Golfing - a Gentleman's Game

To play better golf you need to prepare yourself well before each game, master your swing, know your club and course well and refuse to be intimidated by your opponents. The reviews below may assist you to find the BEST training guides book to master your swings and consistently hit the ball with accuracy !

A lot of people have been asking for a long time, "why is Tiger (Woods) so good in his game? How can Tiger be consistent on every Tour? What does Tiger do differently with his game to make him the success that he is at golf?" and the list of questions go on and on. Some people theorize that it's all about his putting game, while some people say that it's the power of his drives, some people say he has got the strength of a bull and some opine that it is his golf swing.

These people may be right, but then again they may not. Depends on how you look at it and what kind of golfer you are that would dictate what you will say. But in reality most of us already know the answer but tend to say different things because we can't really admit to the fact that Tiger Woods has the best darn swing in the world today.

The reason why I say it's the best is because of his natural ability to use his dexterity, flexibility and strength in one fluid motion to create his tour winning golf swings. Knowing this let's break down the famous Tiger Woods swing in to 4 key elements of the full swing motion.

These are 4 key elements of Tiger Woods' swing :

1. At the very start of his swing. Woods uses his amazing flexibility to reach far back (notice that when he extends his swing backwards it reaches farther than most golfers on any tour, this is one of the main advantages of Woods ), extending his range of motion at the same time as keeping his rotary torso in a straight line over his right leg.

Image by Richard Carter via Flickr

2. Once he releases the swing forward, Woods has already built up maximum clubhead velocity. This is achieved by rapidly turning his torso and pressing his right leg forward toward the swing. Throughout the full motion of the swing, Woods wastes little or no energy by keeping a straight line above the ball. Aside from the velocity and the force from his shoulders and arms, he uses his upper body strength in the swing as he pushes forward.

3. Woods drives the clubhead through the ball (maximum clubhead-ball contact is needed so the chance of slicing or chopping the ball is avoided), using the force from his hips, shoulders and wrists he concentrates impact force and makes a very high initial ball speed. Within 2 feet off the tee and the club the ball is now traveling at speeds that reaches around 180 miles per hour - this ball speed is up to 20 mph faster than the average tour pro.

4. One of the most over looked elements and factors in the golf swing is a good follow through. A follow through is the after impact motion that makes a full motion achieve fluidity. By this time, Woods allows the club head's momentum to lengthen his follow-through (this means that the force of the swing is kept at the maximum level from the start of the swing, any decrease in speed will make the follow through rough) far around his back, completing a long and smooth clubhead rotation.

And that is the secret to the championship winning golf swing of Tiger Woods.

There are multiple ways to grip a golf club. Although it sounds overwhelming, it truly is not. Once you begin to experiment you will eliminate four or five of them instantly. I will give you a guide to get you started on the right track.



Interlocking Grip

For starters, if you have small hands and fingers, the interlocking grip will probably work best for you. It helps you wrap your fingers and palm around the grip handle.



Overlapping Grip

If you have large hands, the overlapping grip will probably work best for you.

The above-mentioned grips are the proper way to hold a club- however there are three different ways you can apply them to the golf club.

You can grip the golf club in a weak position (no knuckles of the left hand showing), neutral (one knuckle of the left hand showing) or the strong position (2 or 3 knuckles of the left hand showing).

Weak Position

Weak Position - no knuckles of the left hand showing

Neutral Position

Neutral Position - one knuckle of the left hand showing

Strong Position

Strong Position - 2 or 3 knuckles of the left hand showing

During your experimenting, if the golf ball has a tendency to curve to the right, you will want to move BOTH hands to the right (strong). When you move the hands make sure you do it slowly. If the golf ball has a tendency to curve to the left, you will want to move BOTH hands slowly to the left (weak). Now, if the golf ball is flying without a curve, you have the correct grip for you. DO NOT EXPERIMENT WITH ANY OTHER GRIP.