Golf Swing Basics

Y.E. Yang’s rookie season will go down as a year of discovery. He found a new swing, a new swing coach, a new culture and many new challenges, not the least of which was a language barrier that he continues to work through.

PGATOUR.COM: When did you feel that the PGA TOUR was within your grasp last year?

Y.E. YANG: Before coming to the U.S., when playing in Asia, I didn’t think I had a chance to play on the PGA TOUR. But after I started winning in Japan, I slowly thought about moving on to the U.S., thinking maybe, “I can do it.” Winning the HSBC Champions in 2006 was the turning point in my career, and I gained confidence about my game and made the decision to try for the PGA TOUR. The process wasn’t easy, as I had to go through q-schools, invites and more q-schools, but I was able to make it according to my plans.

PGATOUR.COM: There are tough adjustments for American-born players who reach this level. For a foreign player who has yet to master the language, I would imagine that would be 10-fold.

YANG: Language was difficult, learning new courses and having to adjust to new greens gave me the putting woes. The tournaments I played before in Japan and Asia mainly were Bentgrass greens, but here in the U.S., you have Bermuda greens and other different types of greens to adjust to. That was the hardest adjustment I had to make.

PGATOUR.COM: You didn’t put together the season you probably expected, but you must take away some positives about your rookie season.

YANG: The positives I take from this year is that I was able to find a new swing. My golf swing before and my swing now is different. Earlier this year when I started out playing on the PGA TOUR, I didn’t have much success, missing seven cuts in a row, because I was playing with a swing not suited to playing out here.

My swing plane was flat, ball flight was low, with not much spin. But then I was introduced to my current coach, Brian Mogg, based out of Orlando. It was the first time in my golfing career that I had ever worked with a coach.

He didn’t want to change too much, as I was in a middle of a tournament, but pointed out a few things where I was doing wrong. From that point on, I practiced on my own for 3-4 months.

It has gotten a lot better, and I’m still working on it but I feel like it will help me with my career in the long run. Although I may not have secured my card just yet, I have new-born confidence in my swing and feel I can play better now.

Continue reading here.

Technorati Tags: perfect golf swing, Y.E. Yang

Scientists believe they may have finally found the answer to the perfect golf swing.

The key is knowing at exactly what stage of the swing you should exert the maximum force, according to research.

Use too much strength too early or too late and the aspiring golfer will see their handicap stubbornly linger in double figures.

Tiger Woods, who has won 87 tournaments in his 12-year career, is viewed by many commentators as the golfer with the most perfect swing.

Using a complex mathematical equation, Professor Robin Sharp from the Department of Mechanical, Medical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Surrey, has calculated which parts of the upper body should be used at what stage.

Breaking with conventional thinking, his study suggests that the wrists are not as important as the way a golfer uses their arms.

His research also concludes that height is not as advantageous as previously thought, with short people able to hit a ball almost as far as their taller competitors if they use the right technique.

Read more here.

Technorati Tags: Golf Swing, perfect golf swing

Looking to improve your golf swing? Here are some thoughts on doing so. Many folks agree it is best to adopt a simple golf swing when you are learning because this is easier to keep consistent. Also many golf shots can be repeated with the same movements.

Ask most professional players how they play and the response you will get 99% of the time is by feel. They have learned to forget thinking about the shot and gain control by the feel of a shot. You can dramatically improve your golf swing developing this “feel for your shot”.

In place of thinking there must be conscious control, which can be obtained by constant repetition (practice) to gain a comfortable and reliable feel of your swing and movements. Once this is learned all the way down to your muscles you will swing with greater accuracy on every shot and does not depend on your mood at the time.

We do not know just where in the system it resides, but whether it is muscular memory, or the wearing of certain grooves or channels in the mind, or as is probable a combination of the two. It is obvious that the more often the same patterns of movements can be repeated the clearer the memory will be.

Also, and this is most important, it is highly desirable that the memory should not be confused by the frequent or even occasional introduction of other and different movements as happens when the swing is fundamentally changed for certain shots.

It is mainly for this reason that I teach and practice that every shot from the full drive to the putt should be played with the same movement. Of course in the drive the movement is both more extensive and bolder than for the shorter shots, but fundamentally it is the same.  The result must be a feeling of “in to out” stroking across the face of the ball played not at the ball, but through it.

The “in to out” refers to the relation of the feel of the path of the club head to the desired line of flight of the ball. The only shots in golf which I have been unable to play or to teach as sections of the fundamental “in to out” swing are certain shots which call for cut pulled under and across the ball. But for ninety nine out of every hundred shots a golfer must play, the swing is the movement necessary.

So to clear up any confusion I will list what I consider to be the 6 essentials to improve your golf swing:

1:      It is essential to turn the body round to the right and then back and round to the left, without moving either way. In other words this turning movement must be from a fixed pivot.

2:    It is essential to keep the arms at full stretch through  out the swing through the back swing, the down swing, and the follow through.

