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Tiger Woods hits his irons straighter and more accurately than most pros. By swinging the club exactly the same way, he’s able to repeat his golf swing again and again and again. The more he repeats his swing, the more often he generates predictable results. For Tiger, predictable results mean more tournament wins and higher earnings. For the rest of us, it means better scores and lower golf handicaps.

Building a repeatable swing is ultimately the goal of all golf instruction. The secret to producing a repeatable swing with your irons is keeping the clubface square to the swing path. Failing to do so forces you to make compensatory moves to return the clubface square to the ball.

Five other keys to building a repeatable swing are

Staying connected:
One common factor among good players, in addition to low golf handicaps, is “staying connected” during the swing. In other words, good players feature a one-piece takeaway from the ball, which I often stress in my golf tips and golf lessons. Staying connected means that everything-your club hands, arms, and shoulders-moves away from the ball in unison as you start your backswing, ensuring that the clubhead travels on a wide arc away from the ball.

Set the club on the correct plane
A repeatable swing sets the club on the correct plane. To do so, hinge or cock your wrists as you move into the backswing. As your arms continue to swing upward and your body to turn, the wrists point the clubhead skyward while your left shoulder replaces the right shoulder at address. The angle of the shaft to the ball stays the same and the clubhead remains square to the swing’s path.

Swing into the top slot
As the top of the backswing, your club moves into “the slot” position, where the club’s shaft is horizontal to the ground and parallel to the target line. Also, the clubface’s angle matches your arm angle. Known as square or neutral, this is the ideal position to aim for at the top of the backswing. In addition, your original spine angle and your head position remain the same as at address. Your shoulders are turned 90 degrees, while your hips are turned 45 degrees. Most of your weight is over the right foot and you feel resistance in your right knee and right thigh.

Retain the force of the swing
Settle your weight smoothly back on your left side and start to unwind the upper body, as you move into the downswing. Also, drop your right elbow (for right handers) down to your side. This flattens the swing slightly. (This is Herb Pennick’s “Magic Move,” which I’ve previously covered in my golf tips.). As you shift your weight to the left side, your right heel comes off the ground slightly. Try retaining the 90 degree angle between your left wrist and the club’s shaft as long as possible. Your hands lead the club into the ball at impact.

Open your shoulders at impact
It’s a common belief that your shoulders should return to a square position at impact. I always address this point when giving golf lessons. In fact, your shoulders should occupy a slightly open position at impact, ensuring that the club has the room needed to travel on the correct path through the ball. In short, your body has to “get out of the way” for consistent ball striking with your irons. Finish with a balanced follow-through.

Also, important in building a repeatable swing is striking the ball cleanly and crisply. Work on this drill to improve your ballstriking. It’s a staple of my golf instruction.

• Start by assuming the ideal impact position at address with one of your irons. Start by shifting your weight onto the left side (for right-handers) and lift the right heel off the ground a fraction. The hips and shoulders are slightly open with the head over the ball, creating the feeling of a good impact position. Now, move into the back swing, shifting your weight to the right side. Return your weight to the left side, swinging the club down and through at impact. Move through the swing to a balanced position, with your weight on your front foot.

Practice this drill again and again and again until you feel yourself swinging the club the same way. Building that repeatable swing produces accuracy, consistency, and a lower golf handicap. Yours may not look like Tiger’s but it can produce more consistent and better results.

Learn about bowling tips for beginners and bowling wrist support at the Bowling Lessons site.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/tips-on-repeatable-swings-1702482.html

I don’t often mention green maintenance in my golf lessons. Nor do I often discuss it in my golf tips. That’s because golfers want to talk about hitting the ball instead. But the care and feeding of a club’s greens-how they are mowed, watered, fertilized- can have a major impact on a player’s golf handicap, especially if he or she plays the same course a lot.

Speed is the key factor when considering green maintenance. Usually, players want a superintendent to increase green speed. It’s probably the most frequent request about greens. Occasionally, players want a superintendent to decrease green speed, but these requests are few and far between. Misjudging the speed of a putt can add strokes to a score, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips.

The term “green speed” is technically inaccurate. The device measuring “speed” -the USGA Stimpmeter -gauges the distance a ball rolls when released at a controlled speed on a putting surface, not the ball’s velocity. To talk about green speed then is a bit of a misnomer. Nevertheless, we continue to use the term when talking about greens. (I even use it when giving golf lessons.) A green with a relatively long ball roll is considered “fast.” A green with a relatively short ball roll is said to be “slow.”

Ball roll relates to relationship between the initial energy when a putter strikes the ball and the resistance between the ball and the turf’s surface, or friction. As the ball rolls across the green, its surface slows it down thanks to friction. A green with high resistance slows a ball down more than a green with low resistance. Moderating friction changes a green’s speed.

Environmental factors, such as humidity, can moderate friction and change a green’s speed. For example, high humidity increases green speed, a consideration when playing on a hot day. Soil type also influences green speed. Greens made predominately of clay are faster in spring than their sandier counterparts. While superintendents have little or no control over these factors, they have minimal impact on your game.

Management practices, on the other hand, like mowing or irrigation, can make a profound impact on a green, both short-term and long-term. Below is a summary of how some popular management practices affect green speed.

Mowing:

An effective way of increasing ball roll in the short-term, mowing has a significant impact on green speed. Decreasing mowing height by only 1/16 inch can increase ball roll from 6 to 10 inches. A similar response occurs when you “double cut” a green (mowing it a second time, perpendicular to the first cut) which can increase ball roll 6 to 12 inches. Mower type also influences green speed. Greens cut with a walk-behind mower are generally 6 to 8 inches fast than greens cut with triplex mowers.

Irrigation

Dry greens are faster than moist or wet greens. Withholding irrigation or decreasing it before an event requiring faster greens will increase ball roll 4 to 8 inches, depending on soil type.

Rolling

Rolling golf greens isn’t new, but it’s growing in popularity thanks to new research and better equipment. Depending on the type of roller you use, you can increase green speed from 4 to 10 inches, with minimal compaction problems on sand-based greens

Topdressing

Light frequent topdressing with or without vertical mowing or core aerating is common. Topdressing decreases speed for up to 1 week after application, followed by an increase of from 4 to 8 inches (above the speed before topdressing.) Vertical mowing has a similar effect. Core aeration reduces speed initially, and if you don’t topdress to fill in the holes, decrease it long term.

Fertility

Decreasing nitrogen fertility will gradually increase ball-roll distance. A decrease in nitrogen fertility of only 10 percent can increase ball roll 8 to 12 percent. The effects may take up to a year to see, however, depending on previous fertility practices. Plant growth regulators can increase ball roll from 4 to 8 inches, depending on product, rate, and frequency of application.

Keep in mind that these factors do not operate independently. Modifying one may require compensation by modifying another.

Next time you play your favorite course be aware of these factors and how they affect a green. Take them into account when putting. Doing so might just help you improve your round and your golf handicap.

Want to find out about types of bowling balls and bowling technique? Get tips from the Bowling Lessons website.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/how-green-maintenance-affects-your-game-1702489.html