A couple of years ago, before I tried A Simple Golf Swing, I came close to giving up playing golf. I had been playing for around twenty years and my handicap was rooted in the high teens. I was frustrated that I wasn’t scoring anywhere near the level I thought I should be. I felt that I was a better golfer than my handicap or scores indicated and I felt helpless.

I tried a lot of remedies; reading instruction manuals, getting lessons from various pro’s and practising more. Despite all that, I couldn’t seem to improve. I had what I thought was a decent swing, and on the range I was able to consistently make good contact with the golf ball and hit decent shots most of the time.

My problem was that once on the course, my game went to pieces. I would stand on the tee and not have a bail out area to aim for – I was capable of hitting a severe hook as much as I was capable of hitting a severe slice. This was resulting in a lot of lost balls and causing my scores to be inflated with penalty shots.

Teeing off with irons is no fun at all either. In order to play safe I had to tee off with a six iron, which made the second shot a lot longer. This in turn puts additional pressure on the short game, leading to more dropped shots.  I just wasn’t enjoying my golf at all.

As I mentioned, I had tried numerous solutions to try and figure out a way to get round the course without losing six balls every round. The professional I took lessons from showed me drills which were designed to eliminate the right side of the target area, meaning that I would only have one potential bad shot to deal with – a hook. This was great, and I managed to eliminate the right side of the range from my game. However, back on the course and I was just as inconsistent as ever – slicing and hooking my tee shots all over the golf course.

I have always been able to hit the ball well, if not very accurately. Even with a handicap in the high teens I thought that if I could just gain some accuracy off the tee I could get my handicap down to a low number. All I had to do was find a way to consistently hit my tee shots on to the fairway.

One Sunday night about a year ago, out of frustration with the way my lessons didn’t seem to be helping my scores, I started looking on the internet to see if anyone else was having similar problems. Someone on one of the golf forums pointed me to the golf swing guru website. This website sells an instruction manual entitled ‘the Simple Golf Swing’, which was developed as a means of showing average and worse than average golfers how to break eighty. The website struck a chord with me – it promised me I would hit the ball straighter and more accurately than before, and with greater distance too. I bought the course that night, and spent the next few days reading everything.

Later that week I went to the driving range to practise what I had learned from the Simple Golf Swing. I made some notes to take with me, so I wouldn’t forget what I was aiming to do.

I started off with fixing my grip – luckily, my grip was already quite good so I didn’t need to make too much of an alteration there. I was determined to follow the instruction in the book as closely as possible. I then focused on my alignment and my takeaway.

It took me a couple of visits to the range before I started noticing the improvement in my ball striking. I was definitely hitting the ball straighter, and more consistently. However, I had seen this all before. I never had a problem hitting the ball well on the range – it was out on the course that my problems began.

I made several visits to the range, practising the lessons in the book, before I ventured out on the course for the first time. I was apprehensive, as I always had problems taking my range game out on to the course.

Right from the first hole I was amazed. My drive was right up the middle of the fairway, and I made the green in regulation. The range game had finally made it to the course! I enjoyed that round of golf tremendously. I didn’t lose a single ball, and I looked forward to hitting my driver off the tee for the first time in years.

That round was about two years ago now, and since then my handicap has come down from high teens to 4. More importantly, I am enjoying my golf again.

If any of this strikes a chord with you, then you could do a lot worse than try out the Simple Golf Swing. It worked for me.

Power can be elusive to golfers. Is true power generated through technique, strength or something more? Every golfer wants more power, more distance, more consistency. Here are 3 ways to generate the kind of power you have only dreamed of…until now.

1. Spinal Rotation. Every time you swing the golf club, you rotate around your spine. So, what does this have to do with power? Power is generated every time you stabilize your hips to make a full backswing with spinal rotation. Most golfers have heard of the X factor. This, of course, refers to the differential between the movement in your hips and your spine. Increase your spinal rotation and a new sense of power will be released.

