Golf Product Review Blog

Let’s face it, it’s easy to struggle with some of the common frustrations and problems of golf. Many times the 80/20 rule applies to your golf game in this circumstance. 80% of the problems you are having are the result of 20% of your golf game. When you put attention and effort into that 20% you can easily add yards to your drive.

Golfing drills can be a very useful tool to quickly improve your golfing skills. Drills in your putting, chipping, pitching, bunker play and driving can easily help you to gain yards to your drive and lower your handicap. Golf drills can give you intense practice at particular types of shots and force you to quickly master them and overcome any faults you may have that cause you to suffer during those shots.

Richard Smith has put together his unique golf instruction manual called 21 Days To Better Golf. In his guide, Richard outlines for you each and every drill he uses to help you improve your golf game. 21 Days To Better Golf covers all types of shots and situations and helps you to easily master the 20% of your game that is holding you back.

Today’s Resource:
21 Days To Better Golf by Richard Smith

If you are just starting out in golf there is no doubt that you may be feeling a little overwhelmed. There is so much to learn at first its easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and trust me the internet sometimes doesn’t help the problem, just makes the overwhelm worse.

Think of the list of the things you have to figure out when you are just starting:

• What Kind of Golf Clubs Should I Be Using?
• What Type of Golf Balls Should I Buy?
• What Other Golf Beginner Accessories Do I Need?
• Should I Start Taking Golf Lessons?
• Do I Need Any Golf Training Aids?
• How Do I Hold A Golf Club?
• How Do I Swing A Golf Club?
• What Are The Rules of Golf?
• What About Golf Etiquette?
• What Golf Courses Should I Start To Play On?
• How Do I Use A Golf Scorecard?
• How Do I Keep My Golf Equipment In Good Shape?
• How Do I Calculate Your Golf Handicap?
• How Do I Stay In Shape For Golf?

That list of questions doesn’t even cover everything that one needs to learn when starting to play golf. Golf can be a very fun, competitive, healthy and relationship (personal/business) building sport. Obviously it’s best that you know someone personally that has more experience than you do with golf that you can ask questions like these to. At times it can be difficult to approach someone when you are new to golf and many rather try to learn and figure out the answers to some of these questions on their own.

From my experience and the experience of others that come to this site, Frank J. Peter’s Golf Beginner Guide has a lot of great information for anyone who has just started or looking to get started in golf. Frank’s Golf Beginner Guide covers a lot of the questions listed above and much, much more. It’s highly recommended and even those that think they know their golf learn a thing or two from Frank.

Today’s Resource:
The Golf Beginner Guide by Frank J. Peter

Without a doubt your golf swing is the most important aspect of your golf game. It single handedly determines the outcome of your game. When it comes to seeking advice on how to improve your golf swing, every person you ask will yield you a different answer. Everyone has their own opinion when it comes down to improving your golf swing. There are really four parts to developing an effective golf swing: Proper Instruction, Golf Fitness, Swing Rhythm and Mental Attitude.

Proper Instruction is the most critical piece to your golf swing. If you aren’t following correct golf swing instruction, you’ll end up with a swing that lacks its true potential. If you are just starting out in golf, one of the best resources to start developing your golf swing is The Golf Beginner Guide by Frank J. Peter. It’s one of the highest recommended resources for when you are just starting out. If you are a more advanced player or looking to just improve on your already existing golf game, you may be more interested in The New Four Magic Moves To Winning Golf by Andy Brown. It’s a great resource to help tweak your swing.

Golf Fitness is the next piece that impacts the power of your golf swing. Your golf swing can only be as powerful as you. Your strength, flexibility, stability and power will all influence your swing significantly. You may have the proper technique down, but if you can’t move your body within the proper golf swing mechanics your swing will still lack potential. Mike Pedersen is regarded as an authority when it comes to golf fitness. His Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide has helped many become more flexible and develop a more powerful swing. You can’t hit the ball very far if you don’t develop the power to do it.

