COMMUNITY

Probably doesn't apply to many people except for myself, but my golf coach Walter Schlomer told me to address the ball at the toe last August. Doing that since then has been a huge reason why my ball striking has gone better and more consistent.

CoG, do you mean the toe of the club lined up with the ball or the ball off your toe?

Practice putting with only 1 ball, it makes you concentrate more and you only have 1 ball on the course. What I've noticed is the more balls people have on the putting green the worse they are at putting. Seriously saw a guy with his shag bag on the green next to him as he hit putt after putt and had balls going everywhere but near the hole.

Relax, turn back...turn through, swing easy, breath and most of all have fun. Don't worry about distance, that will come; just focus on making solid contact and everything else will work out.

Toe of the club.

The Best Tip,I,received,is get Fitted with the golf clubs you are playing with.
Meaning: the Shaft Flex,Lie Angel,Loft,Grip,etc.I,feel like the Equipment is just as important as your swing.

There are many, many tips floating around out there...but I've come to hate the word 'tip!' As my friend Lee has told me, there are no angles or positions in the golf swing, there is only MOTION. There is only ONE goal in the golf swing, and Hogan stated it in his book Power Golf:

A predictable, repeatable compression of the golf ball that matches your intent.

That said, here are some things for everyone to think about. These are not tips, but rather TRUTHS in the golf swing I've learned through experience and/or picked up from others along the way. Hopefully they can cause you to stop and think and begin to ask the real questions about the golf swing.

- The ground is the source of leverage in the golf swing. Your relationship to the ground is EVERYTHING. Most people swing on top of the ground. You need to USE it. Watch the greats like Hogan, Moe, Trevino, and others and pay attention to the ground.

- The sagittal plane is the central axis of the golf swing. Ball position needs to relate to the sagittal plane, NOT THE FEET. You can adjust trajectory by changing the angle of your sagittal plane as well. But the sagittal plane must not shift drastically back and forth through the swing.

- Your foot line has NO role in determining where the ball goes. NONE. The feet transfer leverage from/to the ground to the rest of the body. They support the swing, they don't tell the ball to do anything. You can swing anywhere with your arms. Think about that for a minute.

- Your dominant side should supply the power in the golf swing. For right-handers, that means your right arm/hand are applying the HIT to the golf ball. All the folks who say "you need to pull with the left side, turn hard and keep the right side out of it" are misinformed. The right has the power if you use it in the right way. By that I mean the right arm/hand releases DOWN, NOT AROUND. The left only guides where the club goes. Every great ballstriker has understood this. Ben Hogan (in the book Five Lessons) commented that "As far as applying power goes, I wish I had three right hands!"

That should get you going. Hopefully from there you may begin to find out some things about the golf swing you may never have thought of before. It's winter anyway, why not do some exploring?

Keep your weight on the inside of your back foot on your backswing.

As a newbie, I'm enjoying reading all the tips. Great topic! I hope many reply to it with their words of wisdom :)

Another golf tip.I,received is TEMPO! Swing within yourself,don't try and KILL the Golf Ball.Go to the Driving Range tee it up 6 golf balls,and swing at 50%, 60%,70% 80% 90% & 100%,and see which one goes Long and Straight
TEMPO,is the key for a Smooth Swing.

The tip that took my game up a notch was this:

In the race to the ball the hands should beat the clubhead.

Another part of that is keeping my hands close to my body. I like to feel as if I am pulling the end of the grip into my bellybutton.

Be confident that you will hit a good shot. Positive attitude is an absolute must. Also, I had a guy tell me that I need to stretch out more to gain distance rather than hitting straight up and down. It has taken me a couple of years to change but I have gained at least 10 to 15 yards on all of my irons and 50+ on my drives.

Take 2 weeks off...and then quit all together

-Stewart Maiden

Stop swinging 120 percent. Swinging about 80 percent or so has turned me into a ball-striker, at least at times.

And accelerate through every shot no matter how short the shot might be. (this doesn't apply to the drop-the-club chip/pitch shot, but most amateurs need not try that one)

take up bowling