Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau

Putting is the smallest form of the golf swing, but is also the last thing you do to complete the hole. If you master putting, you master the game of golf.

Putting is an art, and it requires a proper tool to express that form of art. The putter is quite different from other golf clubs. First of all, there are many different designs in putters. Generally, putters are the shortest of all golf clubs, and they are designed to roll the golf ball when it is on the green. The most significant difference between the putter and the rest of the golf clubs is the grip: it is flat on the top of the shaft to allow you to place your hands comfortably on the grip without exerting undue pressure on the equipment. To master putting, select the right putter, with which you are most comfortable.

Putting is the simplest golf swing because it requires of you the fewest movements. However, these movements are critical to your golfing success.

To master golf putting, it is important to keep your body still and in a solid position before you start your stroke. Hold your putter around the handle with both palms facing each other, while your thumbs are pointing straight down the shaft to the head of your putter. Your putter has a sweet spot, which is the weighted spot of the club that enables the golf club to spring off the face of the club. Now, rest the flat spot on the bottom of your clubhead flat against the surface of the green, and set your putter on the green such that the sweet spot (indicated by a dot or line on the putter) is directly behind the center of the golf ball.

Focus your eyes directly on the golf ball. Bend comfortably as far as you can, while keep your arms hanging freely. Ease up on your legs and arms with your feet shoulder-width apart. Flexibility of muscles is essential to mastering the stroke.

In a pendulum motion, strike the golf ball with your shoulders and arms moving together. And that is it! It is just that simple!

However, to master putting, you need to remember these golf putting tips.

Always keep your legs, hands, as well as head and torso, still and solid while moving your shoulders and arms to create the pendulum motion in your putting stroke.

In golf putting, distance is more important than direction, because a golf ball rolling with the correct distance tends to come closer to the hole than one with only a correct direction. Therefore, it is important to control the length of the stroke and the contact off the face of your putter. Accordingly, for a shorter putt, do not slow down the motion; likewise, for a longer putt, do not speed up the motion. Learn to master maintaining pace consistency with different distances. Given that the direction of the golf ball is controlled by the face angle of your putter, always align the clubface perpendicular to the target line. Maintain that position when you strike the golf ball.

Putting is a simple game to play but difficult to master. However, it can be done through practice and observation of putting tips outlined above.

By: Stephen Lau

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Getting a smooth golf swing is something that many players wish for. When you watch a professional game, the players seem to have seamless swings which are a smooth action and obviously very effective. However, replicating this smooth action is not as easy as it looks.

It can be quite hard to concentrate of getting the body in the correct position and remembering all of the required techniques while trying to hit the ball as hard and accurately as possible. Many players will practice their golf swing over and over again in order to get the movement that they want, perhaps on the course or the driving range.

It is important to bear in mind that you need be physically capable of completing the required movement and that just practicing it over and over may not be the most efficient way to improve your swing. If you concentrate on working the muscles that you use during the swing then you should find that all of the movements become easier because you are more flexible and strong.

You can practice these exercises anytime – you do not have to be on a golf course or driving range, which means that it is more convenient for you. You can fit them in around your daily routine and after a few weeks you will be able to find out whether they have made a significant difference to your performance when you play the game. Isn’t it worth a try to see whether you can get a smooth golf swing?

Do you want to discover the secret to creating more power and consistency in your golf swing… AND eliminating ALL your swing faults?

Download this: http://www.performbettergolf.com/ebook

By: Mike T Pedersen

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I will tell you right here and now that this is some very serious stuff. When we start comparing our golf swings to Tiger Woods we are really really going out there.

But, hey, so what!

If we can’t use one of the most classic swings on the earth to learn from, than we would be pretty limited in our thought process. Wouldn’t we?

I am toying with the idea of making this article a two or three part article for brevity purposes. Comparing our swings to Tiger’s, first requires that we understand what Tiger is doing.

Believe me, that is not an easy task. But,even though it’s not easy, it is doable.

Let’s take a look at Tiger’s grip.

Does your grip look like his?

His grip is neither strong or weak. It is about as neutral as you can get. Is your grip neutral? Chances are strong that your grip is on the weak side. And that when you look down at your grip you see one knuckle on your left hand (righties). And your right hand is more on top of the club than on the side or under.

