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Hitting your drives more accurately is an important skill to develop when it come to lowering your golf handicap and shooting lower scores. You need to develop good swing mechanics and then be able to repeat it consistently. As golf courses get longer it becomes important to know how to not only drive the ball straight but also far.

Take Advantage Of Leverage:

Leverage is an important key that can help you to hit your drives farther. The leverage in the golf swing is developed by the 'lag' or the angle created by the club and your left hand if you are a right handed golfer. The longer you can hold this angle the more energy is stored and created for release through the impact zone thus resulting in the maximum club head speed. A great way to maximize the use of leverage is to think of the golf club as a whip and feel yourself whipping the club through the impact zone.

Focus On Accuracy:

Remember that inaccurate drives rarely go very far so driving the ball straight and getting more distance go hand in hand. In order to drive a golf ball straight you need to make solid contact and put the right amount of spin and also launch the ball at the appropriate trajectory. Swing well within yourself and focus on developing effortless power as that is best way to develop a consistent swing that drives the ball long and straight.

Create Maximum Lag:

Another good tip is to start the downswing by pulling your left shoulder up towards the sky. This will help to create further lag and thus more club head speed. Wrist strength is also important so go to the gym or use dumbbells at home and work on wrist curls as they will help to strengthen the muscles in your wrists. However you do not need massive power or big muscles to hit the ball far, focus on accuracy and the club head speed and distance will follow soon enough. Better physical fitness can help you to hit the driver further and straighter.

As published on:
http://www.golfswingtips4u.com/golf-driving-tips.php

Labels: Accuracy

Description: The basic tip for pitching is to keep the handle of the club a little ahead of the ball, like getting into the stance of normal golf shot. Learn more about pitching.

The game close to the green is of a lot of importance for beginners as well as professional golfers. From a distance of 100 to 150 yards, the whole game comes down to pitching the ball as near to the hole as possible.

The basic tip for pitching is to keep the handle of the club a little ahead of the ball, like getting into the stance of normal golf shot. Then place the face of the club behind the ball and hold the club in a slanting position with its handle and your grip a bit ahead of the actual position of the ball.

Back spin is another very important factor in golf where you can still attack the pin even if its front is covered by bunker or pond. For that, open the face of the club and hit the ball cleanly off the ground. The more loft it will get, the more it will back spin.

As published on:
http://www.dublinevents.com/dublin-golf/tips-tricks-pitching.php

Labels: Pitching

BEST TIP: Keep a relaxed grip and swing with the force of a seven-iron.

Think smooth takeaway, full extension, long, slow, sweeping swing and smooth acceleration on downswing.

Start with 60% of weight on right foot.

Keep body relaxed and grip soft.

During swing, think only of following through and finishing the swing down the target line.

For accuracy, pretend you are throwing a basketball down the fairway underhand with
our right arm.

Hit with the same tempo you use for a seven iron.

You should feel as though you are throwing the driver straight (not far or hard) down the fairway.

Make sure your left hip never passes your left foot on the downswing.

As published on:

http://www.tomsgolftips.com/curingslice.html

Labels: Slicing

I was flipping through the TV the other day and came across some golf highlights. Naturally, I stopped to take a look. What I saw surprised me. It was a tour professional committing the same mistake from a greenside bunker which amateurs are notorious for, and that was taking a big, long swing from a plugged lie.

It was pretty clear that this shot was shown because it was a blooper. It was. The ball went about two feet and rolled back to where the pro was standing. I wish I could have had a chat with this guy before he took the shot.

When your ball is buried (fried egg) in the bunker, you do not want to swing super long and follow through. The idea is to pick your sand wedge up abruptly, swing down steep, stick your club in the sand, and leave it there. What will happen is your ball will pop out. It won't have any spin on it because of the lie, but the chance of it getting out of the sand are much better than if you were to follow through.

