How To Drive A Golf Ball Far And Accurately Consistently

There are few things more satisfying than launching a jaw dropping drive with explosive distance right down the middle of the fairway. There is no doubt that hitting the driver well makes the game a lot easier as many courses are quite long. It is almost a necessity to have that 300 yard drive if you want to succeed as a professional golfer since most tour courses are long and require good driving distance in order to be competitive. Here are a few tips that may help you to gain those extra yards in driving distance:

Tip 1: Strengthen your wrists

While golf does not require significant muscle strength, it certainly does not hurt to be physically fit and strong. The wrists play a key factor in being able to generate and support high club head speeds so be sure to do exercises that make the wrist stronger. These will usually involve doing some sort of resistance training like wrist curls with a dumbbell or on a machine at the gym. It cannot hurt to also do weight training exercises for the upper and lower body also since they all help to support the golf swing.

Tip 2: Develop greater lag

Lag is one the secrets to hitting the ball far almost effortlessly. It is defined as the angle formed between the shaft and the right hand if you are a right handed player and the smaller this angle is before impact the greater the club head speed will be through impact. One way to build greater lag is to start the downswing with a slight shift of your body weight to the left while keeping the club still at the top, this helps to load the club with energy and will help to create more club head speed.

Tip 3: Use proper equipment

If you generate a club head speed over 120 mph then you need to use a stiff flex driver with 7 to 8 degrees of loft for maximum distance. If your club head speed is lower than 100 mph then you need a regular flex driver with a loft around 11 to 12 degrees for maximum distance. Also be sure to get a driver that is not too long otherwise this will affect the accuracy of your shots and inaccurate drives are not usually very long.

Tip 4: Factor the wind

The wind can have a huge impact on the length of your drives. If the wind is blowing hard into your face then you need to launch your drives at a lower trajectory for maximum carry and roll. In order to hit your drives lower, tee the ball slightly lower and put the ball a little further back in your stance. If the wind is helping you then go ahead and launch the ball high or the normal trajectory you are used to. The ideal drive downwind is a high trajectory as this will ride the wind for maximum carry. To hit your drives higher tee the ball higher and put the ball a little further up in your stance towards your left feet. Try some of these golf driving tips to help you hit better drives and shoot lower golf scores.

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Larrazabal golf tip No.2: Ball position

As I explained in my previous article about hovering the driver at address, I'm a feel player so I'm not thinking too much about technique when I'm hitting shots. I like to listen to what the shot I am facing is telling me and that will decide the type and shape of shot I will hit(golf wholesale).

I like to feel comfortable over the ball that is the most important thing but golfers, especially those who are new to the game must understand that the position of the ball in your stance changes depending on the length of the club in your hands.

For the longest club in my bag the driver (TaylorMade R9 Super Tri Driver ).- I place the ball just inside my left heel. This helps me to generate power and leverage as I extend my arms through impact and give the ball maximum clubhead speed.

If you play the ball too close to the centre of your stance with your driver(TaylorMade R9 Super Tri Driver ), you will launch the ball too low or hit weak shots as you try to compensate with your hands for the low launch.

The ball should be moved a little bit further back and closer to you for the fairway wood or the hybrid and just about the centre of your feet for the mid-irons. For the shorter irons with more loft, I'm looking for a steeper attack at the ball so most of the time the ball position is a little right of centre(Callaway Diablo Edge Driver).

Ball position is very important but it is also important to be comfortable over the ball. Make sure you compensate for the length of the shaft the longer the shaft the further forward in your stance(golf wholesale).

Golf Tips to Help Make Perfect Contact With the Golf Ball

Golf requires a lot of skill but a lot of this can easily be learnt if you are an absolute beginner. The fundamentals of golf should not be a problem for you initially but some people can find they develop bad habits through lack of tuition or they have altered their swing or stance over time. These problems can be ironed out really easily by practicing proper form and before long your shots should begin to take shape again.

Making contact with the ball can be a source of frustration for some people as they may swing at the ball and either hit the ground (known as grounding' the ball) or hitting the top of the ball causing it to either pathetically roll forwards or fire off the front of the tee box and go straight up in the air. Either of these are often symptoms of underlying problems with our swinging motion and stance, fortunately these can easily be rectified.

If you have been grounding the ball a lot then there is a good chance that your swing is too steep, this happens when the shoulders don't rotate, your arms instead wrap around and can even cause you to tilt to the left (if you are right handed) when you take faster swings.

