A Few Golf Tips From Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is the undisputed king of professional golf. With a smooth technique you could set your watch by, he makes winning those championships look like a walk in the park.

Imagine if you could sit with Tiger for a few minutes and pick his brain to help improve your game. Here are some great golf tips from Tiger Woods.

It's All About Rhythm

Every player has their own natural rhythm. Some players are energetic and full of motion; others are stoic and deep in concentration.

Tiger says that when he's playing his best, everything he does is just second nature. He just goes with the flow, and there's little else involved. That's because he's found just the right groove that suits his natural rhythm.

If the rhythm's off, Tiger misses a swing or two. When things are flowing for him, he has to work a little to get it back into a natural rhythm.

So, how do you learn to keep your natural rhythm? There are a few ways Tiger suggests to help you find your groove and keep it.

Stick To Your Routine

Rhythm and consistency are important, so how you get ready both physically and mentally for the game is essential. Tiger has a practice routine that he does before every single game. He uses the same clubs, and the last club he uses for his pre-game warm-up is the one he plans to use for the first hole.

The point isn't to practice swinging, but to get into your groove.

The First Hole Is The Most Important

Long before he swings for that first hole, Tiger plans the whole game ahead. He prepares himself for the game mentally and emotionally. This involves relaxation, and deciding his game plan beforehand.

An awkward, uncertain first shot is a sure-fire rhythm-killer.

Keep Things Steady

To keep your rhythm going, you have to keep the tempo steady. When you get stressed, you start to speed things up. All that nervous energy makes you hurry to the next hole, and you end up making silly mistakes you wouldn't have made otherwise.

The next time you watch Tiger play, pay attention to the way he walks to the next hole. Even after a great shot, you'll never see him rush on to the next one. He'll pump his fist, smile, and stroll to the next hole with the same leisurely pace.

Tiger recommends a good pre-routine warm-up that helps you get into a relaxed frame of mind. This will get you started on the right foot.

Posture Means Perfect

When asked for practical golf tips, Tiger Woods always mentions posture. Tiger always stands straight and tall, a decent distance from the ball so that he can keep his chin up. Lots of golfers (including Tiger when he was a beginner) put their address position too close to the ball, and end up having to bow their head down too much. Tiger says to keep a good distance away so you don't have to lean over the ball.

Tiger Woods is not only one of the best players, he's also one of the most reflective. Perhaps the key to his success is his ability to look at his mistakes and shortcomings, and work to improve them, instead of getting frustrated. This is why his golf tips are so helpful to his fans. When you blow it, think about why you did it. Then, correct it next time, and you'll see improvement.

You can also find more info on golf swing instruction and golf driving distance.GetGoodAtGolf.com is a comprehensive resource golf enthusiast to improve their game through helpful tips and instructions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/596615

Tiger Woods Golf Stance - Proper For Your Driver Golf Swing?

The Tiger Woods golf stance driver setup, ball position, foot width and weight distribution have help win him 14 major championships as of the publish date of this article. It must be the driver golf stance that we all should use then, correct?

Well, not so fast! The answer for you is maybe and maybe not. But why wouldn't Tiger Woods golf stance be the proper stance for everyone?

Well, the first reason is that a golf stance does not sit independent of the type of swing technique you are attempting to perform. If you have a different swing style than another golfer, your stance technique is likely to be different.

A second reason why your stance may be different than Tiger's golf stance is because your body type may be completely different. Tiger Woods would even agree with this statement 100%. On page 87 of his book, How I Play Golf, Tiger states that "in choosing a particular player to model your swing after, take into consideration the player's height and build." "If you're tall and thin, you don't want to copy the swing of a player who is short and stocky."

As a third reason, I would expand on Tiger Woods' statement by adding that you should take into account a player's strength, flexibility, and coordination.

You have to look no further than the changes to Tiger Woods golf swing technique and changes in Tiger's build to see how a different golf stance can be required for different people. The old golf swing of a young skinny Tiger Woods used a driver setup with a square to slightly closed foot position (and a strong grip for that matter). This stance and grip helped him square the clubface at impact. A stronger Tiger in his early thirties plays a stance with a square to slightly open foot position (and a neutral grip for that matter) to protect against squaring the club face too quickly. This change in foot position for Tiger was also a result of a change in his swing technique philosophy. Tiger's old swing was for playing a draw as a youngster and his newer swing was designed for playing a power fade in his mid thirties.

So, to answer the question of whether the driver Tiger Woods golf stance is right for you more directly, let's first outline the exact components of his stance. Tiger has a slightly open, greater than shoulder width and upright stance. Further, Tiger turns his right and left foot outward slightly.

The open and upright stance allows Tiger to swing the club on a steeper plane than a square or closed foot position and less upright stance would allow. That is because the latter requires the ball to be a further distance away from your body. The further the ball is away from your body at address, the flatter your swing will be.

Further, the way he flares his feet is designed to allow him to fully rotate his shoulder on the backswing and follow through while limiting his hip turn. Finally, the foot width he uses is the ideal distance for balance and stability to control his 135 mph driver swing speed.

