Perform Better Golf Blog

You’ve heard it before. You MUST have a full shoulder turn for maximum clubhead speed, power and distance. I want to briefly explain that a full shoulder turn does not mean your golf club has to get high at the top of your backswing. So many golfers are worried about getting the club shaft parallel to the ground at the top.

This is not so! It’s becoming more common to see the touring pro’s not reach parallel at the top, even with their golf driver. As long as you get a 90 degree shoulder turn with about half that in hip turn, you will have maximum clubhead speed, and better yet, more control over your golf swing.

I want to show you a drill you can do in your home, garage, office and of course on the practice tee.

See the club I have on the ground to the left of my right foot? See the club across my shoulders?. Match those up and you know you’ve made a full shoulder turn on your backswing.

Give it a try!

If you’re a golfer looking to quickly and effectively improve your golf swing speed, power and distance, you’ll want to take a look at our Power Golf Swing Weight Trainer.

I am always on the lookout for golf swing trainers that will help golfers add more power and distance, and this one “fits the bill” completely!

It is now part of my power training routine, and I can already feel a difference in my flexibility and power.

It’s ONLY a fraction of the cost of a weighted club, and it’s the most portable of all of them!

I have come to the conclusion that the wrists play a critical role in power golf, increasing clubhead speed, and distance. It’s not a very glamorous bodypart, but I do feel this is one of the KEYS to hitting longer golf drives.

Earlier we discussed power golf wrist hinge, and the correct way to do it, and now I want to give you a SIMPLE golf exercise to quickly strengthen your wrists for a powerful impact into that poor golf ball.

Stand erect with your arm at your side hanging long. Hold an 8 iron (I use my weighted golf club) in your hand with the clubhead on the ground. This puts your wrist in the uncocked (unhinged) position. Now, without moving your arm at all, raise the clubhead upward as high as you can, using only your wrist and forearm.

Slowly lower it back down and repeat 15 times. Switch arms and sides, and do 15 with the other arm. If you’re feeling spunky, do a couple of sets each arm. You’ll get a good burn in your forearm muscles.

This movement is identical to the movement of your wrist cock in your golf swing. Doing this simple golf exercise 2-3 times a week, will make a huge difference in your power, with strong wrists through impact.

We are on Week 9 of our 10 week golf swing transformation with Morrie. Morrie had a frustrating week of golf, but we got him straightened out, and his spirits are back up. We’re on my main blog here, and unfortunately it does not allow comments, but I know your thoughts are with us.

The course and the greens look kind of trashed, but for some reason the video is doing some of this. The greens are much better than the video shows. Do I sound like I’m defending my course <grin>?

The Power Golf Swing Trainer we had Morrie try turned out so good for him, that he bought one right here on the site, and here’s what he had to say about it:

“Mike let me try his Power Golf Swing Trainer the other day…..and wow! It keeps your triangle and right arm in tact all through the swing. I added imediate distance and I could get through the ball with out trying to steer it. I ordered one for my self!

Many of you have been following “Mondays With Morrie” I’m Morrie, and this simple comfortable trainer worked for me in just a few swings I could see the triangle. Check out
my next episode tomorrow….you’ll see some mighty powerful results.”

Learning how to be better at golf is a lifelong mission for most of us. Peaks and valleys is commonplace. We all are addicted to the challenge of hitting a good shot, and once in a while hitting one that keeps us “coming back”.

Below is a list of golf improvement approaches that you can use independently or in combination to learn how to play better golf:

Golf Instruction

The golf swing requires certain movements that are not very natural, so golf swing instruction should be at the top of your list, especially if you’re a beginning golfer. Learning the fundamentals of golf is something every golfer needs and struggles with even as you improve.

Golf instruction can be through private one-on-one golf lessons. Group lessons (which are less expensive). Online instruction is becoming more and more popular. Golf instruction books. And golf instruction DVDs is another great alternative, that is much less costlier than private lessons.

Golf-Specific Fitness

I’m making this number 2 on the list, but easily could be a tie with number one, as many golfers, especially senior golfers have physical limitations that will not enable them to apply what they learn in their golf lessons, making improvement nearly impossible.

I am a firm believer that you are only capable of what your body can do in golf. In simpler terms, your body is keeping you from a better game. How many times have you told yourself you need a bigger backswing? Come on…be honest! What you are indirectly telling yourself, is your body can’t make a bigger backswing, and I’m telling you the ONLY way to improve it is with golf-specific stretching exercises specific to your backswing.

If you’re looking for longer drives, you need to improve your core strength and flexibility. This is the engine to your golf swing. When I talk about fitness, I’m not talking about going to a gym, and spending 2 grueling hours a day. I’m talking about doing, easy, fun and effective exercises right in your home with minimal equipment.

All you need is an exercise ball, exercise tubing (w/handles) and hand weights. That’s your entire golf fitness “in-home” gym. For under $50 you can have your own golf fitness gym, and start seeing results quickly.

If you need guidance on your golf fitness program, take a look at my Effortless Golf Swing Training System.

Golf Swing Training Aids

Another great option that can be very effective for specific swing faults is a golf swing training aid. There is a lot of garbage out there, and a few good pieces. The goal of any training aid is to ultimately make your swing better, but more specifically to help you correct YOUR personal swing fault.

This swing fault may be any number of them, such as a slice, top, thin, chunk, hook, pop up or any other ugly mishit that we all hate. There is only ONE training aid I think so highly of that I offer it on my site. The hinged golf club is an absolute gem of a training aid.

This club gives you INSTANT feedback as to the mistake you’re making in your golf swing. Whether it be a jerky takeaway, or an off plane swing, the hinge will break to show you it’s incorrect. Whether your tempo is off, or your swing plane, this training aid will get you corrected making a near perfect golf swing in no time!

