Right Arm Drill for more Power

Monday, December 9, 2013

If you want to increase your distance, you might want to try right arm drill.

 

Here is how to do it.

1. Put your left hand on your waist

2. Grip 9-iron with your right hand only

3. Take 20 practice swings

 

By swinging with your right hand only, you will feel the weight of the clubhead. In golf swing, I think it's very important to feel the weight of the clubhead during the swing.

 

So this drill will teach you about that.

 

Also, you will learn how to use your right arm during the swing.

 

After taking 20 practice swings, hit some ball with your right hand.

 

 

You don't have to hit it far. Just focus on hitting in the middle of the clubface.

 

After you get used to it, start trying to hit the ball to the left or right of the target. You will learn more about your swing path using this drill.

Read more: http://www.golfsamurai.net/power/right-arm-drill.htm

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How to Use the Weighted Golf Club

The weighted golf clubs are used by lots of pros and amateurs to train their muscles.

 

But there are few rules when using a weighted club. If you see use it incorrectly, you won't get any results.

 

1. Swing slowly

Tiger Woods said when he swings a weighted club, he tries to swing slowly. He always warm up his muscle before swinging it.

 

You should do the same thing.

 

2. Swing at something

You won't actually hit the ball with a weight club. However, you need to swing at something that represents the ball.

 

Pick a spot or piece of grass or something and swing your club.

 

Always be aware of your ball position because without the ball position in mind, you will waste your time.

 

The swing path changes dramatically depending on your ball position.

 

3. Spine Angle and Right Shoulder

When you swing a weighted club, try to set up as usual. You want to lower your right shoulder at address. This will tilt your spine little away from the target.

 

I see lots of amateurs swinging their weighted clubs with higher right shoulder at address. This will cause them to swing from outside to in.

 

So the more you practice with this type of faulty set up, the more you will tend to hit a slice with outside in swing.

Read more: http://www.golfsamurai.net/power/how-to-swing-weighted-club.htm

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Bubba Watson's Secret Hitting over 310 Yards

Bubba Watson is known as one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour. Since he became to the PGA Tour, he had finished 1st or 2nd in driving distance. At 2010 Sony Open, he hit it 416 yards.

 

When he needs extra distance off the tee, he changes his set-up.

 

His secret to extra distance off the tee is to flare out his front foot toward target address.

 

By flaring out his front foot more than usual, he said he could get through the ball faster and add extra clubhead speed.

 

But when he does this, his hands and arms tend to stuck behind his body on the downswing. So he has to make sure not to do that and keep his arms and hands in front of his body.

 

When your hands get stuck behind your body on the downswing, the tendency is to block the shot to the right.

 

So you need to make sure you start down slowly.

 

When Bubba Watson's friends at home see that his toe goes out, they know he is going to hit one big.

 

Flaring your front toe a bit more is also a good way to fix your slice as well. Especially, if you are hitting push-slice, flaring your front toe will help you turn the clubface over through impact.

 

But if you do it too much, you will tend to hit lots of duck hooks.

 

Lifting his Heel and Hovering the Driver

I'd like to point out more 2 more things that Bubba Watson does to hit it long.

-Lifting his front heel on thebackswing

-Hovering his driver off the ground at address

 

When you watch his backswing, he has tremendous amount of shoulder turn. He does this by lifting his front heel.

 

There are lots of teachers who think you should keep your front heel on the ground during the backswing.

 

But I think unless you have a very flexible body, you should let your front heel you have a very flexible body, you should let your front heel rise as you swing back for more shoulder turn and better weight shift.

 

When Bubba Watson hits his driver, he tees the ball high and hovers his driver off the ground at address.

 

I think if you tee it up high, hovering your driver behind your ball rather than resting your driver on the ground will make things much easier.

 

Especially, if you tee it up so that more than 1/2 of the ball is above the driver head, you might want to hover the driver head off the ground.

Read more: http://www.golfsamurai.net/power/bubba-watson-secret.htm

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How to Regain or Increase Your Clubhead Speed

Some players have problems increasing their clubhead speed. No matter how hard they try to swing a golf club, they feel like they are still losing some clubhead speed.

 

When you see them swing, you don't notice any changes in their golf swing.

 

So what's the problem?

 

Often times, their problem is the grip pressure. When you feel like you can't create enough clubhead speed, you might want to try to loosen your grip pressure.

