How-To-Eliminate-Fat-Shots-In-Chipping!

Congratulations to the European Ryder Cup Team! After many hours of rain soaked delays, the conclusion to the 38′th Ryder Cup was nothing but spectacular to watch.  Even though the American team lost 141/2 to 131/2 at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales.  The singles matches produced great all-around play from the top 24 players in the world. Unfortunately for Hunter Mahan it came down to the final match,  between himself and Graeme McDowell.

After their tee shots on 17, and both missing the green, it came down to who could get their second shots closest to the hole, on this 196 yard par 3. Hunter Mahan was deemed by the officials to go first. His golf ball just lying off in front of the green with no obstacles in his way.  He had a 70ft uphill chip shot.  Perfect time to play the bump and run chip shot. What happens next was horrifying,  but is very common amongst us high handicappers.  He CHOKED! His club dug into the ground behind his ball,  creating a chunk or fat chip shot.

Needing to hole out to have any chance of winning his  match, his third shot comes up short, and Mahan conceded McDowell’s 4-foot par putt, ending the match in Europe’s favor.  The 28-year old was visibly upset afterward. He blamed himself for the U.S. loss of the Ryder Cup to Europe.  His teammates thought otherwise. “We are all proud to be part of this close knit team,” said Phil Michelson.  Steve Stricker said, “all of the U.S. players were to blame for this close loss, not Mahan.”  As a team The Americans can look back on this loss,  and they can all think about a shot here or there that could have turned the entire match around.  If you asked most golfers on both sides, they would tell you they wouldn’t want to be in that pressure situation that Mahan was facing.  Today, he had to face the demons of the Ryder Cup,  because for the 7′th time in its history it came down to the final match.  Hunter Mahan performed like a true champion out there today, the entire golfing event was truly awesome to watch as a spectator.  Not many tour players would be even willing to do that.

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Be Prepared! Change Your Golf Swing Mechanics In Order To Combat The Cold!

With October fast approaching at the end of this week,we are now heading into cooler air, and away from the summertime heat. You need to become more prepared for the inclement weather conditions ahead. Cold air is much heavier, therefore it creates more resistance to the flight of the golf ball. Colder, heavier winds and rains naturally will encourage golfers to swing harder, which will create more mishit errors. The first thing to go in your golf swing mechanics is your timing, as you try to speed up or overswing in order to compensate for the lack of distance. The second thing that disappears is your feelings in your hands, especially around the greens. That’s why you have more blading or thin shots.

I’m personally not a good cold air golfer, nor do I like playing in the bone chilling rain. I know a few golfers who can play in these awful weather conditions, and most of the time they do quite well in winning the club’s pot money for the day. Tom Watson loved playing in adverse conditions. He knew that half the field was virtually eliminated before they even started playing. It’s no fun being wet and trying to beat the dreaded cold. It’s psychological warfare, and if your a good mudder it’s to your advantage. Most golfers don’t want to be there, and more likely their going to be rattled by the adverse conditions.

Being cold it will automatically cause you to be swinging out of position through impact. A very common error is that the right shoulder is way too high through the hitting area. This action allows your right side to dominate at the most inappropriate time. This will force the club head to approach the golf ball into a steep undesirable angle. This result in golf is known as coming over the top.

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How Do You Hit Low Trajectory Shots Using Your Same Golf Swing Mechanics?

Impact Is The Moment Of Truth In Golf! For every golfer who plays this great game,  the one question is going to be different.  Do you like to hit it high or low trajectory shots? If you hit low trajectory shots it doesn’t mean your golf swing mechanics are faulty.  It also doesn’t mean your de-lofting the golf club from a 7 iron to a 5 iron for example, that’s a myth.  Hitting a low trajectory shot, just like hitting it high takes practicing and a lot more creativity. It’s similar to the bump and run around the greens, but only with longer distances.

98% of my golf shots are hit  low with a lot of overspin,  for both the irons and woods.  The public links golf course  I play on before they put the watering system in, used to bake during the summer time.  The fairways used to get real hard to the point where they used to crack.  Your golf balls would get extra rolls anywhere from 50 to 100 yards, depending upon the trajectory of your golfball  flight.  I was known in my golf club as the “King of the low ball.”  Now it has all changed,  and your lucky to get an extra 10 yards of roll.  However,  I haven’t changed and probally never will. I enjoy hitting the low line drives,  I feel,  I have more control and consistency.  There is less room for error,  because you don’t have to worry about those lousy high bounces or wind conditions.

