – Getting More Feel Before Hitting That Chip Shot!

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

If you watch pro golfers on TV carefully, you will notice that sometimes (during the heat of a match/championship), the pro golfer will walk the greens.

This is because he/she is trying to get a “feel” for the greens before hitting their chip shot.  Sometimes pros do this for even longer pitch shots such as 90 yards in.

The nature of the game forces the greens to get harder as the day goes by and usually when you see the leaders finish on the last couple holes, that’s usually when the greens are hardest and fastest, especially on windy days.

These little, minute effect of nature can have a great impact on how your ball behaves when you are chipping or pitching to the green.

To get a good feel for the greens, simply walk the green where you will be landing the ball and rolling it to the hole.  Then try to get a good “feel” for the greens by feeling the green with your feet.

After getting a good feel for the green, visualize your chip/pitch shot and then hit the darn thing.

You should start doing this more often (although you don’t have to do it everytime) as it will help you predict and hit better short shots around the green.

Also, by walking around the green before you hit the chip shot, you will subconsciously relax yourself and also help your mind get a better “feel” for the shot.

Short game requires more “feel” then anything and your feet need to feel the greens when under the gun.  Whether you are hitting that chip shot close to win a nassau bet or the U.S. Open, this little tip will help you win more often than not.

If you don’t believe me just watch the pros walk around the greens before they hit their chip shot and also watch exactly where they are walking.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Pitch Shot, short game | No Comments »

Putting Tips – How to Putt Consistently!

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Last time I showed you some putting secrets of how to roll the putt better by hooking it.  Well, today, let me give you couple tips that will help you putt even better.

First, I don’t really care how you grip but your putter should “hang” naturally from your hands.  This fixes many putting flaws.  When your putter is “hanging” naturally by gravity from your hands, your putting stroke will have consistency.

To do this, simply feel the weight of the putter head and make sure you can feel it “hanging” off your hands and arms right before you begin the putt.  You will also find this is easier to achieve if you stand up as tall as you can.

As for the putting grip, I find that the one with your thumbs going down the middle of the shaft works best.  Also, I have tried “looser” putting grips where your thumbs are placed diagonally across the putter grip.  These are good for light hands but ultimately make you miss short putts, where it counts.

For your putting stroke, make sure it’s a “stroke” back and forth, not a “hit” back and forth or any other fast, jerky movements.

Try to keep your putting clubhead on the ball as long as you can and that is what I mean by “stroking” the golf ball.

When you do this right, you will find you hit more putts solid and they also “feel” right in your hands.

As for the putting rhythm, try to mimic a metronome.  Just like an old wall clock that goes back and forth, your putting stroke is the same.  No need to get more complicated than “1-and-2″ rhythm.

Remember, when you practice putting, you are striving to achieve a putting stroke that will roll your ball smoothly on the green.

A great way to test your roll is to putt on a humid green when there’s a lot of fog.  Try a long putt about 30 feet and see if your golf ball “jumps” or “skips”. If it does, that means you are not doing it right, apply my tips until your golf ball “rolls” smoothly.  When you have truly master the art of putting, your golf ball should never “jump” or “skip” on foggy greens.

It’s Friday, I hope y’all have tee times, and I will have more golf tips next week!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Putting, short game | No Comments »

Putting Secrets – How to “Hook” Your Putts!

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Okay, I am going to let out another cat out of the bag, that is “hooking” your putts.

I’ve been recently noticing that I have been “naturally” hooking my putts, virtually every one of them.  This occurred naturally while just trying to make solid contact with the ball.

By the way, I have been making helluva more putts with my new “hook” method.

WHY?

When you put a slight right-to-left spin on the ball while you putt, your ball will roll more true than if you simply hit it normally.  I also found that by hooking my putts, I was able to make more left-to-right putts and right-to-left putts.

The only drawback is that you will have to adjust your aiming accordingly, meaning you might want to aim more right for right-to-left putts and play for less break on left-to-right putts.

How to Hook Your Putts

For me, an inside to slightly outside putting stroke is natural since I mainly use my wrists to putt.

I find I putt better with my wrists plus more feel when I let my hands do most of the work.

The inside-out path is natural when you simply use your wrists to putt.

To try my new putting method, simply take the clubhead back, letting it hinge on your wrists.  You will find that the path of the putter will automatically go inside.

On the follow-through, simply let the putter clubhead swing through to the target, you will find that the path of the putter will naturally go slightly outside then straight towards the target.

Because this is a natural movement and I am sinking more putts, I decided to stick with it.