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the tightest, you want to try 5.

 

When You Grip it too Tightly

When you watch the pitcher throwing a fastball, you'll notice that he has soft hands and arms.

 

But in golf, it's sometimes hard to loosen the grip pressure because by loosening the grip, you may feel like you will curve the ball even more.

 

Try to loosen your grip and take a practice swing. You will notice that your clubhead speed increases, but you will also feel like it's hard to manipulate your clubhead during the swing if you grip it lightly.

 

So when you actually hit a shot with a light grip pressure, you might hit a bigger slice or a hook because you have less chance of manipulating your clubhead or swing plane.

 

When that happens, keep your light grip pressure for faster clubhead speed but change your grip so that you don't have to manipulate your swing plane or clubhead during the swing.

 

When players see the ball slicing or hooking, most of them try to fix it by changing their swing. You may fix your ball flight this way but at the same time, lose the clubhead speed.

 

I've seen players losing as much as 50 yards on their drives by trying to change their swing. They quickly regained their distance when I ask them to change their grip instead of their swing.

 

Start with a Half Swing

You may find it hard loosen your grip pressure at first. So start with a half swing (with a light grip) and try to hit the ball on sweet spot.

 

If you hit it solid with a half swing, increase your clubhead speed and work your way up to a full swing.

 

If you don't hit it solid, don't increase your clubhead speed.

 

Catch the ball solid first with a slower swing speed and a light grip pressure and then increase your swing speed.

 

If you do this everytime you go to the driving range, you'll notice the big change in your clubhead speed.

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How to Train Golf Muscles: Lower Body

Long hitters have strong lower body without exception. They have strong quadriceps muscles (upper leg muscle) to hit the ball a long way.

 

The muscles of the lower body have an important role in your golf swing. You can try hitting the balls with your driver while sitting on the chair. You'll quickly notice that you can't hit it very far at all like that.

 

Squat Exercise

The easiest way to train quadriceps muscles is to do squat exercise. Squat is called the king of exercises. In just short period of time, you can effectively train your quadriceps muscle.

 

How to do Squats

In this exercise, we won't use any weight.

1. Spread your feet to shoulder-width

2. Bend from your hips

3. Flex your knees a bit

4. Put your hands behind your back or at your waist

5. Drop your body until your thighs reach parallel with the ground. You don't want to drop down any deeper than that.

6. As you bend your knees, you want to make sure your knees don't go past your toes (make sure your knees don't move too much forward.)

7. Do this for 30 reps

 

When doing squats, your form is very important to prevent injury. Before you drop down, make sure you bend your upper body from your hips and flex your knees a bit.

 

This will prevent you from moving your knees too far forward as you lower your body.

 

Also, you want to make sure you do this slowly. The speed is not the goal for this exercise.

 

If you feel like you can do more reps, do 2 sets every day.

 

You can alson grab 2 or 3 golf clubs, put them behind your back against your shoulders and do the same squats.

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The Easy Way to Gain More Distance off the Tee

Every golfer wants more distance off the tee. Even pros are seeking to get more distance.

 

To increase your distance with your driver or irons, what do you need to do?

 

Nowadays, pros spend lots of time training themselves. Some players dramatically increased their distance by training. Annika Sorenstam was one of them.

 

During her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, her average driving distance off the tee was 229 yards. But 5 years later, her average distance increased up to 270 yards. That's a lot!

 

Hoe did she do that?

 

 The main reason why she increased such amount of distance was training. During the tournament week, she spent 1 hour per day in the gym. During the non-tournament week, she spent 4 to 5 hours training.

 

But I can't tell you to do the same thing.

 

Training 4 to 5 hours per day isn't realistic for amateurs who have jobs and don't have enough time or money.

 

That is to spend 5 minutes every day for stretching every day, you'll be able to turn your body further back during the golf swing.

 

There are players over 50 years old who did stretching every day and dramatically increased their driving distance.

 

Here are basic keys when stretching.

 

1. Never stretch to the point of pain.

2. Warm up before you stretch. The good time to do stretching is after taking a shower.

3. Understand that everyone has different degrees of flexibility. You don't have to try too hard.

4. Do it slowly.

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How can a Female Golfer Increase Driving Distance

Female golfers often have problems with lack of distance off the tee with a driver or from the fairway with an iron.

