There’s a lot your golf pro didn’t tell you about your game. A lot.
That’s the reason for this blog… to unravel the mysteries of why you have swing faults despite golf lessons, books, and expensive equipment.
The purpose of this blog is NOT to bash golf professionals. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Some of the smartest, highest educated, and most inspirational coaches in the world are in the sport of golf.
Not only that, technology has advanced this game to a new level.
I mean, with computer generated swing analysis software, high speed cameras, and years of working out the bugs, golf has become one of the most advanced sports in the world.
Combine the technology with world class teaching pros, and you have a fantastic opportunity to play better golf now than ever. These guys can be crazy smart.
That said, there are some things most teaching pros just don’t know about how the human machine works. And since golf technology has skyrocketed in the last few decades, how come golfing scores haven’t? Clearly there is a disconnect between technology and bodily function.
Take for example, Bob:
Bob is our average “weekend warrior†golfing enthusiast that fights his fear of slicing the ball on the first tee, and humiliating himself in front of his golfing buddies. Not to mention the foursome behind him.
You see, Bob has been here before. He’s kind of gotten a reputation for the banana ball. In fact, the water cooler talk has given him his very own nickname… “Banana Ball Bob!â€
Life can be tough on our hero, Banana Ball Bob. His only solace is he’s been working with a golf pro lately taking lessons to help straighten out his problem of having to replace the glass plane windows in the houses lining the golf course. Now it’s Banana Ball Bob’s turn to hit his first tee shot of the day.
He tries to remember what his golf pro told him during their lessons together: “Take a strong grip… line up correctly… don’t bring the club back inside too quickly… don’t sway… don’t swing from the top… don’t cross the line at the top… start the downswing with the legs… clear the hips… swing inside to out… don’t dip… keep your eye on the ball… transfer your weight… follow through… oh, and one last thing; don’t think about the swing, just let it happen.†Yeah, right.
Well, you guessed it, Bob got to go hunting, fishing, and hiking all on the first hole. Ouch! Bob’s got a problem. It’s a problem he doesn’t know he has, and his golf pro doesn’t know it either.
Bob’s Got a Neck Tightness Problem
You heard me right, a neck problem. Bob can’t rotate his neck like he should. And because he can’t rotate his neck, he slices the ball. Plain and simple. Doubt that? Stay with me (and Bob) and I will show you, and explain to you what your golf pro doesn’t know.
Skill vs. Ability
Look, it’s really simple, there is a difference between your ability to preform a task and the skill necessary to preform that same task.
Here’s what I mean: if Bob can’t rotate his head and neck to 90 degrees both right and left, then he has a lack of ability to rotate his head and neck 90 degrees to the right and to the left.
There could be a few different reasons he can’t rotate his head and neck to 90 degrees, but the fact remains that if his neck is too tight to turn his head 90 degrees, and he can only turn his head to say, 60 degrees, then 60 degrees is his body’s current ability.
This means that he now must develop his skill around his “lack†of ability to rotate his head the normal range of motion.
Bob slices the ball because he can’t keep his head still during the back swing. (Notice: I didn’t say, “Bob slices the ball because he can’t keep his head DOWN during the back swing.â€) Keeping your head still, and keeping your head down are two opposite ends of the spectrum.
Still, Bob’s slice is caused by a little know mechanical disruption during his swing that your golf pro doesn’t know about. And there is a causative factor:
Bob’s head (and yours) is half as wide as your hips…almost to the millimeter! It’s universal to everyone baring deformity.
Take a look at this picture and see what I mean:Â
When your neck is too tight, you will have a tendency to move off of the ball with your head. And this means your head is located outside of the axis of your hips during your backswing.
Take a look at this picture:Â
Notice the left image. Â Notice how his head is outside his left hip axis.Â
This will almost guarantee a slice, because now, you have to use your upper body to get back into position at impact. Yeah… good luck with that.
When you swing “from the top†you will swing “outside to inside†(meaning your club crosses the target line) and this is how Bob got his nickname.
