Like the older golfer pictured to the left, this is a “false” shoulder turn. It may look like a should turn, but if I were a betting man, this golfer is struggling with distance. He has swayed off the ball, and picked up the club. He has not properly rotated behind the ball with a correct shoulder turn. Does this look like you? If so, we’re going to fix it, and give you another 30 yards on your drives.

One of the first issues if you’re struggling with your backswing, is tension. If you have muscle tension, it will be very difficult to make a proper, bigger golf backswing. This tension can be caused by nerves, or from stiff muscles. Most likely it is muscles that have become tight over the years, that are keeping you from making a complete backswing. All it takes is a simple golf backswing stretch to quickly improve your turn back away from the golf ball.

Another issue is like the picture. Sliding instead of rotating. Your first move away from the ball if you’re a slider is to ROTATE your right shoulder immediately behind you! This will get you turning and not sliding to the right. Once you feel the rotation in your core, you will be able to unwind with a much higher clubhead speed.

Tip:

To help avoid sliding, take a look at the picture to your left of Ben Hogan. I’m working on this myself. See the angle of his right leg? I drew a yellow line outside his right leg. If you slide and do not rotate, the angle from the ground up in your right leg will disappear.

It is nearly impossible to rotate back into a full shoulder turn, when you lose the angle in your right leg. Instead, I want you to picture you are going to turn into right hip socket, while rotating your upper body behind you.

Tip:

Do not pick up your hands when you start your golf swing takeaway! This is huge! I have been a culprit for my entire golfing career, and it has really killed my consistency. Picture that triangle between your shoulders, arms, hands and clubhead. The all move (rotate) back together. When you do it correctly, your hands will naturally (and slowly) come up, but that this is not a voluntary action. It just happens with the proper one piece takeaway.

So in closing, the name of the game in fixing your shoulder turn in your golf swing is ROTATION. And I mean start rotating earlier in your takeaway. If you are a slider, you need to rotate immediately. Hope this article helps.

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It seems like every time the proper golf grip is mentioned we always talk about the left hand. We rarely talk about the right hand. I am going to share with you some interesting things about the right hand that will be of value to you the next time you head out to the practice facility to hit some balls.

Learning how to grip a golf club correctly is something you have got to practice to get it right. Lets briefly cover the left hand and then we can move on to the role the right hand plays.

When you pick a golf club up it has to lay diagonally across the base of the left hand from the bottom of the index finger to the pad of the left hand. Listen carefully, as this is how to hold a golf club. After you wrap your hand around the club you should be able to see anywhere from no knuckles to three knuckles. The more knuckles you see the more the clubface will close in the downswing.

Now lets move on to the right hand. For starters the right hand has to sit under the left hand and both palms must face each other. Let me explain why. When you begin the backswing the right shoulder has to turn out of the way as the golf club swings back. As the golf club swings back on the arc the clubface will role open.

If you start your backswing with the right hand across from or on top of the left hand, the right shoulder will have a tendency to tilt and not turn as the club swings back. If the right shoulder tilts the clubhead will not swing back on an arc, it will swing outside the path and the clubface will not roll open.

If the right hand is not under the left it will get in the way of the backswing. If the right hand is under the club as the club begins to swing up in the backswing the club will stay on plane as the right wrist begins to fold. When the club begins to swing up if the right hand is on top of the left hand the right elbow will move away from the upper body creating the flying elbow effect.

I have a great drill you can practice at home. Address the golf ball with your right hand on your pant leg and then bring it up and under the shaft. The golf club has to swing around your body in the backswing so make sure you place the right hand is under the left at address.

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Even though Ernie is swinging an iron in this picture, his driver swing is no different. Beautiful tempo and rhythm. God gave him this, but you can emulate him and definitely see improvement in the speed of your swing, both on the backswing and definitely on the downswing.

One of the biggest mistakes in swinging your driver is “trying” to swing too fast. When you do this, you lose any tempo and timing you had before. This loss of timing will result in mishits and swing flaws; and even a lack of distance. So your intention of swinging faster (harder) will most likely backfire on you, as this will also create tension in your golf swing.

Some of the below golf tips you might have heard before, but have you consistently applied them? That is the key. You’ve got to do them regularly to see results.

Speed Up Your Golf Swing Takeaway

You might be thinking I’ve lost my marbles on this one, but hear me out! I know when I personally try to take the club back “low and slow”, I innately triple my speed coming down. I defeated my purpose of a good tempo golf swing. When I work on this normal speed golf swing takeaway technique my overall golf swing speed is slower, but not so slow I lose distance. I actually gain distance, because my golf swing sequence was better, so my ball striking improved. So next time you want to slow down your golf swing for better contact, don’t take the club away too slow.