 

Especially female golfers who didn't play other sports have problems increasing their distance.

 

But there are ways to increase your distance even though you don't have much power or athletic ability.

 

Here are the lists of things you can do to increase your distance.

 

1. Use ten-finger grip

The ten-finger is also called baseball grip. I recommend this grip to female golfers who lack distance or anybody who wants more power and control.

 

Because all the fingers are on the grip, you can add more power to your swing. Some teachers might say that you will lose control of your ball flight.

 

But by using and testing all 3 types of grip (ten-ginger, overlap and interlock grip) for many years, I've found that the ten-finger grip gives me more power and control.

 

Although I'm not against overlap or interlocking grip, I think that it's more natural to put all fingers when you grab a stick. You probably won't overlap your pinkie or lace fingers when you grab a stick.

 

So I think you should do the same thing.

 

But like I said from time to time, the correct grip differs from person to person. But if you feel like you are lucking distance, it is worth trying ten-finger grip.

 

2. Flare out your toes

When taking your address, make sure to flare out your toes. Both toes should be turned out about 30 degrees.

 

If you flare out your right toe, it can make your backswing bigger. If you flare out your left toe, it makes it easier to turn through impact.

 

One of the easy ways to increase distance is to make your backsing bigger. So you might want to make sure your right toe is turned out enough to support your bigger backswing.

 

3. Lift your heel off the ground on the backswing.

For female golfers who lack distance, I recommend lifting their left heel off the ground as they start their backswing.

 

This would really help shift your weight to your back foot.

 

However, you want to turn not slide. Some golfer slide and fail to reserve their power on backswing.

 

So make sure you lift your left heel and turn right as you make your backswing.

 

As you start your downswing, you want to replace your left heel back on the ground to shift you weight back to your front foot.

 

If you can do this correctly, you will easily add more distance to your driver and irons.

 

 Read more: http://www.golfsamurai.net/power/female-golfer-distance.htm

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How to Add More Backspin on the Ball

When playing fast greens, you need to put more backspin on the ball to make it stop quickly on the green.

 

It might look cool to spin it back, but too much backspin can harm your score more often. So I try not to put too much backspin on the ball. I want the ball to skip once and stop.

 

It's hard to predict how the ball with lots of backspin will react when it hits the green.

 

However, there might be a situation where you want to add much more spin than normal.

 

Here is how you can more backspin on the ball.

 

The backspin is created with the grooves designed on the clubface. As the clubface compresses the ball, it created backspin as the ball slides through the grooves on the clubface.

 

Also, when you hit a ball with a descending blow, the ball is pressed against the turn for a fraction of a second. This will add more spin on the ball as well.

 

So you should hit it with a slight descending blow for more backspin.

 

Use golf ball with softer covers if you want to add extra spin on the ball as well.

 

So to add more backspin,

1. Hit the ball before the lowest point of swing arc

2. Take a shallow divot. Don't hit down on the ball

3. Use softer ball

4. Use more lofted clubs

 

If you need more backspin, hit a fade. A fade shot will add more backspin on the ball. The ball will roll to the right once it hits the green. So you need to adjust your aim.

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How to Hit the Ball Low or High

There are situations where you nedd to hit the shot high to get over the trees or hit it lower against the headwind.

 

Hitting it Lower

Hitting against the headwind, you want to keep the ball lower than normal.

When I absolutely have to hit it straight to avoid hazards on both side, I try to swing easy and hit it lower. The shot will have less side spin and tend to stay straight.

 

To hit it lower, you have two options.

1. Put the ball back in your stance and hit it lower

2. Take more clubs and swing easy

 

I almost always prefer to use the second method. By taking more clubs, you will automatically hit it lower. I try to swing easy to control distance and the spin I put on the ball.

 

The harder you swing the club, the more side spin or backspin you put on the ball.

 

So when absolutely have to keep the ball in the fairway, swing easy with your driver. The ball will go lower that usual and roll more.

 

When you do so, try not to lower your tee. If you lower your tee, you will want to hit down on it and end up adding more backspin. You don't want that.

 

Some players prefer first method. They put the ball back in the stance and keep their finish low to the ground. You can hit it lower that way.

 

With a 7-iron, put the ball in the middle of the stance. Take a half swing and limit your finish.

