THE GRIP

I like to call it the hold. The grip is often taken for granted, "grab hold of the club and swing." 
This is where it all starts, it is the only contact between player and golf club. 

An improper grip will often cause a chain reaction of problems in your swing as players try to compensate, in order to get the clubface squarely on the ball. Their swing path, stance, and alignment can all be out of sync.

Grip pressure should be light, the tighter you hold the grip the less control you will have. The lighter it is, the more supple your wrists. This will allow proper release and freedom through impact. Changing your grip always feels awkward, you will get used to it gradually, stick with it, it's worth it!

RANGE PRACTICE

Every player needs to learn what amount and what kind of practice is best for him/her. On the range you should always warm up, couple of stretches, use a training aid if you have one, then start with your short irons and work your way through your set. This progression allows you to increase your flexibility slowly ant to avoid strains and pulls.
You should always be aiming at a target, few golfers take care over their alignment on every shot.The biggest abuse is when I see players turn up with just a driver on the range and smash away as hard and as fast as they can with no thought of where they are aiming. You will always hit your woods better if you warm up first with smaller swings, thinking more of finesse rather than power, it makes your practice more meaningful and productive, hit every shot intelligently, so you don't become a ball beater!

Work on your set up routine and keep changing you target then you don't zero in on one area, adjusting your your club face and body alignment constantly. PRACTICE LIKE YOU ARE PLAYING. Leave 10 to 12 balls at the end of your practice session and use them to imagine you are playing a par3, par 4 and a par 5. Watch your concentration now.
You need a good balance of practicing and playing, all practice can make you a poor player, you have to learn how to score, so play as much as you can. Practice on the course with a couple of balls and play one ball from the worst spot, it will help you grind it out. Play as many balls as you can round the green from different spots trying to get up and down, one chip, one putt.


ENJOY YOUR GOLF

LEARNING GOLF

Golf is a game where you never stop learning. The majority of golfers never take lessons and never practice their short game, they are consistently short of the pin with their approach shots and they think they hit the ball further than they actually do, for example they think their 5 iron goes 170 yards when in reality they hit a 150 yards. It is no crime to hit your 5 iron 140 yards or even 130 yards! You can still hit good golf shots and score well. The main thing is to learn the average length you hit each club, it's YOUR GAME!

* Golf is a science that requires ongoing study

*You cannot see your self playing the game and falling into errors.

*You can confuse yourself with too much information.

PLAYING LESSON


On the course you can work with your golf coach on strategy, club and shot selection, course management and the mental side of the game. You do not work on mechanics, save that for the driving range.
Playing lessons are valuable - you get in tune with thinking, 'it's not how, but how many', the mark of a good golfer. Keeping charts and records of your performance is good for you to improve. This can make your practice worthwhile.
At the end of the day it's all common sense. IT'S GREAT FUN TO LEARN!

Training Aids

BENEFITS OF TRAINING AIDS

If you are developing your golf swing you need to focus on ‘doing’ rather than ‘thinking about doing’. This allows you to experience a skill instead of over-loading your conscious mind thinking about how you should perform the skill.

What you need is a training aid that can help you to practice and feel the skill through ‘doing’. Training aids can guide you into the required movement, without having to think too much. They will give you instant feedback, which is internal. Not everyone can have their golf coach with them all the time to give them external feedback.

The Impact Bag

At a  small cost the Impact Bag is a great aid that will help you gain power and can add about 15 yards to your shots. It helps you to feel your wrist and body position at impact.



The Swing Kite

 The Swing Kite can increase distance and control in your golf swing. The air resistance in the fan makes the player swing it with a smooth, sweeping motion. This strengthens the important golf muscles in your hands, forearms and torso.



KNOWLEDGE OF EQUIPMENT

Many golfers know next to nothing about how to select golf clubs that are designed to maximise the strengths and minimize the weaknesses in their golf swing. They only know what they read in magazines and what they can pick up from the golf channels. It's not all the truth it's just good marketing!


The golfing public spend around 3 billion pounds a year on equipment hoping and expecting to find the 'right gear' to play the game and enjoy it more. Yet, if you don't understand how club length, loft angle, lie angle, flex and weight are not matched properly to your swing you are wasting your money. The public only pick clubs up for name and price, what a shame, nothing is a bargain unless it suits you!


Learning and grooving the proper swing fundamentals is vital to start with and the key to improvement for any golfer.  So why do members of the golfing public buy their equipment first before establishing a good swing? Often a costly mistake!


I often hear people say "custom fit golf clubs are only good for good golfers". This is so far from the truth. Professionals are skilled enough to play well with almost any club. Less accomplished  players on the other hand are not, which  means they almost always need advice from a fully qualified professional to set them up with properly fitted clubs. This goes hand in hand with the lessons and advice from your swing coach, as he or she is the best person to advise you properly.


Look at the professionals, almost none of them are are completely self taught, they have spent many hours of dedicated practice under the guidance of professional coaches to learn good swing techniques. Even Tiger Woods! At the same time all tour professionals cannot possibly play their best  with standard made, off the shelf golf clubs. Every club they use is fitted to their individual needs.


I have many years experience of custom fit technology and have worked with many different companies such as Ping, Srixon/Cleveland, PGA Collection, Benross and MD Golf. I am currently a club fitter for Tom Wishon Technology. This company is one of the best I have ever come across as Tom has a much more detailed fitting programme. The Wishon website is great and well worth a look. You can access it at  http://wishongolf.com/


So bear in mind, buying golf clubs that you know nothing about is not a "quick fix" for a good game, never has been and never will be. Every player is different and there are as many swings as there are people. Therefore, when buying new clubs custom fitting, with a good professional, is vital to maximise your strengths and WILL benefit your game. 

YOUR PERFECT SWING

Your body can only swing your way. There is no perfect swing, but there is a perfect swing for you.

All styles are based on what the golfer can physically do. there are many different body builds, flexibility levels, timing patterns and swing styles.
Most golfers play with compensations but we don't teach compensations, only solid fundamentals that fit each persons individual swing style.
Many professionals who were great players at one time can completely lose it because they are trying to be even better by trying a swing that doesn't fit them, this is called a mismatch.
Putting a swing together is a matter of knowing how to get your body to pivot and work with the hands and arms for the best impact position. Your upper body must be synchronised to work with your lower body as all bodies will move at different rates of speed.

ARE YOU CLEAR WHAT YOU ARE PRACTICING

I believe regular players should have a game development plan. It is important that you know what you are trying to achieve and how to get there. Lots of golfers are looking for the dreaded quick fix approach and they try different swings daily on the range, this will only lead to inconsistency, with little improvement and lots of frustration!

You have to work a long time with your coach to build on good solid fundamentals to succeed and improve, not swapping and changing. Once the strengths and weaknesses are recognised then you can draw up an action plan and you will be heading in the right direction. Golfers learn in different ways and at different speeds, continuity practice is important for steady progress as it is all to easy to fall back into those old habits!

Start you training early, don't wait for the day before you play, you will not have enough time to get used to the new swing changes. Once you can do this it will build up confidence and self belief.

WORK SMART AND THE RESULTS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES


Happy golfing