If you have been hitting the top of the ball and the ball hasn't gone very far or not had enough loft then you could be rotating your shoulders as well as your hips, this brings your club away from the ball and produces a really shallow swing. This swing means your club will not return to the bottom of the ball and they will scuff the top of the ball or miss completely.

The correct way to set up and swing is to make sure your trailing shoulder (your right if you are right handed) leads the rotation with your hips staying as still as possible, you'll rotate around your hips but don't allow your lower half of your body turn to the right. As you begin your downswing rotate back and follow through the ball after you hit it, soon you'll hit the ball cleanly in the sweet spot and start hitting shots where they are supposed to go.

If you are still having trouble maintaining your form then you may be taking your eye off the ball, this can lead the rest of your body to move away from the target and have similar effects that grounding and topping the ball can have. Make sure you maintain eye contact with the ball throughout the swing and you'll start to become more consistent.

Whether you are practicing or in the middle of a game, make sure you look after your clubs with a comprehensive golf insurance policy or golf holiday insurance if you are playing abroad.

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Golf Tips ? 4 Important Things About The Wind And Your Ball

Once you have swung your golf club: whether it is your golf driver, pitching wedge, or one of your other golf clubs, to send the ball hurtling down the fairway the golf ball becomes an object in flight and is subject to the laws of aerodynamics. One of the most influential components of how and in what direction your ball flies as it heads down the fairway is the wind. Let's take a brief look at how the wind influences the golf ball in flight

An object in flight, be it an aeroplane, a bird, a stone, or in our case a golf ball, is subject to several different forces acting upon it. The problem with a golf ball is that once it has left your club face it has no steering ability; except perhaps for what you have done to it during your golf swing. Let us ignore other factors such as ball spin and ball design and concentrate solely on how the wind affects the flight of the ball.

1. Wind direction in relation to the ball

Assuming there is some wind blowing, a ball moving directly into the wind can usually maintain its direction. The wind is acting on the front of the object symmetrically so the direction of travel will not change significantly. The same is true if the wind is directly behind the ball. The difference between these two is that a ball heading into wind will eventually slow down (due to wind resistance and drag) whereas a ball with the wind behind it may accelerate for a time and then slow down due to other forces (such as drag).

When the wind is at any angle to the direction of travel of the golf ball it will tend to push the ball off course the direction will change! How much the ball is blown off course will depend on the angle at which the wind is striking the ball. Starting from the front, i.e. ball heading directly into the wind, as the angle between the ball direction and the wind direction increases to the side, the ball will be pushed further off course in the opposite direction to the wind. If the wind is coming from the right, the ball will be pushed left. The maximum deflection of the ball can be expected when the wind is directly from the side of the direction of travel of the ball, i.e. the angle is 90 degrees. Therefore, a ball heading North being hit by a wind from the East (moving to the west) will be pushed towards the North West (or to the left as you look from the back of the ball).

This also applies when the wind is behind the ball. However, since the ball and wind are both going in the same direction you can expect the change in direction to be less.

2. Wind speed and ball speed

Of course the direction of the wind in relation to the direction of travel of the ball is one factor to consider; the other factor is the speed or strength of the wind. It makes sense that the stronger the wind is the faster it is travelling and therefore the greater its affect will be on the ball. Push something harder and it moves further! If the wind is hitting the ball from any angle from the front you can expect the ball to both be pushed off course and to slow down. However, these two things are slightly opposite. For any given wind speed or force, if the wind is more from the front the direction changes less than if the wind is more from the side BUT the ball will slow down more with the frontal wind than it will with the side wind. A similar principal applies when the wind comes from behind the golf ball.

3. The distance the ball needs to travel

The third factor to consider is how far the ball needs to travel. The longer time the ball is in the air the greater the influence of the wind acting on it. Under the same wind conditions of direction and strength, if you are making a 100 yard pitch shot the correction required will be less than if you are making a 200 yard driver shot.

4. What does this mean when I play?

These aerodynamic forces need to be taken into account whenever you play a golf shot and adjustments need to be made to compensate for how the wind will affect the flight of the ball. Disregarding the intentional use of spin, which is somewhat more advanced, or the spin induced by the design of the golf ball, if you want to place the ball reasonably accurately feel the wind. Judge the wind direction, angle, and strength in relation to a line from your position to your target and adjust your play accordingly. In general if the wind in coming towards you, i.e. you are hitting into wind, then the ball needs to go towards the wind direction because it will be pushed away from the wind direction in flight. If the wind is from behind your position you need your ball to go to the same side as the wind. For example, if the wind is from behind and the right, the ball needs to go to the right as well.