 

But by placing the ball back into your stance, it becomes easier to push the shots. So be careful.

 

Hitting it higher

You have a few options to hit the ball higher.

1. Put the ball little more toward left

2. Open your clubface at address and hit a fade

3. Swing harder to add more backspin on the ball

 

To hit it higher, some tour pros put the ball little more forward in their stance than usual.

 

I use this method once in a while. But keep in mind that by placing your ball little bit more forward, you will tend to pull it.

 

When I have to get over the trees, I usually open my clubface at address and hit the intentional slice or the fade.

 

I aim left of the target and aim my clubface at the target. I swing along my feet and try to keep my face from rotating through impact.

 

Also, I put the ball little more toward to promote a slice.

 

The last method is very simple. If you swing harder, you will increase your clubhead speed and the amount of your backspin. So you will be able to hit it little higher than normal.

 

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How Phil Mickelson Hits a fade or a Draw

There are more than a few ways to hit a fade and a draw. Today, I like to show you how Phil Mickelson hits his draw or fade.

 

His method is for advanced players.

 

Hitting a Fade

To hit a fade, he moves his ball slightly forward his stance. And on the downsing, he tries to slide a bit toward the target through impact.

 

He tries to take more upright finish than normal or a fade.

 

Notice that he hits fade by changing his ball position. Usually, players try to change the face angle at address. But he doesn't.

 

By positioning your ball little more forward, you will be able to swing from outside to in on the downswing. But if you do this square face, you might hit a pull.

 

To avoid that, he tries to slide a little toward the target.

 

Hitting a Draw

To hit a draw, he moves the ball back an inch or two for middle iron. With a driver, He put the ball back little more.

 

By moving the ball back, you will be able to swing from inside to out.

 

Again, he doesn't change the face angle at address.

 

Personally, I prefer to aim my clubface at the target and align my body parallel to the aim line.

 

I think it's the simplest method of all.

 

But it depends on a player. It's important to find what suit you the most.

 

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What is the Ideal Ball Flight?

Ben Horgan was known for hitting a fade. But when Mark O'meara who won 2 majors asked Ben Horgan what is the ideal ball flight, Horgan told him that the draw from right to left is the ideal ball flight.

 

Horgan said that because the clubhead comes from inside the target line, and after it hits the ball, it goes back inside again, the correct shot would be a slight draw.

 

I agree with him. Because we stand on the side of the ball, the draw should be a natural shot.

 

Of course, I'm not saying you shouldn't hit a fade. But if you can't hit a draw which is more natural for golfers, you won't be able to hit a fade with precise control.

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How Lie Angle Affects Your Ball Fight

The lie angle is the angle between the shaft and the sole of the clubhead. It can be either flat, correct or upright for you.

 

The correct lie angle is determined by many factors such as height, arm length, leg lenth, grip, posture and so on.

 

When It's Too Flat

If the lie angle is too flat for you, you will tend to hit a push or push slice. If you start to avoid push or blocking the shot to the right, you will tend to hit a pull slice or a pull.

 

If you are much taller than average person, you might want to adjust your clubs more upright.

 

If the club is too flat, the toe will touch the ground first causing the clubface open a bit.

 

When It's Too Upright

If the lie angle is too upright for you, you will tend to close the face as you strike the ball.

 

So you will tend to hit lots of hooks or pulls.

 

If you are much shorter that average person, you might want to have your clubs checked at a golf store.

 

Toe Down Effect

When you swing a golf club, the toe of the club drops a little through impact because of the centrifugal force. This is called the toe down effect.

 

So when you sole the club address, the toe of the club should be little off the ground to compensate for the toe down effect.

 

If you sole your club with the toe of the club touching the ground, you will hit the toe first as you strike the ball causing the clubface to open a bit.

 

So make sure when you sole the club, the toe is little off the ground at address. This will let you hit the ball more solid.

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Take One Side out of Play

Lee Trevino didn't have a teacher when he grew up. He taught himself. He later said by practicing more than his opponents, he gained confidence.

 

He was known as a fade hitter. At the tournament, he had the strategy to eliminate one side out of play.

 

He was hitting the ball from left to right. So he tried to eliminate left side on every shot except for special accasions.

 

When there was a hazard on the left side, he aimed at that hazard and made the ball come back to the center of the fairway.