When you do this right, you won’t notice any “hooks” with naked eye but you will notice that you can “hook” the ball on right-to-left putts (meaning you have to aim more right) and you will be able to hit those slightly left-to-right putts straight at the cup without compensating for any breaks.

Remember, the “hook” part is ever so slight that it can’t really be seen with the naked eye, it’s a “feel” thing so don’t over do it!  (Perhaps like 1-3 degrees of inside-outness…)

If you look at Tiger’s putting, he also “hooks” his putts.  (There’s even a golf training tool you can buy here.  They call it inside-down-the-line path but it’s really the same thing.)

I’ve also noticed that one of the greatest putters Ben Crenshaw does a similar move in his teaching videos.

Of course, you can also do this without using your wrists only but I don’t know how to teach you that.  Perhaps the golf training aid will help although I don’t believe in any training aids because you can’t use it on the golf course.

Anyways, this is really for advanced golfers.  If you are not already accomplished putter, perhaps you might want to just try hitting putts straight and keep it simple.

Tags: , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Putting, short game | No Comments »

How to Hit the Pop and Run Pitch Shot! [Short Game]

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Today, I was practicing this pop and run pitch shot where your pitch shot flies about 15-20 yards then rolls the rest of the way about additional 5-10 yards. (It’s also called hit-and-run but I like the term “pop and run” since it feels more like I “pop” the ball” rather than “hitting” it)

This shot can be very useful in situations where you have a lot of green to work with yet you still need to fly the ball about 15-20 yards onto the green.

Also, this shot can be useful for uphill lies/greens where the ball tends to die after landing on the green.

Okay, one more thing, this shot can be useful in situations where the green lies left to right, meaning you need to aim left of your pin and also put some nice “hook” spin to the ball. (so it will counter the left-to-right slope on the green)

Anyways, to hit this pop and run pitch shot, it’s not terribly hard nor different from your regular pitch shot.

First, setup to the ball square to your target with the ball about the center of your stance.

Second, let your hands be very “light” like spaghetti as with all short game shots.

Third, take your backswing aggressively inside, you should feel that your wrists are forced to hinge quicker because you take it back on a such flat plane.  Yes, it’s okay to be wristy on this shot, just make sure you hands stay super light throughout the shot.

Fourth, follow through inside-out without breaking your wrists.

When you hit hit shot right, you can literally take a really clean hit of the ball and very little turf.  It should feel very solid and with lots of overspin.  The golf ball should feel like “butter” at impact.

The beauty of this shot can be seen in windy against-the-wind situations where you need to keep the ball strong and also rolling once it hits the green.

I know personally that Tiger (although his MIA right now, perhaps I will have a post on that soon) practices/uses this shot a lot.

It’s hard for you to catch pros hit this shot because the pitch shot is such a small action, subtle changes in the pitch shot can be hard to see with the naked eye.

When hit right with enough force, this shot can also “skip and drop” when hit under dry, normal conditions or against the wind.

Of course, this shot isn’t for the hacker, perhaps for those of you who are already accomplish short game players.

Putting “hook” spin on the ball with small chip/pitch shots can save you a great deal of headache on very fast, sloping greens where just playing along might not be enough.  Instead, you might have to “counter” spin the ball to get your ball stopping next to the pin.

On the opposite side, there’s the slice spin chip shot but I am not going to tell you how to do that because most of you already know how to do that.  Most pitch shots can have slice spin as soon as you open the clubface.

Of course, you might think you can add “hook” spin simply by closing the clubface but I find that is a lot harder to control than using the inside-out swing method.  Anyways, that is why I am telling you how to hit this shot.

I usually use my 60 degree lob wedge to hit this shot but you can use longer club (even a 7-iron) for longer pitch shots such as 50 yards or more.

As always, my tips are meant to help you to experiment with you own short game and develop your own “feel” and shots.   In short game, there’s no single right way to hit the same shot.  Likewise, I would like you to experiment and see if you can find my method or any other variations thereof helpful for your golf game.

Practice your short game at least 30% of your practice time as having a great short game can help you score under par even if you hit your drives/irons all over the place.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Pitch Shot, Swing Tips, lob wedge, short game, wedge shots | No Comments »

Continuous Rhythm, Light Hands!

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Well, my swing has been getting better and better, thanks to continuous rhythm and light hands.  Today’s practice was a blast although there was a storm moving here into Northern California.  There was only one other guy at the range today and the range was closing rather early at 7pm.

