Left Handed Golf Store

How much time do you spend practicing your putting? Most amateur golfers spend 4-5 times more time on the practice range than the practice green. More shots are from around the green in a round yet this is the least practiced area. The game of golf should be learned from the practice green back to the tee. That means the most practice time should be on putting, then chipping, fairway shots, and finally driving in that order! Yet most golfer’s practice time is just the opposite.

Below are a few putting tips to consider:
1. The average golfer typically uses too much of their wrists in a putting stroke which creates loss of control. To become consistent in putting, the perfect combination of shoulders and arms should be used throughout the putting stroke. Any wrist action involved should be caused by the weight of the putter during your stroke.
2. With your putting stroke, concentrate on your shoulders. On the back swing, your right shoulder moves down and your left shoulder moves up, focusing on your shoulders becoming synchronized. Your right wrist should stay nice and firm throughout (this is for left handed golfers; right handed golfers would be just the opposite). Muscle memory of your putting stroke is essential.
3. A big question is how long a putting stroke is needed. A good starting point is one inch for every foot in the length of the putt. As an example, a five foot putt, bring your putter back five inches, follow through five inches. The keys are following through the same distance as the back swing along with keeping the same tempo back and through the putting stroke. This rule of thumb will need to be adjusted based upon your individual putting stroke, the speed of the greens, or whether you have an uphill or downhill putt. That is why practice, practice, practice is so critical.
4. Most putts are missed because the putter head is not square to the target line (regardless if the target line is correct or not) either in the back swing, at contact, or on the follow through of the putting stroke.
5. There are many theories about hand grip, weight shift, and stance over the ball. These topics will not be discussed in this article as our opinion is if you are comfortable when addressing the ball and master what was discussed above, that is plenty to remember when putting.
6. Finally, one major area the pros consider when putting, that amateurs do not, is where should the putt stop if you miss? For example, if the green is sloped back-to-front, the Tour pro will make sure to leave any miss below the hole for an easier, uphill putt.

Putting is complex and has many components to master. But remember the putting tips above, that more time should be spent on the practice green than on the range. If you change this behavior, there is little doubt your putting stroke will improve and several strokes will be shaven from your score.

Flexibility, Strength and the Golf Swing
By: John Hinds, PT

Consistency is a universal goal in the game of golf. One sure way to improve your scores is to develop a consistent and repeatable golf swing. Lessons, practice, more lessons and more practice will certainly help develop a more consistent and reliable golf swing but you also need ample flexibility and golf strength. Golf flexibility and strength work together to develop a more consistent and reliable golf swing by promoting a more efficient, stable, balanced and coordinated swing. Adequate golf flexibility and golf strength will enable you to take full advantage of your lessons, your time spent on the range and help reduce the risk of injury.

Golf Flexibility
Although golf is a sport that is generally not considered strenuous, a minimum range of motion or golf flexibility is necessary. Adequate golf flexibility promotes an efficient golf swing by reducing stress on the many muscles, connective tissue and joints involved including those of the neck and back, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands as well as the hips and knees. Restriction among any of these ‘links’ that make up the ‘kinetic chain’ that is our body promotes compensation. Compensation puts stress on areas above and below the area of restriction and eventually causes injury. For example, restricted shoulder motion causes excessive spinal rotation and can lead to injuries in the back and shoulder and visa versa. Restricted movement also promotes inconsistencies in our golf swing which may manifest themselves as slices, hooks, fat shots, thin shots, etc. Adequate golf flexibility results in a more efficient golf swing.

Golf Strength
Golf strength is important to the golfer for many reasons: yes, strong muscles, tendons, and ligaments help keep us injury free by improving our body’s ability to absorb and distribute the stress of the golf swing. But golf strength training also provides stability and improves our coordination. Golf strength in our legs, hips, back, shoulders and arms, which make up the links that connect our kinetic chain, provides a stable base of support for each succeeding link to work off. This allows the forces we generate throughout the golf swing to be transferred through each link to the club head and golf ball in a more efficient and coordinated manner. Improved efficiency yields greater power with less effort and less stress on the body. Core golf strength (strength in our trunk and hips) is important because it provides the foundation for the extremities to move on. The more stable and efficient our trunk and hips, the more efficient our extremities are. It doesn’t matter how fast your golf swing is, if the foundation on which you are swinging is not stable enough to control the path of the golf club.