Pause At The Top Of Your Golf Swing

This is a very common tip, but every time I do it on the course, I crush the ball! In my humble opinion, as amateurs we really screw it up in the transition. We get way too quick, and jerk the club down from the top, throwing our golf downswing sequence off, making it nearly impossible to come into impact in the correct position.

If you watch Ernie, Freddie Couples or any of the touring pros, none of them come down fast, with a jerk from the top. Their golf swing transition is smooth and slow. For us mere mortals, we almost need to think of stopping at the top, before we make our move down. It doesn’t actually happen, but it almost feels like that.

Once you’ve done your pause at the top, then don’t rush it. Let your body unwind in the proper sequence. When you do this, you come into the ball powerfully. It’s amazing when you think you’re slowing down your downswing, because in reality, you are just giving your body a chance to unwind properly. We do not ever want a HIT impulse coming down. EVER!

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If I had to pick one part of the setup that plays a major role in returning the clubface squarely to the back of the golf ball for a straighter and more consistent shot, I would have to go with the grip.

There is something profound about the term Golf Grip Fundamentals. The key to understanding the correct way to how to hold a golf club is to realize that there is NOT one correct way to grip it.

The grip is the only part of your body that touches the golf club and the grip is the only thing that controls the clubface. Whether the clubface returns to the back of the golf ball square, open or closed, all three of those impacts lie in the grip.

When you grip a golf club the first thing you have to remember is that if you grip it too much in the palm of your left hand (image to your left), the clubhead will have a difficult time releasing in the downswing and the clubhead speed will be reduced considerably.

When you grip a golf club too much in the fingers the opposite happens (second image below). The clubhead will close quicker in the downswing and the clubhead speed will be increase. That’s why there is a happy medium. Gripping the club at the base of your fingers and then it lies diagonally across to the bottom of the palm (see third image below).

After you grip the golf club take a peek at the top of the left hand. If cannot see any knuckles or the first knuckle that is referred to as a weak grip. If you can see two knuckles that is considered a neutral grip and if you can see three or four knuckles that is considered a strong grip.

If you grip the club weak, the clubface will not close as fast as a neutral or strong golf grip. All it takes is a bit of golf practice to get it right.

In closing let’s spend a couple of minutes on the right hand. The number one and ONLY rule of the right hand is to make sure both palms are facing each other after you grip the club.

The reason is twofold. First if insures that both hands are going to work together with the proper golf grip during the golf swing. The further to the right you turn your left hand to the top of the shaft, the further to the right you turn your right hand under the shaft.

The second reason they have to face each other is to make sure your right arm and right shoulder are in the correct position at address.

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Learning how to improve your golf swing is a multi-pronged approach in my opinion. To have a consistent golf swing is not just pounding golf balls (although that worked for Mr. Ben Hogan), or taking dozens of golf lessons. With the right approach, your improvement should be steady and quick, but I have to tell you, it will take some effort on your part. If golf were easy, the average handicap would be a heck of a lot lower than 20+ wouldn’t it?

The Physical Requirements Of Golf

Strength

Trying to swing a golf club at upwards of 100mph, but with good technique, takes a tremendous amount of strength in your core golf muscles, legs and even your shoulders. In my opinion the average, high handicap golfer is in poor physical condition. And yet they wonder why they aren’t hitting the ball as consistent or as far as they “think” they should. Hmmm???? Am I missing something here

If your muscles are weak specific to your golf swing they will not only rob you of distance, but it will be very hard to have any consistency as your muscles fatigue during the round. 2X2YN9UY6D2B Muscular fatigue is a huge culprit to mishits later in the round. Implementing exercises for golfers is an obvious must if you’re serious about improving your golf swing.

If you’re short on time, and your main goal is distance, you’ll want to focus on an increase of clubhead speed which involves either core golf rotational exercises, or using a golf swing weight on the end of your golf club.

Flexibility

We all know you’ve got to be flexibile to make a full shoulder turn in golf. How many times have you tried to make a BIG turn only to hit your tee shot shorter? That’s because you did not have the flexibility to make that big turn, so your muscles golf tight, which slows down clubhead speed.

All it takes is a targeted golf stretch or two, to really see an improvement in your ability to turn back fully, and to turn through aggressively, but in control. There are specific areas like your core and the back of your shoulder muscles that can quickly improve your golf swing range of motion. You can even do a rotational golf stretch right in your office.

Golf Swing Fundamentals

I’ve spoken about this many times on this blog, that your golf swing fundamentals, like the proper golf grip, posture, alignment and ball position are critical to improve your golf swing. Even learning how to cock your wrists in golf is so very important. Get any of these wrong and you will struggle indefinitely.

