As far as golf swing instructions go, understanding which type of approach shot to hit, as well as how to hit it, is a very important part of every golfer’s game.

Anytime you can stick your approach on the green, you could be looking at scoring a birdie or even an eagle on certain holes. But, hit a bad approach and you might be struggling just to salvage a par. With that in mind, here are some golf swing techniques to help you improve this part of your game.

Before we get started I want to mention that hitting better approach shots will take some time and practice. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you’ll put in some effort.

In golf, there are basically three kinds of approach shots. You have the pitch shot to go with the chip shot and flop shot.

The Pitch Shot

Anytime you’re 60-100 yards from the green you’ll be hitting a pitching wedge to the green. By using your wedge you’ll have complete control on how far the ball will travel more so than any other golf club in your bag.

When lining up to hit a pitch shot, the key is to open your stance a bit. Play the ball back in your stance, meaning the ball should be parallel with your back foot.

Take a full swing with your wedge. To control distance you will choke down on the club. It’s going to take some time on the driving range to get the distances down, but it’s time well spent.

The Chip Shot

This shot is not played as much as it should be and that’s a shame because it’s a very effective shot.

The basic premise with this golf shot is to use a lower lofted club and let the ball run up towards the hole. When I say run up I mean letting it roll two-thirds of the way to the hole.

The ideal yardage for chip shots is from just off the green to around 50 yards out. You want to use either a 7 or 8 iron for this shot.

Play the ball back in your stance so that the ball is parallel with your back foot. Keep approximately 60%-70% of your weight on your left side. The backswing will only go back halfway as will the follow through.

The Flop Shot

Of all the different approach shots, the flop shot is the most difficult. It is also one that is used only in certain situations.

Have you ever watched Phil Mickelson hit a shot from off the green that flew over a bunker to a tight pin placement? He is a magician with this golf shot.

To hit this shot you’ll use a 60 degree wedge. Play the ball back in your stance and use an open stance. Your goal is to get the ball to go straight up so it clears the hazard in front of you, but lands softly and stops immediately.

While these golf swing instructions have only touched on the basics of these shots. With practice, you can be hitting better approaches and lowering your scores.

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By: Terry Edwards

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We all want to lower our golf handicap. That’s why we practice so hard and read so much about the game. It’s the “Holy Grail” of golf. Among the keys to achieving a lower golf handicap is consistency. You must be consistent to lower your scores and cut strokes from your handicap. If you want to achieve consistency, transferring your weight correctly is a must.

But that’s easier said then done. As an instructor, I see many golfers struggle to achieve proper weight transfer. Even golfers who I know are good athletes sometimes have trouble with this. Poor weight transfer is one of the most common swing faults in my golf lessons. It’s especially prevalent with golfers who play infrequently. They have what’s called a “reverse pivot”- one of the deadliest swing flaws in the game.

Transfer Your Weight

Normally, when swinging a club, you transfer your weight onto your back foot during your takeaway, then onto your front foot during the follow-through. Watch Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, or any of the pros on television and you’ll see how well they achieve correct weight transfer. For them, it’s second nature. They make the transition smoothly and efficiently. That’s why they’re so consistent when hitting a golf ball. None of them exhibit anything even close to a reverse pivot.

With a reverse pivot, you do the opposite of what you should do. Instead of transferring your weight to your back foot and then to your front foot, you transfer it to your front foot during your takeaway and then back to your back foot during the follow through. This move constricts your body turn, short-circuiting power and inhibiting consistency. Golfer’s who exhibit a reverse pivot don’t get much on their drives or iron shots.

Causes of a Reverse Pivot

Causes for a reverse pivot are many. An obsession with keeping your head down, an attempt at holding your left arm (right for left-handers) rigidly straight, and/or allowing your head to turn to the right as you swing the club back-all cause a reverse pivot. So if you find yourself doing these things, you may be employing a reverse pivot in your swing without knowing it.

Since the reverse pivot wreaks havoc with your swing, it’s hard to describe any tell tale signs that you have the fault. The reverse pivot restricts your turn so much that your arms and hands have to take over the job of your shoulders while hitting the ball. That curbs your power. But two sure-fire signs that you are committing a reverse pivot are loss of power and accuracy.