2. Core Based Exercises. Your body’s “core”, the area around your trunk and pelvis, is where your center of gravity is located. When you have good core stability, the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen work in harmony. They provide support to your spine. The core is the power zone. It is where all movement begins. A well-developed core allows for improved force output, increased neuromuscular efficiency, and decreased incidence of overuse injuries. A weak core can make you susceptible to poor posture and injury.

3. Plyometrics. Plyometrics are any exercise where the muscle is contracted eccentricly then immediately, concentricly. Put simply, the muscle is stretched (i.e. loaded) before it is contracted. A good example is medicine ball horizontal twists and standing golf swings. According to a recent study published in the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) journal, amateur golfers significantly increased their driving distances after just eight weeks of strength training while incorporating plyometrics. Mean driving distance increased 4.3% for the combined training group, with mean club head speed increasing 1.5%.

Once you incorporate these 3 techniques into your exercise program, you’ll never be disgruntled about driving distance or power generation again.

Why should you work on improving your golf game? For one, the next time that you head out onto the green with your boss you won’t feel like a complete fool when he starts talking about his skills. And, you’ll be able to brag to your buddies about how you came out under par. It can also help you to enjoy the game more so. Maybe you just need a little more practice (time to get away Saturday morning from the wife and kids) or maybe you just need someone to show you a few techniques to help you get the most out of your game. Either way, improving your golf game can happen in just these steps.

* One of the most prolific mistakes that people make in their golf game is their stance. Because of how important the way that you stand is, you’ll need to make sure that you have it down perfectly. If this sounds hard, it doesn’t have to be.

* After improving your stance, you need to take the time to improve your swing and your follow through. When working to improve your golf game, the follow through of your swing will ultimately provide you with an accurate shot.

* Another mistake the individuals make yet need to realize when working to improve their golf game is their use of clubs. Which is the right one to use when you tee off? Which should you use to get out of the sand dune? While you may think you know the answer, you probably don’t.

Okay, so these are the things that you should work on to improve your golf game, but how do you actually do it? What should you look for? While you can definitely learn from the web, it often makes more sense to see the difference in what you are doing and what you should be doing, not just reading it. For that, you should consider one of several options.

* First, you can enroll in a few golf courses at your local golf club. This is the best option because it allows hands on, personal training. It is also the most expensive.

* Second, you could also take some courses through your local community center. A good choice and it is less expensive.

* You can also work on your golf game by using videos designed to help you each step of the way. The videos can be purchased throughout the web and allow you to actually see the right way to stand and swing your club.

Improving your golf game just got a whole lot easier!

Accurate pitching reduces your golf handicap. Turning three strokes into two by pitching close to the pin cuts strokes from your scores. Cut enough strokes and you’ll lower your handicap significantly. Learning to pitch accurately from the fairway is crucial to improving your game.

Pitching accurately from the fairway, as I mention in my golf lessons, requires good distance control. That’s not easy to achieve. The tendency is for your swing to be either too long, in which case the clubhead decelerates through impact, or too short, in which case the clubhead is jerked through impact. Either way costs you strokes, inflating your golf scores and your golf handicap.

Learning to pitch accurately from the fairway is a two-stage process. One stage involves building better technique. You can work on technique in golf lessons and on the practice range whenever you go. The second stage involves learning how to judge distances. While you can’t learn to judge distances simply from taking golf lessons or reading golf tips, they can facilitate the learning process.

Here are 6 keys to building better technique:

1.Make changes at address
2.Open the stance
3.Aim clubface at target
4.Make a shorter backswing
5.Clear the left side
6.Release the clubhead

Two subtle changes at address help with technique. Since you need to strike the ball with a crisp, descending blow, (1) position the ball at your stance’s midpoint and (2) make sure that the club’s shaft and your left arm (for right-handers) are in a straight line, ensuring ball-then-turf contact.

Also, open your stance a little at address. It enables you to clear the left side through impact. While it seems like a minor thing, it has an impact, just like the two changes discussed above. Despite the open stance, aim the clubface directly at the target, just as if your feet were parallel.

