Golf Myths

I was playing golf with my son who hits a good long ball. On a particular tee, we decided to see who could hit the ball further. In making my swing, I did everything I am going to ask you not to do. I tried to hit the ball, to muscle the ball as hard as I could. The result was quite a long drive and a damaged and very painful 12th rib as I had pulled a muscle in that vicinity. If you want to hit a long drive for example, there are several things to consider. I am going to touch on the two main ingredients in this article and mention the rest in future ones.

The two ingredients are the two most important ones. They are

1. Timing and

2. Rhythm. “I know” I hear you say. The point is that timing and rhythm result in excellent balance.

So the most important thing here is BALANCE

Balance is something that is a known factor of the golf swing but something towards which too little attention is directed by.most average golfers.

If you are one of those golfers who attach huge importance to balance, then congratulations. You must be a very good striker of the golf ball. If not, then here is a great opportunity to improve your ball striking and your game. An opportunity to attain greater enjoyment from every round and satisfaction as you see your handicap begin to fall. When you are faced with a long par five and you feel the need to hit a long drive, by all means hit the ball. Sure you have to give it a good hit to get a good start. However you must always make sure that you play within yourself every time you hit your ball.

Make sure your swing is smooth. When you want to hit a long ball, slow you swing down even more than usual. Your swing should be totally unhurried. In actual fact, when you think about making a slow back swing, it will result in you not hurrying it. It will probably be a much better back swing than you usually make if you are a bit quick. It will make your swing more deliberate.

In doing this, you will make the arc of the swing as wide as possible. You will be sure to go to the top of your swing before starting the down swing. The wide arc results in more club head speed which is the deciding factor in the distance achieved.

When your swing goes off, have a look at your back swing. Very often you will find you are not completing it. You are stopping before you get to the top failing to achieve a full shoulder turn. Then you are starting your down swing. The result is a flick at the ball rather than a good hit.

Often a mis-hit.

Good balance is measured very much by observing the finish at the end of the follow through. If the balance is good here, then the rest of the swing before this has been good too with good timing and rhythm.

So play within yourself for your long drives and what ever you do never try to muscle the ball. As mentioned it is club head speed that determines the length of the drive and not the effect of powerful biceps. Muscling the ball may sometimes result in a huge distance, but your consistency will be terrible.

By: Bill Maitland

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