Eliminating the Reverse Pivot

One way to eliminate the reverse pivot is to practice this drill: Adopt your address position, and then place the club across the back of your shoulders. Now turn as if you were going to hit the ball. As you turn back, the club encourages your head and spine to rotate. Sense your balance as you do this. A good tip to get the hang of this is to look out of the corner of your left eye (right for left-handers) at the top of your swing. Practice this drill as often as you can… and then keep doing it.

Another drill-one that seems to get better results in my golf lessons-is to begin with a sort iron and assume your setup position. From your setup, lift your forward foot and position it next to your back foot. As you swing, take the club away from the ball, lift your forward foot, and allow it to return to the original position in your setup as soon as your club reaches about waist high in your backswing.

This drills trains your body to shift your weight to your back foot at the beginning of the backswing and allows your body to shift its weight toward the front foot at the end of the backswing, and then on through the downswing. It also promotes a much healthier spin angle, both atop your swing and into the finish.

Proper weight transfer is essential to developing a swing that delivers power and accuracy consistently. Achieving consistency-whether by taking golf instruction sessions or through working things out on your own-is the only way to lower your golf handicap. If you’re serious about becoming a scratch golfer, make consistency your ultimate goal.

Copyright (c) 2007 Jack Moorehouse

By: Jack Moorehouse

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Just the other day I was on the range working out a few misdeeds that my swing had slipped in to. When I noticed a youngest fellow ( I live in Florida under 60 is young) on the range with what appeared to be a very nice golf swing. One that appeared that golf instruction and him were not strangers.

A very smooth well balanced swing. Not something you would normally see on our range. At least not from a person you had never seen before.

So I watched.

I knew he hit it well, but couldn’t quite see the trajectory or the distance. So I wandered over that way. I never interrupt someones practice so I stayed well back from him.

I was almost shocked to note that he was so slight of build I thought perhaps he was sick. But, I relaxed that thought as I continued to witness the smooth and repeating transition that he was making in his golf swing. No body could be anything but healthy with that move. So I suppose he was just a skinny kid.

The one thing that began to stand out now as I watched not 20 yards away, was that he had tremendous “pop” in his swing. This provided a crisp hit and a pro like trajectory. In addition it proved that a slight of build golfer can hit it a long long way. Which, by the way, was just what this young fellow was doing.

What was it that he was doing that you don’t? There is an easy answer.

LAG…

Yep, it’s lag. It’s the same lag that Sergio Garcia does so well. It’s the same lag that Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Ben Hogan and your club pro has.

It’s the same lag that most high handicap players are not even aware of. It’s the lag that you are about to learn how to do.

Excited?

Let’s try to get you to see and feel the lag first and then we’ll get to how to get it in your actual swing.

Grab a club and a ball. Take your really great grip, no weak left hands, no super strong right hands, please. You cannot do this with a compromised grip.

Now set up to the ball, with your right hand push against your left hand enough so that your right hand begins to bend back toward your right forearm. Allow this to happen. Now moving your shoulders only, no conscience movement of the hands or arms, just let them go along for the ride.

Take the swing just far enough so that the shaft is straight up and down and your left arm is parallel to the ground. Stop right there.

Note the angle between your left arm and the clubshaft. It should be about 90 degrees.

This angle is the lag.

But only if you maintain or increase this angle on the move down toward the ball. So try it. Very slowly move this angle down toward the ball without losing it. Maintain this lag all the way to the ball. At some point your hands will not allow this angle to exist any longer and you will release the club. But this happens without conscience effort. It’s one of the things in the golf swing that you have to trust to happen.

For some, moving this angle down toward the ball without losing the angle will not be easy. I know that. So no worries try anyway. And keep trying. This will show you how the lag is supposed to look and feel.

Now just for the heck of it, let’s see what most golfers really do in the downswing.

So back to the position where the shaft was straight up and your left arm was parallel with the ground.
Without moving your arms, release the club out away from you with your hands so that the club is now in a straight line with your left arm. And pointing straight back along the target line. Not out in front of you.

Hold it.

This is an early release. A major power drain. And a very tough position to get the club back to the ball.

This position requires a huge effort with your body to get to the ball with any power. It can be done. But it is not something that normal people can do.