Opening your stance shortens your backswing, since it curbs movement of the lower body. Gripping down on the club also shortens your backswing, while providing increased club control. The closer you hands are to the ball, the better control you have. Nevertheless, you still need to transfer your weight correctly, despite the shorter swing,

With the open stance and the left side clear, your hands have room to strike the ball squarely. Release the clubhead freely through impact and then move smoothly into your follow-through. Use these suggestions to help build better technique.

In addition to working on your technique, you need to improve distance control. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is by practicing. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. Below are two other suggestions to remember the next time you’re practicing your pitching:

Practice the Body-controlled Method
One approach to help with distance is the body-controlled method. It’s an approach I’ve talked about in my golf tips. Assume your normal pitching address position, but place a towel across your chest and under your armpits. Choke down on the grip for added control and make short compact swings, keeping the towel under your armpits as you swing.

At the same time, vary the speed of your body turn. If you have a 20-yard shot, think in terms of turning your body 20 miles per hour. If you have a 30-yard shot, think in terms of turning your body 30 miles per hour. The longer the shot, the faster you turn your body. Try this method to help improve your distance control. Also, vary the length of your shots so you will get practice at different lengths.

Establish a “Pitching Zone”
Work on establishing a pitching zone—a safe area where you’re not only comfortable and confident pitching from. Once you’ve developed the zone, try playing to it the next time you golf. The goal is to land your shots in the zone when approaching the green, so you’ll have an easier shot.

Jose Maria Olazabal used this approach during a tournament. Having driven into trouble off the tee, he asked his caddie: “What club will give me 92 yards to the flag for my next shot.” Thinking one step ahead, Olazabal was aiming for a spot on the fairway where he was confident he could get up and down from to save par. That was strength for him. Establishing a “pitching zone” gives you a strength to play to, just like Olazabal.

Use these six keys to help with pitching from the fairway next time and you’ll be sure to start dropping shots fast.

There are loads of resources both on-line and off that you can turn to for easy tips on improving golf swing.  More than likely, you are looking for simple pointers on improving golf swing that you can start with yourself, because you are not in a position to hire a professional to help you improve your swing.

These are tips on improving golf swing that you can use every single time you are out, whether you are playing nine, eighteen or are just brushing up on the driving range.

The first tip for improving golf swing is to LOOK. When you are golfing with friends or colleagues, make a note of the most successful golfer and observe carefully when he or she swings. Watch for body position, stance, how high they lift the club and the motion used when they swing the club. Then think about your own swing. What are they doing that you are not doing? If you can figure this out for yourself, there is no shame in asking your talented golfer friends to watch you and offer their advice for improving golf swing.

It may also be beneficial to practice your own swing in a mirror or to videotape yourself so you can actually see the differences between what you think you are doing and what you are actually doing. Forming bad habits early will lead to bad habits for the long term, unless you deliberately work to change them.

Purchasing a video tape on improving golf swing may also help your game, because it will allow you to observe the techniques and positions used by the best in the game, and it will teach you exactly how to replicate them yourself. Watching golf on TV can also help in this manner as well.

Above all, improving golf swing takes practice and lots of it. Once you have mastered the appropriate techniques and pointers on how to improve your swing, you need to put those techniques to work. Practice until you have unlearned your bad habits and learned the right way to swing. Practice as often as you can until your best swing has become second nature. You can never practice too much!

Portugal is often regarded as one of the best golf destinations in the world. For such a small country, it has a huge variety of high-quality golf courses, mainly on the Lisbon Coast and in sunny southern Algarve. Choosing the top 10 is always difficult, however the courses listed here all provide a variety of challenges and are set in magnificent surrounds.

Great greens in sunny Algarve
Central Algarve’s premier golfing destination, the Quinta do Lago Estate has two of its four excellent 18-hole courses listed among Europe’s top 25 golf courses. These are bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Ria Formosa nature reserve, there are 72 holes of challenging golf with immaculate greens. Quinta do Lago South, the original championship course, is still regarded as the best.