Anyways, today I probably had one of the best swing days of my life (I know I say this often but my swing is getting better and better so…) and here’s some swing keys that helped me do that:

  • Hover the clubhead at address and feeling the weight of the golf clubhead.   This helps you feel the weight of your golf club before you start your golf swing plus you won’t be starting from a completely static position, helping you to get into action.  Jack Nicklaus used to do this on all his shots even on putting, I highly suggest you to do this too.  It can also be a good pre-swing move, sorta like a push forward with your hands.
  • At the top of my swing (actually it felt like I couldn’t distinguish between my backswing and downswing), my hands felt “weightless” or very light.  Also during transition, it felt so “smooth”, like butter.  To accomplish this rhythm, try waving your hands like a music conductor.  Oh yeah, that’s the feeling, smooth.

That was about it and I felt like my swing was simply an exaggerated version of my small chip/pitch shots.

Also, one more thing, if you start swinging badly, stop hitting full shots and hit very short 30 yard pitch shots.  To hit great 30 yard pitch shots, you will need to lighten your hands a lot and swing very smooth.  Once you can hit the ball really solid with your pitch shot rhythm, try it on your full shots.

Well, gotta go, I got a long weekend ahead of me although I still haven’t played a single round this year.  Gotta make money first then I should be on my way to PGA Tour baby!

Tags: ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Natural Golf Swing, Rhythm, Swing Secrets, Swing Tips | No Comments »

How to Practice the Driver!

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

For most of you, you probably have one shot with your driver, that is trying to hit it long as possible.

Well, let me tell you right off the bat, I can hit at least a dozen different shots with my driver including the full long drive, short knock-down drive, driver off the fairway, low-bullet slice shots around the trees, and the list can go endless.

Because of how the driver is designed, it can be a great weapon to use even off the fairway when there’s a fair amount of wind on the golf course or you are stuck under a low-hanging tree and you need to get the ball down the fairway as far as possible.

Of course, a long iron such as a 2 or 3-iron can also be good for hitting a low-bullet shot but the driver has some better results such as putting less backspin on the ball.  In the time you need to roll it more, the driver can come in very handy.

Well, let me just go over couple of these different shots you can practice with your driver so you can make 12 shots out of this driver club, not just one.

Having more weapons in your bag will help you become a scratch or better golfer but only knowing how to hit full shots will limit your potential as a golfer.

1. The Long Drive – I am sure you have this in your bag already, I won’t go much into details other than you should have a super-long drive ready to launch at a long par 5.

2. The Short Drive – At times, there’s a need for you to hit a distance off the tee, something between a driver and a 3-wood.  At those times you will want to grip down on the driver a little bit and make a three-quarter swing.  This will allow you to hit the ball little bit lower and control it better.  This short drive also works well on windy holes where a 3-wood balloon the golf ball in the air too much.  Anyways, this is probably more important driver shot than the Long Drive.  Look at the pros, even they are using it, especially Anthony Kim, he will grip down on almost every drive for better control and lower ball flight.  This isn’t an easy shot by the way if you don’t practice and learn to control your backswing so make sure you practice this before using it on the golf course. (or any of these shots for that matter)

3. The Short Drive Fade and Draw – Learn to really be able to work the ball left-to-right or right-to-left with these short drives, they can come in very handy for those dogleg-lefts and rights.

4. The Long Drive off the Fairway – This will require that you already hit the golf ball pretty solid.  This Long Drive off the Fairway can come in handy on super, long par 5s or super, windy conditions where you need to hit the ball far and run it too.

5. The Short Drive off the Fairway – This one is another one to practice for windy conditions and when you need to run the ball more than the 3-wood.

6. The Low-Bullet Shot – This low-bullet shot with the driver is basically same as a short drive off the fairway except you put the ball back in your stance slightly.  You won’t have to put the ball back too far back because the loft on the driver is already de-lofted a lot, just make a nice and short swing.

Also practice with different clubface angles.  For one, don’t close your clubface but rather open it up gradually and see what kind of results you get.

These shots can come in handy where you have to hit it under the tree then slice the heck out of it down the fairway.

Other than these, you might want to keep experimenting with different driver shots.  All these shots may seem like a waste of time but will actually help you hit the Long Drive good too because your hands will have to be light and your body will adjust to swing correctly.

Banging Long Drives one after another can be fun but they are usually detrimental to your overall golf swing and rhythm but if you mix your driver practice with all of these different ones I’ve outlined, you will make a much better use out of your driver plus better rhythm in the long run.