This, of course, describes the grip of 90% of all golfers. And it is wrong. Tiger’s is correct, your grip is wrong. I apologize if you have a good grip and don’t mean to lump you in with those poor grippers.

Sorry!

For those of you who have read any of my musings, you know, by now, that my one pet peeve is a poor grip. You will not see a good golfer with a bad grip.

Almost never.

If you are an average person with average athletic abilities, a bad grip makes you a bad golfer.

Tiger Woods has an excellent golf grip. Is that a surprise? No, then a least let’s try to copy his grip. That should not be that hard since it requires absolutely no movement at all.

Left hand on the club with two knuckles showing, right hand on the club, exactly facing the left hand. Right hand a little on top is not a bad thing. Having it on the side ok. Having it under the club is not allowed. Try it!

The setup is the ignition of the golf swing. Think of it as the key to the engine. If the key doesn’t fit you will not get started or, if you do, the engine will skip and backfire.

Tiger’s set up is so perfect it is scary.

His balance is beautiful and his alignment is right on. Every single time he sets up. All PGA players are very very particular with their set up. Never are they lackadaisical in their set up.

This is a position that you all can do unless you have a bad back, or some other limited physical issue. You should look like Tiger, Great balance, back reasonable straight, knees bent over the top of your shoes. Butt out and you are bent from the hips. Every part of your body is in alignment. And you are absolutely square to the target line. And last, but not least, your chin is not resting on your chest. It is up so that you have room under it to move your left shoulder into the backswing.

So far it is relatively easy to immolate Tiger. Don’t you think that almost every one could do this grip and set up thingy? If you say you can’t do it, I would have trouble believing you. It would probably be more like you won’t do it. Not can’t!

There is no doubt that as a golfer you will need extra discipline with the little things in the swing. But lets face it, if the best in the world thinks set and grip are so important that they make every effort to get it right every time, well, shouldn’t we also?

Now Tiger is ready for his first move away from the ball. This is one area that we will have trouble with. Us mortals. Tiger gets tremendous separation and extension of the club and arms on this move. He keeps the clubhead low and long and delays any wrist cock until very late in the back swing. All the while maintaining superb balance as he shifts his weight to his right side in preparation of the downswing.

He ” loads up” the right side better than anyone in the game. His club is on plane and is perfect to the top where he finally lets his right wrist get into the trayed position.

An incredible athletic move that few of us will be able to do with any regularity.

I want to take a minute and debunk this move as it sometime taught on our driving ranges across America and beyond.

First it is almost impossible for you to incorporate this move into your swing. Heck your having trouble with the grip and that requires no movement at all. So let’s all get real.

This long and low with big extension idea is not for us. It is more of a timing issue than anything else with the better player who does this. And, just so you know, fewer and fewer players are embracing this move.

Does it provide more power? No it doesn’t. Here is why. The power is always generated on the downswing, not on the takeaway. The problem exists when a golfer picks the club up early and fails to turn his shoulders. This picking up early is a common error. And it is usually accompanied by a severe bending of the left arm.

This is where the power drain is located. So to defend against this move. golf instruction has included the low and long idea. This, so the thought goes, prevents that early pickup and bending left arm. Does it? Sure it does. But no body except the most athletic can do it.

This low and long move almost always causes the weight to move too far over the right foot, outside the right foot and makes it impossible to get a decent weight shift if any shift at all.

Tiger can do it. You can’t.

But you can still get into the exact same or close to the same position on the backswing as Tiger and be in a powerful position to hit the ball.

Here is how. Push your right hand bent early in the move away. That is to create an angle between you right wrist and your right fore arm that is as close to 90 degrees as possible and then turn your shoulders so that you left shoulder goes under you chin. And do not collapse your left arm. Keep it straight but not stiff.

That’s it. I am going to make good on my threat to make this more than one part. This, I think is enough to absorb for one session.

Lesson over.

By: Paul Macleod

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If you play golf at any level, you know the importance of your golf swing. It can literally make or break your game. Professional players have swings that are smooth, balanced and fluid in motion. They make it appear effortless but there is actually work involved in that swing. They have to practice and train to achieve this professional level golf swing. Professional golfers use a smooth fluid motion when executing a swing and it shows in the resulting placement of the ball. Don’t be afraid to seek golf swing help when it comes to having the better swing that every golfer wants.