Just 20 minutes’ drive from Faro International Airport, the par 73, 18-hole Vilamoura Old Course has a great variety of holes that include some some steep grades. The course, lined with pines and cork trees, deserves its reputation as one of the best in Europe. Facilities include a driving range and putting green.

Vale do Lobo, Portugal’s biggest luxury golf and beach resort, has three courses. The Royal and the Ocean, both par 72, have stunning views of the coast, and its 5 km-long sandy beach. The ultimate Algarve course is San Lorenzo rated in the top ten in Europe, it is difficult to get a tee time unless you stay in the 5 star Dona Filipa hotel which owns the course.

One of the best courses in the Algarve, the par 72, 18-hole Vale da Pinta, was designed to retain natural valleys and undulations. Free of green fees for those lucky enough to be staying at the Pestana Carlton, the course, with large, deep greens and bunkers, follows hills and valleys through old olive, almond and fig orchards.

The pick of the Lisbon Coast
Oitavos Golf Club at Quinta da Marinha, is the home of the Portuguese Open. Kept in pristine natural condition, coastal scenery combines with holes lined with umbrella pines, shrubs and dunes. It is Europe’s first Audubon Gold Signature Sanctuary. The two consecutive par 5s on the front side, and two par 3s on the back are part of one of Europe’s toughest 18-hole courses.

The Ritz-Carlton’s Penha Longa course features 27 holes in a stunning natural setting that runs to 6,890 yards from the championship tees. A nine-hole option, The Monastery, includes a section of old ruins.

Estoril opened in 1936, is short (less than 6,000 yards) but tight and difficult, and the longer holes require accurate wedge and iron play. Guests of the Palacio Estoril Hotel are given preference to play here, although the course is included in some golf packages.

Aroeira I, opened in 1973, is renown for its stunning natural beauty. The 18-hole, par 72, championship course is one of the best in Europe, and has hosted the Portuguese Open.

One of the most challenging courses in the Lisbon area, Quinta do Peru, is in the Costa Azul region, between the castle towns of Sesimbra and Setubal. The par 4, 12th has a lake running the length of the fairway and the par 3,16th, all of 200 metres, has a lake guarding the green.

In the North of Portugal, an hour from Lisbon, lies the challenging, par 72 Praia Dél Rey course with its mixture of links-type fairways and forests and dunes. Many of the holes have ocean views, but the walk between some greens is long and hilly, so a cart is recommended.

The Madeira Islands’ best course
The Madeira Islands have three major golf courses, and the par 72, 18-hole Palheiro, on the main island, is recommended for its challenging greens. Built on volcanic hills, the course traverses peaks and valleys, and is set among a pine forest and other natural vegetation.

Performing shoulder exercises and stretches are important to ensuring that you have a good swing. Stretching the rotator cuff muscles, those found in your shoulders that allow you to move your shoulder in a circular motion, increases flexibility and ensures a more natural and fluid golf swing.

Good shoulder stability and strength is vital to your golf game, since your shoulders are involved with every swing of your clubs. Include shoulder stretches and exercises in your regular fitness routine, as well as use them as part of your pre-game warm-up. Here are two important stretches that will help you get your shoulders in top shape.

Rotator cuff stretch: This movement is designed to stretch out the rotator cuff muscles. Hold the club in the middle of the shaft with one arm extended straight out. Rotate the club to the right and then to the left. When complete, switch to the other arm and repeat the stretch.

Shoulder towel stretch: This movement is designed to stretch the muscles in your shoulders. Begin by standing with your feet shoulder width apart. Grab a golf towel or other small towel and place it behind your back. Raise one arm, bend it at the elbow and reach down towards the opposite shoulder blade. With the other arm, reach behind your back towards the opposite shoulder blade. As you hold the towel in between the two arms, pull the upper arm straight down. Next, raise the lower arm straight up. Reverse your arms and repeat the stretch.