Remember, if you practice like everyone else on the range, you will only become like them. (a real good HACKER!)

Learn to be creative and create your own golf shots, that will ultimately be your competitive edge on the golf course when your competitor thinks you are stymied behind a tree, then stick it 2-feet from the pin using the low-bullet slice driver shot. :)

Bring out the best in yourself, don’t limit capabilities of a golf club to one shot.

Happy golfing!

Tags: , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Rhythm, Special Shots, Swing Tips, low-bullet shot, trick shots | No Comments »

My New Golf Swing – The Weak Grip/Flat Plane Golf Swing!

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Well, I have finally built a new golf swing after tinkering and experimenting with different grips and swing planes.  This new golf swing is probably perfect for golfers who are similar build to mine (I am 5′ 9″ 190lbs with modest muscles in my upper body and rather muscular lower body) or you can try it if it works for you too.

Another quirk I have is that I have flat foot, meaning that if I try to swing like non-flat footed people, I simply can’t but I have found using a super, weak grip and a super, flat swing plane, I can hit the ball after ball consistently toward my target and also have a great control over my ball trajectory and distance.

So, here it goes for those of you who want to try a golf swing that I’ve created.

The Grip

grip-1

The grip starts with my left hand.  The left hand grip is actually simply neutral.  Just hang your left hand down the shaft naturally, back of your left hand facing the target.

grip-2

You should see about 2 knuckles, the V formed by your thumb and index finger pointing to your chin or right shoulder.  I use the standard left hand grip but the right hand grip is where we make the weak grip. (and the secret sauce behind my swing)

grip-3

For the right hand, you will place your right hand grip “well weak”, meaning the V formed by the thumb and index finger should point to your left shoulder or slightly beyond.

This mechanism allows me to really prevent turning my right hand over after impact.  Rather, I can fully release my right hand at impact, thereby applying extra power to my overall swing speed yet be able to control the golf ball with super accuracy.

I find that traditional golf instruction only teaches the “wrong” way, where the right hand is vulnerable to turn the club over the quickly.  Why not set your right hand so it can never turn over so fast?  That’s my secret.

grip-4

Here’s the finished netural left/weak right grip.  Ben Hogan used something similar to this, I’ve exaggerated my weak right hand grip more because I hit the ball better that way.

When done right, both your arms should be straight instead of traditional golf instruction where your right elbow is slightly tucked into your body.

I find that you can feel more unison between your hands and arms when using this grip.

Address/Setup

address-1

At address, you should stand as tall as possible (like you are standing) and simply bend your knees a bit.  The shoulders here are “square” and “parallel” to your target line while the arms may be slightly open due to the super, weak right hand grip.

address-2

From the front, you should see that the hands are slightly ahead of the golf clubhead and you should “feel” the triangle formed by your shoulders, arms, and hands.  This is the most pivotal part, you need to feel that “triangle”, that is what you turn on the backswing and downswing. (or turning your body)

Backswing

backswing-1

For the backswing, you will simply turn your “triangle” formed at address in-plane.  You do not need to consciously cock your hands, they should naturally cock as the result of your body movement.  Also, you only need to go as far as your shoulders will turn about 90-100 degrees for control, there’s no need to swing to parallel, that’s only a made-up guideline, there’s no reason why you should swing so far, especially when you consider your elbow angles will go out of control and you will have to re-adjust to compensate on the downswing.   Also note, I am turning on a single axis of my upper body, that’s all I need to do.

backswing-2

For the backswing, you will need to imagine a plane formed by your shoulders and the ball and try to turn your “triangle” along that plane.  When you do that, you get what you see above.

I’ve intentionally also left out the takeaway, I believe golfers should not focus on the takeaway because it’s only result of the process of getting to the top of the backswing and it will hurt your rhythm if you try to manipulate the takeaway.  Rather, think of the backswing as one action from address to the backswing.

All throughout my swing, my hands feel “super” light, tension in your hands will kill your golf swing.  It might “look” like I am holding the club hard but in reality, I am holding it light as I can through my swing, even on my downswing.

Transition – The Hip Slide & Turn

downswing-1

Transition is the most important part of your backswing because if you don’t start the downswing with the hips, you will come over the shot, hitting a slice or a pull hook.

From the top of the backswing, I feel like simply “bumping” my hips back to the target, which starts a chain reaction of events like the shoulders, arms, and hands being pulled down to this position.  My hands still feel super light and I feel like I am ready to punch someone out.

downswing-2

Because of the super weak grip we’ve implemented here, you can really swing through as hard as you can from here without worry about hooking the ball.