Bob’s golf pro doesn’t have a clue about Bob’s real problem, and so the golf pro has to create new and inventive ways to get Bob to hit the ball straight.
On the one hand, the golf pro is a genuis if he succeeds at getting Bob to hit the ball straight during his lessons together.
On the other hand, the magic trick quickly gets revealed as “smoke and mirrors†when real life happens on the first tee.
What’s the cure for Bob’s slicing problem? Bob has restore the proper range of motion to his neck.
Assuming that his neck is “normal†and healthy, (no surgeries, whiplash, or other injuries) then Bob needs to work on restoring his neck’s range of motion to 90 degrees so that he can keep his head “still†not “down†during his backswing.
For more adventures on Banana Ball Bob, stay tuned to this blog.
Aaron Crocker is writing a fascinating book entitled What Your Golf Pro Doesn’t Know… Revealing the Hidden Reasons Your Body Works Against Itself During the Golf Swing. If you would like to know more information and how to pre-order a copy, then shoot him an email at aaroncrocker@mac.com
How do I do a professional golf swing? Please tell me.
You don't . Find a swing that is comfortable to you , then fine tune it. Know what different thing do like stronger grip , weaker grip , feet placement in side to out swing out side to in . when you know what different things do to your ball flight then fine tune it.
I'm going golfing for the first time in a couple of years and didn't want to make a fool out of myself. A pictured diagram of foot placement, grip and the actual swing would be perfect.
LOL @ the answer above! One of my all time favorite books on the fundamentals of the swing is David Leadbetter's original book "The Golf Swing". Basic, easy to understand.
Another suggestion is to go out to a local lake or pond and skip a few flat rocks across the surface. Pay attention and feel the motion. Replicate it in your golf swing when you play and you'll be ahead of the curve.
I am female and drive the ball 220-240 yards. I like to get loose and set up the tee and ball and stand behind to see my line. I often see the line and take an easy, flowing swing while behind the ball (i am facing the line and therefore swinging 90 degrees from the line) and then I approach my ball and hit my ball. Rarely do I take another practice swing while in position at my ball. I was just told that this is improper (i feel the lady i was playing with was up on my tee box too close & i had to keep asking her to step back because i needed space) … she made me take a penalty shot because she said i was not allowed to swing my club that way while behind the ball on the tee (i swing the club this way also when i putt, i stand behind the ball, visualize my line and do a stroke while looking down the line). I hope I am being clear enough but please, is this rude? Should I get a penalty stroke for a practice swing? I don't hold up the game. I approach my ball and hit it. HELP!
Only one person should be stood on the tee at any one time therefor you can have as much bloody room as you want.You are also allowed to practise your swing anyway you want with any shot you want from tee to putter.
This woman is a cheat and should be reported to your club making up rules as she goes along who the bloody hell does she think she is.
Watch a bit of pro golf on the telly and see that they take about 3 or 4 practises on every shot.
On the follow through, I lose my posture. When I swing the club in my right hand and use my left hand to keep my left hip pushed in - I make a great pivot. But, with two hands on the club, I lose the bend in my hip. I do have a chronic bad back for 25 years. But, I figure there must be a set up tip or some other tip to help. Your thoughts?
I will give you a quick tip that will allow you to deal with this matter.
Get over your ball, and take your normal stance. Now, pretend someone directly behind you calls your name. When you leave your feet planted where they are, turn as if to speak to him behind you and that is the action that should take place with the initial turn of the waist/knees.
Posted by admin | Under Golf Swing Help
Thursday Nov 27, 2008
I am a 9.4 hadicap but cant seem to get any better. I would appreciate some constructive criticism on my swing, anything that can be pointed out would help. I do know i have a flat swing which I've been trying to work on. Since my swing is somewhat inconsistent I have posted 4 vids.
http://www.spike.com/video/300yd-cut-shot/2974017
correction…..5 vids Nice swing, a little flat but that’s OK. Good rhythm, tempo, low launch angle, hard inside-out motion. Everything looks good…with your driver. I haven’t seen you short game but I will assume you hit a low ball with most irons. Do you run shots over the green? Are you always yelling STOP? You may need to work on a short-range (<100 yards) flop, or very high fade. This shot is going to help you sick more greens, and stop it closer to the pin.
