Golf Fundamentals Information Blog

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Alignment is one of 4 basics of golf that you have to get master along with the grip, stance and posture. Once you have the basics right you will improve rapidly. If the basics are wrong you will find it difficult to improve. If you are not aligned properly, obviously the ball will not go where you want it to. As you can imagine if you are just slightly out in your alignment at the ball, how far will you be out when it has traveled over 200 yards. Good alignment is not difficult and here are some tips to help.

1. Take up a position behind the ball. This is your first step to achieve the right alignment. Stand directly behind the ball and make sure that you keep it between you and your target. Holding the club with the grip, pick a point on the ground that is about three feet from the ball in line with the target you are aiming for. Memorize that spot, whether it is a divot mark, small weed, broken tee peg, because you are going to use it as a reference to address the ball and to aim your club face later on.

2. Walk up to the ball and place the club head square to spot 3 feet in front of you that you had chosen earlier. Take your stance with your body square to your designated target line. Position your feet in accordance to the club, which you intend to use for the shot. The main idea here is to make sure that the lines corresponding to the tips of your toes, your knees, your hips, and your shoulders should all be in parallel to the target line. Your proper alignment, coupled with good swing fundamentals, should be enough to make the ball go straight into the hole with every shot.

3. You can make a quick check by placing your club across your shoulders and checking that they are on the target line. You can do the same with the toes of your shoes to make sure everything is square.

4. Always keep a check on your alignment, even the pros can fall into the trap of thinking they are lined up correctly when in reality they are way out.

Good basics lead to a good golf game. Don’t practice bad habits.

By: Ian Donaldson

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Driving the golf ball farther is largely a function of maximizing clubhead speed through impact. If you want to add 25 yards or more to your drives, one of the most effective swing thoughts you can have is to focus on a wider swing rather than a taller swing.

The Ceiling-to-Floor Golf Swing

Imagine swinging your driver in a room of your house (no furniture, of course!). Most golfers waste club head speed with a swing that is too vertical – that is, their swing is focused on going from the floor to the ceiling to the floor again. The vertical golf swing is narrow and very up-and-down, and its shape resembles a “V.”

Because the clubhead cannot go through the ball into the floor, the vertical swing has to expend swing speed through a cast from the top or an early release. Whenever either of these symptoms happens, the clubhead reaches its maximum velocity before it ever contacts the golf ball.

The vertical golf swing can be caused by a number of factors:

Picking the club up with the hands to start the backswing; hinging the wrists too early in the backswing; not turning the shoulders; reverse weight shift or spine angle change; or lack of a pivot or weight shift on the backswing.

Fundamentally, however, the vertical golf swing usually has a “hit the ball” focus rather than a “swing to the target” focus. It may be possible to address any swing flaws simply by changing the focus of your golf swing rather than trying to fix the swing flaws directly, because if the underlying focus does not change, the symptomatic flaws are not likely to go away.

The Wall-to-Wall Golf Swing

Contrast the vertical golf swing with the wide golf swing. With a wider golf swing the golfer feels like they are trying to reach the walls of the room rather than the ceiling and floor.

The golfer who tries to reach the walls of the room develops a “U” shaped swing rather than a “V” shaped swing. The U shape allows the club to accelerate through the ball all the way to the target, maximizing clubhead speed through the ball and therefore increasing distance.

With a focus on a wall-to-wall swing many swing “flaws” fix themselves. A U-shaped swing will help the shoulders turn, reduce or eliminate early wrist hinge, make the weight shift feel more comfortable and natural, and eliminate spine angle changes.

Address the Fundamental Issue: Swing to the Target, Not the Ball

More fundamentally, however, the wall-to-wall swing can help the golfer change the focus of the swing from hitting the ball to swinging to the target. It is far more effective to make a swing change by addressing the fundamental underlying cause than it is to treat the symptoms.

One caveat: the wall-to-wall swing requires maintaining your leverage position and making a good pivot. The hips should not move laterally. It is not unusual when changing to a wider swing to see golfers sway (the lateral hip motion) rather than turn. Therefore when making the change to a wall-to-wall swing, consider working in tandem on both the wider arc and a better, more leveraged pivot. Switch back and forth every 3 to 5 practice shots between the wider arc swing and the leveraged pivot swing until the two work seamlessly together.

A Wider Golf Swing Means More Distance

Widening your swing arc can improve your driving distance 25 to 50 yards. Thinking “wall-to-wall” rather than “ceiling-to-floor” will produce a “U” shaped golf swing that will increase clubhead speed through the ball and simultaneously address many common swing flaws. When done in tandem with an efficient, leveraged pivot, the result will be effortless power and consistently longer drives.

By: Eric M Jones

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If you are a beginner at the game of golf, then you would surely want to know certain techniques that can help you with your golf swing. However, you should be a bit wary here. You have to remember that not all techniques that you can come across with will really help you. After all, golfers have their own personal style when it comes to the golf swing. Thus, a particular golf swing technique that works for one golfer just may not work for another golfer. Still, it would really help to know a handful of these techniques.

One of the very first things that you should learn about your golf swing is to make sure there is nothing in your swing path that can impede or disrupt your swing. Check if there is anything that can prove to be an obstruction here. Are there any stones or leaves that can disrupt your swing? You should also check your ball’s immediate path and the target area as well. These areas should be free of obstruction as well. This way, you get to have a different point of view visualizing just how aligned your shot is. And you can do this even before you address your shot.

The next technique that you should keep in mind is your grip. You have to make sure to grip your club correctly. There is actually a bit of balance to keep here, in the sense that you should maintain a grip that is neither too tight or too loose. Do not be discouraged if you find yourself having to adjust your grip a few times. Just make sure you achieve a comfortable and relaxed grip. Keep your thumb atop your grip, and have it pointed at club’s toe.

As for the type of grip, there are actually some golfers who like the interlocking grip. In this grip, your index and smallest fingers of both hands should be interlocked. This lets you achieve a more comfortable grip here while you can still maintain control. The interlocking grip prevents you from gripping your club too tightly, for this would just result to you making a sliced drive.

By: Sean Bailey

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