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Golf tips that can Improve your Game for Free
Effortless Distance With Your Golf Swing
Author: Jeff O'Brien
Article:
Many times when you hear people talking about getting the most
distance out of their drives or irons, you probably hear the
word timing used as they talk about how to achieve this. Or,
when you watch the professionals play (especially in person) the
distance they achieve seems to come so effortlessly and smooth.
Although a discussion of the entire golf swing isn't within the
scope of this article, let's talk about the timing. Timing is a
word that is often bantered about when discussing the golf swing
and more precisely achieving maximum distance; but timing of
what? And how do I achieve it?
In a nutshell, when is comes to getting the most efficient
distance out of your golf shot, the timing element is the timing
of the release of the stored energy that has amassed during the
process of your golf swing.
Again, for the purposes of this article, let's fast forward just
a bit to the point where you are at the top of your golf swing.
At this point, if all has gone well, your left arm will
straight. The relationship between the club and your wrists will
be 90 degrees (wrists will be cocked). Your hips will have
rotated approximately 45 degrees away from their original
address position, while your shoulders have rotated more toward
a 90 degree posture. Essentially, you are in somewhat of a
'coiled' position at the top of your back swing.
At this position, you have accumulated your stored energy.
Except additional energy that will be stored and released
rapidly as your shaft flexes and un-flexes, this is what you
have to work with.
Now that you have all this energy stored up, how and when to
release it is on of us golfers greatest conundrum. This power
that you now possess is but a fleeting thing, and one must apply
it at the proper moment in order to achieve the desired results.
Unfortunately, from this position at the top of the back swing
is where the vast amount of golfers goes wrong; and that is the
first movement they make back toward the ball is with the hands
and arms. If you do this, a vast amount of your stored energy
has now been released and not available to be applied to the
golf ball. When you do this, you lose the angle created between
your wrists and your club. You lose the angle that you have
created between your shoulder and your hips. In essence, (among
other things) you have begun uncoiling way to early.
Among other things, in its simplest form, this type of action is
generally called swinging or releasing from the top or casting
the club. Aside from grossly leaking energy from your swing this
will cause and outside in swing path, and more often than not
produce some severity of slice.
But, let's stay strictly within the confines of energy and
timing. If, from the top of your swing, you begin the ascent of
your golf swing toward the impact zone from the ground up and
maintain the aforementioned angles we discussed much longer,
you'll be well on your way to applying the energy of your swing
at the proper moment (not to mention your swing path will be
much more desirable).
>From the top of your swing, the weight beginning to transfer
from your back instep toward your front foot is what initiates
the downswing. Not your hands, not your shoulders, not a
spinning motion with your hips. As your weigh begins to move
toward your front side, your hips will follow by beginning to
release (uncoil) from the angle they had attained at the top of
the swing. As the hips begin to uncoil and continue to follow
the weight shift your shoulders and arms will naturally follow.
Note that I said naturally. You shouldn't be consciously firing
your arms and shoulders to catch up. If you do, once again, you
have just spent more of your stored energy.
As the weight shifts, the hips follow with rotation and the
shoulders and arms now begin to follow suit, your wrists should
still be in a 'cocked' position in relationship to the club. In
other words, this angle is still maintained.
As your left hip clears, this imparts a tremendous amount of
pressure for your upper body to catch up. And catch up it will
in a big way. With you hips cleared and your belly beginning to
point down the target line, you shoulders will follow through
the hitting zone and finally your arms and hands will be
naturally force to release in a dramatic fashion through the
impact zone. As all this happens the shaft of your club will
have a pretty fair amount of flex imparted on it. This is easily
discernable if you look at a slow motion or still photo view of
the club coming into the impact zone.
It is at this point, with the shaft flexed that the right hand
begins to release (and eventually pronate) that is the
culmination of releasing all this stored energy upon the golf
ball with the proper timing.
In a sense, the release of the energy which entails the hips
following the initiated weight shift, followed by the upper body
responding to the hips uncoiling, that then begins to lead the
arms and hands down the target line and through the hitting zone
until finally the hands can no longer remain 'cocked' and they
release the club naturally as a result of rapidly catching up to
the rest of what the body has done.
In summary it is the arms and hands that complete the release of
your stored energy NOT initiate it from the top of your swing.
As you begin to bring this concept together it may actually feel
to you as though your arms and hand are 'trailing' the rest of
your swing. And in sense they are... they are waiting for the
precise timing. And the great thing is, is that the physics of
this will all take place quite naturally once you begin to
refine the mechanics of your golf swing with your teaching
professional. And with some practice you'll soon be able to let
the natural forces and physics of a good golf swing apply the
proper timing to the golf ball in a smooth and effortless...
longer distance manner.
About the author:
Jeff O'Brien offers instruction and insight on golf that will
get your golf swing and golf game on track or off to a good
start by establishing a good foundation on which you will build
your golf swing and game. Be sure to visit
(http://www.golf-ology.com) for more of Jeff's golf tips and online golf
lessons.
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