You will need to experiment with the Tiger Woods golf stance fundamentals while keeping in mind your swing style and your physical makeup to determine if his stance is proper for you. For instance, women who have lower centers of gravity and slower swing speeds may not need to have a driver stance of greater than shoulder width. Additionally, those trying to play a flatter swing plane or trying to play a draw may find that a square or closed stance is better for them. Finally, those with different flexibilities may need to rotate their feet differently to get the proper hip and shoulder rotation on the backswing and follow-through motions.

So, you see the answer really is maybe or maybe not. Nonetheless, I will tell you one thing for sure. If you are ready to learn how to swing the golf club like Tiger, you will need to be ready to incorporate a flexibility and strength training routine into your game. His hip and shoulder flexibility, as well as, his lower and upper body strength can not be bought over the counter. And they are required to pull off his portrait like swing.

For a fuller analysis of the Tiger Woods golf swing see the following articles:

Tiger Woods Golf Swing [http://www.golf-tips-a-2-z.com/tiger-woods-golf-swing.html]

Tiger Woods Golf Stance [http://www.golf-tips-a-2-z.com/tiger-woods-stance.html]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4495206

Golf Swing Tip: Stop Swaying

In order to strike the golf ball cleanly, (at the bottom of your down swing and on the center of the club face), all the movable parts in your golf swing must be in sync...Tempo and Timing.

When you move around in your backswing, no matter how in sync your swing may be, the chances of you returning the club head solidly to the back of the golf ball, are very slim.

In this article I wish to focus on the primary "movable malady", that culprit that is embedded in many golfer's swings........SWAYING..... (It is generally considered to be an excess of lateral (side to side) body motion in a golf swing, away from the golf ball).

You've heard the term swaying most closely associated with the takeaway. From the static position at address, in order to gain the golf swing's momentum and help the process begin, the average golfer starts the back swing by moving off the ball laterally to the right. (for a right handed player). And I do mean noticeably off the ball.

This immediately takes their swing out, and then around their body and way off plane, and the majority of the time, it results in the golfer yanking the club too far inside on the back swing, where the club will eventually get " stuck" behind her/him. Feeling that they're out of position they will then conjure up all sorts of ways to attempt to get back into the hitting zone.

On the downswing the sway, through an unwanted metamorphosis, changes into a sliding motion. To compensate their sway, the golfer must slide laterally, to the left, and fight their golf swing in order to get in a position to strike the golf ball.. You've heard the fantastic term: " Let the club swing you"....We'll with the sway and slide the very opposite is usually true.

The best advice I can give the average and beginner golfer regarding stopping the sway in their golf swing, (and then be able to strike the golf ball more solidly), is to keep the lower half of your body quiet throughout the process. This does not mean be completely rigid and stiff, so as to inhibit movement..but close to that..

You've seen demonstrations by accomplished golfers, where they kneel down on the ground, (creating a stable, stationery foundation, taking their legs and feet totally out of the equation), and yet they are still able to hit a teed up golf ball impressively long and straight.This underscores that the upper parts of the golf swing are the most important, when it comes to introducing the club head to the ball solidly at impact.The lower body parts are valued additives that should not be overlooked, but that should not be focused on until the upper body movable parts are synchronized and are ingrained in your golf swing....

Professional golfers and skilled amateurs sync all the movable parts together. They know how to properly incorporate the " engine of the golf swing", the lower body, into the orchestration.It's all about timing....

They have spent hundreds upon thousands of hours practicing and honing in on their tempo and coordination of all body parts... You have not, ... and most likely will not have the time nor desire to put in such effort. After all it is their job, but not yours.

Therefore, since the lower body, ( hips, legs and feet), are so difficult for the weekend golfer to synchronize, I feel it is of utmost importance, and imperative, that you at first focus your entire practicing efforts on learning to strike the ball consistently with your upper body parts, the parts most closely attached to the golf club, ( hands, arms, shoulders and chest). Until you can gain the skills required to strike the ball solidly, time after time, through hand-eye coordination, do not bring the other half, ( the lower half), of your body into play..... But please, be sure to make a full shoulder turn. Don't simply swing your arms back and forth without the upper body going along with them. For this would render your practice worthless.

Here are some useful bullet points that will hopefully help you rectify the situation:

-At address have your weight slightly favoring your left side.This makes it much harder to sway off the ball at the beginning of the takeaway.

-Brace your right foot and have your right knee pointing slightly inward, in the direction toward the golf ball. ( A good drill is to place a golf ball under the outside middle of your right foot. This gives you that "locked in" lower body feeling when you start the back swing).

-Keep your head over the ball and try to have it remain in this position, ( it will move slightly).Think of your head being attached to the top of neck and spine, and turn "up and around" them, not swaying laterally with them.

-Find a trigger mechanism that helps you get the golf swing started from a static position to a fluid movement back and then eventually through on the down swing. Hogan waggled; many forward press their hands to get started. Don't overlook this important aspect. Do whatever works for you.

-Take the club back at the start in a "one piece" motion... i.e. the hands, arms, upper body in sync. (A good tip is to have the back of your left hand facing the target for the first several inches of your take away).

I hope this gives you food for thought..and that your game improves considerably.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5968376