Also, in this part of the swing, I “still” feel the triangle formed earlier at address.  (You should be able to feel the unison of your shoulders, arms, and hands throughout the golf swing.)

Impact!

impact-1

You shouldn’t really practice impact since it’s also result of process but at impact, this is what it should feel like, the hands still ahead of the club.

impact-2

Follow-Through

followthrough-1

After impact, you should really “feel” the triangle formed at address turning.  The result is that both of your arms are extended fully.

followthrough-2

And as you can see here, the clubhead should be in this position, meaning you are swinging inside-out.  Also note, the spine angle has been maintained.

My hand still feel super “light” though.  If you body (triangle) does the work, your hands will feel light.

The Finish

finish-1

After follow-through, feel free to let your body come up so you don’t hurt your back.  Although I have seen some golf instruction that teach you to maintain spine angle even through finish, I disagree for longer golfing life.

There’s absolutely no reason for you to maintain spine angle AFTER your follow-through because that will only hurt your back.

Notice how straight my right arm is, this means I’ve extended my right arm as fully as possible through impact and follow-through, this mean full-power and accuracy too.

finish-2

Players like Annika Sorenstam does this well, even turning their heads at impact.

finish-3

At the end of your finish, your boday should be balancing nicely on your left foot.  I’ve actually “exaggerated” my right arm to be straight but you can actually relax at this point.

finish-4

See how my body is very upright?  This is really great for hitting thousands of golf balls on the range and never hurt your back.  I believe the best and simple golf swing is also the one that doesn’t harm your back.  With this finish position, I can literally hit 300 golf balls per day without any lower back problems.

Another important thing you can check at the finish is to check how “stable” your right hand grip is.

Another reason why I changed my right hand grip to be super weak is because at finish, my right hand grip still feels super “stable”, whereas a my old neutral right hand grip was slightly “shaky” at best.

Of course, all these swing tips might not help you because you are probably not built like me.  I am just demonstrating what has worked for me and a lot of stuff I’ve implemented are those I’ve learned through golf books, instructors, and finally customizing them to my body.

Remember, there IS no perfect golf swing, the perfect golf swing is the one you can hit the ball consistently and easily without breaking your lower back.

I just hope you don’t be scared to try new grips, swing planes, just because your golf instructor tells you otherwise.

Too many golf instructors teach you one golf swing, which is completely wrong and won’t work on everyone.

I’ve found my golf swing and should be refining it soon.  And yes, definitely take it for a test drive next year at some mini-tour events.

Happy golfing, and remember, practice makes perfect.

P.S. I should have a video of this new swing soon, see my last video just before I found my new golf swing, which is pretty much the same thing.

Here’s some practice swings:

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Posted in A+Featured Swing Analysis, A+Featured Swing Tips, Balance, Golf Grip, Golf Swing Basics, Golf Swing Plane, Natural Golf Swing, Swing Secrets, Swing Tips, The Finish, impact | 1 Comment »

My New Golf Swing(Grip)!

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Oops, well, I am hitting the ball awfully well now, better than ever by actually doing something completely different from traditional golf theories.

For one, now I am using a super weak grip where my right hand shows almost 3 knuckles with my V pointing to beyond my left shoulder.  (My shoulders are still square parallel to my target line though and my left hand grip is still neutral.)

While hitting golf balls, I realized that I hit some really solid shots without myself knowing my right hand was super weak.  Needless to say, I tried it out this right hand grip “consciously” and the result was fascinating, I could hit a 200-yard target over and over effortlessly within couple feet of each other.

Greg Norman even has a golf grip aid for taking the right hand out of the swing, I figured why not just weaken it completely useless?

What I found out is that my release of the golf club near the impact is more consistent and I never overpower with my right hand like I used to.

There was actually one time where I had a right hand grip with the thumb touching the index finger to render my right hand useless during impact.  (that works well too by the way except a bit loose)  I simply have a better one now that is secure while letting me hit super-duper consistent shots.

Plus, my swing has been getting flatter than ever but I feel that I have found new source of power through my new golf swing by being able to leverage my body more. (with a flatter swing)

I should have an update with detailed instructions/photos on how to accomplish this swing soon (if you want to try it out).

I think what the golfing world is missing is the ideas of “customization” and “creativity”.  If you swung like everyone else, you probably won’t do better than everyone else.

So, I am here to make a new golf swing (or I did), let me share it with ya soon!

