Accuracy First and Distance Will Follow

Most beginners have one thing in mind, and that is to hit the ball as far as possible.
Many golfers never quite get out of this mindset and this is one of the reasons why they will never get the distance that they are capable of hitting the ball.

The wise golfer will practice for accuracy first and concentrate on the distance once they have mastered the art of control.

It's not much point hitting the big yards off the tee if the ball is going to end up on another fairway or in the rough.
All you will succeed in doing is make the following shots all the more difficult.

A drive down the center of the fairway, albeit a few meters shorter, will set you up for a better approach shot and a lower round score.

By playing with smaller, more controlled swings, you will gain control of your shots sooner and you will progress to the longer distances faster.
You will be learning correct techniques that will hold you in good steed for the rest of your playing career.

By developing accuracy first, you will also be lengthening the distance of your drives and will in fact hit the ball further.

By starting with smaller swings it will be easier to train your body to develop the correct actions, and these actions will always be needed when you progress to the longer drives.

As you master your swing, you can progress to a full swing knowing that you will have the control to hit the ball in the right direction.
This combination of correct action and a full swing will ensure you will hit the ball further than would be possible if you had only aimed for the big shots from the outset.

If you find that your drives are going wayward, then it would be wise to focus on control, even if that means limiting your swing until you are hitting the ball straight.

A Unique Putting Tip

Here's a simple technique to improve your putting.
Before you can expect to putt well on greens with a slope, you need to learn to putt well on the flat.
This will train you to swing your putter through a straight line and hit the ball squarely on the face of the putter.

Now you need to get a putter that has a line on it that you can see clearly, as this will be the line that you will follow through to the center of the ball.

On the practice green (preferably one that you have at home, as this technique might not be appreciated) you will mark straight lines with a builders chalk line in several directions from the center of the hole spanning out around the green.

Getting someone to hold the chalk line at the center of the cup will make the process easier.
Now move around the green flicking the line to leave chalk marks along the ground.

Next - place your golf ball on the line leaving some of the line on the ground visible behind the ball.
This will help you to guide your swing.
You will then be able to swing your putter using the line on the ground as a guide and the line on the putter itself to connect with the center of the ball.

In a very short time you should find that you are managing to putt from a relatively good distance and get the ball in the hole most of the time.

This will help you to develop the correct posture and consistency to putt well.

After doing this for a while from different positions on the green, move the ball off the line and visualize that there is still a line on the ground by creating it in your mind, looking from the ball to the cup and back again several times.

Line up your putter as before and look at the line on your putter to hit the center of the ball with this spot on your club.

You are now retraining yourself to see an invisible line from the ball to the cup that you can use on any green you play on.

A Few Putting Tips

How often have you been frustratingly close to sinking a putt only to come up short?

Or maybe you have only just missed the hole to see your ball go sailing past adding too much distance for the return putt.

A lot of games have been lost on the putting green and in most instances it has been due to the wrong distance, rather than the direction of the ball.

Most beginners quickly get a feel for the direction the ball will travel, even on sloping greens.
You've probably seen it yourself when a newcomer to the game places the ball within inches of the hole on a sloping green time and time again.

What you won't see quite so often is the ball stopping a few inches past the hole when they miss.

There are many factors that come into account when determining the distance a ball will travel on the green, from the slope, to the preparation of the green and whether it is wet and slow or dry and fast.
It can make a huge difference depending on the time of the day with greens getting faster as they dry off in the afternoon sun.

So reading the distance of a putt is what you really need to concentrate on to get your ball to drop in that hole.

Once again it all comes back to practice and there is no better practice than on the day of the tournament in the conditions that you will be playing in.
Always take some time to have a few practice putts before you start play to 'dial in' your distance.

One thing you must always remember; the golf ball will never drop if it doesn't reach the hole.
Sounds too obvious to even need mentioning doesn't it, but more often that not putts will come up short.
Always aim for the back of the cup so that, provided you have your direction right, you are going to have a chance of making the putt.

A Balanced Approach

Golf is all about balance.
You need to get the right balance on your feet, in the movement of your body, in the swing of the clubs and so on.

Balance goes further than just the body however.
You need a balanced approach to the game with your mind in sync with your body.

You need to only consider the one stroke that you are playing and not let other holes impact on your balance.

When we get golf lessons we're taught about the distribution of weight on our feet and the weight distribution when we swing to strike the ball.

Many of the techniques seem foreign to the beginner but it is all about training the player to find balance in their game so the actions are effortless and natural.
Our balance should flow through with the movement of the swing in one fluid action to the striking of the ball and even after the ball has been hit with a balanced follow through.

It is a natural feeling that will become second nature with practice.

It is through finding balance in your mind and body that you will start hitting consistently good shots.
Without this it will be very difficult to find any consistency in your game.

Once you get your upper body correctly positioned behind the ball, you will find that you are naturally placing more weight on the back foot.

Try it next time you have a practice swing.
Stand balanced on your feet with no more pressure on the front of the foot than the back.
Position yourself behind the ball and gently swing through without making any effort to concentrate on the distribution of the weight on you feet.

You will find that this will come naturally with no effort at all and that is precisely how you should feel when you are striking the ball.

Your Own Personal Golf Pro at Every Game

Have you ever considered what the source of your problems might have been when you just finished a poor round of golf?

Many people will be surprised to know that most of their problems stemmed from the way they were holding their clubs.

You probably already know the situation I am about to describe.
You hit a bad shot and then you tell yourself that the next shot has to be better to compensate and the pressure begins to grow.

Along with the increasing pressure is a tendency to grip the clubs too hard.
Tension has a tendency to make us do that.
Along with this tight grip we have on the club goes a corresponding loss of control.

The ball starts flying in all directions, and the tension builds ever more, until you look at your knuckles and they are white from the pressure.
If your clubs had to breath you would have choked them by now.

I had a playing partner who had a simple list of instructions that he would read when his game started to fall apart and at the top of that list was 'don't strangle the clubs'

It's simple and we all know about it, but this visual reminder was all that it would take to get his game back on course and ensure that the tension wasn't there in the rest of his game.

This technique of having written guidelines was so powerful that several other people started using it.
It was like having your own personal golf pro walking with you and giving you the necessary instructions when things started to go wrong.

Those words would allow him to focus on the next shot and release all the tension that would have otherwise crept into his game.

Try carrying your own list of 'game savers' around with you next time and don't hesitate to read them at the first sign your game might be falling apart.

It is an incredibly powerful technique.
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Golf Swing Guru