How to swing your irons?
Bombing one off the tee is sexy. There’s nothing like seeing a shot take off straight down the fairway, hang up in the air for what seems like an eternity, and hit the ground some 300 yards away. It’s a beautiful sight. But what good is a 300-yard drive if you can’t hit an accurate approach shot? It’s no good. Accurate approach shots lead to shorter putts, better scores, and lower golf handicaps.

The key to hitting accurate approach shots is executing the fundamentals during your iron swing—setup, takeaway, backswing/downswing, impact, and finish. How you execute the fundamentals during these phases determine how well you hit an iron. Some professionals that give golf instruction sessions include the transition from backswing to downswing as a separate phase. Making a smooth transition from your backswing to your downswing is critical. But in the interest of space, we’ve included it as part of the backswing.

Setup
There’s no reason not to start with a good setup. Flex at the knees, stand firmly on the balls of your feet, bend from your hips not your back, adopt a straight (but not rigid) back, and balance your weight evenly over both feet. Think “rock and roll” to remind you that feet serve as a rock through your backswing and roll through your downswing. And don’t overlook ball position. It’s never farther back than your sternum or farther forward than your left armpit.

Takeaway
It’s critical that you make a good takeaway. Watch golfers who have low golf handicaps. Most will have good takeaways. Some teachers use the 2-8-12-rule in their golf lessons. During the first two inches of your takeaway, take the club straight back. From the second inch to the eighth inch, take the club back some more, but don’t break your wrists. This is a natural continuation of your takeaway. From the eighth inch to the twelfth inch, start breaking your wrist. At this point, the club should be parallel to the ground and the target line. In the rough, you’ll need a slightly steeper takeaway.

Backswing
Shifting your weight to your back foot is crucial in your backswing. It enables you to make a good coil and prevents you from making a reverse pivot. So keep until your weight shifts to your back foot. Keep your hands away from your body. At the top of the swing, a straight left arm is ideal but a slightly bent elbow is also acceptable. Your head should be behind the ball.

Make a smooth transition to the downswing. From this position, you’re ready to turn toward the target. Allow your hands to drop underneath your head as you begin shifting toward your front foot. The club should be directly over your rear shoulder. You should be approaching the ball with a descending blow.

Impact
This is the moment of truth. Good golfers know that at impact they need to achieve a “stacked” position to make solid contact. This position includes a full release of the wrists, a straight left arm (right for left-handers), most of your weight transferred to the front foot, and your hips open. Contrary to popular belief, the impact position isn’t the same as the setup position. With longer irons, allow for a slower wrist cock. This widens your swing and provides the flatter arc these clubs require.

Finish
Your finish tells you a lot about what’s going on during your swing. The correct finish ends with the bodyweight primarily on the front foot, the club behind you, and your head, chest, and belt buckle facing the target. You also should be balanced and able to hold that position indefinitely. From your finish position, you can tell two things: (1) if the majority of your weight has successfully shifted to your front foot, and (2) if your body has fully rotated without excessive sliding through the downswing, which will produce mis-hits.

Driving the ball is indeed sexy. But it’s only one phase of golf. If you’re serious about improving, you must master your irons, too. A 300-yard drive is worthless if you don’t follow up with an accurate approach shot. Use the golf tips we’ve provided above to hone your iron swing. It will help you hit more greens in regulation and chop strokes off your golf handicap.

By David Leadbetter
Photo By Stephen Szurlej

Think of your 8-iron, 9-iron and pitching wedge as pure accuracy clubs. If you want to hit the ball close consistently with these short irons, grip down about an inch. In most situations, you don’t want your short irons to fly too high and balloon — typically a result of overswinging and trying to hit them too hard. This makes it difficult to control their carry distance, particularly in windy conditions.

Gripping down not only helps you make a compact swing, it allows you to better control the trajectory — you want your short irons to pierce the air. Be sure you can see a piece of the butt end of the grip (right), and focus on swinging through smoothly.

How To Beat A Slice
The first move down is where to look

 
By Butch Harmon
Photos by Dom Furore
December 2009

Slicers tend to start the downswing with the upper body, making an aggressive move with the right arm and shoulder. Players who draw the ball start down by shifting the lower body toward the target, with the upper body following.