Your driver swing doesn’t look like a 9.4 handicap swing, your issues must be inside 100 yards, pitching and PUTTING.
Posted by admin | Under Golf Tips Swing
Thursday Nov 27, 2008
I am a decent amatuer high school golfer who shoots up to 43 (on nine of course) on a good day and up to 60 on a bad day. My main problem is the consistency of my irons shots. I drive about 260 down the middle and have a good short game. However, I hit grounders with many of my long irons that not only kill my score, but also put me in an even worse position. If any of you have any tips, experirences, or methods to help me overcome this problem it would be greatly appreciated. My stance is such that I place the ball in between my legs, should I change it?
And yes I do practice frequently.
First of all if you hit your woods well you can trade in… say your 3 iron for a 7 wood. That's what I do and I LOVE it.
Aside from that you could use a swing trainer but before you do that I would recommend a pre-shot routine if you do not already have one that will allow you to maintian the fundamentals for every shot. The pre-shot routine would address the flaws in your particular swing.
Training with the helicopter golf training aid I fixed my slice. Just check the red blades position during the different swing check points and repeat the motions untill you creat proper muscle memory.
There’s a new way of thinking in the golfing community and it just might affect the career choice that you make. The new movement of anti golf pro is starting to emerge and for those that want to make a career out of the sport that they love, it just might cause you to listen to what everyone has been saying.
As a golf pro, your job is to help other golfers be the best golfer that they can be. You might work with them on their swing, their putting and even their sand traps. All of the work that you are doing is helping them to get closer to their dreams of being a better golfer. This sounds all fine and dandy, but with all of the new books and videos available, it almost seems like the personal touch is going out of style.
Golf instruction DVDs and seminars are mainly geared to one thing: making money. Along the way, they might also help the golfer to improve their swing and maybe shave a few strokes off their games. However, in the end, they’re just another product on the market that may or may not work. The videos are neither able to give corrections if the golfer is doing something wrong, nor are they going to be available when the golfer is actually working through what they’ve learned. But a golf pro is a hands-on teacher that can move with the golfer through the issues that they have as they’re actually experiencing the problems.
A golf pro can help the golfer adjust their swing as they’re practicing so that they can build the muscle and memory to be able to take the skills that they have learned onto the golf course. A relationship between the golfer and the pro emerges and allows them to interact with each other in order to create better golf players and better golf scores.
What’s happened recently is that many more ‘golf pros’ are touting themselves as such without the background in the game. These are business profiteers that are trying to get into the high price golf market with flashy slogans and big promises. However, they do not have the skills to back them up. But to the average everyday consumer, they don’t realize this fact and succumb to inferior instruction that doesn’t help them at all. And then they need to move onto the next ‘golf pro’ that they find.
The real golf pros have had to prove to their clients that they are more than just another person trying to make money. You’ll find these true professionals employed through golf retailers as well as through country clubs and golf courses. These are pros that have had extensive training in golf and teaching golf skills in order to improve someone else’s game.
What a golfer should do is investigate the credentials of the golf pro that they have chosen. Perhaps they can look into the classes that the pro states they have taken or perhaps look at their golfing scores to see if they practice what they preach. Any ‘pro’ that touts his or herself on the Internet or via another print media should be looked upon with caution as you can’t verify their credentials or see them in action.
So, if you’re looking to become a golf pro, you will want to make sure that you know what you’re doing and that you can show your prospective clients that knowledge. All of the videos and training books in the world cannot teach golf as well as a true professional can.