Golf is difficult enough when playing conditions are benign.  Toss in a little wind,  and shots of any distance can become problematic.  Personally,  I like tough conditions,  because they separate shotmakers from the rest of the field,  and they allow me to use my creativity.  I developed my low ball to give me an edge during those type of conditions.  Hitting these shots begins with a single thought in mind,  “keep it down and under control.”

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The Bump And Run Is A Great Short Game Strategy Around The Greens!

The art of the bump and run,  and I’m not talking about the defensive plays off the line of scrimmage in football in order to contain the wide receivers. The bump and run is my most favorite short game technique from  60 yards in.  I will use it 90% of the time,  the other 10% I’ll use the flop shot.  However, there are many instances where you have to use the lob wedge in order to get over obstacles or hitting into elevated greens. As the old saying goes, “there are many ways to get the golf ball to the hole.”

I feel the bump and run is the easiest shot to hit,  because your allowing the golf ball to do the work almost entirely on the ground. It’s a finesse shot with a lot of creativity. You don’t have to worry about getting  the golf ball into the air, which can cause a lot of mishits due to bad swing flaws or judgment errors.  There’s very little room for error in regards to having the correct golf swing when allowing the golf ball to run a certain distance.  Your hitting the golf ball much like if you were using  your same putting stroke.  If you’ve ever watched the British Open, you’ve certainly seen the bump and run in action.

Most golfers know that specific types of golf shots around the green is most effective and consistent than others. High handicappers I see insist on using the lofted or lob wedges when they aren’t called for. These lofted shots are so much more difficult to control than the good old bump and run.

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How Can You Develop More Power By Changing Your Golf Swing Mechanics?

How can you develop more power into your golf swing? This is probally the single most asked questioned. Golf swing power is the result of three specific factors.  Most of us will go to great lengths to do whatever it takes to get that power into our drives off the tee.  On any given hole a good drive splitting the fairway with extra distance,  can certainly improve your golf scores by shortening up the yardage for your next shot into the greens.

The most important factor is your understanding about your own golf swing mechanics.  The simplest way of understanding the physics of swinging a golf club is to understand the movement of a pendulum.  The basic physics on how to power the golf swing starts with the clubshaft movement from the top position into the downwards  swing towards the golf ball through the impact area.  There are two basic golf swing styles that need to be consistent and under control.  They are the conservative single plane and  all out aggressive power hitting swing.  A golfer needs to choose which one best suits his style of game.  A golfer needs to learn how to use the appropriate powering mechanics for his selected swing style,  and he should never mix-and-match fundamental swing concepts that are incompatible with each other.

It is essential for a golfer to work on the mechanics of their golf swing.  In order to improve your golf swing never take practicing as something you have to do.  Make it a desire that you want to become a better golfer, and this is the only way you can improve.  If it weren’t important why would all these tour players have swing coaches that work with them on a consistent basis out on the practice range? The golf swing is such a finite,  mechanically complexive movement, that requires constant work to keep it highly efficient and in balance.

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Can You Play Better Golf By Learning Your Golf Swing Mechanics?

Do You Know How To Hit Quality Pitch Shots In Golf?

I consider myself a good short game player. However, this year due to lack of playing time and not practicing the way I’m used to. I’ve really struggled on the golf course in trying to break 90. I’m not comfortable or use to playing this kind of erratic golf, where for the last few years my golf scores were in the low to mid 80′s. A lot of my troubles have been around the greens. I could score low, because the majority of times I could get up and down in two. This year I’ve seen more two and three putt greens, because my pitches have left me on the greens with longer putts. Chipping and Pitching well is paramount to how well your going to play. Most of it’s in your head. Confidence is built on having a good solid golfing  mindset in knowing that you can trust your ability to hit quality pitch shots around the green.

For most amateur  golfers hitting the golf ball a certain distance isn’t the problem.  Where most golfers experience trouble is around the greens. That would include chipping, pitching and putting. A lot of mistakes from tee to green can be made up for in improving your golf scores by getting down in two from 40 yards in. The pitch shots is that little shot golfers use to make birdies possible and salvage pars. This shot does get a lot of use during a round of golf, because our accuracy beyond 150 yards will diminish when trying to hit to a specific target on the green.

You do need to learn too become a consistently good short game player, because no one can consistently hit every green in regulation.  It requires you to have finesse, or a touch of feeling in your hands, wrists and head (brain). It requires a correct golf mindset when trying to place the golf ball close to the hole. Practicing your short game with the wedge should take almost equal amount of time spent,  as you would with your driver or any other club in your bag. When mastering the standard wedge shot there are other variations such as the bump and run, punch, cut and lob wedges to practice.

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Do You Know How To Improve Your Golf Swing?