Swing Rhythm is the fine tuning of your golf swing. It includes the balance, speed, angle and acceleration of your swing. Developing a smooth rhythm in your golf swing takes time and practice. Once you start to see improvement that will build your confidence and you’ll see even more improvement in your rhythm over time. Developing good golf swing rhythm really takes some expert advice. Robert J. Cotter addresses how to properly develop your swing rhythm in his The Key To A Repeating Golf Swing, a great resource if your looking to enhance your timing.

Mental Attitude is what it all comes down to in golf. You can have the best instruction, be in the best shape of your life and have a great golf swing but if you are not mentally in the game then you’ve lost before you even got on the course. Dedication, practice and patience will be key in order for you to overcome the bad shots in golf. If your new to golf you won’t become a pro overnight. If you are more advanced you already know that it takes even more discipline to improve on your skills. Take it one day at a time and focus on having a positive mental attitude and you’ll see how your games improve over time.

As you can see, your golf swing is heavily influenced by more than one factor. In order to develop a powerful, effective golf swing you need to have those four elements in place. Proper instruction, golf fitness, swing rhythm and mental attitude are what help make a good golf swing into a great one.

Today’s Resources:
The Golf Beginner Guide by Frank J. Peter
The New Four Magic Moves To Winning Golf by Andy Brown
Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide by Mike Pedersen
The Key To A Repeating Golf Swing by Robert J. Cotter

“Coming over the top” is a huge issue for many golfers. It’s a fault in your swing pattern that causes you to end up slicing the ball. Coming over the top and slicing the ball fundamentally comes down to your body’s inability to perform proper golf swing mechanics.

Here’s a few other examples that may shine some light on how important your fitness is to your golf swing. If you ever have difficulty staying in a proper swing posture, or if you habitually come out of your swing, the golf fitness component of your golf game may be in need of a tune up.

The main issue affecting golfers in their swing posture and being able to maintain proper swing mechanics is rooted in the hamstrings (the muscle of the upper back part of your legs). Many golfers have tight hamstrings which actually weakens the muscle. Your golf posture and swing take a considerable toll on your hamstrings and once your hamstrings get weak then the stress and strain of maintaining that position starts to affect your lower back.

A proper golf posture requires you to be able to comfortably bend at the hips which also can considerably affect your lower back. If you have tight or weak hamstrings you will not be able to maintain the position for long let alone perform a proper golf swing late into your game.

Remember, the fitness of your body and taking into account any muscle imbalances is what really affects your golf swing and how powerful it is. Techniques in your golf swing can only go so far and usually only “band-aid” the true cause of your faulty swing pattern.

If you really want to correct the cause of your golf swing and make it more effective and more powerful, you really need to focus on your golf fitness. Mike Pedersen’s Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide helps golfers to improve their golf swing power and consistency and correct their golf swing faults by addressing their personal physical limitations in their golf swing. I highly recommend you check out his Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide if you want to develop a powerful and effective golf swing.

There are basically three main issues to address when developing your golf swing. Those issues are:
1. Inconsistent Swing Pattern
2. Slicing
3. Distance (or lack of)

Before going into how to develop your golf swing, you need to first identify which type of swing you are using in your golf game. Are you using a one plane swing or a two plane swing? They both make a difference and if you are using a golf swing trainer you also need to consider which type of swing the golf swing trainer is designed for. You can find out by contacting the manufacturer and asking them.

Many golfers use the golf swing trainers that are made by Medicus and Momentus. These trainers help by “breaking apart” when you swing incorrectly. The only real drawback to these golf training aids is that they tend to be expensive which makes them just out of reach for the average golfer.

For the average golfer there are mainly three options that are cost effective and can help dramatically improve your golf swing.

The first option are golf training grips. These run cheap and if you are really looking for the best bang for your buck, buy one for your putter before any other club since the average golfer will spend as much as 40% of their playing time on the green.

The next option is a little more expensive but is also easily available to borrow. Setting up a tripod and a video camera along with a lot of dirt cheap golf balls is a great way to see where your own improvment needs to be. After you hit about 100 golf balls some of your mistakes will start to show repeatedly. The first step to correcting any habit is awareness.

