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Golf Swing Secrets – Part 3

Chapter 4 – Stance

The way you stand can make a big difference on the way you hit the ball. It can also dictate the distance of your shot. Your Swing means everything. The way you have your feet, you hold the club, where you are looking, and even how you shift your body weight all come into play when you hit the ball.

Your stance is very important when you intend to hit the ball. There are three different stances you should know which include square, open, and closed. One thing to consider is that it is usually best to use the same stance as the same clubface alignment.

For example, if you are using an open stance then you should use an open clubface. Never move the clubface angle in a position that contradicts the way you are standing.

When you use a stance that is square to the ball’s target line you will influence the club to swing down the line a little bit longer than when you would if your stance is open or closed.

If you were to measure where most golfers were actually aiming you would see the square stance is most commonly used. An open or closed stance will actually influence the shoulders to follow through properly.
An open stance should be used when you are moving the ball from left to right. When you use an open stance you will align your stance slightly open. Your shoulders will swing the club across the ball. The wider your legs are the more open your stance is. The more open, the wider your shoulders will be also.

An open stance is a good solution for someone who tends to over swing on the ball. The curvature and the trajectory of your shot also depend on the amount you rotate the clubface when you address the ball. When you open the clubface you get a high trajectory but a shorter shot.

A closed stance is the best way to stand when you are moving the ball from right to left. That means your stance is slightly closed to the target line of the ball.

When your stance is closed your shoulders swing the club from the inside of your body. A closed stance is the best solution when you are trying to pick up distance on your swing. These shots will have less height but travel further.

The Best Posture

There are a few things you need to do in order to have good posture when you are preparing to hit the ball. You need to think about standing tall, bending, and your posture.

If you want to hit the ball well and get the distance you need to stand properly with perfect posture. If you do not have the perfect posture there will have to be some type of compensation in your swing if you want to deliver the ball on the right path.

You must have a perfectly flat back while you are standing. Flatten your back up against your iron and be sure it is flat. This will help with your posture.

When you hold the club and as you move you need to bend from your hips. Bend from the hips as you bring the club to the back and head. If you are someone who rounds their shoulders or maintains straight legs the club will not be able to remain in place.

You have go to flex your knees in an athletic looking position. Flex your knees into a position as if you were playing baseball waiting for someone to hit the ball to you in the field.

Now you have a flat back and your legs are flexed. The angle between your chest and your club should be at a 90 degree angle. Your belt and your club shaft should also be on the same plane. You can check your posture in a mirror if you are not sure if you have the right stance.

The Grip of Your Golf Club

There are three different types of grips when you hold a golf club. Not everyone uses the same grip. When you are using the proper grip on your golf club it will feel natural and very comfortable to you.

There are certain fundamentals that you should use in order to have the right golf grip. The different types of golf grips include the overlap, interlocking and the ten finger.

The overlap grip is the most common grip for most players. This grip became popular around the turn of the 20th century. This is also the most common grip taught by instructors for beginners also. The club is actually held in the fingers.

To use the overlap grip you will place your lay out your hand and lay the club in your fingers with your pinkie finger opened. The thumb will fit on the lead hand that is gripped around the club. The lead hand’s thumb will fit in the lifeline of the trailing hand. If you are a right handed golfer, your lead hand will be your left hand.

The interlocking grip is the next most common grip. This grip is popular with the professional golfers. This grip interlocks the hands together. There is risk involved with this grip because the stray could lead into the palms of the hands. This style of grip is preferred by most people who have weak forearms and wrists, small hands, and for beginners.

When you want to use the interlocking grip you will take the little finger on the trailing hand (if you are right handed, the trailing hand is your right hand) and intertwine it with the index finger of the left hand or the lead hand. The thumb of the lead hand will fit into the lifeline of the trailing or right hand.

The ten finger grip is also known as the baseball grip because you will hold the club as you would a baseball bat. This is most preferred among the golf instructors.

