Golf Tips: Getting Your Game To The Course II

Golf is like any other physical or athletic activity. The old adage that you play like you practice many times hold true.

Let’s take a look at a simple golf practice drill that can help your game make the transition from the driving range to the golf course.

First of all, change your targets frequently.

Think about it.

When you are on the course you rarely hit back to back shots from the same distance (if you do, then your swing needs more general work).

Start with your driver and hit it.

Then, for example, imagine that you are 180 yards from the tee. Pick out a target, select your club, and execute the next shot. If you miss hit your approach, then imagine you are just off the green in need of executing a pitch shot… and so forth.

This type of practice drill will better emulate what happens while your are play a round of golf and it adds that little bit of extra pressure on your swing when you only have one chance to make a particular shot. This is more of what occurs during an actual round of golf.

When you are on the practice tee and going through this simulated round golf practice drill, don’t forget to include your pre-shot routine.

If you don’t think you have one, then begin to develop one and use it before each shot.

This is an area that is grossly overlooked by golfers when they are practicing their various golf shots.

If you don’t include your pre-shot routine in your practice drills then you will have a different rhythm on the course than you do on the practice tee and you will most likely produce different results. Remember we want consistency.

Getting your golf swing and golf game from the driving range to the course is a natural trouble area for most all of us. But, if you remember that you play like you practice, then making the transition will be much less of a chore.

Golf Tips: Getting Your Game To The Course

At some point in your golfing learning curve there will come a time (and probably with mild to moderate frustration) that you will ponder the following conundrum: “how can it be that I hit the ball so well on the driving range, then a different golfer shows up on the tee.”

Yes it’s true… we practice golf at a 2 handicap and play at a 20.

You what the problem is because it’s so obvious… you continually leave your game at the practice tee.

It has become an all too familiar routine and you want to get your game to that next level. But to do so, and to ultimately play better golf, you have to get your driving range game to the first tee and beyond.

First of all, before we discuss possible solutions, one must understand that at least in part this is a natural progression to one’s game. Everyone goes through this phenomenon to some degree or another. Even accomplished golfers experience this when they work on a swing change or practice a new type of shot for them.

There is not any doubt that in order to successfully and consistently execute a fluent golf swing, you have to have paid your dues with practice time and many buckets of ball launched from the driving range.

Let’s fast forward a bit and assume that you have in fact improved the mechanics of your golf swing to the point where you make reasonably consistent contact and direction on the practice tee, but your swing takes a 180 degree turn for the worse when you get on the golf course.

When this happens, the natural evaluation most of us make is to examine what we are doing wrong on the golf course. The solution more often than not is not to critique and examine your on the golf course golf swing, rather you should take a look at how you practice your golf swing when you are on the driving range or practice tee.

Up next… let’s take a look at a practice drill for your golf game that will help you make the transition from the practice to the golf course.

A Bad Golf Swing-Common Among Bad Golfers

Learning the mechanics of the golf swing… No. Let me rephrase.

Teaching the mechanics of a good golf swing to someone with a bad golf swing is a challenging task. Of course, we know that a bad golf swing will result in a bad golfer, but how do you get to a better golf swing?

This is a question that I would ask myself as I would take an initial look at someone who had come to me for help. After a while, and witnessing many bad golf swings, I began to realize that these golf swings (or lack thereof) did have some things in common.

Basically almost all bad golfers and their subsequent swings have some basic similarities. These are deficiencies in their grip – their stance or set up – their posture – and their weight shift during the swing.

If you want to improve your golf game, you have to improve your golf swing. And to improve your golf swing your have understand the aforementioned areas.

The interesting thing that we as teachers often times do is to go over the grip, stance, posture, and the weight shift. Then we have the golfer take a couple practice swings with all this new information, and drop a golf ball down and look for the results. This is fascinating.

The game of golf is so focused on end results.

Where did the golf ball go after I hit it? I’ve done this when working with someone… I would venture that we as instructors all have. A curious technique to be sure. We see the practice swing knowing that it’s … well not too good, but yet we still want to hit the golf ball (I guess only to verify that it is indeed a bad golf swing).

The point here is that once you initially get with someone to help you understand the various parts and aspects of the golf swing, then take a step back (from the golf ball) and work on the swing. Work on the muscles that execute the parts of the swing. Get comfortable with gripping the club, your stance, your posture. Swing the clubs over, and over, and over, without the hitting the ball.

Work to where you can just sweep the top of the grass or the practice mat over and over with a consistently executed golf swing. Once the grip, stance, posture, and weigh shifting through the swing become second nature, only then introduce the striking of the golf ball. Then get back with your instructor and have them evaluate your progress on the golf swing, not the results at this point.

A bad golf swing is going to produce bad golf shots. Work on your swing first and the shots will follow.

Golf Swing Help-The Footwork

One of the more overlooked aspects when it comes to learning about the golf swing when discussing various tips for golf is the importance of the role of the feet, legs, and hips in the golf swing.

Many professional and teaching professional would argue that a good reliable and consistent golf swing is built from the ground up.

Jack Nicklaus being one.

An interesting mind set that we humans have when it comes to achieving longer golf drives is that we must accelerate our hands faster or have our hand and forearms accelerate the golf club faster in order to gain more club head speed and distance.

With the golf swing, nothing could be further from the truth.

So without, gaining greater acceleration on the club head, how does one gain greater distance on their golf drives you ask? Well, it’s not that you don’t have to increase your club head speed; it’s that you don’t accomplish this by ‘firing’ the club head at the golf ball with your hands. Yet, this is probably the one biggest peccadillo of average golfers.

Your legs are unquestionably stronger than your hands and arms. And if you will learn to properly use the strength of your legs in unison with the proper turn of your hips and shoulders to propel your golf shot you’ll see distance and accuracy that you never thought you had.

And did I mention consistency.

Proper footwork and the use of your legs creating a grounded foundation for the hip and shoulder rotation results in torque or stored energy, that when simply released at the proper time will create more club head speed naturally and a more repeatable golf swing for more consistent golf shots.

If you’ll notice, to this point, nowhere in our discussion on this tip for golf have I even alluded to doing anything with your hand or arm speed to generate more club head speed.

This is not by accident.

Creating stored energy and releasing it at the proper moment just before impact is a result of proper footwork and body turn. The resulting paths and actions that the arms and hands take during the golf swing are a result not an action.

Glad you’re still with me!

Up next let’s take a look at some detail as to how the lower body works in the golf swing with Tips For Golf – The Backswing!

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