Saturday, February 24, 2007

Keeping Your Swing Free and Easy

Keeping Your Swing Free and Easy
Every golfer knows that keeping your swing free and easy is the key to successful drives and chips. Having tense muscles is a guaranteed way to have problems. How do you stay relaxed and have an easy and free swing?

You first need to learn that your pivot center is between your shoulders. The center of your stroke is not in your hands, wrist, or head. The muscles that put energy into moving the club forward are in and below the center of your shoulders.

Think about the muscles that control your head. If you keep your head still, then you can keep your balance and your center of gravity. If you can keep your balance and hit the ball with the toe of the club then you will have a shot that travels the correct distance.

Extending your arms can help give more power to the ball than when you bend your arms. If you keep your left arm and club shaft in line with each other, then you have a fixed way to guide the club.

Don’t over think the shot. Many times, players take too much time thinking about angles. Then they move their heads and tense up their muscles when they swing. Tension destroys any chance that you had at a shot and reduces your power and accuracy.

Keeping your arms pulled into your body allows you to control your downward stroke more efficiently and easily. This way you only have to yield a little to reach the ball, but if you are going beyond the ball, it is much harder to pull in the hands. This is why it is good to try to keep your arms in toward the body.

You will not need as much effort to guide the club if you let the centrifugal force work for you. Let it carry your club out during the downward swing until it makes contact with the ball. Then you can use your energy to propel the club.

Ensure that you do not reach for the ball during the address or your muscles will stiffen up.

People just learning to play golf usually swing short. Due to the great amount of centrifugal force that is created, the beginning golfer may pull in their hands involuntarily because they are afraid that they will go beyond the ball.

If you keep your hands still during the address then they will most likely be in the correct position when making contact with the ball. This also helps for you to achieve a comfortable position so your muscles will stay relaxed. The angle that you address the ball will have little influence on your game. It is the way you move at the top of the swing that makes the difference.

The best advice I can give you is to keep your arms straight and pulled in close to your body. Keep your club shaft and left arm in line with each other and parallel to your right leg. This helps to give you better control of the golf club.

Using these tips should help your swing become more easy and free. The most important thing is to breathe deeply and relax. If you approach the game of golf with enjoyment, then the rest of your body will follow suit!
 
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