No More Shank Golf Tips

June 3, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play

Golf Shank Tips - In the Rough

photo by: canonsnapper

Some of the best golf tips that you can get are the ones on shanks. The reason for this is that for golf tips, shank is one of the most popular subjects because of how much it can mess up your game. No matter who you are if you play golf you have shank the ball at least once, so you want to do everything that you can next time to prevent that from happening.

What is a shank?

If you are new to golf the first thing that you have to understand is what a shank is, this way you can understand how to correct it through the golf tips that are going to be provided. What happens when you shank a ball is instead of hitting the ball with the center of the club you are hitting the ball with the back part of the club. When you hit the ball with the back part of the club, what usually happens is the ball goes flying off, but not in the direction, you wanted to hit it.

Fix Club Position

The first thing that you can do to try to eliminate your chances of a shank is to work on the club position. You want to ensure that your club is in the desired position before you even move your arms back to swing at the ball, which is known as the setup. When setting up your club look at where the center of the clubface is compared to the ball, how it lines up will determine what you need to do to correct your problem. If you hit a lot of shanks, your best bet is to line up the ball towards the front of the clubface rather than the center because it will make up for any movement in your swing.

Distribute Weight Correctly

The next thing that you want to work on is your side-to-side weight distribution. This is important because of how you react to where the majority of your weight is placed. For example, if you tend to put most of your weight on your heels when you setup for a stance it only makes sense that you feel like you are leaning backwards when you swing, so you naturally shift your weight forward to your toes. Shifting your weight forward to your toes is most likely making your clubface lose position, which leads to a shank. You want to work on having your weight evenly distributed, so there is no more weight on your heels than there is on your toes.

Aim Right

Your aim when you are swinging your club at the ball is also important if you don’t want to shank. Most likely, you are like most golfers, when you aim you are watching the center of the ball, but if you are hitting a shank chances are the clubface is moving based on where you think you are aiming. The best way to correct this is to aim towards the inside of the ball or pretend there is another ball next to the first. You can even work this through by setting up the shots with one ball and then placing a second ball next to it, without moving your feet or your club. You will see how you are hitting the ball, so you can correct your aim.

Have you own No More Shank Golf Tips?? Share it in the comments.

Tips to Improve Golf Swing

May 28, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play

Tips to Improve Golf Swing

photo by: DraconianRain

Whether you are just learning how to play golf or you are looking to improve your golf game you need to understand that your golf swing is very important to your game. Your golf swing is important to your golf game because you have to swing to hit the ball. To play the best game that you can you will want to have the best golf swing out there.

Luckily, there are plenty of tips to improve your golf swing available, all you have to do is put them to good use. Just keep in mind that not all of the tips might be useful for you, but you wpon’t know for sure until you have read them all and put them through a trail run.

Forget the Arms

One of the first things that you need to think about when it comes to your golf swing is that your arms are not that important in the golf swing. In fact, to help hit the ball more accurately you want to do everything that you can to avoid thinking about your arms when you first start your golf swing because you will be less likely to bend your elbows as you swing. However, you do want to cock your wrists at a 90-degree angle when your left arm is parallel to the ground.

Don’t Resist Nature

Something else that you can do to improve your golf swing is to allow your left arm to roll clockwise little bit when you are first beginning your back swing. One of the best things about this is it isn’t something that you have to think about doing, you can simply allow it to happen by not thinking about it, just make sure you don’t try to resist the natural movement of your arms during the back swing.

Plant Your Feet

In terms of your feet, you want to make sure that both of your feet are planted firmly on the ground during your entire swing. All too often what happens is that people allow their front heels to come off the ground during the golf swing, which can cause more problems than it’s worth with your golf swing. If you keep your feet firmly planted on the ground during your golf swing, your body will have just the right amount of tension for the golf swing, plus keeping your feet on the ground helps to anchor your swing.

Target with Your Hips

You also want to remember that the golf down swing starts at the bottom. No matter how much work you put into doing everything else right, including your golf grip, stance, and backswing, you can still ruin your shot by starting your golf down swing with your shoulders. What you want to do for the golf down swing is to turn your hips towards the target; you want to do this as hard and as fast as you can. Doing this will allow your drives to be longer, but they will also become straighter.