One thing I’ve noticed is that my tendency to “hook” so badly has gone away completely every since my super-weak right hand grip change.  Plus, now my swing feels easy, I feel more natural, less thinking and more solid shots.

And oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving!  Don’t forget to hit some golf balls b4 you eat some turkey, duh!

Tags: ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Natural Golf Swing | No Comments »

How to Properly Warm Up before Practicing/Playing Golf!

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

One of the most overlooked facts about golf is that most people believe it’s physically not intensive enough that you need to warm up before practicing/playing.

Actually the opposite is true, a golf swing requires proper functioning of your spine, lower body, shoulders, and the rest of the body.

I probably overlooked this fact too that I didn’t mention it so far on this golf blog but before any golf practice/play, I do a proper warm up for my body by swinging 2-clubs and stretching.

This is simple and common sense for those of you who have played golf for a long time but most amateurs do not warm up before practicing/playing golf.

Especially on cold days if you don’t warm up and stretch beforehand, you have more chances of injuring your lower back, which is critical for good golf.

So, here’s few warm up/stretching exercises you can do (that I do) before hitting any golf shots:

  • Get 2 of your heaviest clubs (for me it’s my lob and sand wedge) and start swinging very very slowly about 10-20 times until you can feel your body warm a bit.
  • Next, you can do a bit of stretching.  First, I try touching my toes with my hands while standing up.  This gets you whole body and hamstrings stretched out well.
  • Then, I will do some lateral rotations to stretch my spine, do like 5-10 of these.  When I do these, I usually hear some nice pops/cracks, which feels good and also prevents your muscles from hardening during practice/play.
  • Also do some more leg stretching such as holding one of you foot behind you and standing with one leg.

These are just couple warm up/stretching exercises you can do but do them and I assure you, your back will thank you for it.

And one more thought, DON’T SWING THE DRIVER right away!

I usually start with small 50 to 75 yard pitch shots before moving up to full shots and the woods.  If you start with the driver, I guarantee you that you are going to ruin your swing.

Of course, that’s for practice.  If you are playing, just really try to get yourself warmed up on the practice tee beforehand.

P.S. Even better, if you have a practice green near where you practice shots, try hitting putts/chips before moving to the range.  This will help you maintain a good, soft rhythm that will carry to your full shots.

I’ve seen a handful of great players who do this, start with short shots and gradually move up to longer shots.  And they have great rhythm.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Rhythm, Swing Tips | No Comments »

More about Golf Hip Slide and Turn!

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

Couple weeks back I told you about how to learn and master the hip slide and turn.  Well, it turns out that the other day, I realized how to do it even more efficiently.  (And yes, I am coming close to mastering that)

The hip slide and turn is probably one of the most essential movements you will need for longer, full shots such as long irons and the woods.  In the shorter shots, I don’t think hip slide and turn is pronounced enough where it makes sense for you to be conscious of it.

Even for the longer clubs, the hip slide and turn “feels” very subtle, you don’t “jerk” your hips to slide and turn, you simply “bump” your hips to the left ever so slightly before starting your downswing. This little “bump” will start a chain reaction of events such as your hip sliding, turning and then the rest of your upper body following.

All through my life, I have thought too much of the hip slide and turn, probably overdoing it.  And whenever I did that, I would block my shots to the right because they would over-turn through downswing.

Well, the other day, I did find this, that the hip slide and turn is nothing but a slight bump that causes automatic chain reaction of events.  Even if you look at photos of top pros on their downswing, it might “look” like they are consciously forcing a big hip slide and turn.  But I think it’s not so, it should feel more of a slight “bump” to the left and that is all.  If you do anything more, you will bring more tension in the rest of your body, forcing you to hit the ball less solidly.

So, try it next time you go out to practice.  Try a little “bump” of the hips to the left just as you reach the top of your backswing.

I’ve found that when you do this right, your whole downswing becomes an “automatic” chain reaction and you start swinging down correctly without additional conscious though.

Also, your hands should feel super “light” throughout your golf swing when this is done right.  If your hands become stiff near impact, that probably means you’ve jerked your hips instead of bumping it a tiny bit.

Well, hope that helps for those of you working on this hip slide and turn move.  I find that this move is essential for preventing pulls and pullhooks.  The other day I was having this exact problem and good lord, I fixed it now!  Also, I might actually pursue my new golf swing theory soon so, will have pics up soon.

L8r, gotta go hit balls now!

Tags: ,
Posted in A+Featured Swing Tips, Swing Secrets, Swing Tips | No Comments »