There are advantages to this type of grip. Instructors prefer this grip because it makes instruction easy. When learning the interlocking grip it can be confusing and cause problems. This is a basic grip and easy to do. Someone who experiences joint pain, arthritis, weak hands, and other problems may prefer this type of grip.

When you use the ten finger grip you will position your hands properly starting with the lead hand grip. Place your little finger against the index finger of the trailing hand. Both hands will grip the club tightly and be pushed up against one another.

Chapter 5 – Your Swing

There are many ingredients to a good swing. You can have great shoes, clubs, balls and these things will not matter if you have a bad swing. If you want to add distance to your shot you need to focus on your swing with each and every shot.

Many golfers spend years trying to perfect their swing. This can be a life long challenging objective. Focusing on a few simple things can help you minimize any chances of missing the ball, slicing the ball, and not getting the distance you are trying to achieve. This will result in less strokes it will take you to get the ball to the hole on every run.

The most important thing is your posture. Be sure you have excellent posture before you hit the ball. Align the club directly in front of you as you stand with your back perfectly straight. Your left arm should also be extended and straight. You should be comfortable in this stance.

It is important to remember this swing is designed for a right handed golfer. When a right handed golfer is in this stance and practicing this swing a left handed golfer can stand directly in front of this person and look as if you are standing in the mirror to achieve the exact same results.

You will lift your left shoulder while you are lowering your right shoulder. You will not put your weight on the right foot or lean to the right either. Be sure your stance remains straight upward as you lift and lower your shoulders vertically. While you are lowering the right shoulder, your right arm will be touching the lower right side of your stomach.

With this form you will be sure you are in the proper starting posture. This will also be almost the same posture when the club makes contact with the ball. Thinking about this stance helps you reduce any possibility of missing the ball or resulting in a poor strike.

The plane is the area that surrounds the body, chest and stomach. This is your next focus. You need to see three points; the handle, the spot where your arm is touching your stomach, and the far side of your right hip. These three points are the swing plane.

As you swing the club you will pull it back bending your right elbow slightly maintaining a straight left arm. The clubface will actually come up over your head. When you come down in your downswing this is where the force and the speed of the swing come into play and it is a very important factor of your swing.

Be sure you come down with force on the shot as you extend your right arm. Your weight will actually shift to your right leg. As you make contact with the ball you will follow through with the club.

Your left arm should be used to guide the swing also. Your torso will turn toward the fairway as you would be watching the ball in flight. In the follow through your right arm will be straight and your left arm will now be bent.

Practicing your swing is very important. There are many reasons your swing could be the cause of not enough distance. You don’t have to be hitting a ball to practice your swing.

However, you can spend hours at a driving range to practice your swing with the different types of clubs so you can get a good idea of the distance you can hit the ball with the different sizes of clubs.

Practice is everything when it comes to your swing. If you don’t know how to properly swing the club then you may never get it right.

Your hands should remain low in the follow through of your swing. The higher your hands are the more trajectory you will have in the ball. The importance is distance. You want the ball flight to remain low.

It is also important to be sure you are on the plane at the top of your swing. If you want to guarantee accuracy and a solid strike you must be on plane as you reach the club face at the top of your swing (above your head). Your right forearm should be parallel to your spine.

Your left wrist should be flat and your elbows and arms will form a tight triangle. When these factors are true you will also ensure you rotate your shoulders properly in the backswing.

Your body provides the power when you use it properly. You do not get your power from your arms. In order to use your body properly you will put the club behind the ball at address. Your body will be in a dead stop position.

You cannot move the ball in this position comfortably. When you use the club with your body you will find that you can get the ball in the air more consistently. On your downswing you will also turn fully.

You also need to gain control over the length of your swing if you want a solid contact with the ball. The left arm and the club shaft should have a 45 degree angle upon setup. This will start the swing with the wrists hinged halfway to the 90 degree angle you need to be at.
In the takeaway the hands will remain close to the ground while the club head moves upward quickly. The goal is to have the left thumb pointed down at the right shoulder as quickly as you can.