Essential to your fitness routine is a regular stretching program for the muscles of your shoulder. You can use stretches for your shoulders as a pre-round warm up in addition to stretches you may do at the gym or at home as part of an ongoing.

Ask yourself the question, People take up golf for various reasons. Looking at the sport with untrained eye, “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?” It really doesn’t seem like it’s all that difficult. The goal of the game is to get the little ball into the hole with as few attempts as possible. This seems like a relatively easy goal and something most people can achieve on their own.

However, if you go out on the golf course unassisted you will find yourself spending more time searching for your ball in the rough or fishing it out of water hazards than you will actually playing a good game of golf. There’s no need to be frustrated, it happens to pretty much everyone unless of course you began your career as a three year old phenom.

One of the most difficult aspects of picking up the game of golf is learning to drive the ball. It should be simple enough. The idea is to wrap your hands around the club, keep your body straight, pull back and swing. Unfortunately, those first few principles don’t even begin to cover the basic golf swing.

Any half decent golf instructor will tell you that the ultimate goal is to keep your head perfectly still during the entire swing. If you are trying to hit the ball too hard, your end result will be somewhere off in the tall grass hunting for a little white ball that you now want to bash into pieces. By now you are asking yourself “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?”

Relax your body and your muscles before even attempting to swing. Trying to hit the ball too hard with tense muscles typically have poor results. Any golf instructor will tell you that focused energy will make the ball sail farther and straighter. That focus comes from a relaxed body and a head that doesn’t bobble about.

By being able to keep your head in a stationary position, you can keep a solid focus on the ball and bring your energy directly to the center of the ball with a flat club. Your stationary head will also automatically send the signal to your hands to turn correctly and at the right time. This timing is crucial to your follow through and allowing the ball to maintain a straighter trajectory.

Maintaining your balance is important to creating a long and straight drive as well. Golf instructors report spending a significant percentage of lesson time focusing on keeping the head straight and balancing the body. Balancing the body in a game of golf is more than simply not falling over. It is about evenly distributing the body weight in all directions. Most people are able to maintain a good percentage of left and right balance, but often the front and back balance needs to be taught by a qualified golf instructor.

When playing golf, the head angles downward to allow the golfer to see the ball and maintain focus. This position encourages poor posture and the body weight to edge too far forward. A qualified golf instructor can assist a golfer in finding a good and solid position that is more balanced to allow for a much better swing. This is an unnatural position for most people and often there is a great benefit in taking some lessons from a qualified golf instructor to help correct the problem. Are you still asking yourself “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?”

It is often recommended to watch oneself in front of the mirror to help correct imbalanced golf swings. This trick can help produce a much better swing, but keep in mind while you are watching yourself you are not watching where the ball should be. This is where a qualified golf instructor can really benefit both the novice and practiced golfer. Often someone else’s eyes can pick up on what we ourselves cannot.

If you are self coaching instead of taking the advice of a qualified golf instructor, read as often as you can about methods of improving your golf swing. There are countless helpful articles, tips and news on the best-pro-golf-guide website. Remember that while the information presented on the web site is very good and comes with high recommendations, it is also valuable to recognize that every human body is unique and it may take a little trial and error to really get things moving in the right direction. Often the articles presented can enhance instruction given by a qualified golf instructor. The goal is achieve the best results in as little time as possible, and it can be advantageous to combine both resources.

The Benefits of Private Golf Lessons, “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?”

Private golf lessons can be quite costly. One of the first things to examine if you are considering taking private golf lessons is your motivation for doing so. Are you looking to use golf for business relations or are you simply interested in the game? Those who are looking to be able to tee off with clients or the boss can gain quite a bit very quickly by soliciting the help of a qualified golf instructor for private lessons.

If you are truly not interested in perfecting your game and simply want to hold your own with your clients on the golf course, a qualified golf instructor can help tailor your golf education to help improve your weaknesses without training you for eventual professional competitions. Often business people will pay top dollar for a qualified golf instructor to produce significant results in a short amount of time. If you view it as a business investment, the money you are paying the qualified golf instructor seems much more reasonable.