$58.04 Click to enlarge Ben Hogan referred to the swingplane as a “three-dimensional road map” for the golfswing. It’s that invisible, imaginary, sloping, circular path that is carved in the air as the best golfers make their swing. Understanding this concept is vital if you want to develop a
Posted by admin | Under Ball Hook
Monday Nov 24, 2008
The Steinberger Synapse SS-2F Custom Electric Guitar combines the rigidity, strength, clarity, and definition of graphite with the warmth and beauty of wood. The Synapse has a 3-piece hard maple neck with graphite U-channel and truss rod make an adjustable neck that's extremely stable. Low-impedance EMG USA humbuckers offer a broader bandwidth for unique and robust tone and are mounted on stabilizers that keep them from tilting.The SS-2F Guitar has improved intonation from a zero fret. Unique Steinberger Combo headpiece improves balance, ease of tuning, and tuning stability while the patented Direct-Drive double-ball bridge lets you change strings in seconds then tune up once and not have to tune again until you change strings.Fold down leg rest and strap hook provide comfort standing or sitting….
Swingyde will provide you with the feedback necessary to hinge the wrists correctly and ure that the face is perfectly square throughout the swing. In addition, it will help maintain a ‘preset’ lag position on the downswing & into impact.
Click to purchase: http://www.practicerange.com/detail.aspx?ID=698&GCID=C16590×011
Who am I but the dreams I pursue? This golf swing music video takes you on that journey. I put music and images together from my sessions on the driving range. I call it my “Golf Swing Dream Sequence” because we all dream of 300 yard drives. For me, this dream became a reality on April 10, 2008. The 300 yard drive picture you see on my SkyCaddie GPS is real. That was my first 300 yard drive and I hit it right on the number! Not 299, not 301. 300 yards exactly! We took a picture with my cell phone to document it. I’ve hit many more 300+ yard drives since then. My longest is 324 with no dogleg and 352 with a slight dogleg. The Swing Speed Radar readings are real, too! Not bad for a just a skinny girl with a dream. If I can do it, so can you!
I use a swing method taught by the late Dr. Mike Austin who hit a 515 yard drive at the age of 64. He did it with a persimmon driver no less! Truly an amazing man.
I hope you enjoy this unique way of looking at a golf swing and what being “golf fit” can do for you! I do believe that the Mike Austin swing is the best by far. Got me my first 300 yard drive and many more!
Oh, be sure to have your volume turned way up for this one!
The Swing Jacket’s arm cuffs slide along scientifically positioned rails guiding the golfer through the full range of motion of a complete golf swing. Golfers of all levels of ability have an opportunity to feel how a great golf swing should feel.
Click to purchase: http://www.practicerange.com/detail.aspx?ID=694&GCID=C16590×011
I'm supposed to start golfing with some guys from work. All I can do is drive the ball. I'm not good at chip shots, par 3s, approach shots, or anything other than hitting it with a driver. I guess I just get carried away at the range with it…what can I do? I try watching the folks on tv but I still hit the ball too far everytime and blade it. I can't get the spin or the high arch or anything…help!
If you are worried about it and get drug into a game before you are ready suggest you play a scramble. That way you can show off your drive and let your team mate worry about the chipping and approach shots. You might get lucky on a few other shots but most golfers would love to have someone who can whack the ball a long way on their side.
If you have more time then leave the driver in the SUV and take your irons and pitching wedge to the driving range. Take aim at other balls or surely they have targets to aim wim. Keep your head down and just let the weight of the club carry your swing through the ball….figure out which club you should be using for each distance…to get the ball up in the air stand with your left foot behind the ball and strike slighty behind the ball and you'll loft it…for a chip shot stand with your right foot parrallel to the ball and hit directly under the ball.
you'll catch on….watch more golf and concentrate on their moves…then go copy them
I've been playing golf for 9 years now and i have become preety good at it but i just need that extra bit of work yet to do so i just wanted to know how to improve my swing.
Thanx ever so much
Becky
focus on getting your right wrist to cross over during impact - it's like baseball - if you're early, you pull the ball…if you're late, you hit it the other way - you gotta find the swing where the ball goes up the middle - most golfers have a lazy finish - think finish with your hands, turn the club over and you won't leave the face open and wipe it - it'll take some practice but you'll learn how to release the club
I have been on a swing camera many times, and I noticed the biggest thing I do wrong is release the club too early (flip) instead of dragging the head through. My typical miss is left and I hit the ball too high with too much spin.