3:    It is essential to allow the wrists to break fully back at the top of the swing.

4:    It is essential to delay the actual hitting of the ball until as late in the swing as possible.

5:    It is essential not to tighten any muscle concerned in the reactive part of the swing (movement above the waist).

6:    It is essential to feel and control the swing as a whole and not to concentrate upon any part of it.

In a sense this last point is the most vital. The swing must be considered and felt as a single unity, not as a succession of positions or even a succession of movements. The swing is one and indivisible.

Now I consider that our golf is liable to go wrong if we lose sight of any of these essentials.

There are of course innumerable incidentals that could be added that are important enough to have a considerable influence on one’s game, but I will go so far as to say that if you have these six essentials well embedded in your mind and heart and if you have developed some conscious control of your swing by getting the feel of the right movements your game will rarely or never desert you.

Of course the comfortable, reliable, right feel is not a thing that comes all at once. For instance, it takes years though not if your teacher teaches by feel to feel nicely set and comfortable before the ball; weight between the feet, perfectly free and active and yet firmly planted. But this is the quickest path to improve your golf swing.

More golf swing information can be found here.

Technorati Tags: improve your golf swing

Has anyone had any success with an alterative swing? Such as stack and tilt, one plane swing, symple swing, moe norman etc. I am looking for someone to comment who was a high handicapper and now a mid handicapper or maybe anyone who has heard of another person being successful after this swing change.

the stack and tilt seems to be the swing of the future I believe appleby wier and a few others have switched and started winning again I have a friend who already had a reverse pivot and instead of fighting it switch to stack and tilt and has dropped about 10 to 12 stroke much to my dismay

I grooved this swing some months ago and I couldn’t be happier - with my irons, anyway. Went from a 5.1 index down to a 2.2

Trouble is, I never installed the swing with the driver because it never made sense to me, nor did it work.

Now, I find myself having trouble off the tee when it comes to finding fairways. And not only have I lost accuracy, I’ve lost distance. Any advice?

Specs: 5′11″, 180 lbs and I used to average about 3 bills off the tee. Now, I’m wondering if I average 250.

I’ll bet you make a handsome golfer out on the course.

I actually played it years ago. Junior high to be exact. My parents both played and it was a nice family outing for Sunday afternoons. I held my own with them.

Brady Riggs shows you how to properly setup and use the legs in the golf swing. For more tips and free swing analysis software go to www.inpractis.com

Duration : 0:2:44

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Brady, drill, Golf, inpractis, instruction, legs, power, Riggs, setup, swing

Get a More Consistent Golf Swing with Massage Therapy

By: Steve Esquire

If you play golf then you know the importance of having a good swing. Your swing makes or breaks your golf game. The follow through and mechanics of your swing are very important to long term success. To ensure you have a consistent golf swing, it is vital to warm up your muscles, joints and tendons prior to playing. Proper warm up consists of stretching, light exercise and massage. These are important to get your body prepared for the repetitive physical activity that it must perform. Now you may not know that a massage chair can be an effective part of your pre-golf game.

The golf swing actually puts stress on many of parts of the body. The fact that it is repeated throughout the game will build up stress on the lower back, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees and hips. All of these areas are required to work together to produce a truly accurate swing. If one area like your shoulder has tightness, then it…Continue reading

Technorati Tags: consistent golf swing, Golf Swing Basics

Will using the “stack and Tilt” reduce my slice.

Also, what are some other advantages of the Stack and Tilt

Byron Nelson says: 2 things cause a slice: an open club face or an out to in swing; or both. Ther is no reason a person has to live with a slice. You don”t always have to make major changes to correct a flaw. “Whatever you do, do it in small increments” Harvey Penick ], famous golf instructor.

I find I can stay over the ball better, but having some trouble hitting longer irons and fairway woods. Anyone else having success/problems?

I'm quite a bit more conventional than the Stack and Tilt, but I have incorporated their swing thought of "crushing the can" with my left (lead) foot to start my downswing. While it's not necessarily a new thought, I like the imagery and it works for me.

See Also: Stack And Tilt Golf Swing Video

Edit: to the bonehead below, I'm a former PGA Professional and a 2 handicap while playing once a week. While I'm not saying the Stack and Tilt is the best thing going, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Your simplistic "bump" method of swinging a club is fine too, but there's no doubt in my mind that it wouldn't be too tough to find several top teachers to dismiss that theory as "crap" as well. Get a clue, tough guy.

BTW, anytime you'd like to donate a little cash and are around Raleigh, NC, come on by and give me some.

Technorati Tags: stack and tilt, stack and tilt golf swing

has anyone changed to the new swing? is it worth changing ? do you have any links to this swing?

I have and it works for me. Your weight stays on your forward foot and there is absolutely no weight shift during the whole swing making timing a little less critical in making good contact with the ball. My ball striking has definitely improved with considerable increase in control and distance. Google and learn more about it.