If, however you are interested in the game of golf and you enjoy the sport, a qualified golf instructor can give you accurate, cutting edge guidance in improving the quality of your game. You can insist on perfecting your basics and move through the process more slowly and gain a remarkable amount of information from a qualified golf instructor. Again, private golf lessons can be quite expensive, so it’s a good idea to make sure that not only are you motivated enough to make good use of the instruction provided, but that you will have the required time to devote to practice.

Whatever your reason is for choosing private golf lessons, you will have to devote ample time to practice. Practice is the key to any sport, and despite its simple appearance, golf is not any different. When choosing an instructor you should ask them how much practice time they prefer to see from their students. Any instructor who does not emphasis practice time is not interested in your overall success and is more interested in keeping you their student (and their income) for as long as possible. This is not the foundation for a healthy qualified golf instructor and student relationship.

The Benefits of Group Golf Instruction, “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?”

Group golf instruction is available and can be much less expensive. Group golf instruction may or may not fit your current needs, but for many people it is a premium option as it fits nicely into their golfing budget. Remember that you not only have to pay any qualified golf instructor, but you more than likely will need to pay club fees and tee fees. These extra fees are not only for lesson time, but for the ever needed practice time as well. Often the total cost of everything involved is quite high and opting for a group lesson is more feasible. If you are worried and concerned “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?” Then this might be the option and a grate way to learn the game.

Group golf instruction also allows for a quiet gathering of novice golfers who are simply trying to improve on their skill. Often the pressure that comes with a round of golf with the boss is alleviated during group golf instruction. Group golf instruction typically allows for you to choose which direction you would like your golf instruction to head. There are groups offered for driving, putting, hazards, and basic skills. While you can explain to a private qualified private golf instructor that you feel you need to focus on a specific area, groups are often tailored to specific, targeted skills.

If you are interested in group golf instruction but want to enhance your learning experience, you can add the informative tips provided on best-pro-golf-guide to your golfing repertoire. Combining the article information with the qualified group golf instructor’s advice and the tips of those in the group lesson with you may very well be an adequate combination of sources for you to seriously improve your golf game without breaking the bank.

Selecting a Qualified Private Golf Instructor, “Are Golf Lessons Worth The Price?”

If you have decided to engage a qualified private golf instructor to hone your golf skills, don’t rush into a commitment. It’s better to shop for a high quality instructor rather than just rush into lessons with the first person willing to give them. Ask a lot of questions before beginning. If you know that someone else is taking private golf lessons, as them how they feel about the quality of the instruction they are getting. Is the golf instructor punctual? Do they always give the full scheduled lesson or do they shave a few minutes off here and there? What are their cancellation policies? If the instructor cancels are you entitled to a free makeup lesson? How often do they cancel?

It is perfectly acceptable to request references from a potential private golf instructor. Most will have a reference sheet readily available for you as it is a fairly common practice. It is also acceptable to interview the instructor prior to committing to the lessons.

Keep in mind that just because someone has excelled in their sport doesn’t mean that they excel at teaching it. There are plenty of high ranking golfers who make excellent instructors, but there are some who truly can only play the game. Don’t get stars in your eyes and be a bit skeptical if their credential sheet has an overwhelming number of golfing achievements but no teaching credentials or achievements. Someone who presents with a solid mix of both teaching and golfing achievements may very well make for a better instructor. Golf instruction, or any kind of sport instruction, is really about the ability to communicate the skills rather than perform them.

Choose wisely and often you will find the experience of learning to play golf quite enjoyable. For more tips and references about everything golf, check out our other articles.

Many of the top touring professionals know that winning on the tour today takes much more than a great game of golf. It means understanding every aspect of their physical and mental being and what factors influence their performance. Gain a competitive edge in your next round by integrating these three key elements into your current fitness program.

