Use The Terrain to your Advantage
Sean Richardson, Teaching Professional, Mayfair Lakes Golf & CC
The Challenge: The pin is below you, about 40 feet away. There is 20 feet of light rough between you and the edge of the green. The terrain slopes slightly from right-to-left.

In this case you have two options: 1 - hit a lofted shot that carries onto the green and stops quickly. 2 - hit a low shot that uses the rough to slow the ball down and takes advantage of the slope to deflect the ball toward the pin. While it is possible to accomplish the task with either shot, I suggest using the second option, since you can get the job done with a much shorter (less risky) swing.

Steps for success:

1 - Choose a club that will produce the correct trajectory and amount of roll when it lands. In this case, I have chosen a nine iron, since it will roll about twice as far as it carries, meaning I can land 1/3 of the way and roll the remaining two thirds to the hole.

2 - Hold slightly lower on the grip. This enables you to stand closer to the ball, allowing your swing to follow a straighter line.

3 - Position the ball in the middle of your stance so that the shaft of your club will be straight between your arms. Align the clubface square to your target line.

4 - Move the club by rocking your shoulders. The shaft of the club should remain between your arms (which keeps the clubface square) from start to finish. Your lower body should remain still throughout the swing motion.

Practice both the lob shot and the bump and run in situations like this one. The more options you have when you are playing, the more successful you will be.

Don’t forget your wrist rite! The most important piece of equipment you will ever buy!
Visit our web site. www.kikogolf.com

Tags: The Golf Swing by kikod
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Hitting the Draw
Richard Leake, Associate Professional, Morgan Creek Golf Course
A draw is the shot known to right handed golfers as the one that travels slightly from right to left, and for a left handed golfer the opposite. To hit a draw there are a few key points that one must remember. To make this as easy as possible we will assume that we are trying to teach a right handed golfer.

To promote the ball turning from right to left one key point is to strengthen our grip by moving our left hand more to the right on the golf club so we can see three knuckles, and for our right hand we must place it on the club so that it feels like it is under the club. The next step is to close our stance by aiming our feet slightly right of the target yet keeping our hips and shoulders aimed at the flag. Good tilt in the shoulders and hips will promote a draw making sure your right side is slightly lower. The last thing needed to hit a draw is an inside to out swing path.

This being a swing that contacts the inside half of the ball and following through to a high finish. With proper release of the club the ball will start out to the right drawing back slightly to the target. Maintaining good balance is essential as poor balance rarely results in good shots. If you find many shots are going right and not coming back it is because you are transferring your weight too quickly. You must leave equal weight on both feet feeling like your head is going slightly backwards at impact.

You can also use your wrist rite to make sure every shot is a perfect shot!

Visit our web site www.kikogolf.com

Tags: The Golf Swing by kikod
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Stance and swing 6 tips for better golf
By Sean Dominey

The perfect stroke is that elusive thing we all strive for, asleep in our beds at night with a smile on our faces as we dream of that drive going straight and true down the middle of the fairway or that putt dropping in to the cup at the end of its smooth 50 yard run.

Unfortunately reality bites when we get to the tee and make our shot, those niggling worries start in the back of out minds, are my feet too far apart, is my eye on the ball, is my chin too far in is my back swing too shallow, this indecision and doubt might be throwing you off your game, so take a little time and read through these tips to improving your swing and stance, if you do not learn anything at least you now know you were doing the right things all along and that doubt can be lifted and replaced by the dream stroke you always had inside of you.

1. Is your stance too narrow? A narrow stance can cause balance problems for a golfer, it also causes an unstable base and this can lead to more balance problems and so the vicious cycle continues. To solve the problem of poor balance you should take a slightly wider stance should be used, your toes should be slightly splayed out. The lead foot should be splayed out around 30 degrees, make these adjustments and you break the cycle, your base is stabilised and your balance restored.

2. When the club addresses the ball are your hands too close to your body? This can limit the arc of the club and can cause it to be too narrow, to improve your arc you should reach a little more this produces a wider arc and improves distance.

3. Avoid swaying during the back swing, if you have a tendency to sway backwards this can seriously impair your swing, this is because you are not turning about your pivot point and the weight becomes too much for your rear leg, you should feel free to move your weight to your rear leg but only to the inside, you should concentrate more on turning than swaying to solve this problem.

4. One thing that will loose you power when you are playing golf is keeping your club too close to your body on take away, the way to correct this problem and get that power back is to extend your arms away from your body, like you were going to hand your club to somebody on your right had side, you must maintain your balance throughout.

5. To get a wider arc and more power you need to ensure that your right elbow stays out from your body, too many golfers keep the elbow too close into their body and this causes a loss of power and severely limits your game.

6. Concentrate on not moving your weight on to your front foot during the back swing, this can cause a reverse pivot, that will lead to a loss of power, you must ensure that you move your weight to your back leg but not so much that you risk a loss of balance.

Author’s Bio

I have been involved with teaching and playing golf for over 20 years and share some helpful tips a at golf golfdust training I hope you find it useful.

Visit our web site and see how you can instantly improve your golf game. www.kikogolf.com

Tags: GENERAL GOLF TOPICS, The Golf Swing by kikod
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