I’ll be back later today, to finish this post, so stay tuned!

Golfers don’t want to go to a gym. Golfers don’t even want to exercise, but most of them are realizing their bodies are falling apart rapidly. Your body swings the club, so if it’s broken your swing is broken. Make sense? With that being said, how about in-home golf exercises and stretches?

You don’t have to go to a gym and fight the crowds and embarrassment. No one wants to deal with all those young hard-bodies in there. Do you? The answer is simple, in home golf improvement programs that work! Spending 15 minutes on your body in the privacy of your own home will do wonders for your golf swing.

When I designed all my golf-specific improvement programs, I thought of you first. I wanted to make it so simple and easy, any golfer could do it…and do it privately. No driving or showering at a gym. Just throw on some comfortable clothes and have some fun.

Just think of all the time you’ll save, which is time you can put back into your game with more practice or rounds. Being efficient with your time will greatly improve your game.

Take a look at a sample in-home golf exercise below.

You don’t even have to get out of your chair for this one!

If you want to save time and money, you should look at the Effortless Golf Training System.

So much is made of your golf backswing. So much so, I created a backswing report to help you make your biggest backswing possible. Now I am a huge advocate of working on your body to make a bigger backswing, but getting to the top of your backswing is also critical.

If you can’t get to the top in the correct position within a stable base, you will have no chance making a good downswing that is on the correct path from the inside, nor will you get to impact in a position to maximize your power.

Let’s take a look at Tigers top of the backswing position.

The dreaded over the top golf swing, and how to fix it without one more golf lesson.

When we all start this crazy game of golf, it seems we have the wrong idea of how to hit the ball. And the key word is HIT. You see…the golf is a SWING not a hit, so if we have it in our mind we are going to HIT the ball, our mind will tell us to get to the ball as quick as we can, and that is usually the over the top golf swing.

When our eyes are fixed on the ball, we instinctively want to get at it, to HIT IT, to smack it with our hands first. Unfortunately that doesn’t work too well does it? In fact, this is counter-productive to a solid shot in golf.

The best analogy for the golf swing is throwing a rock side arm. Remember when we were kids and we found the flattest rocks and could throw them all day long skipping them across the water? Look at what your body is doing when you throw the rock.

The most critical part is your lower body is leading the way. Then your hips, your core, shoulders and lastly your hand throwing the rock. This is exactly how the golf swing should feel. Like a side arm baseball throw.

The next time you go to the range, before you hit one ball, pick up a golf ball and throw it out in the range side arm. Remember that feeling, and then start hitting balls with the shorter clubs first, so you can repeat this motion. Get it built into your body, so you really know what it should feel like.

If you still can’t do it with your golf club, I can almost bet you have a flexibility (and strength) issue in your core rotational movement. Because the golf swing seems to many as a very unnatural movement, your body actually gets in the way of you swinging the club.

Does that make sense?

I know I’ve fought a lateral slide in my golf swing and I personally need to focus on rotating very early in my golf swing. That’s just me though.

But if you cannot lead your downswing with the lower body first, while staying back with your upper body, you have a physical limitation in your core area that needs to be addressed right away. If you don’t take care of the physical limitation, you will most likely struggle with this swing fault for a very long time.

Doing stretches where your lower body is held still while your rotate your upper body to one side then the other is an easy way to improve your core rotational flexibility. This is a must if you want to fix your over the top golf swing.

Improving your core strength will also allow you to aggressively rotate your lower body first from the top of the downswing while keeping your upper body back for a split second. This allows you to get the lower body out of the way so you can drop your club into the proper slot, coming from the inside. Get this right, and you will NEVER swing over the top again.

Do you struggle to make a full backswing? The harder you try the worse it guess doesn’t it? I’ve been there and done that and learned my lesson. What I found out was that stretching the specific golf muscles involved in my golf backswing was the answer to a BIG backswing loaded with POWER!

I was amazed at targetting those muscles and how quickly I noticed it on the golf course. It’s no joke…after just a few days of simple and easy golf stretches I felt like my backswing was not only fuller, but the tension I use to feel was gone. I want to reiterate something here.

Tension Kills Your Golf Swing

One of the main causes of tension is TIGHT muscles. Doesn’t that make sense? If your muscles are not flexible and you TRY to make a full backswing, don’t you think those already tight muscles are going to get even tighter?

They are!

The solution isn’t hitting more balls in hopes of getting looser. It isn’t taking anymore lessons if you’re like the typical golfer who has taken more than enough lessons to know how to swing a golf club.

The solution is stretches for golfers.

It’s SO EASY! Just a few minutes of stretching a day and your swing will transform into a power machine! You’ll confidently make a big backswing for 18 holes and not have to even think about it nor try any harder.

In fact it will be effortless!

I’ve put together a very unique golf stretching DVD that only takes 7 minutes a day! This unique sequence of golf stretches targets all the muscles you use to hit longer drives and improve golf swing technique.

Here’s a golf stretch I want you to do this weekend when you’re on the course that will keep your hamstrings and lower back nice and lose for better golf posture and less strain on your back. You should even feel better when you’re in your putting stance on the green!

This is one simple golf stretch out of my Total Golf Stretching ebook.

Instructions:

Slightly flexed knees.

Grab club and bend at hips.

Let arms hang relaxed in front of legs.

Stretch hamstrings and lower back by lowering club down legs.

Come back up and repeat with moderate speed.

Repeat 3-5 times.

Benefit to Golf Swing:

Increase circulation in lumbar (lower back) area to withstand the high torque from initial swings.

Allow for a more relaxed posture position through out swing.

Reduce chance of injury to lower back early in the round.

Do this several times during your round and let me know how it goes. You should feel less strain on your back, improved golf posture throughout the round, and more consistency in your putting.