 

He made sure that he never hit it left. If you use his strategy, you will be able to use the whole fairway by aiming left and curving the ball back to the center.

 

Even if you curved it too much, you will still be in the fairway. But if you aim at the center of the fairway and curved it too much, you will miss the fairway.

 

Trevino did the same thing with his putter.

 

He aimed at the left side of the cup and made sure he never pull the putt left. It was ok to push the putt a little for him. So he would either putt it straight or push it a little, but he would never pull it.

 

In golf, you won't hit the perfect shot so often. In that sense, golf is the game eliminating your mistakes.

 

By taking one side out of play, you will have much better chances to eliminate unnecessary mistakes.

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The Chip Shot with a Hook Spin

Payne Stewart used to hit the chip shots with a hook spin on the ball. It might be difficult shot to hit the beginner. But if you are advanced players, you might want to give it a try.

 

Here is how you can hit this shot.

1. Position your ball little back of the center

2. Take a narrow stance

3. Put most of your weight on your left side throughout the swing

4. Point the target to the target but aim your body right of target

5. Swing the clubhead along your feet.

 

Why did Payne Stewart put a hook spin on the ball?

The chip shot will roll much smoother than regular chip shot or bump and run shot once it hits the green.

 

With regular chip shots, the ball will have some backspin on the ball. The backspin sometimes makes distance control more difficult.

 

That's why putter is much easier to get the ball closer to the hole when the situation allows you.

 

By if there is a grass between the ball and the green, you are going to have to hit it over it with a chip shot.

 

By putting hook spin on the ball, you can reduce the backspin, and you might find it easier to control distance with this type of shot.

 

Once you get used it, it's not a hard shot at all.

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Breathing: How to Breathe during the Golf Swing

You may wonder how you should breathe during the golf swing. Should you breathe before you start your takeaway or breathe out?

 

I usually don't pay too much attention to my breathing at least during the golf swing. But before I start my swing, I try to keep a deep breath.

 

 There is a trick to taking a deep breath, I will explain about that at the end of this page.

 

Generally speaking, golfers usually breath out at address, breathe in during the backswing and breathe out again in downswing.

 

Some tour pros say they try to breathe out very slowly during the downswing and the follow through.

 

I don't think you need to conciously control your breathing during your golf swing. But if you feel like you get too tense during the swing, you might want to experiment with your breathing.

 

Like I said at the beginning of this page, I don't focus on my breathing during the swing. But I try to take a deep breath before I pull the trigger.

 

When you take a deep breath, you should try to breathe out or breathe in.

 

Marathon runners do the same thing. They first breathe out in order to take more oxygen. So you should do the same.

 

Relax and Turn more on Backswing

There is another way to change your breathing and improve your backswing.

 

Masaru Miyazato who is the teacher and father of Ai Miyazato (She was the top-ranked golfer in the Women's World Golf Rankings for multiple times) suggested the following.

 

He said that if you breathe in and start your swing, your chest will expand like a balloon and get in the way of smooth turning of your upper body.

 

I don't think this will work for every player, but it might be worth experimenting.

 

Try Tom Watson's Way

Tom Watson is one of the most famous golfers of all time.

He once talked about the breathing technique that can help you relieve tension.

 

His breathing technique came from the clay shooting. He said that the shooters' breathing tehnique can help golfers as well.

 

Here is how you can do it.

1. Take a deep breath

2. Let it out

3. Take another deep breath

4. Let half of it out and hold

5. Start your golf swing

 

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How to Hit Straight Shot on Demand

Hitting the straight shot is one of the most difficult shots to hit in golf. In fact, most pros normally don't hit the dead straight shots. They have either a tiny draw or a tiny fade even if the shot looks straight.

So I don't recommend you try to hit the dead straight shots on every shot you hit.

But there are times when you have to put the ball in the fairway like on the holes that have very tight fairways. When you have to hit the ball, what do you have to do?

Let me show you the interesting data. The researchers measured the shots hit by the LPGA pro. She hit the shot with her 7-iron.

With a full shot, she hit it 150 yards. Next, she hit it with her 7-iron, but this time, she limited her follow through.

The researchers measured the shot. The result was the same. She was hitting it 150 yards with the limited follow through.

So what did it change?

The answer is her ball flight. She was hitting it lower than her full swing.