With this basic knowledge of how the wind affects your golf ball in flight you should be better equipped to start making the correct adjustments when you play. Practice combined with knowledge will produce better results.

Now find out more about how you can improve your golf game here Golf Mental Game Coaching and you will receive a FREE gift.

Copyright (c) 2010 Leslie Meehan

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Golf Tips: Never Hit the Ball Until You Know Where It?s Going - the Crucial Role of the Target Line

The first step to playing fantastic golf is realising that there is an essential part to the game that has been there since the first round was ever played by shepherds with crooks and stones on the links of the Scottish Highlands.

That essential part, the vital thing to remember at all times, is the intended line to the target, from the ball to the hole or the fairway. Now commonly known as the target line, its importance is a critical thing that you simply must understand if you are going to develop your game.

The point at which you make the commitment to hit every shot down the target line you is the point from which your game will start to improve.

The great Jack Nicklaus never hit a golf shot in his whole life without making sure that he stood behind his golf ball and picked a point just two to three feet in front of his ball that was on the target line.

The essential part of the pre-shot routine is to stand behind the ball, looking down the target line and picking out the intended spot for the ball to end up, then starting the ball down your target line.

World snooker champion Cliff Thorburn, a highly competitive golfer, played off two and was incredibly difficult to beat. His concentration was incredible and it came from his involvement in matches in Canada during his youth where players were competing for prizes thousands of dollars and because of this, every single shot counted.

It was when I asked Cliff what made him so competitive, and how it was he holed so many putts just when he needed them, that I realised the importance of the target line.

Cliff said he would never, ever hit a shot until he knew where it was going; it was as simple as that. Whether he was playing golf or snooker, he would never make a pass at the ball or attempt to hit it until he was absolutely convinced that he knew where it was going. He was meticulous; always knowing in his mind where the ball was going to end up.

And that is the crucial lesson that I learned and focused on all the way through my golfing career, and it is the lesson that I share with everyone I coach. If you want to turn your game around from this point onwards then bear in mind those words that Cliff Thorburn said: never hit the ball until you know where it is going.

HOW TO DRIVE A GOLF BALL ? 3 Essential Golf Swing Tips

How to drive a golf ball straight down the fairway is something both the beginner and experienced golfer constantly aims to improve. Its such a great feeling to hit the ball sweetly and see the shot soar straight towards the target youre aiming at. Then, of course, there are the benefits of less searching through the rough, sand or even the water, youll lose fewer golf balls and, theres the great feeling you get when your ball lies in position A on the fairway or green.

To help you achieve this goal, here are three basics golf tips that will help you regularly and consistently drive your ball to exactly the place you want it to be:

The Stance A correct stance is a key fundamental to developing consistently straight drives. To start, the feet should be the same width as the shoulders. The ball should be slightly in front of the middle of your stance. Your knees should be slightly bent with your weight on the balls of your feet, not on your heels. The feet, knees, hips and shoulders should all be parallel to the line pointing at the target. Lean forward from your hips keeping your back straight. To check if your back is straight, hold a club on the back of your belt and make sure the shaft is touching the back of your head. Lean forward ensuring the shaft remains in contact with back of your head as you bend forward.

The Alignment To make sure that your alignment is correct and you are aiming at the target, place a club in front of your ball pointing at the target. Place another golf club exactly parallel to the first club and this is where you will be placing your feet for your stance. Take away the first club that is in front of the ball and set your feet in line with the second club. Now, take away the second club and you should be set up in the correct alignment.

The Grip The golf grip is another fundamental basic that is so important to hitting the ball straight. Start by laying the top of your golf club in the fingers (not the palm) of your left hand. Wrap the rest of your hand around the grip. The vee between the index finger and thumb should be pointing towards your right shoulder. Now, regardless of the type of grip you use, place your right hand below your left hand and grip with your fingers covering the thumb of your left hand. Again the vee between you index finger and your thumb should be pointing towards your right shoulder. Your grip should be relaxed but firm. Dont grip so lightly the club flies out of your hand when you swing or, so tightly you feel like your life depends on it. Keep the hands and arms relaxed and comfortable. (For the left handed golfer, just reverse the above.)

So, there you have it, three basic tips on how to drive a golf ball straight consistently. Put these tips into practise and, you will not only improve your game, you will also improve your golf swing andlower your scores.