Last and perhaps your best option is to educate yourself on how to swing a golf club correctly in the first place.  One of the best resources to developing a consistent swing, stop slicing and increase your distance is The Simple Golf Swing. I’ve received great feedback on it from visitors to this site as well as others. I encourage you that if you are really looking to improve your golf swing, educate yourself on proper swing technique and get back out on the course to see how much you’ve improved.

In golf, the “slice” is a reference to the flight of the golf ball going off to the right or left which can be influenced by the players’ dominant hand. You obviously want to hit the ball as straight as possible down the course without it going to either side.

If you are gripping the handle of the club too tightly, you may end up with an uneven swing and cause the club to hit the ball at what is called an “open angle.” No matter how small this open angle is, it can dramatically alter the trajectory of your golf ball in flight. This causes your golf ball to go off target by either the left or right, again depending on your dominant hand.

A quick golf slice cure for this open clubface hit is to turn your left hand towards your right and check to see if you can see the upper part of your hand from this grip position. Also make sure that your palms are aligned properly before you start your swing. Once you’ve mastered this grip it can dramatically reduce your chances of golf slices.

One less popular and often akward cure is to make sure that your feet and knees are properly aligned and touching each other before you start your golf swing. Obviously this can create the most discomfort but it can help you to improve your golf swing accuracy and lower your slicing.

If you find that golf slicing is a common problem for your golf game, I strongly recommend you check out The Dave Way - Instant Golf Slice Cure. Dave Moore has one of the most popular golf slice related products today. The Dave Way is full of tips and practice drills delivered to you in a step by step format so that you can learn how to eliminate your golf slice forever. You’ll find several ways to cure your golf slice with Dave’s help and be able to hit longer drives straight down to the green with more accuracy than ever before.

In golf, having to hit the ball from uneven lies is one of the most difficult things to do and is top of the list of the hardest things in golf. Getting out on the golf course is a lot different than the driving range. If you are serious about lowering your score and shaving off as many strokes as you can you have to know how to play better from uneven lies.

Playing with the ball above or below your feet is not difficult when you know how to make the proper setup adjustments.

When your ball is at a level below your feet you will feel as though you have to lean far forward to reach the ball with your swing. Bending too far forward from the waist is a major mistake for this situation. It will alter your body position which leads to an altered and incorrect swing pattern. Instead of leaning far forward at the waist, you need to bend at the knees in order to get your club to properly reach the ball. Make sure that the amount that you lean forward is the same as any other shot that you make.

When the ball is at a level above your feet you need to stand up much straighter than normal. With the ball higher up the distance between yourself and the golf ball is much shorter. Be sure to alter your grip to choke up on the club. This way you will be in good position to make your normal swing even if it comes off as a little flatter with the golf ball being up higher.

Keep in mind however that when you are playing these types of shots is that you may miss a certain direction for each type. Typically you may miss to the right with the ball below your feet and typically you may miss to the left with the ball above your feet. Make sure you adjust your aim accordingly when doing these types of shots.

Michael J. Dikun has many more great golf tips like this in his best selling book Bogey Killer. If you are serious about lowering your score and driving longer distances in your golf game be sure to check it out.

One of the biggest mistakes beginning golfers make is called “coming over the top.” This is caused by opening your shoulders at the top of your backswing when you are starting your downswing. This action causes your club to come down at a steep angle and cut across your golf ball from the ouside inwards. You’ll end up with a pretty weak shot that ends up slicing far the to right.

In order to reduce your chances of coming over the top, when you get to the top of your backswing simply try to keep your back turned towards your target as you begin your downswing. You’ll find that this will allow you to drop your arms a little more which puts your body more into a proper swing alignment.

You’ll find more useful swing tips like this in Michael J. Dikun’s popular golf instruction ebook Bogey Killer which is available for reviews. Be sure to check it out and read through the impressive testimonials Michael has on his website.