Specific to golf – Get rid of the traditional gym machines which focus on isolating specific muscle groups and require no stabilization work by additional muscle groups.  Integrate some old and new fitness tools which allow you to move your body in a more functional setting. These include cable machines, fitness balls, medicine balls, balance disks, traditional dumbbells and don’t forget about the power of using your own bodyweight.

Increase Core Stability – More efficient movement creates more efficient power. Golfers maintain an athletic posture over long periods of time and require both trunk and core stabilization and endurance. By increasing your strength and endurance in the core region of your body, you provide both a solid base of support for rotation in addition to the proper transfer of power throughout the body.

Vary your Planes of Motion during Exercise – A golf fitness program will have varying planes of motion as part of your weekly strength routine. Planes of movement include front to back motions, left to right and rotational exercises. Some good examples include multi-directional lunges and medicine ball wood chops.

The game of golf is truly an individual sport. The basics are the same for everyone; however, due to the differences in people’s body types no two people will ever have the same golf swing. Each person will have to adapt their bodies to perform a proper golf swing in their own way. Taking the time to develop your own method of playing golf will greatly improve your enjoyment and success at the game. Practicing the basic fundamentals of the game until they are ingrained in your muscles will lead to confidence on the course, and that confidence will lead to success and enjoyment of the game.

One of the most basic steps that you can put into action and see an immediate improvement to your golf swing is to keep your head still and look straight at the ball. The position of your head should be straight in line with your spine, and your nose should be raised up a bit so that when you start to swing, your left shoulder fits under your chin. Many players tuck their heads into their chests to try and keep their heads still and look straight down at the golf ball. Unfortunately, they cannot perform a proper golf swing while in this position.

If you are one of the many that are having difficulty keeping your head straight and an eye on the ball try the following. The next time you approach the ball, assume the correct stance with your feet and knees in position but keep your head and back straight, bend forward slightly at the waist and look straight at the ball. If you try and take a swing in this position, your left shoulder will most likely hit your chin. While keeping your eyes on the ball, raise your head slowly until your left shoulder does not hit your chin. Make sure that your head does not move from side to side by keeping your eyes fixed on the ball. Slowly go through the backswing and downswing portions of your golf swing. Do not hit the ball and do the follow through. Practice this portion of your golf swing focusing on keeping your head straight and eyes on the ball.

Practice this exercise in your backyard for about 25 times in a row and then take a break and relax a bit, then start again. Make minor corrections to your head and body position as needed to keep your eyes straight on the ball and your left shoulder from hitting your chin. This exercise will “train” your body, and your muscles will “remember” the correct position you need to be in to perform the movement correctly. Think about any sports athlete, they train and train to place their bodies in the correct stance and position to properly execute the movements necessary to be successful in their particular sport. You are doing the same thing by “training” your body to keep your head straight and position itself so that you can successfully execute a proper golf swing.

Another basic step that can work greatly towards improving your golf swing is to relax. I know it is easier said then done, especially when you are getting ready to put all your power into drive with an audience of either your co-workers, or better still your friends who will not let you forget it if you mess up. However, relaxing your muscles will help you to maintain the proper balance that is important to a great golf swing. Regardless of the golf clubs you use, your balance is the primary foundation of your golf swing, and the way to achieve good balance is to practice. A good way to practice improving your balance is to assume the address position with your club, relax your body and try holding it there for about 30 seconds. Does it feel like you have more weight on one foot or the other? Is one part of your body more tense then another?

Keeping your head straight and maintaining good balance are just two basic parts of a great golf swing. The exercises given above are just two ways that you can start training now to improve your golf swing. You can work on either one separately, or combine them together into one exercise. Improving your golf swing begins and ends with you. Training the muscles of your body to properly perform specific movements takes time and practice. The effort spent improving your golf swing will pay off on the course. Through exercise and practice, you will be able to slip into the proper address position and perform an effortless, powerful golf swing and feel just as if you were sliding your hand into a warm soft glove.