Golf Tips to Cure your Slice and Improve your Ball Striking

The two most common problems golfers seem to struggle with are a) slicing the ball and b) inconsistent ball striking. Perhaps you blister it right off the sweet spot one time, and the next you hit it fat (behind the ball) or thin (on top of the ball) even though you are absolutely sure your set up, grip and swing were virtually identical between those same two shots. Or maybe you find yourself aiming way to the left (if you are right handed) hoping that by the time your ball finishes its impressive banana-shaped flight it will end up somewhere near the fairway. Then, low and behold, you line up like that only to hit it straight into the trees. After struggling with the same two problems for many years I have found what I believe is the root cause of both problems, and would like to share with you what has helped my golf game immensely and hopefully can help yours also.

We all know that the key to a consistent golf shot is returning the club head to a square position at the point of impact. If your club face is open at impact, the ball will slice. If it is closed at impact, you will hook your shot. Also, if you do not return the club head so it contacts your ball cleanly on the ground you will either be hitting fat or thin, neither of which you want to do. Although a lot of things can contribute to those problems the one thing that I have noticed in my own game and in observing others who have these two problems is this: too much lower body movement during the golf swing. Very simply put if anything below your waistline is "loosey-goosey" when you are swinging the golf club the likelihood of making good shots consistently is almost nil.

Watch the professionals on television some weekend and concentrate on their knees while they swing, especially when they are hitting a driver off the tee. You will immediately see that no matter how hard they swing, their lower body is very, very still during their entire swing motion. In some cases the distance between the inside of their two knees does not even change until after the club impacts the ball. Try to catch the ladies tour on television and watch their knees. Since many of them wear skirts when they play the lack of lateral movement in their knees is readily apparent.
When you sway back and then forward, or if your hips move laterally more than an inch or two at most when you shift your weight you are probably too "noisy" with your lower body when you swing. Fixing this problem does not require a lot of strength or special skills, but it does require getting used to what will at first feel like an unnatural swing, but one that will be your best friend once you get accustomed to it and your muscle memory is trained to do it automatically.

One practice drill that you can do in your back yard to learn to shift your weight, instead of sway it, that does not even require hitting balls is to get a couple of quarter-inch diameter wood rods that are long enough to be waist high after you push them into the ground (3 to 3 1/2 feet long). You can buy them for very little at your favorite hardware store. Push one into the ground about an inch to the right of the back part of your right foot when you take a stance like you are addressing the ball, and one about an inch to the left of the back part of your left foot. If you have set it up correctly you are now pretending to address a golf ball with your normal stance, and you have two wood rods pushed into the ground in such a way that the top of each rod is about even with your waist and they are positioned just outside the heel of both your shoes respectively. Then take some practice swings. You should be able to make a complete swing without touching the rods with either of your hips or with the outside of your knees. This drill will also help you learn to make a full turn in your follow through while maintaining good balance. Do not stiffen up so much that you do not follow through. Just concentrate on shifting your weight to the inside of your back foot on your backswing, then shifting it to the inside of your front foot on your forward swing, while making a full turn at your waist without moving laterally during any part of the swing.

After a while you will be shifting your weight back correctly on your backswing but you will not be swaying your body when you do so. Likewise you will be shifting your weight forward correctly on your downswing but you will not be swaying in that direction. Just remember: shifting does not mean swaying! Now the concept of "coiling" your weight back and shifting it forward will make sense. Many golf tips will refer to coiling against the inside of your back leg on your take away, but for years I had no idea what that meant so I was swaying. Now, I shift, and my game has improved considerably.

Once you get used to how this new swing feels head to the practice range and hit a bucket of balls with your favorite iron without regard for distance. Any iron will do but a five or six iron would be a good choice if you are not sure where to begin. Just get used to your new swing while you hit real shots. At first, slow down both your backswing and forward swing. You are not trying to set any distance records. You just need to get the feel of your new swing. As you begin to get used to your new swing, start swinging at your normal pace, but do not swing any harder than you did before applying these techniques. If the driving range allows you to hit off real grass go ahead and push your wood rods in the ground and hit some shots that way.

Keeping your lower body "quiet" applies to all the shots you take whether it is a driver off the tee or a wedge from 15 feet off the green. By limiting your lower body movement and learning to shift, not sway, you will consistently return your club head squarely to the ball, thereby eliminating slicing and inconsistent ball striking.

www.jllewisgolftips.com PGA golfer JL Lewis describes how to improve the golf swing by creating an on-path swing in this golf video tip. JL describes the different ways in which golf ball position affects the swing path. www.jllewisgolftips.com
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