These fundamentals truly dictate your outcome. Take a look around this blog, and you’ll find many, many FREE golf tips to help you improve your golf swing.

Golf Practice

You can’t argue this one either. If you can practice smartly, and not just pound golf balls, then golf practice is a very important component to improving your golf swing. I would strongly recommend having a goal in mind before you get to the practice range. Break your time up into segments, for example, putting for 15 minutes; bunkers for 10 minutes; chipping and pitching for another 15 minutes; then full swing for another 15-30 minutes.

It all depends on how much time you have. If you are short on time, you should practice what’s most needed. So if you are three-putting everything, then putting should be the focus. If you’re slicing your tee shot you should work on your golf driver swing. You get the picture.

Another quick way to improve your golf swing is with our Free Golf Lessons Download!

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Take a look at this picture of Ben Hogan from his Book Five Lessons. I drew a blue line that you can barely see that shows how perfectly straight his left wrist is. This is the ideal impact position in golf. Notice the forward shaft lean at impact? His hands are ahead of the ball with maximum compression on that poor golf ball. Hogan was known as one of the best ball strikers of all time!

You cannot attain a flat left wrist if you flip at the ball through impact. This is one of the most common faults of high handicap golfers (and some low handicappers like me ) We’ve got to convince ourselves that we don’t have to help the ball get in the air. A descending blow gets the ball in the air with compression. To get this descending blow, we must have a bent right wrist, and a flat left wrist. Anything else is incorrect and will not produce the results you’re looking for.

Left Wrist Action Through Golf Swing

It took me years to figure out exactly what the hands and wrists do through the golf swing. I had the hardest time comprehending it until I read Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons book. On page 102 the below picture was an “awakening” for me. I could finally see exactly what the left hand especially does throughout the entire golf swing.

Notice how the left wrist NEVER bends throughout the whole golf swing! This is KEY to better ball striking. The left wrist in a sense rolls over through impact. It is not an intentional rolling as that would cause a big hook or pull to the left. But notice after impact how the back of the left hand is facing the ground. For most golfers it’s facing “up” because the hands were “flipped” and not rolled.

If you liked this golf tip regarding a flat left wrist at impact, you should get our FREE Golf Lessons Download!

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But was I was missing was this step by step golf swing approach that I could rely on day in and day out. I am still in search of it, but I think I can help you put one together that is a good starting point to better golf. It’s not rocket science, but you’ve got to stick with it to see results.

Correct Golf Grip

This cannot be ignored. Your grip is your ONLY connection to the club, so you’ve got to get it right! You MUST learn how to grip a golf club to make a consistent golf swing for 18 holes. Your grip should be come automatic, but it’s got to be right.

Golf Set Up (Posture, Spine Tilt, Alignment & Ball Position)

Here’s another critical component of a consistent golf swing. Your golf set up must be automatic like your grip. When you step into your shot, you must do it the same EVERY time, just like the pro’s do. If you need to develop a pre-shot routine… do it. Either way, you’ve got to get your posture, spine tilt, alignment and ball position correct every time you set up to the ball.

Golf Swing Takeaway

You don’t have to get weird about this, you just need to be consistent every time you make a swing. The proper golf swing takeaway is a simple, “one-piece” takeaway with no hands at all. No early wrist cock, or lifting of the club. Just a smooth takeaway with the entire upper body (core).

Top Of Backswing

If your takeaway was good, you should be at the top of your backswing in a good position. Your right arm holding a tray, with your right elbow pointing to the ground. Clubshaft should be parallel with your target line, with your right hand “under” and supporting the club.

Golf Downswing Sequence

This proper golf downswing sequence is so important to the success of your consistency and avoidance of mishits like slices, tops, thins, bladed, hooks and even pop ups. The most common error is to come down too fast with a “hit” instinct, which puts your upper body ahead of your lower body. This is disaster to your golf swing. You will most likely have an “over the top” and hit a slice, or at a minimum hit a block or push. Any of these will kill your score in a quick minute.

Golf Impact: The Key To The Kingdom

Your golf impact position is one of the most crucial issues in your golf swing. You’ve got to get to impact with a square clubface, or you risk hitting most of your shots offline, costing your strokes and distance. Impact is a dynamic, moving part of your swing, so it’s hard to break it down and work on a position. But, I know for me, I do that in front of a mirror, to see the difference between impact and address.

Your follow through to a balanced position on your lead foot and leg is a result of a solid, and correct golf swing sequence.

If you seen value in this article, then you’ll want to get our FREE 25 Golf Lessons right now!