When the lower body starts first, the arms drop to the inside and the wrists stay hinged (left). This sets up a powerful in-to-out swing through impact and a draw. The slicer never gives the arms a chance to stay to the inside: The right arm and shoulder “throw” the club outward, which pulls the body into the back foot and unhinges the wrists (right). From there, the golf club will swing out to in, usually producing a weak slice.

How can you fix your first move down? First, practice shifting to your front side. Focus on replanting your left heel, or pushing off your right instep. You’ve got to get your weight moving toward the target. And here’s a good swing thought to control your upper body: Keep your right shoulder down and quiet as you change directions. Get those two moves right, and your slice is in big trouble.

Everyone knows golf originated in Scotland, right?
Welllllllll … yes and no.

It’s definitely true that golf as we know it emerged in Scotland. The Scots were playing golf in its very basic form – take a club, swing it at a ball, move ball from starting point to finishing hole in as few strokes as possible – by at least the mid-15th Century.

Actually, the earliest known reference to golf comes from King James II of Scotland, who, in 1457, issued a ban on the playing of golf and football (soccer). Those games, James complained, were keeping his archers from their practice.

James III in 1471 and James IV in 1491 each re-issued the ban on golf.

But the game continued to develop in Scotland over the decades and centuries, until 1744 when the first-known rules of golf were put down in writing in Edinburgh. Golf as it was then played would be easily recognized by any modern golfer.

But can it be said that the Scots “invented” golf? Not quite, because there’s strong evidence that the Scots were influenced themselves by even earlier versions of games that were similar in nature.

Here’s what the USGA Museum says about the issue: “While many Scots firmly maintain that golf evolved from a family of stick-and-ball games widely practiced throughout the British Isles during the Middle Ages, considerable evidence suggests that the game derived from stick-and-ball games that were played in France, Germany and the Low Countries.”

Part of that evidence is the etymology of the word “golf” itself. “Golf” derives from the Old Scots terms “golve” or “goff,” which themselves evolved from the medieval Dutch term “kolf.”

The medieval Dutch term “kolf” meant “club,” and the Dutch were playing games (mostly on ice) at least by the 14th Century in which balls were struck by sticks that were curved at the bottom until they were moved from Point A to Point B. Sounds a lot like hockey, doesn’t it? Except that it sort of sounds like golf, too (except for that ice part).

The Dutch and Scots were trading partners, and the fact that the word “golf” evolved after being transported by the Dutch to the Scots lends credence to the idea that the game itself may have been adapted by the Scots from the earlier Dutch game.

Something else that lends credence to that idea: Although the Scots played their game on parkland (rather than ice), they (or least some of them) were using balls they acquired in trade from … Holland.

And the Dutch game wasn’t the only similar game of the Middle Ages. Going back even farther, the Romans brought their own stick-and-ball game into the British Isles.

So does that mean that the Dutch (or someone else other than that Scots) invented golf? No, it means that golf grew out of games that were played in different parts of Europe.

But we’re not trying to deny the Scots their place in golf history. The Scots made a singular improvement to all the games that came before: They dug a hole in the ground, and made getting the ball into that hole the object of the game.

As we said at the beginning, for golf as we know it, we definitely have the Scots to thank.

When you are looking to buy new irons, one important consideration should be your trajectory.
If your have trouble getting the balk to fly high, it might be in your best interests to try out clubs with more offset – that is, where the clubface is slightly behind the shaft.

On the other hand, if you have a tendency to hit the ball so high that your are losing distance, you should rather go for irons with less offset and stiffer shafts.

If you have any hesitation of which way to go, it’s always best to check your requirements with your professional.

If you’re thinking about taking a golf vacation, or just bringing your clubs along on your next business trip, one of the best investments you can make is a Golf Travel Case. These cases come in two basic styles, the hard, molded plastic shell case, and the soft, padded case. A hard or soft shell case can save your expensive set of clubs from the rigors of air travel, and baggage handlers as well.