There are different types of golf swing help that you can get. For example, golf swing books and videos or DVD’s, golf swing simulators, hiring a professional trainer or learning from the pros are all ways to seek golf swing help. You can also take advantage of the many websites on the internet that offer nice, professional golf related tips and hints to you. You can even get golf tips from the pros. There are great learning tools out there that you can use to improve your swing so that your golf swing is lower and you are having more fun at the game.

Golfing professionals did not get that way overnight. Even if they were born with great talent, they still had to practice and train. They surely enlisted golf swing help [http://www.golf-swing-1.info] for themselves as well so that they could expand upon their natural talent and play the best possible. You can do the same so that you learn how to fully achieve a great golf swing. It’s all about finding your rhythm and balance in combination with the right mechanics. A good golfer will recognize that there is always some room for growth and help with your swing.

By: Ben Shar

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Golf Swing Problems have plagued every golfer at one time or another. The proper swing does not feel natural if done correctly. Even interviews with professional golfers have said that working on and perfecting your golf swing will greatly increase the way that you play the game. There is a lot that you need to train your body to do on a consistent basis so that you can crush the ball with every swing.

The most common types of golf swing problems that you will need to work on correcting are the golf slice, golf hook and the shank shot. A slice is when you curve the golf ball to your dominant side. If you are right-handed you curve the ball to the right. The hook is just the opposite; the ball will curve to the left if you are right-handed. If you are left-handed the ball will curve in the other direction for each the above golf swing problems. The shank shot is a complete embarrassment. This is when you hit the golf ball with more of the shaft than the club head during you stoke.

If you watch golf tournaments you will see professional golfer make some of these same mistakes, but they have trained for years to virtually eliminate these silly problems from their golf game. There is hope for you. These are all common issues and have been dissected by professional players and trainers many times over. The solution to increasing the distance and accuracy of your golf swing is available from your local golf pro, video lessons, books and magazines or an online golf training programs.

By: William Keller

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The Second Swing Golf online club reseller is back, offering more to their customers than ever before. Their new and improved website provides customers with several features that make it easier than ever to find and buy the perfect golf club for your game. The website is easy to navigate, offers a top-notch customer service department, offers a trade-in program, and even allows customers an in-store pick up option for buyers who wish to avoid shipping charges.

Easy to Navigate Website

Second Swing Golf offers its customers a very user friendly and easy to navigate web site. This is important when considering which golf reseller to buy from as sorting through long lists of unorganized clubs can be very tedious and time consuming. The golf clubs are categorized by brand and club type, making it a simple process by which to find the club you are looking for. Once you find the club, you can click on the “add to my cart” option, which holds all information on that club in your account check-out section so that you can continue shopping so that you are free from having to write down or try to remember the specific order number of any given club. Once you are done shopping, the checkout procedure is very easy and the customer is taken through the process systematically with very clear and concise instructions.

Customer Service is Important

Many times a golfer has questions to ask about which specific club will best match his game style. For this reason, Second Swing Golf has set up a very friendly and easy to use customer service section for their clients. They even offer a direct line for customers to call with questions and customers can even place orders over the phone if they are not comfortable with sharing financial information online. Their return policy and shipping policy is very clear and uncomplicated and there is a place in their customer service department for comments and suggestions.

Trade-Ins Welcome

Tired of your old golf clubs? Want to raise the bar on your current set? Second Swing Golf has a trade-in department, which allows customers either to sell your golf clubs for direct payment or to trade them in for credit toward your next purchase with them. They provide a number where clients can call and receive an instant quote for their clubs. Upon receiving your golf clubs, a check or store credit will be promptly awarded.

In Store Pick-Up is Available

If you live in the MN area, there are two stores to choose from in which to pick up your recently purchased golf clubs. Second Swing Golf provides this option so that customers can avoid shipping costs and time constraints if they so desire. This a service that most online golf club resellers cannot offer their clients and thus puts them a step ahead of their competition. In order to take advantage of this option, you simply choose your preferred clubs by placing them in your “cart”. When you are done shopping, simply proceed to checkout and choose the “In store pick-up” option when it is provided.