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Causes Of A Fade Golf Swing

There are several different causes of a fade. The first, most obvious one is an open clubface at impact. This will push the ball out to the right 90% of the time. Another cause may be an upper body dive during your downswing, which will get you ahead of the ball at impact, with no time to square the face, again leaving it open through impact. An over the top golf swing can also create a fade, as your swing path is outside to in, imparting sidespin on your golf ball. One last possible issue is a lateral slide towards the target with your lower body. This is similar to the upper body dive, in which you get ahead of the golf ball at impact, leaving the clubface wide open.

Use A Stronger Golf Grip

Many times a fade is the result of a weaker golf grip. So for a right handed golfer, that means the left hand is rotated to far to the left if you’re looking straight down at your golf grip. Many times you will only see one knuckle on your left hand, which is considered a weak, if not atleast a neutral golf grip. The proper golf grip is shown in the picture below. Notice how my left hand is rotated more to the right if you were to be looking down at it? This is considered a stronger golf grip (but could be even stronger, but I wouldn’t recommend it), which will close the clubface more rapidly through impact. This closing of the face will correct your fade and produce a straight or draw golf shot.

Square Your Clubface At Address

This may sound like a “duh” tip, but I can tell you after 15 years of playing golf, and currently playing to a 7 handicap, I recently found out my face was open at address. It blew me away, but the very second I made the correction, my ball flight and compression was 100% improved. I was absolutely amazed at how solid I was hitting the ball after I fixed my square clubface at address. If you’ve never seen how it looks to have a square face, take a look at the picture I took recently.

Hit Inside Quarter Of Golf Ball

Here’s a golf tip I got that helped me visualize impact. I was told to focus on hitting the inside quarter of the golf ball. So if you’re looking down at the golf ball, and you break the ball into fourths; the bottom right fourth is the area you are aiming at hitting. This will encourage an inside to out swing which will promote a slight draw if you release the club. If you don’t release it, it will go right.

See the arrow? That is your visual to where you want your clubface to contact the ball.

I hope you enjoyed the above tips to help correct a fade in your golf swing. If you did, you’ll want to download our 25 Free Golf Lessons to help you even more!

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Golf Swing Fundamentals

The first golf tip for you is to get your golf swing fundamentals right. I know this might sound boring to you, but if I were a betting man, I would place a good wager you have some issues with either your grip; posture; stance; or even ball position. These can all wreak havoc on golf swing consistency. Learning how to grip a golf club correctly is HUGE to your golf swing success.

This is your ONLY connection to the club! Get it wrong and you have little chance to make solid contact with a square clubface. If I were to guess…70% of bad golf swings are because of an incorrect golf grip. The most common fault with the grip is too weak of a grip, causing a slice. Very rarely does a beginner have too strong of a grip.

Another fundamental that many beginner golfers have incorrectly is how far to stand from a golf ball. If you stand too close to the ball, you will have a very upright golf swing, which may encourage you to come down with an over the top golf swing, or a golf swing that’s too steep, causing thin or bladed golf shots. If you stand too far away from the ball you may have too flat a golf swing, that is too much around you, making it hard to have consistent contact with your golf ball.

Correct Golf Wrist Cock

This is another issue that isn’t so much a fundamental, but a critical element to a proper golf swing. Learning how to cock wrist in golf swing is both an eye-opener, and a huge golf tip for many frustrated golfers. If you have an incorrect wrist cock, you will either have a shut or wide open clubface, both of which will result in brutal swing faults. It is a must you come into impact with a square clubface. This will nearly insure you a straight ball flight with maximum compression.

There are many more free golf tips online we will provide you with, so sign up for your email tips and we’ll be sure to let you know when we come out with more.

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One of the most common mistakes with beginner golfers is the dreaded “over the top golf swing”. This is a premature move of the upper body when starting the downswing. This is a “hit” mentality, that can cause sequence and timing issues in your golf swing.

Look at Figure 1 below which is the common over the top move in the golf swing. Now take a look at Figure 2 which is the proper downswing sequence, that will promote an inside attack on the golf ball, and fix a golf slice immediately.

Golf Tips To Cure Your Over The Top Golf Swing

Golf Tip 1: Bump Your Left Hip To Start Downswing

Golf Tip 2: Pause At Top Of Backswing To Give Lower Body A Chance To Start First.

Golf Tip 3: Let Your Arms Drop With No Move Towards Target.

Golf Tip 4: Right Elbow To Hip In Golf Swing As Soon As You Can Ala Ben Hogan.

Golf Tip 5: Rotate Hips BEFORE you drop your arms. This will creat separation between upper and lower body.

Golf Tip 6: Keep Your Left Arm Close To Your Chest Throughout Entire Golf Swing For A Connected Golf Swing.

Important: Improving in golf by stretching will also allow you a full backswing, making it much easier to come down from the inside.

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