How to improve your golf swing with fitness training

Fitness training is one of the keys to help you improve your golf swing. In addition fitness training can help you get in shape and feel better both on and off the golf course. Performing exercises to build muscular strength can add power to your golf swing, boost your endurance, and loosen up your muscles and joints to help you avoid injuries both on and off the golf course. Most golfers will do the actual fitness training in a gym using either free weights, machines or a combination of both. However, you can also perform fitness training right at home using everyday items. Your golf fitness training program should include exercises for the both the lower and upper body and primarily focus on those exercises that add to the motion of the golf swing. The program exercises should involve multi-joint movements that also include work for the torso. A strong, powerful golf swing requires coordination and strength in the major muscle areas of the body and therefore the exercises you perform should help you build both coordination and strength. Before you start any sort of fitness training program you should always consult with your doctor, especially if you are a more mature golfer. If you know what type of exercises you will be performing and how often you will be training, make sure you cover them with your doctor. Your doctor should tell you if they have any concerns regarding the types of exercises you will be doing and your health. Once you are done talking to your doctor, the next step is to determine where you are going to train. Most people perform their fitness training in some type of gym facility. Many gyms have certified personal trainers on hand who will be able to tailor a workout plan specifically for you to help you reach your goals. Before actually joining a gym, visit each one in your area and ask for a tour, or even a free pass for a week in order to check them out. Make sure that you are comfortable with the facility, the staff, the clientele and most of all the fitness training equipment you will be using. Make no mistake about it, fitness training will provide you with benefits both on and off the golf course. Strengthing your body will enable you to transfer more power from your muscles into your swing allowing you to hit the ball farther and easier. So what are you waiting for? Get started on a fitness training program today and reap the benefits on the green tomorrow.

How to buy good golf lessons

Taking golf lessons can be an expensive, time-consuming effort. And like any good or service that will cost money and require time, you should be careful before you buy. It's OK to shop around for a golf instructor - in fact, it's recommended in order to find the best fit. Here are some things to consider before you commit to golf lessons. Know Your Price Limit Yes, golf lessons are expensive. But some are more expensive than others. Generally, the more expensive instructors are the ones with more experience, more accolades and who are attached to a more upscale golf facility. But there are lots of teaching pros out there who are less expensive but still very good. Decide how much you are willing to spend before you start shopping, and stick to it. Make Sure Your Goals and Commitment Match A golf instructor can do wonders with your game, but he can't do it alone. To make golf lessons worthwhile, you must be able to follow up on them by continuing to work on the instructor's suggestions on your own time. The higher your goals, the more work will be required. Be realistic in your goals and make sure you can offer the commitment necessary to meet those goals. Private Lessons vs. Golf Schools Private lessons and golf schools are the two typical ways to receive golf instruction. Both have strengths. Private lessons allow for follow-up visits over a period of time - a building block approach to learning golf. Schools offer an intensive amount of learning in a short time, but can also offer too much information and without follow-up. But private lessons can take months to complete. Ask Around Every golf instructor's best advertising is past students. To get an idea of the best teachers in your area, ask as many golfers as you know. It's likely that a handful of names will come up frequently, and that list can be your starting point. You may find someone who has taken lessons and can give a glowing recommendation on a particular instructor - or a warning. Interview the Candidates Yes, you really can interview golf instructors before you commit to lessons. Remember - it's your business they want and need. Ask your candidates about their teaching background and experience. Do they use video? Do lessons include on-course teaching? What is their teaching philosophy? This process should give you a good idea of how your personality will match up with theirs, too. Making the Choice After these steps, you should be ready to make your choice. It's important that you choose an instructor whose personality meshes with yours. Going to a teacher you don't like will keep you from learning. It's important that an instructor's goals match yours, and that your commitment matches your goals. Once you've made your choice, throw yourself into it - and watch your scores improve.

Speed kills your golf swing

Would you say you have a fast looking swing or a slow swing? (If you don’t have a fast swing show this article to a playing partner who does). You would think that a recreational golfer’s fast swing would hit a golf ball a long way wouldn’t you? After all, it looks fast! Yet the ball doesn’t go as far as a slow swinging pro’s ball. I wonder why... If you think about your body for a minute, you know that it moves much slower than your arms in real life. So if your body can’t turn all that fast, how do you get a fast looking golf swing? You get a fast looking golf swing when you try to hit the ball as hard as you can with just your arms. This means that your arms are moving independently from your body. This fast looking swing can be understood by imagining a clock. If you look at a clock, you will see that the little post in the middle tells the minute hand how fast to swing. If the little post moves slowly, the minute hand moves slowly. If the little post moves faster, the arms move faster. The center post and the minute hand are relative to one another. If you compare your golf swing to the movement of a clock you will see your body as the center post on the clock and your arms as the minute hand. Having a fast looking swing would be like the little center post of the clock turning slowly yet the minute hand is moving very fast. This, of course, would never happen because they are connected to one another. What happens to your shots when your arms outpace your body? First, won't make solid contact with the sweet spot on the clubface because swinging with your arms alone will cause you to manipulate the clubface as it swings through impact. Secondly, the harder you swing, the tighter your wrists and arms will be through impact. Tighter wrists release slower than looser wrists and looser arms extend more than tighter arms (which increase the width of your swing arc). To slow down a fast looking golf swing, we first have to think logically about it. Pros have a slow looking swing and they hit the ball a long way and you have a fast swing that hits the ball shorter. So why do you insist on hitting the ball harder than the pros do? Unfortunately, human nature usually takes control of us when we go to hit a golf ball. It says that the harder you swing the further the ball will go. This does not allow us to see the logic behind swinging slower. Swinging slower feels like you have less power so you cannot see how you can actually hit the ball better and farther by not using your arms. You must convince yourself that you must swing slower to hit the ball better. Once you slow down, you will make better contact in the middle of the clubface, widen your arc and release the club faster. All of these things add up to more distance with less effort. I like my students to try this drill in order to take the arms out of their swing. All you have to do is hold the club at about waist high and feel your body swing the clubhead. Remember the clock. If the post turns faster the arms swing faster. As you swing, listen to the swishing sound the clubhead is making as it swings through impact. Now, try to make the club swing faster by shifting your body weight from the right leg to the left leg allowing your body to turn at the same time. If you let your arms swing freely you will hear the club swish faster as you increase the speed of your body. As you go to hit the actual golf ball, you must relate the same new feeling of using your body to hit your shot. This means that you cannot think of hitting the ball. If you think about hitting the ball, it will speed up your arms up again. You have to now think about turning and shifting your body weight. This will turn your body and allow your arms to swing down because they are connected to one another. If you feel your swing getting fast again just step back, hold the club off the ground and do some more practice swings feeling your body making the club swing. It takes some practice and concentration but once you slow your swing down you will not only gain a feeling of effortless power but you will start to look like a pro when you swing. Until next time, Paul Wilson