I have noticed that when I play the ball further back in my stance, I hit the ball longer and straighter, with a better trajectory.
Why is this?
Could I be playing the ball too far up?
The other thing is, when I normally swing, I come over the top,
but when I play it further back, I come inside out, on a better path
I could be way off on this ball position thing, but could this be the cause of my loss of distance and accuracy?
thanks
You say you hit the ball straighter AND further when you address the ball further back in your stance..You swing in to out…why the HELL do you want to know why you don’t hit the ball so well from other positions……DON’T FIDDLE!!!!
Posted by admin | Under Golf Swing Path
Tuesday Nov 18, 2008
One day i played golf and i sliced literally every shot. hahaha it was bad. The guy i was playing with said i was coming over the top and he gave me a drill to help me. He told me to go to the driving range and stick a tee in the ground on the inside path and try to hit the tee. I started doing this and it worked great. However now i am coming too far inside and i am pushing and hooking the ball. at first that was cool but now it is pissing me off. I think the drill is pretty good but mainly my question is where exactly should i stick the tee in the ground with relation to the ball? It probably depends on the club. But i mean like with a driver it should probably be a little more inside than like with a wedge right? Thanks.
This is like taking apart a TV that doesn't "work" instead of checking to see if it is plugged in first.
OR
Giving an overweight, depressed person anti depressants rather then telling him to start working out.
The point is that this drill (often over used b/c you see immediate, all be it short term, improvements) is putting a band aid on the real problem. It forces you to control the path of the club w/ the arms and hands rather than with a proper rotation to the top of the swing and proper first move down.
A better drill, is to stand with you right foot against a wall. With your arms folded across your chest turn so that your chest is flat against the wall. This is a perfect "turn" to the top of the swing, rather than "dip" which sets you to come over the top.
Aligning your body properly when playing golf can help you hit balls straight down your target line; get expert tips on alignment and improving your golf swing in this free golf tips lesson on video.
The driver golf club is used to hit tee shots and is probably the most popular and the most troublesome golf club for most golfers. Learn how to take a full golf swing with a driver from a professional golf instructor in this free golf instruction video.
Use the driver golf club properly with the expert tips in this free golfing lesson on video, with techniques for improving your swing and your golf game.
There are special ways to generate a powerful golf swing without trying to crush the ball and this free video clip will show you how. This golf expert has ways to add yards to every club in your bag.
You would have to think that mid to high handicappers and beginners who want to improve their golf swings and games in general and who have the most potential to improve their scores would embrace solid, time-tested fundamentals and use these time-tested techniques to improve their ball striking and scores… BUT for whatever reason, most don’t. Most look to gadgetry and gimmick teaching to improve their games with little or no results. Every season it’s a new theory, a new gadget, a new gimmick, but most important, they shoot the same old score, never seeing any real results where it counts.
Most of these players are looking for instant gratification or “the silver bullet” that will allow them to play great golf with little or no effort. Let me go on record right now and tell you…THE SILVER BULLET DOES NOT EXIST! You will never find this “silver bullet” in a gadget or gimmick, no matter how much cash you spend. The closest thing you’ll ever find to a “silver bullet” is solid fundamentals. The better your grip, posture, and alignment are..the easier it will be for YOU to hit good solid shots that fly toward your target. It’s that simple.
Golf is just much easier from good, solid fundamental positions!
If you have lots of time to practice and play and you have good hand eye coordination coupled with a lot of GOD given talent, it is possible to play at the highest levels without being fundamentally sound, without being squarely aligned, without a good grip, and without good posture…. BUT if you’re like most of us weekend players who don’t have time to practice and who get very little playing time, then you’d better have good fundamentals if you ever hope to improve your game.
The grip is one of the most important, if not THE most important, fundamental in all of golf and yet it is one of the most over
looked, under-practiced fundamentals of the game. At least 2/3 of the people I observe hitting balls and playing golf are struggling
with a bad grip and worse than that, most don’t even realize it. If we’re talking about 15 handicappers and higher the percentage of
bad grips is much higher than 2/3.