1.Determine if you want a hard shell plastic case or a soft padded travel bag. Both provide good protection, but depending on the size of your current golf bag, you will have to choose between the two. A plastic golf travel case will provide optimum protection, but also cost more.

2.Once you’ve decided on the style of travel case, you’ll want to find one that fits your golf bag. If you normally use a cart style golf bag, you will require a larger travel case. The larger the case the more money you’re going to spend, but it’s worth the money because replacing your cherished clubs will cost much more in the long run if they get damaged. If you have a standard carry bag, you should be able to find a case that will provide excellent protection for around one hundred dollars.

3.Now that you’ve purchased your golf travel case, take care when packing your bag for your next golf vacation. Keep your head covers on your metal woods to give you some extra insurance. If you have extra space in the travel case, put some towels or extra padding in top area where the club head are. This will help keep them from banging around during travel and give some additional protection.

4.Most golf travel cases have locking capability or at least a way for you to put your own locks on. Most airports will make you remove these locks for inspection, but it’s a good idea to lock the case back up before you send them to the baggage handlers. That way the golf case doesn’t accidentally open and the likelihood of having any of your equipment stolen is minimal.

Imagine yourself on the local greens par four and your initial drive is a gorgeous hit that lands exactly where you planned it to be, then you hit your approach shot and it lands a few yards short of the flag, and then comes the putting game.

Is this where you get nervous? Three or even four putt the hole? Ending up with a bogie or maybe your getting a double bogey?

Well hopefully these tips can turn that around and give you the birdie or even eagle that you are looking for.

–>Get down real low when you are examining the green and its contours as this will allow you to get the best view possible. The contours of the green are necessary to understand because if you try and hit it straight and it hits a curve it will certainly not be going straight anymore.

–>Be sure to get different views of the putt to make sure that there is nothing that your missing whether that means looking at it from the side or from the other side of the hole. This is important because if you miss a curve your putt will most certainly not be landing where you want it to.

–>If you have a chance to watch someone else putt on the same green as you, watch what the ball does on the green. This will allow you to pick up the best way to hit the ball if you pay close attention.

–>Another great way to improve your putt is to keep your eye steady. Keep it concentrated on the grass one half inch in front of where the golf ball sits. Doing this will allow you to direct where your ball be going.

–>Practice is the most important part of becoming a better putter because it will allow you to know how hard you need to hit it. This will produce muscle memory that will make all your shots a lot easier.

These tips can help you create a much more sturdy and solid game. They will allow you to play golf better and with some good hard work lower your score.

You want to know how to fix your golf swing? Just follow the following tips.

It will never disappoint you. Do people take cover when you come to the tee? Did your last set of golf balls head for the Bermuda Triangle? It’s time to visit the driving range and work on your swing. You should bring a friend who’s an experienced golfer that can watch you and observe what part of the golf swing you need to improve. Difficulty: Challenging Instructions Things You’ll Need: Bucket Of Golf Balls Five-iron 1. Step 1 Grip the golf club with your left hand so that your thumb lies along the shaft (see A). The line between your thumb and index finger should point toward your right eye. Wrap your right hand over your left so that your left thumb fits into the cup of the right palm. (Steps 1 through 5 apply to right-handed golfers. If you’re a left-handed golfer, reverse the instructions referring to right and left, thus creating a mirror image of what’s described.) 2. Step 2 Fine-tune your stance by pointing your knees in slightly. Point your right foot straight ahead. Point your left foot slightly to the left. 3. Step 3 Bring your elbows and arms as close together as possible. When you’re in your stance, your right elbow should point directly at your right hip, and your left elbow directly at your left hip. 4. Step 4 Imagine a flat plane extending from your shoulders to the ball (see B). Throughout your backswing, your hands should move parallel to this plane. Begin your backswing with your hands, followed immediately by your arms and shoulders. 5. Step 5 Begin your downswing by rotating your hips back toward the ball. Any swing that does not begin with the hips will lack power. Your left wrist bone should be pointing at the ball when the club makes contact. In case that you need golf equipment information, I strongly recommend the following website www.okeygolf.com. It is a world wide golf equipment provider which provides customers with the best quality and wholesale golf euipment through a golf wholesale method.