Golf can be the most exhilarating and yet the most frustrating game you can ever play.  Week after week we drag ourselves out to the golf course only to try and improve upon our previous weeks score.  Consistency will always be the biggest problem for any golfer. Professional golfers will spend years working on their craft trying to find the perfect golf swing. For most of us,  it would be nice to just say hit the golf ball.  It never works that way. The one question that always comes up is  “How to Improve Your Golf Swing?”

There is literally thousands of how to books,  dvd’s  and magazines on the subject matter of golf swing mechanics. Myself,  I’m a visual type person, that needs to be shown what to do. You can’t correct your golf swing by just reading. You also need to take an idea with you to the driving range, and practice on those certain swing mechanics. However, there is a negative to practicing on your own swing mechanics if it leads you back to your old bad swing faults. Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent with your golfing memory. That’s why for any serious golfer who wants to improve upon their golf swing,  you must practice not only with the correct swing techniques learned from reading and watching,  but with tools to help you build a solid golf foundation.

That is why training aids is so important in the learning process.   I’m a firm believer in the Medicus System, because I know it helped me out a lot. I used to have a terrible slicing problem, and then I would find myself over-compensating into duck hooks or smothering the golf ball. If you are having trouble with your golf swing this is a must tool that you need in order to improve your golf swing.  The Medicus will give you instant feedback about what is wrong with your golf swing and how to fix the bad swing flaws. By using the Medicus it does straighten out your golf swing, to the point that you’ll find that you have more control and accuracy.

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Will Using The Single Plane Swing Improve Your Golf Swing?

The golf swing is the most over analyzed athletic motion in all of sports.  Millions of dollars every year is spent developing new technologies in an attempt to improve your golf swing deficiencies.  For years, information on the single plane swing has been scarcely available to the general public’s  knowledge. If you’ve been playing golf long enough, you’ve realized that there is something missing in your own golf swing.  Some days it’s good, but most days it’s really bad. You go from one swing tip to the next, but nothing ever works for more than a couple of golf rounds.

With the single plane you don’t just use your arms and shoulders in regards to using the same swing plane. It’s a golf swing where the mind and body work  together on the same swing plane.  It’s the easiest golf swing to memorize. It not only will fix any bad swing faults you might have, but you’ll find that you have more accuracy and control over any golf shot you ever wanted to master.  It’s also a proven fact that using this swing by older golfers, there is a lot less pulled muscles and strains.  Senior golfers can now enjoy playing a lot longer into their twilight years.

It’s not a secret that with age comes a decline in physical capabilities especially in your golf flexibility. The biggest and most noticeable changes is in the backswing.  This can rob you of massive yards off the tee, and the golf swing flaws will occur due to lack of flexibility in your hips. The end results caused by bad swing flaws is hooking or slicing of the golf ball.  For most golfers this will happen to all of us during a golf round where we have no idea what happened or where the bad swing flaw started?   Swinging from over the top is a downswing movement with the upper body getting way  ahead of the lower body.  During my last two golf rounds this smothering of tee shots has happened too  me as well, because physically I’ve not been working on my conditioning and strengthening workout programs.

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Improve Golf Swing By Correcting Your Slicing Problem!

The worst feeling in the world is when your playing your best golf ever, and you come to one of the easiest holes on the golf course.  With the opportunity to improve your golf score even better than what you have up until now.  So, you reach back with everything you can muster in strength,  and you knock the golf ball out of bounds with a terrible hook or slice. What happened? Your upset and frustrated after this hit,  and your ready to let loose on anyone who opens their mouth. The only problem,  it was your own damn fault. You went for that extra distance by over-swinging, and it cost you most likely of  breaking your best golf  score ever.

It really is sad to see someone go from being happy go-lucky on the first tee to total frustration by the 18′th tee.  The game of golf becomes an instrument of torture instead of one of pleasure.  Slicing your shots can cause a lot of  embarrassment and frustration.  If your a consistent slicer, does that frustrate you at all? Doesn’t that stimulate you to put forth a greater effort to figure out how to cure your slice? The whole idea of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results that only gets worse. You know what they call that don’t you. Insanity. It becomes a major swing problem that does effect the majority of golfers at some point. Yet it’s something that can be fixed fairly easily.  Don’t let your slice bring you down with frustration.  Learn how to improve  golf swing, and eliminate the unwanted hooks and slices.