In part 2 we’ll talk a little about why your grip is so important and how you can go about building a sound grip that will produce solid, accurate shots, and lower scores round after round.
Golf pros, being only human, can often give quite contradictory advice. Almost daily you can pick up a newspaper or magazine or book and read there comments on a certain aspect of the game which are completely different to what somebody else said, on the same subject, just yesterday.
For example, one pro says that you should keep your head straight, but then another person comes along with an entirely different set of rules.
So what should you and I do, and which advice should we take.
Well, let me add my comments in here, you can evaluate them, and if they seem to be reasonable, then follow my advice.
All people are different and no two of us play exactly alike. This is why it is a great idea not to concentrate on one particular method of playing golf to the exclusion of all other methods.
Some basics can make or break your golf game. And I would like to encourage you to keep your head still and not move it during your swing.
It is impossible to keep your head still if you tense up your muscles. Keeping your head still helps you to loosen up and allows you to finish your swing smoothly. By keeping your head still, you can also prevent the dreaded slice because you do not have to pull your hands in to keep balanced.
I once heard a golf championship winner ssy that every time he prepared to make a shot, he said to himself, Keep your head still. It is one of those necessities for a good golf swing, that many players do not concentrate on.
If you can become successful at just this one skill, you will find your golf game improving. When you make a terrible shot, which we all do from time to time, try concentrating on keeping your head still during the next swing.
If you keep your head still, it will be possible to see the ball during the entire swing. If your head is moving, it will be impossible to keep your eye on the ball.
Now, if you just incorporate this one technique into your game you will see improvement. Let me give you a rather bold and daring suggestion.
Why not try keeping your head still enough to keep a jar of water on the top of your head perfectly still and watch the ball as you swing. You will be able to see the ball better and hit it more solidly.
Even if you are nervous when you are playing, keep these two tips in mind and your game will definitely improve.
Notice the left image.  Notice how his head is outside his left hip axis. 
Please give advice where necessary, need to get down to scratch, mates bet!
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This is a demonstration of the three different models of warm-up swing weights HobokenGolf.Com sells for golf.
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Training with the helicopter golf training aid I fixed my slice. Just check the red blades position during the different swing check points and repeat the motions untill you creat proper muscle memory.
Take a look at my swing and please give me a tip! Leave your comments here or feel free to send me an email. Thank you in advance.
Swingyde will provide you with the feedback necessary to hinge the wrists correctly and ure that the face is perfectly square throughout the swing. In addition, it will help maintain a ‘preset’ lag position on the downswing & into impact.
Who am I but the dreams I pursue? This golf swing music video takes you on that journey. I put music and images together from my sessions on the driving range. I call it my “Golf Swing Dream Sequence” because we all dream of 300 yard drives. For me, this dream became a reality on April 10, 2008. The 300 yard drive picture you see on my SkyCaddie GPS is real. That was my first 300 yard drive and I hit it right on the number! Not 299, not 301. 300 yards exactly! We took a picture with my cell phone to document it. I’ve hit many more 300+ yard drives since then. My longest is 324 with no dogleg and 352 with a slight dogleg. The Swing Speed Radar readings are real, too! Not bad for a just a skinny girl with a dream. If I can do it, so can you! 
The Swing Jacket’s arm cuffs slide along scientifically positioned rails guiding the golfer through the full range of motion of a complete golf swing. Golfers of all levels of ability have an opportunity to feel how a great golf swing should feel.
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Aligning your body properly when playing golf can help you hit balls straight down your target line; get expert tips on alignment and improving your golf swing in this free golf tips lesson on video.
Todd Graves from the Graves Golf Academy explains Moe Norman’s Single Plane Golf Swing
The driver golf club is used to hit tee shots and is probably the most popular and the most troublesome golf club for most golfers. Learn how to take a full golf swing with a driver from a professional golf instructor in this free golf instruction video.
Use the driver golf club properly with the expert tips in this free golfing lesson on video, with techniques for improving your swing and your golf game.
There are special ways to generate a powerful golf swing without trying to crush the ball and this free video clip will show you how. This golf expert has ways to add yards to every club in your bag.
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