By improving your golf swing, you will see improvement in your overall golf game in no time.

For even more tips, sign up on the right for your free golf swing tips book!

Have you own tip?? Share it in the comments.

Slang Golf Terms

February 21, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play, Professional Golf

Golf, like many other sports, uses terms that are all their own. A golf dictionary might help but not for the slang thrown around. The slang golf terms are usually regular words that have a completely different meaning in the game of golf. Here are some of the most common slang golf terms that you might come across during a round of golf.

Slang Golf Terms

photo by erica.hargreave

Hangman - this term means that you have scored a 9 on a particular hole in golf. It comes from the resemblance that some people see between the hangman’s pole and the number 9.

Bo Derek - this term was created from the movie 10 with Bo Derek, but instead of referring to being somebody’s desire the term refers to a score of 10 on any hole in golf, which nobody wants.

Kitty Litter - means sand bunker. You will also hear golfers referring to the sand bunker as a bunker, beach, cat box, or even sand trap. It has gotten these names because the sand inside the bunker resembles kitty litter.

Fourball Alliance - this is simply the name of a golf tournament format, mostly used in South Africa. In the United States, it can be referred to as 1-2-3 best ball or money ball. The score on each hole a set number of the team member’s score is combined on each hole for one team score.

Air Mail – this term refers to the fact that you hit the ball too far when you were aiming for a specific spot. It can also refer to the fact that you overshot the green.

Dawn Patrol
– this term refers to any golfer player or group of players who try to play as early as possible in the morning, they get to the golf course as soon as they open and are the first ones on the course. Dew Sweepers also means the same thing.

Goat Track – A goat track is used to talk about a golf course that is in really poor condition, you can also hear the term dog track used along the same lines.

Fried Egg – this term is used to describe a golf ball that has been hit into the sand bunker, but the ball has settled into the sand giving it the appearance of a fried egg. It resembles a fried egg because of the pattern that is left in the sand and only the top half of the ball is showing, similar to the yolk of an egg.

Rainmaker - this is used to describe a shot that has a very high trajectory. A great example of this kind of shot would be a lob wedge, but it can also happen accidentally.

Duck Hook
- this is simply a different term for a snap hook, which is a very severe form of a hook. With a snap hook the ball immediately begins to curve from right to left, the ball then dips to the ground and runs off to the person’s hook side.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Driving Range Practice

February 14, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play

How to Get the Most Out of Your Driving Range Practice

photo by Nadia308

Driving ranges are instrumental in helping you improve your game, and you should use them as much as you possibly can.  Even though it’s called a driving range, you can practice all of your golf shots on the range.  By taking advantage of this valuable tool offered by your golf course, you are sure to improve your game.

In the game of golf, it’s essential to know how far you are able to hit your clubs on a consistent basis.  By taking advantage of the golf driving range, you will get a great idea of how far your driver can go as well as your 9 iron.  Once you know how far you can hit your clubs, you will be able to practice some great course management skills when you are out on the course.

Start out with a bucket of balls and your driver.  Try out various stances and see which ones help you drive the ball farther.  Hit a lot of balls and pay close attention to what works and what doesn’t.  When you find a shot you are pleased with, hit several more balls using that same technique to see if it was just a fluke or if you can replicate it over and over again.

Then you should move to your fairway woods or your irons.  Practice the same technique with these clubs.  You may have to buy another bucket – or bag on some courses – of balls, but believe me, it will be well worth the money when you are able to effectively know what clubs will give you the yardage you need and want.

Many golf courses have lighted driving ranges, so even if you can’t play the course, you can still work on your swing in the evening hours.  Many people find that having a lighted driving range can help them work on their swing at inconvenient hours when daylight has left but they still feel the desire to swing a club.

One point you need to keep in mind when on the golf driving range is that you are playing in perfect conditions.  There are no hills, there are no hazards, and you are concentrating to the best of your ability.  Just because you can hit a 300 yard drive on the range doesn’t necessarily mean you can do the same on the course.

However, you can certainly learn a lot about your golf game when you are on the driving range.  Don’t pass up the chance to practice as much as you can.  Practicing is best done on the golf driving range, so buy a bucket of balls and whack away.  You never know what you’ll find out!