By limiting the follow through, you will be able to keep the ball lower and hit it straighter than your normal shots.

You can use this technique when hitting your driver as well. You don't have to change anything. Just limit your follow through, and you will be able to hit the straighter shots.

Because you don't have to change your backswing, you won't lose any distance. The ball will fly lower and rolls more once it hits the ground.

Next time you must hit the fairway, try this technique.

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4 Keys that Rory McIlory Cares About

Rory McIlory won the U.S. Open at the age of 22 with a record score of 16-under-par on his way to an eight-shot victory.

 

He is only 5-feet-10, but he is known as a long hitter with the average driving distance over 300 yards.

 

Here are 4 keys that Rory McIlory works on how he trains, a swing thought he uses under pressure, how he works on his swing and more.

 

1. Training

He has always been long for his size since he started to play golf. But he also works in the gym.

In the gym, he mostly works on core stability and flexibility. These training helped him hit the ball even further.

 

2. What He Learned on Tour

On tour, he quickly found that nearly all the players swing the club with no fear. Rory McIlory said that he is a grip-it-and-rip-it guy and thinks about nothing other that the target.

Some amateurs try to think about technique during the swing, but I don't recommend doing that because you tend to hesitate during the swing.

If you must think about somethingg, keep it down to 1 swing thought because we are not good at thinking about 2 things at the same thing.

 

3. Under Pressure

Under pressure, he uses one simple swing thought. He picks a spot a foot in front of the ball and tries to hit the ball over it.

This simple swing thought takes his mind off the outcome of the shot and keep him in the present.

 

4. 3 Keys to His Golf Swing

His coach and he have 3 check points. They are:

- Posture

- Alignment

- Ball Position

He also works on his golf swing, but never does that without checking those 3 keys first.

His coach said that under windy conditions, he sometimes lets his ball creep back in his stance a bit. He also has a tendency to narrow his stance when hitting his short irons. I think it's important to understand your tendencies and check them from time to time.

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How to Hit the Stinger Shot

A stinger shot is the shot that flies low to the ground and runs a lot once it hits the ground.

The advantage of a stinger is that it can bore into the wind, it runs a lot once it hits the ground and it can also give you more control without sacrificing the distance.

If you can master the technique, it will become your strong weapon on the course.

 

How Tiger Woods Hits it

Tiger Woods is known to use a stinger a lot. He hits this shot with his 3 wood.

Here is how he does it with a 3 wood.

1. Set up in a slightly narrower stance than normal.

2. Use your normal ball position.

For Tiger, he sets his ball just inside his left heel for his 3 wood and his driver.

3. Swing thought

His swing thought is to keep his hands leading the club well pass impact. He does this by softening his elbows.

He also takes a little divot. This is a sign that his hands led the club at impact.

Also, try to point your club to the ground as long as possible.

He usually hits a draw with this shot. A draw will help you hit the ball low to the ground. Tiger sometimes hits a fade with a stinger, but that's really difficult shot to hit. So I won't show you how to hit on this page.

 

The Easy Way to Hit it

Tiger's technique is for advanced players and is easier to push the shot for most players.

So here is the easy way to hit a stinger.

 

1. Align your feet and shoulders to the right of the target

We are going to hit a draw with this shot. So I want you to pick an aim line little right for your target and set yourself up parallel to the aim line.

 

2. Aim your clubface to the target

This is important. Set your body parallel to the aim line (right of the target), but set your clubface to the target.

Make sure to close your clubface at address and then re-grip your club. Don't grip it and then close the face. If you do this, the clubface will open at impact.

So close the clubface and then re-grip the club,

 

3. Ball position

Set your ball one or two ball-length right to your normal position.

 

4. Backswing

Stop when your grip reaches the height of your right ear.

 

5. Downswing through follow through

The important key to the downswing is not to rush the swing.

Because you set your ball right of your normal position, your hands will naturally lead your clubhead.

I don't want you to take a big follow through. Try to keep your club low the ground after impact. Also, try to limit your follow through.

You don't need a lot of clubhead speed to hit this shot. In fact, you want to slow it down a bit because it will reduce the amount of the backspin and give you more roll.

One master this shot, it will become your great weapon. I can hit this shot almost as fas as my driver if the fairways are hard.

So try it. You might need some practice, but I'm sure you will love to see the ball roll like crazy on the fairway.