So the early release is exactly the opposite of the ” Lag”

The early release is exactly what it says, an early release of your power angles.

To prevent this, you must be totally aware of the angles, but first you must create them.

Good players create them, but only after much practice.

So here is a great drill.

Take the club into your backswing. Make sure you have good angles. Now bump your left hip laterally,while at the same time drop your right elbow to your right hip.

Do not go to the ball and do not release your angle or your lag. Do this several times. Each time do it a tad faster.

Bump and drop. Bump and drop. Feel the angles, feel the lag. A very very powerful position.

This is not two moves it is two things done at exactly the same time. A great drill if you do it right, and very simple.

It will teach you how to start the swing down on the correct plane and how to feel the lag that creates so much power.

This is where your distance lives. Lag.

Now you know.

A simple move, and you will hit it like magic.

By: Paul Macleod

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If you are a golfer that has a natural slice or even just slice the odd time, you will know just how frustrating it can be, in fact, it can be the part of your game that has the biggest negative affect on your overall performance, a bad golf slice really can ruin your game.

In this article I am going to be writing about how to correct a slice in a golf swing and give you some tips for correcting a golf slice, I hope you find the information useful and helpful to the development of your game and good luck.

The first tip I would give you is to make sure that you have the proper stance when swinging, this may seem like a very obvious point, however, it is actually quite a common problem and not just for people who are completely new to the game, if you’re slicing quite often then make sure that your stance is correct and if not, work on it. Again, this may seem obvious and pretty insignificant but just think about it, you may be surprised at what a few changes can do for your swing.

The second tip for you is to simply study the experts and follow their advice, there’s a simple reason why certain golfers are so successful, it’s because they know what they’re doing, yeah it’s another obvious point but so many golfers don’t regularly learn from other golfers, they try to improve their game on their own and it often is a much slower process this way, read, learn and study other golfers to improve your own game and especially your swing, if you’re slicing.

The third tip is how you grip the club, this can be very important when it comes to getting the best swing possible and avoiding a slice, this is another very simple thing that you can work on and practise improving, you should eventually end up with a grip that is best suited for you and that usually gives you an excellent swing, just work on it and make minor changes every so often to test and tweak.

The last tip I would give you is to constantly learn and improve your swing, this is , in my opinion, one of the most important points, if you are constantly improving your game then you should find yourself progressing at a very fast level and your scores will just get better and better, things like slicing will become a thing of the past, just never stop learning and improving.

These are just some tips that I thought might be helpful to you if you are having problems with your golf swing, as mentioned above, a slice can be extremely frustrating, especially if it happens often, so hopefully these tips will help you to overcome that problem and get to the top for your game.

By: Philip S.

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Did you know the average golfer’s gross score is 107 shots? You may receive all the greatest golf tips in the world, take countless lessons and get superior instruction and still may not be able to gain consistency. Even the guys who play golf for a living and get the best golf instruction in the world still struggle to improve their golf; and they practice each and every day!

Visualize where you would like the ball to land, as you swing. Keep the good energy flowing and don’t give in to any negative thoughts. A common mental error golfers make when driving the ball is to hit it as hard as possible.

Putting can become a nightmare and a condition called the ‘yips’ has affected not only amateurs but professionals as well; get expert advice and consider a golf swing aid. Use the basic ‘hitchhiker’ position when you’re working on your backswing. Before you swing, make sure you’re relaxed; contract all your muscles tightly for a moment and then relax them.

Swing slowly and steadily using a nice rhythm. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left. Pick out a spot on the course, preferably the green of the fairway, and concentrate on hitting the ball to that spot.

The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists. As the body matures, the ability to rotate the upper torso is affected by age, and the hand action can also slow down requiring a slightly stronger grip.

Ask your golf pro to evaluate your posture while swinging. Try not to grip the club too tightly. Use the muscles in your legs and trunk when you swing.

Conditioning your golf muscles will reward you with straighter swings. Many golfers have improved their golf game by concentrating on golf fitness. Using a weighted club, make rotational golf swings to improve your power.

Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just starting out, pick just one golf swing aid and go to work on your swing. There are golf swing aids that will help you with swing alignment. Keep in mind that with some golf swing aids, you may still need advice or help from an expert.