By: Lucy Bushman

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Instruction for a proper in-to-in golf swing path. For personal shot tracking, game analysis and tailored video instruction visit www.mysmartgolf.com.

By: wpschneider

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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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If you want to improve your golf swing then your are going to have to learn to relax, study and practice . These are three fundamentals about golf that we sometimes forget and with this article, you should find it easy to get back into the swing of things.

What does it mean to relax when you are playing golf? Let’s begin with a very, very important fact about the golf ball. It’s already dead. So don’t try to kill it. It just won’t do you any good.

That is an important fact that we all over look. Why? Because we put too much pressure on ourselves while we are playing. The truth is trying to get extra yardage out of smacking the ball as hard as we can destroys our chances of having a good solid hit.

What exactly should you study in golf? Well, everything but here the most important thing to study is yourself. You need to videotape yourself hitting the ball. But you need to tape your hit in two different ways.

The first videotaping should be of you doing practice swings and practice shots. Did you every notice that practice swings are actually pretty good. Without the pressure of the score, you probably have a good swing.

Now tape yourself on the actual golf course. There is probably a big difference between the two shots. But if you can tell the difference you can improve your shot.

There is also another reason to know your own swing. If you like the swing of another player, on the course or on tv, you know what the difference is and you can change. The change will probably be really small. Make the little changes and you will improve your golf swing.

Okay, we talked about the need to relax and the need to study your own swing. Now it is time to practice your new swing.

There is a story about the great golfer Gary Player. A fan came up to Mr. Player after he watched him play a round of golf. The fan said, “Gee, I wish I could play golf like you.” Mr. Player replied, “If you hit buckets of balls until your hands are bloody and then hit some more, you can.”

Now you don’t need to play until your hands are bloody but without practicing you really never will improve your game to where you are happy.

You now know three important steps to a better golf swing. You must be relaxed, enjoy it for what it is, a great game. You must know your swing to be able to improve your swing. Finally, you must practice. If you are missing any of these three points in your game then you are not going to really improve your swing.

By: Brian Kowalczyk

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The Golf Gym Power Swing Trainer Exercise Program is a full body golf workout program. It comes with the ProPerfect Training Grip with PowerCord, a DVD developed by pro golfers full of training tips, a book on how to use the Program to maximize your training, a reference guide and a bag.

The Exercise Program is designed to help golfers:

- Strengthen the muscles they use when playing.

- Improve accuracy and muscle memory.

- Work on developing their golf swings, no matter what swing they use.

- Avoid injuries by keeping muscles flexible and in good shape.

The Program encompasses all of this. It’s flexible and easy to use.

ProPerfect Training Grip with PowerCord

The key to the training program is the Training Grip. This unique device was developed by a group of pro golfers and athletic health professionals 20 years ago.

It has a grip designed like the grip on your golf club, with 2 cords that can be stretched. The cords are connected at the end by a piece that has loops for easy attachment to anything.

You use the Training Grip in several different ways. For example, you can connect it to some part of the house and practice stretching it, twisting your body as you go like you would when you are making a shot.

There are lots of different exercises you can do with the Training Grip, and they are all simple. Because the grip itself is modeled after a golf club’s grip, it helps you get your grip tight as well.

There are three cord strengths available: light, medium and heavy. These models offer different amounts of resistance, depending on the strength of the golfer. Usually, the whole Exercise Program costs around $40, but for $60 you can get a set with all three cord strengths.

The Training Grip is better than exercising with ordinary weights because it actually feels like a club. With the Grip, you can do exercises that are exactly like what you are doing on the course, so you’ll work the specific muscles you need. And, you can practice any swing with it.

Instruction Materials

The package also comes with an instruction booklet, reference guide and training DVD. The DVD is 45 minutes and has Dr. David Wright, one of Golf Magazine’s Top Teachers. He’s also a senior teacher at Golf Tips Magazine. It also has Kathryn Roberts from the Golf Channel.

The DVD shows you how to do 37 different kinds of exercises and warm-ups. Once you get into the hang of using the Grip, you can develop your own. The instruction materials show you how to personalize your Grip workout to your own individual golfing style.

The Golf Gym Power Swing Trainer Exercise Program is appropriate for any level of golfer. The Grip is easy to use, and customers have given glowing reviews of the product.

By: Wade Robins

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