Golf Posture
Golf strength also provides the ability to maintain proper golf posture and spinal alignment. The ability to maintain your golf posture throughout the swing is one of the keys to a more consistent and repeatable golf swing. Postural strength and stability, combined with leg, hip and trunk strength, allows for a more reliable axis of rotation throughout the golf swing which allows for more precise coordination of the legs and arms with our core. Good golf posture is also less stressful on your spine and back muscles. The inability to maintain your address posture throughout the golf swing will result in fat shots, thin shots, slices, hooks, pushes and pulls and possible injury.

Golf Balance
With club head speeds averaging 70-110 mph, the golf swing is a very dynamic movement. Good golf balance promotes crisp ball contact by preventing excessive movement such as hip slide or sway. In order to be most efficient and successful, to be more consistent and accurate, we need to maintain our golf balance throughout the swing. Adequate flexibility and proper golf strength training that includes balance training will contribute to a more balanced swing.

Endurance
Strength training also improves our muscular golf endurance which delays the onset of fatigue. Fatigue will cause a breakdown in one or more links within the chain and can lead to any number of faults such as loss of posture, balance, coordination and timing, which is not conducive to an efficient or reliable golf swing. Fatigue also leaves us more vulnerable to injury.

Injury prevention
All of the above reduces the risk of injury and promotes an efficient, more reliable and well coordinated golf swing. Of the hundreds of training devices on the market today, not one is more effective at improving your ability to play the game of golf better than your own body. It’s never too late to start a golf flexibility and strength training program.

Article Sources:
http://www.golfarticles.net
Lifetime Home Fitness

I ran across this article by Ron King on golf etiquette and it struck a cord with me. So I wanted to share this with my left handed golfers. Ron highlights 5 golf etiquette areas which I often have to address with my various golfing partners. He discusses proper golf apparel, showing up on time, cell phone use, order of play, and conduct when hitting (or as I call it, Quiet Please!) Which of these etiquette items “irk” you the most? For me, my top two are cell phone use and order of play.
Enjoy the article and let me know your thoughts!

“Golf Apparel — The Start Of Good Golf Etiquette
by: Ron King
Many of us recall old movie images of golfers in plaid pants, sweater vests, billed caps, and other stereotypical apparel of golfing lore. While clothing on golf courses has changed over the years, proper golf apparel is still expected. And the greater the prestige of the golf club, the greater the expectation you will abide by their dress code. Most clubs and courses, even the public ones, require that golfers follow a dress code. The most common rule is the collared shirt. Many courses require long pants, not jeans, and golf shoes.

5 Minutes Early Is Late!
When it comes to actually starting your game, the primary rule of golf etiquette is to show up on schedule for your tee time. That means you will have already done everything else in preparation for the start of the golf game. You’ll need time to park your car, warm up, practice, buy balls, change, and pick up a cart. Being early is a matter of consideration for others.

Leave Cell Phones In The Real World
The exclusion of cell phones from golf is another common courtesy on the links. Cell phones should be left in your car or locker. If you do need to bring a cell phone onto the course for emergencies, keep it turned off or in vibrate mode. There is nothing worse than hearing that annoying ring, coming from someone’s golf bag, in the middle of swing.

Order of Play
When you’re on the course, you’ll need to understand how the other golfers in your group want to play. Some let the best score tee off on the next hole, while others let whoever is ready tee off first. You can offend players by not following their rules for order of play, even if their rules are, from your perspective, wrong.

Time-Honored Conventions Make Golfing Unique
An obsession with quiet is another characteristic for which golfers are known. Like most traditions, this one is based on necessity. When your object is to hit a small object with a long pole, you need all of your concentration. Even when golfing with friends, respect the fundamental rule of keeping quiet during shots, and standing out of the direct line of vision.

Today’s golfing rules of etiquette can seem archaic — a throwback to days of old. They harken back to a slower paced time when consideration for others was perhaps easier. In the 21st century, golfing provides us a time away from the bustle of everyday living. Though golf is highly competitive, it is, nonetheless, a gentleman’s — and gentlewoman’s — game.

Be sure that, when you are out on the golf course, you have a good understanding of the rules by which the other golfers want to play. Know, in advance, whether they honor the preceding holes score, for instance, by letting the golfer with the best score tee off on the next hole, or do they let whoever is ready to tee off, go first? It is possible, if you aren’t careful, to offend strangers, if you have decided to join their group when you play, by not playing to their rules.”