 

 

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2 Ways to Hit the Ball Low

I often hit the ball low because of two reasons.

1. You can control the shots better with low shots.

2. Even if the shots curved to the right or left, it doesn't curve as much as the normal shots.

With your long irons or hybrid clubs, you might want to hit it higher to stop the ball on the green. But with your middle irons or short irons, you can take an advantage of low shots to control the ball.

 

2 Methods of Hitting This Shot

There are 2 methods of hitting the ball low. The easy way to hit it is to take more clubs and hit it easy.

For example, instead of using 8-iron, take your 6-iron and hit it using your half swing. By reducing your swing speed with a half swing, you can also reduce the amount of the backspin and keep the trajectory low.

And of course, the less loft will keep the ball low as well.

You can use this shot in the situation such as:

- Against the wind

- Hitting to the pin that is cut on the back of the green

- Hitting to the narrow green

 

I use this often because with this method, I don't have to change my swing, address positions, grip or ball position.

Some players grip down on the grip to keep the ball lower, but if you do this, it could affect the lie angle of your iron. So I usually don't grip down on the club unless I'm hitting special type of shots that requires me to grip the club short.

However, if you don't wan to hook the ball, gripping down on the club may be effective technique for you.

 

Advance Way to Hit it Low

Here is the technique that is also used by pros. It's more advanced technique, it's worth trying.

Here is how:

1. Position the ball 1 ball-length to the right

2. With the short irons, put a bit more weight on your front foot.

3. Try to point the back of your left hand toward the target through impact.

 

To hit the ball low, you need to position the ball a bit more to the right than normal. But if you put the ball more to the right, it can make it easier to turn the clubface over through impact.

This causes hooks.

So the key is to prevent your clubface from turning over too much. There are many ways to do that.

One of the ways to do this is to try to point the back of your left hand or the logo of your glove toward the target at impact through impact.

If the back of your left hand faces toward the ground impact, you will hit hooks. So make sure that the back of your left hand faces toward the target.

Another way is to limit your follow through. Try to stop the follow through when your hands reach waist height.

You may not be able to stop here, but that's ok. In that case, stop when your hands reach your shoulder height.

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Visualization Technique in Golf

In golf like other sports, lots of top players use visualization technique to hit shots.

Jack Nicklaus used this technique before every shot. He said, "going to the movie." He was seeing the shot in his mind before he actually hit it.

Tiger Woods uses this technique as well.

 

The Interesting Data

Before we talk about how you can use the visualization teechnique and how you do it, I want to show you the interesting data.

This research was done in USA. The researchers divided the subjects who never played basketball in 3 groups. The 1st group was asked to practice free throws for an hour per day for 2 weeks.

The 2nd group did nothing. The 3rd group was asked to use visualization technique everyday. They were shooting free throws in their mind.

The results were interesting.

The 1st group improved 41% after 2 weeks. The 2nd group didn't improve. But the 3rd group improved 40%!

Even through the 3rd group didn't actually shot free throws during the 2 weeks. They improved as much as the 1st group.

That's just shows you how powerful the visualizaion technique is.

Now, let's see how you can apply it to your golf game.

 

See the Shots You Want Before You Hit Them

Every time you step up to the ball, try to see the shot you want to hit in your mind, then hit it.

Tiger Woos pictures the shot he wants to hit during his pre-shot routine. He sees its trajectory, where the ball will land and stop.

You might think this technique is for low-handicap players, but I think whatever your handicap is, you will benefit from it.

When you try to visualize the shot, try not to visualize unrealistic shots because your mind knows that's unreal and you won't get the good results.

You can also use this technique on putting.

 

Visualize: Hit the Putt

Visualization is also important in putting. When you feel like you can't make putts, you are zisualizing the wrong image in your mind.

Instead of thinking about missing putts, try to visualize the ball going into the cup before you actually hit your putt.

Here is an interesting visualization training that you can do at home or at work.

 

For instance, before touching the mouse, I want to visualize the following:

1. How does it feel when you touch it?

2. Is it warm or cold?

3. Is it hard or soft?

 

After forming the mental picture, touch your mouse.

You can do this with other things as well. The key is to visualize first before actually touching it.

If you do ths regularly, you'll be good at visualizing when you really need to make putts.

 

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