A Few Helpful Golf Tips

January 28, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play

People are always on the lookout for tips to make their golf game better. Golf isn’t an easy sport to master. Those of us who love the game know that the more information you have regarding the swing, course management, putting, etc. the more chance you have of playing better. That’s why we will take golf tips from almost anyone who’s willing to offer.

So what kind of golf tips can we offer up in this article? Space is limited, so we’ll try to focus only on those tips that are most asked for.

First, if you have a bad temper, you probably shouldn’t take up golf. We’re just kidding, really. Actually, golf can be good for your mental state. You may find that you can take out your frustration on the golf course in productive ways and perhaps you can gain better control of that temper!

Setup Tips

Since most people have trouble with their setup, our first set of golf tips will deal with the setup.

* Position your body so your body is parallel with the target line

* Your feet should be shoulder width apart

* With short irons, put the ball in the center of your stance

* Middle irons should have the ball placed one ball toward the target side from center

* For long irons and fairway woods, place the ball two ball lengths toward the target from center

* The ball should be three ball lengths toward the target from center

* Balance your weight on the balls of your feet

* Bend your knees slightly and keep your spine straight

* Move your body from the hips and make it a smooth, fluent motion

Keep your eye on the ball until well after you complete your follow-through swing. If you don’t do this, you will have a tendency to stand up on the ball which will cause you to top the ball. Do this with all shots. Look at the back of the ball and don’t take your eyes off of it until it’s natural to look and see where the ball has gone.

Putting Tips

When putting, the best golf tips we can offer up are:

* Visualize the path your ball will travel so that it will go in the hole

* Read the green and take into account any dips that may cause your ball to change its direction. Then you can compensate with your aim.

* The putting swing is a smooth, pendulum-like action with no wrist break. You will swing with your shoulders and should always keep your head down.

* Be sure you put enough speed on the ball so that you will actually make it to the hole. There’s nothing worse than coming up short on a putt. These lead to three putt disasters and can be very frustrating!

There are all sorts of golf tips out there to be found. Take any tips on your golf game that you can find and then try them out to see if they work. You can never have too many tips if you really want to make your golf game better.

Learn Golf With Golf Instruction

January 28, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play

There are many ways you can go about receiving instruction for your golf game. Many of use – even those who have been golfing for a long time – can benefit from some type of golf instruction. The good news is that there are all sorts of options you can pursue to get effective teaching on the golf game.

Learning Golf with Golf Instruction

photo credit: mahalie

There are many different ways you can go about receiving golf instruction. Most golf clubs have club pros on staff who are more than happy to offer lessons for a fee. The advantage to instruction like this is that you get one on one advice as well as specific fixes to your swing tailored to how your body moves.

Golf seminars and schools are often found in many places around the country. Professional instructors often travel around the country holding week long golf schools on local courses. This type of golf instruction is also advantageous because you are utilizing the skills and knowledge of a golf professional.

A student’s success comes from having an instructor that that he or she can relate to, understand, and can ultimately see improvement in their own game. In some cases students enjoy instructors who are rigorous and demanding while others enjoy an instructor who is patient and pushes the student at a slower rate.

Find an instructor that you are comfortable with and who has the credentials and experience to effectively provide the golf instruction you need. Ask questions before you sign up. Where did the instructor get his or her training? What kind of scores does he or she make on a consistent basis? You will want someone who knows what he or she is talking about so you don’t get bad advice and training.

Believe it or not, you can find some great golf instruction online at various websites in articles published by professionals in the game. These articles address specific parts of the golf game, so if you are looking for a way to improve your stance or get more distance from your drive, you can certainly find it online!

If you want to get better at the game of golf, you can’t go wrong when you seek out golf instruction. There are a lot of people who have learned about the game both in seminars as well as through playing. Above all, the most important part of golf instruction is to get out on the course and test out what you’ve been told. Learning through doing might be the best instructor of all.

Beginner Golf Lessons

January 28, 2010 by Monica  
Filed under How To Play

Taking up a new sport is an exciting prospect but everyone needs help in learning and improving. In the world of golf, there are some excellent beginner golf lessons available. There is nothing better than to learn from the professionals and tuition can be incorporated into a vacation for all the family. Everyone can learn on scenic courses with the opportunity of meeting fellow golf enthusiasts. Read more

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