I’m going to talk about how to improve golf swing by correcting the  slicing problem in this post, because I still have tendencies to do this during an average golf round. I haven’t been able to draw or hook the golf ball on a consistent basis for a very long time now. The reason I can’t play a draw, is because I have a broken left wrist that never healed properly. When finishing with your follow through you need to feel your wrists rolling to the left. I don’t have that mobility. I have more of a trained cut-fade shot today which is good, because I can count on this consistently bringing the golf ball from left to right-middle of the fairway. Jack Nicklaus, played with a cut-fade shot, and it didn’t hurt him with regards to accuracy and distance.

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Golf Tips On Chipping!

Chipping may not be the most glamorous part of the golf game, but the short game is so important. It’s the key component to shooting lower scores. It’s amazing how a good chip shot can quickly turn a possible disaster into a respectable hole. Chipping close to the hole and tapping in a putt can also maintain a positive attitude towards your round and keep you in a good frame of mind for the next hole.

My golf tips to chipping is keep it as simple as possible. Find one good club that you can believe in every time you use it. Confidence is as important as technique when approaching a golf shot, especially when it comes to the short game. I personally prefer the bump and run shot, and will use my putter off the green as often as I can. (Texas Wedge.) The room for error is diminished greatly, because there is no air time. It’s the easiest club to control. You need to know your stroke and distance to the hole when making this golf shot. There are other various situations on the golf course that you need to know when it comes to the short game. When practicing focus on different shot making skills that you will encounter on the golf course Such as, chipping, flopping, knockdown, lobbing, pitching, punch, putting, sand, trouble and utility shots.

Chipping covers the shots you will play where the ball carries no more than about 10-15 yards around the green. It is a shot that has a short amount of air time and spends most of the time on the ground running towards the golf hole. According to U.S.G.A. statistics, 80 percent of the strokes golfers lose to par are determined by their play within 100 yards of the green. So, why is it the least amount of time practicing, not devoted to improving around the green?

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Does Having The Correct Golf Swing Mechanics In Place Make It Easier For Strategizing On The Golf Course?

Have you ever played on a golf course that you knew nothing about? I’m sure you have during one golf round or another. That happened to me yesterday. We were playing on a very difficult tightly laid out golf course. It commanded several different shot variations.  It had elevated greens,  many combinations of sidehill and downhill lies.  All kinds of obstacles to carry or shoot over. You can tell by my descriptions,  I didn’t have a very good day playing.  I shot at least 10 strokes higher then I should have.  Most of my troubles wasn’t knowing the golf course, and yanking my driver out of the golf bag on every hole. (Dumb!)

My focus or golf mindset was to get the ball out there on the fairway far enough to eliminate the pressure on my second shot. This is the wrong way to strategize when trying to play within yourself.  You do need  a game plan to know when to attack or be conservative when approaching each hole.  Golf course management is gained through knowledge of each hole and what to expect.  Not knowing the golf course.  What I should have done was visualize in a pre-shot routine before addressing the golf ball,  the intended target of where to place the golf ball on the fairway. This can be done by standing behind the golf ball and looking for the safest places to hit to. By looking at your scorecard, the layout of the golf course is usually pictured there, or at the  hole sign next to the tee block.

Your aiming  for the fairway,  because landing a golf ball there eliminates the chances of a bad lie, and it gives you the best angle to approach the green. When you reach your drive you need to study your lie for a minute, and analysis what you want to do with your next shot.  If you don’t think that you can reach the green with your next shot, it’s often a safer play to lay up. This means playing a controlled shot that’s deliberately aimed short of the green, rather than hitting the golf ball as hard as you can and hoping for the best.

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How To Improve Your Golf Swing Using The Iron Byron Swing Machine!

If  you’re having trouble with accuracy and consistency then you might want to step off the golf course, and head for the nearest driving range to get some practice time in on your golf swing.  Since you’re probably on your own practicing,  unless you decide to take a golf lesson from your local certified professional golf instructor .

The secret to improve your golf swing is to figure out where you might be going wrong and then practice until you’ve corrected that bad swing fault.  You want to make all of the necessary changes that are affecting your golf swing more consistent, and develop a golf mindset that will give you a repeatable golf swing that you can take out onto the golf course with you.

Are you a perfectionist when it comes to practicing? Do you spend a lot of money on new golf equipment looking for that Holy Grail of Golf?  Do you spend countless hours reading everything about golf in books, watching a bunch of videos, tried every tip and training aid you can get your hands on?  Spent countless hours searching for the perfect golf swing, or trying to learn the proper golf swing mechanics? How about trying to cure your golf slice or fix any other swing flaw? If this is you, then the Swing Machine Golf will give you a new lease on your golfing life!

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Keep Your Golf Mindset Focused Away From Three Putting!