Golf swing aids come in all shapes and sizes including apparel type accessories to correct alignment or a golf club add-on accessory to monitor your swing. If you’re looking for an aid to improve your stance they’re not hard to find. Golf magazines often review the newest golf swing aids and are reviewed by golfers, making it easy to choose the right one for you.

You can find golf swing aids that will help you with your wrist and arm position. There are a wide range of golf swing aids on the market today to help the beginning and advanced golfer. If you’re a golfing novice just starting out, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.

There are a number of good golf swing aids on the market today. Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust, or stance for example.

Golfers can never get enough golf tips. Invest in a few of the newest golf books and golf ebooks; older golf books may be outdated. There are hundreds of useful golf tips to seek out in golf magazines, consumer magazines, sports magazines, in books, ebooks, DVDs, online and offline.

By: Helen Hecker

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The single biggest golf swing tip instructions that golfer’s want the most is in dealing with slicing the golf ball. It’s a problem that 80% – 90% of all golfers face.

Does this sound familiar? You aim way left and hit your tee shot, only to watch it fly way right? How do you go about stopping that dreaded slice? This is exactly what you’re about to learn today. And in doing so you’ll begin to enjoy the game of golf like it is meant to be.

Slicing is caused mainly from these three areas: the swing plane, clubhead path, and the golf grip. It’s not caused by where you are aiming, or even how you’re standing. Once you make the adjustments in these three areas, you’ll put an end to the problem.

First, let’s look at the swing plane. Most golf swing instructions don’t touch on the swing plane, but that is the number reason for slicing the ball.

The swing plane for every golf club will be different. What I mean by that is if you take your driver and your 9-iron out and hold them at the address position, you’ll quickly see that the 9-ron is closer to your body. This means that the swing plane is going to be different for the 9-iron than the driver. The 9-iron will be more upright and feel straighter up and down, while the driver feels flatter.

The cause of most slicing problems is due to golfers swinging the driver on a steeper swing plane like the 9-iron. When you swing the club too steeply, the result is an outside in swing pattern and a slice. The key is to flatten out the swing plane which will create a straighter shot. This will take some practice, but continue to make adjustments and you’ll find the correct swing plane.

If this doesn’t eliminate the problem, then work on the clubhead path. The clubhead path needs to be square as it goes through the impact zone. This may require you to adjust the position of the club in your hands to be a little more to the left. Again, make the adjustments a little at a time while on the range.

Finally, the golf grip may be the reason for slicing. A weak grip inevitably causes the ball to go right. Try strengthening your grip by rolling your hands a little to the right, which causes the “V” to point more to the right of your face. A weak grip is the second most common reason for slices.

Of course, these golf swing tip instructions are not as detailed as they can be. You can find more detailed tips and instructions at the end of this article. With these simple tips and a little practice on the range you should begin noticing improvement immediately.

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By: Terry Edwards

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Are you still looking for the perfect golf swing? If you answered yes, you may want to stop for a minute and consider what golf professionals and instructors all over the world say; there is no one golf swing that is perfect for all golfers. With that said though, here is what will help you the most in your golf swing.

We all have our own unique golf swings. What works well for you may not work at all for me. Perhaps the best example of this is Jim Furyk. Who do you know that has a swing like that? And how could anyone learn that swing? But, he’s a champion on the PGA Tour, so his swing works great for him.

The key to developing your perfect golf swing is to work on the fundamentals and build a strong repeating golf swing that becomes second nature in your mind. Here are some tips to help you build this type of swing.

1. Relax

As you step up to the tee box and get positioned over your ball, take a couple of deep breaths and relax. Tense muscles produce bad golf shots.

2. Backswing

Take the club back wit a one piece takeaway. You want your shoulders and lower body to turn naturally. Your weight will gradually transfer to the right side as the club comes back.

Set your wrists when the club comes back to the halfway point. Then, continue to take the club back until your left hand is up to being even with your ear.

3. Downswing

As you begin your downswing, you always want to lead with your hips and then let your shoulders and arms follow. It’s your lower body that develops the power, not your arms. When you watch professional golfers on TV you will always notice this is how they swing the club.