The way you can tell if you achieve this properly is by looking at your left arm. It should be parallel to the ground and the club shaft should be perpendicular to it also. You will hinge your wrists in the backswing and this will result in a consistent distance and direction on all of your iron shots no matter the distance.

Part of your swing needs to focus on the right elbow and the shoulder tilt. You need to be sure you do not have a faulty shoulder that causes you to slice the ball. The best position for the right elbow is inside the seam running down the right side of your shirt.

When your elbow remains in the seam of your shirt this will allow for the shoulders to turn level to your spine. This will make it easy to drop the club inside on the downswing which will result in maximum power and as much control as possible.

If you have a solid plane you will not slice the ball. This is a factor that can help avoid the slice anyway. At the point of contact you want to be sure you do not have an open face. The swing path often tends to come too much on the outside which can cause problems with your contact and direction also. Every golfer’s swing path must come from the inside.

When you are in your backswing it is important to remember not to stiffen your leg. If you do stiffen your back leg you will tilt out of balance. This will make it difficult to rebend your knee upon impact of the ball.

Many golfers refer to the angle you form in your back leg by the upper and lower leg the special K. The angle should be maintained from the moment of address to after the impact in order to maintain a level swing. The best way to practice the special K is to swing in the mirror and watch your position.

When you are in the setup of the special K your body will look like you are in a position that is ready for action. At the address you will flex your back knee while you swing. All your body has to do is rotate if you are prepared correctly. Your lower leg needs to be straight up and down. This special K position unlocks your hips so they can rotate properly.

Upon impact the arm that trails needs to snap straight to release the power into the ball. The back kneed will kick toward the target while remaining in the special K flex. After impact both of your arms will be straight and the club head will be below the hands. The butt of the club should be pointed toward the middle of the body.

You will also maintain the special K position in your backswing. This will allow your elbows to remain level near the top of the swing. This will result in keeping the clubface from twisting out of the position you need it to be in.

Using the special K position of the backswing will help the club shaft travel along the right swing path as you gradually gain power while the club ascends to the target.

Typical Problems with a Swing

There are many factors in a swing that can cause you to lose distance with your shot. These things can be easy to fix if you can identify what you are doing wrong with your swing. Here are many different things you might do with your swing that can be repaired.

A reverse pivot occurs when you turn your body too far and you do not shift the weight from your left front foot. This will force you to lunge behind the ball and actually scoop it. This is known as a fat shot. You might even pop the ball up on accident when you do this.

If you want to avoid a reverse pivot you will need to manage your weight properly when you swing the club. The most of your body mass needs to shift to your back foot during your backswing.

You must remember that shifting and sliding aren’t the same thing. A proper weight shift occurs when you turn. The body will turn away and the weight will naturally move to the back foot.

Turning is a big factor when it comes to power. As you turn and move shift the weight you are loading your back leg with torque. This puts you in the best position to come down hard and fast on the downswing for the unwind. When you turn properly you will unwind faster and hit the ball harder.

You can also lose distance in your shot when you have a late wrist cock. This can also result in swaying. This component of a swing is the most overlooked but is very common. An amateur golfer may think the less wrist cock the better accuracy but this is not the case.

When you cock your wrist properly it can actually help you rotate your body more effectively. This will also increase the speed to the ball. You must set your wrist earlier. Once your hands reach your waist in the swing they should be in the 90 degree angle. Your left arm will be straight while your right elbow still tucked into your side.

This will provide for an efficient rotation while you swing. The wrist cock also helps you prevent dipping your shoulder also. The proper wrist cock allows you to swing with a level shoulder plane.

When you release too early you can also lose power in your shot. Releasing your hands too early is a myth many amateur golfers thing is the right thing to do. You are at risk of losing your club too. The cause of this may be from an overactive right hand.

The best way to avoid a problem of releasing the club too quickly is to turn your body prior to releasing the hands. It is about turning the body.

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