What will you be doing? In the upcoming months it will be winter time in N.Y. state region again, and many snow birds will be traveling down south to get out of the cold miserable snow.  So, enjoy the weather now by playing as much as you can.  It’s never to early to start making plans for your next golf vacation trip. That is why you need to be prepared for anything unusual that might happen.

The way the economy is today,  you can find many favorable golf packages.   Resort areas are hungry for visitors and they’re  willing to make deals that combines staying arrangements with tee time packages.  Many golf courses are reporting open tee times on their daily starting sheets.

Personally I’ve been to Hilton Head once and want to get back there. The entire southeast coast is the golfing  mecca for any challenges to your golf  game that you want to test.  Warning!  Bring plenty of golf balls with you because there is nothing but water and sand.

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Do You Have The Correct Golf Mindset For Putting? Part 2

Many golfers don’t realize that almost 50% of your golf scores occurs from your putting. Almost 70% if you include pitching and chipping around the greens. Yet this is the least practiced!

Everyone is focused on having the latest in driver technology. They feel if they can pound their drives around 240 yards or more that everything else will fall into place in shooting par golf. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Your best golfers have that magic around the greens, its what separates themselves from the high handicappers.

Let me ask you, “how is your putting?” If your leaving a lot of putts around the hole, but their not falling in. It means that there is one additional stroke you have to add onto your score. Over 18 holes it can mean the difference between breaking your low score or having a frustrating round.

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Do You Fear Making Mistakes When Your Golf Mindset Isn’t Correct When Putting?

If you fear making big mistakes in playing golf then your not alone. Tiger Woods and other great superstars who stand to win big paychecks from making or losing on short putts have this same fear as a weekend golfer.  Taking the safe route has its own costs and rewards.

I had just made a great third shot to within 2ft of the hole on the 15′th hole, it was a par 5 on my home golf course.  I made the no brainer putt to put me two under par for the round. It dawned on me waiting on the 16′th tee that I must be leading the club championship,  and I had the greatest opportunity of my lifetime to break 70,  which I’ve never done before.  It was a realization moment that woke me up out of my dream state that I was in.

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How Can You Improve Your Golf Swing With Workout Programs?

Senior golfers of all ages are now into yoga and golf fitness programs. With age comes a decline in both flexibility and strength. When the body declines, the golf swing goes right along with it. The end result is a big loss in yardage, more mishits, and ballooning scores. Your golf mindset also changes in both attitude and frustration. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from older golfers who I’m playing with, that are just about ready to quit the game. However, there is hope for all golfers who are ready to change and improve your golf swing.

Do you want to discover the secret to creating more power and consistency in your golf swing? By participating in workouts that’s  geared towards a specific golf program that focuses on strength and flexibility. You don’t have to accept that with age, your body does decline. No way! The golfers who are working out, are the same ones who are enjoying the game again in later life, and taking all of the money in the birdie pool.  It’s amazing to see golfers in this age bracket dramatically improve their driving distance, accuracy and scores.

What is a golf workout? The golf swing is an awkward movement that puts a tremendous amount of stress on the body. To prevent injuries and improve your golf swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible. The golf swing is a rotational movement, with your body being in different sequential golf positions.  Since the golf swing is primarily an axial rotational movement, wouldn’t it make sense to focus on rotational strength and flexibility? That is improving your turning ability related to range of motion and  speed. Therefore, anything involving twisting with resistance such as a medicine ball, a dumbbell, or even a weighted club would work. You need to have a  resistance to take your body beyond where it normally goes.

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Are You Aware That You Need To Change Your Golf Swing Mechanics As You Get Older?

The hot weather has hit our area in New York, and yesterday I found myself having trouble hitting a quality golf shot from about the 14′th hole on. At one point I started feeling light headed, and in need of water. What should you carry in your golf bag to help compensate for the heat? You should carry a bottle of water, a light sandwich, peanut butter crackers or candy bar. Anything that can give you a quick burst of sugar energy. You should stay away from drinking beer or any type of alcohol, because this will dehydrate you faster.

For the first ten holes, I was hitting solid golf shots  and my golf swing mechanics was where they should be. However, as the golf round continued on, I noticed there was a loss of power in my golf swing. Which meant the golf course started playing longer, and my golf scores were getting worse by at least a stroke or two per hole. So, what causes this to happen?

Golf is a mindset game vs. being physical.  Your golfing mind  needs to be sharpened periodically.  It’s very easy to lose focus when your golfing round isn’t going the way you believe it should.  That’s why you start feeling drained mentally, because your self-confidence is shakened. At the end of 18 holes, you feel like you just played 36 holes instead. That’s how I felt yesterday.

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