4. Follow Through

Be sure to finish with a high follow through with your weight on your left side and your right knee pointing toward the target.

While there may never be a “perfect golf swing”, these tips will help you build a repeating golf swing that will lead to lower scores on the course and having a more enjoyable time.

By: Terry Edwards

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Beginners of golf are often told that it is the left side that does most of the work in the sport. The reason for this is that making the left side of the body work during the golf swing allows greater accuracy while keeping the club on the plane. The left side is also the best side to achieve the proper weight shifting needed during the swing Indeed, there is no doubt that the left side of the body is the main proponent in the game of golf.

However, a great golf swing involves total coordination between the two halves of the body. The left side might be the main worker during the swing but the right side has its role to fulfill in order to make that swing more powerful. Releasing the right side in the golf swing allows a simpler swing and gets the golfer to stay behind the ball to maintain the ideal impact position. Allowing the right side to get involved in the swing assures best contact with the ball and leads to a better score.

Releasing the right side in the golf swing means that the right side of the body should be rotated as the left side leads during the swing By doing this, there is increased fluidity in the swinging motion that allows the two sides of the body to synchronize with each other. The precise synchronization of the body’s two halves leads to excellent timing which is very important in the game of golf.

So remember that the swing isn’t just dependent on the left side of the body. Releasing the right side in the golf swing is a great way to hit the ball straighter in each shot. The more you practice this, the better golfer you will become. Don’t ever get too technical over your swing just try to get it as fluid and consistent as you can.

By: Tony Newton

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My name is Bobby Eldridge with the PurePoint Golf Academy. Today, I wanted to talk about pitch shots and more specifically, pitching the golf ball with loft. The most common golf instruction problem Ive seen is when a golfer tops the ball over the green when pitching.

Well, I have a great golf instruction tip for you today. Are you ready? The reason that you struggle when you pitch is because the golf club swings down in the downswing, and just before it gets to the golf ball, it starts to swing back up and you wind up hitting the middle of the golf ball.

When you pitch the golf ball, the goal is to hit down on the ball and to have the ball crawl up the face of the golf club and go onto the green. The only way to make this happen is for the leading edge of the club to hit the bottom of the golf ball. The reason that many golfers skull the ball over the green is because they focus on the follow through being high and as a result, hit the ball on the upswing. In short, they dont hit down on the ball, but rather hit up on the ball.

Imagine the golfer with the high follow through. As they come down, they start to swing back up again. Can you imagine how high the club face is at follow through? This is the incorrect way to hit a pitch shot. Ive been in golf instruction for a long time and this is one of the most common problems I see.

The correct way is to put a little extra weight on your left leg, or the front leg, lean over on top of it, and with your arms, swing the club head down and let the golf ball go up. It will crawl right on up the club face. The key is to follow through low to the ground, not high.

In the downswing make sure, with your weight on your left side, that you swing your arms down and get the leading edge to swing into the ground. And then, the golf ball will crawl all the way up the face and take off for the target.

So remember, ball in the middle of your stance, weight on your left leg, swing your arms up and down. We like to keep golf instruction simple.

For better impact and for a little more loft when you’re pitching, get the feeling that you’re swinging the club face down into the ground.

By: David Nevogt

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Although initially learning how to perfect your swing or your game on the putting green may seem complex, it is surprisingly far from it. With some simple golfing tips and techniques to change up the way you play golf you could be supporting an impressive golf handicap in no time.

Even though you might think you are a terrible golfer because you always seem to hit an embarrassing slice or miss an easy five foot putt there are few things you tweak in your game that can improve that number on the scorecard at the end of eighteen. One of these attributes in your swing that you should take a look at that you might not even realize plays an important part in your golf swing is what you are doing with your hips.

Hip rotation in your swing is extremely important and can make the difference between slicing the ball into bushes or smacking the ball 300+ yards down the fairway. The best advice one can give you about hip rotation is to watch the pros during their swing, especially Tiger Woods who does it better than anyone in golf today. You will notice that their hip rotation is a major factor in their accuracy and distance on their drives.

I am not saying you are going to be a golf pro anytime soon, but once you realize the importance of good hip rotation in your swing and start applying it to your own you will definitely be reaping the benefits.

By: Ryan Stains

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