Why is this so...? You want a very steep angle of attack and no follow through on this shot because it allows for the club to get more underneath the ball. With some of the ball resting below the surface, you need to compensate to get underneath it. That is where a short, steep, punchy type of swing works best.

A typical bunker shot calls for an open stance, an open clubface, and a nice shallow swing while taking a little bit of sand. That will not work with a plugged lie, regardless of how hard you swing. Your club will be approaching from too shallow an angle. You will hit the sand to the RIGHT of the ball, instead of hitting the sand UNDERNEATH the ball. Thus, your club will just bounce, or deflect into the ball. Worse yet, you will plow too much sand into the back of ball and it will go nowhere, just like the pro I saw on TV. You need to get below the ball somehow.

Here's what I recommend from a buried lie in a greenside bunker:

Set up with a bit squarer stance.
Square the clubface a bit also. This will allow for the leading edge to enter the sand first.
Pick the club up steeper, and then swing down steeper and stick the club in the ground. Hit about 1-3 inches behind the ball. You can swing hard, just don't follow through. You won't be able to follow through if you make the correct swing, because you will be coming down too steep. That's good!
This is not a shot that you will face a lot, but I still think it is worth practicing. Go to a practice trap and step on a couple balls to bury them a little. Then hit some shots. Experiment a bit. Especially get the feeling of that up and down "chopping" motion, and that no follow through release. By doing so, you will find that this shot is not really that hard to get out of the bunker.

As published on
http://www.golflink.com/golf-tips/tips/sullivan016.asp

Labels: Chipping

BEST TIP: Let left arm control club with little
wrist action.

Choke down on the club an inch or two for chips.

Use a narrow, open stance. Open the clubface and keep it
square to the target.

Use the same basic swing for a chip and pitch.

For chips, stand tall and raise your hands to get the heel of
the club up and the toe down. This promotes crisp shots.

Play ball off right foot, angle shaft toward target, open
stance, let shoulders control swing, keep left arm against
left side, let clubhead swing to left of target after impact.

Don't rush the downswing.

Make sure the shaft is leaning toward the target at impact.

To avoid hitting chips and pitches fat:

• don't sole the club at address.



• use an open, narrow stance.



• keep arms connected to chest and rotate body rather than
  sliding hips laterally and jabbing at the ball with your hands.



• focus eyes on front of ball, with weight on front foot and
  wrists ahead of ball at impact.



• be sure to make a complete follow-through.

Use arm and shoulder swing, not hands, for short chips.

Let gravity do most of the work on downswing.

Let left arm control club throughout swing with little wrist
action.

Play ball back in stance with hands and weight towards
target.

For high pitches, start downswing with legs.

Open stance, square shoulders. Club should go straight
back and through. Rock (like a clothes hanger on a hook),
don't turn shoulders. Let arms drop to start downswing.
Use a light grip.

Clubhead should trail, not lead, hands and wrists at impact.

Use inside out swingpath and be sure to pivot.

To avoid "scooping" chips and pitches, keep wrists ahead
of ball at impact.

In pitches, ball and shaft should be centered and weight
should be divided evenly.

For distance control, don't let right hand take control of
clubhead speed.

Control the distance on short shots by limiting your
backswing.

To avoid thin chips, don't try to help the ball into the air.

Use a low running shot when conditions permit for more
control.

For a low running chip, use a very narrow stance, play ball
off right foot, keep hands ahead of ball, and swing straight
back and through with firm hands. Keep your hands low at
the finish.

For a short, pop chip, use an open and narrow stance, an
open clubface, play the ball in the middle, hit ball from out to
in. Don't flip wrists.

When chipping, keep butt of club pointed at belt buckle.

For short shots, move feet closer together and take shallow
divots.

Keep lower body still on short chips just off the green.

For long chips, keep lower body relaxed and let it react
naturally to actions of arms and upper body. Start
downswing by shifting knees toward target.


To improve your rhythm, make your backswing and forward
swing equal in length.

As published on:

http://www.tomsgolftips.com/chipsandpitches.html

Labels: Chipping