Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Secret To Golf Swing Consistency

Golf swing consistency is the goal of every golfer. You know you can hit that one in a million shot that you talk about at the 19th hole…but how about making that shot happen more often?

The are many aspects to golf swing consistency that can make it seem overwhelming and unachievable…but there is one aspect that every golfer should consider, that will have a dramatic impact on golf swing consistency.

We know golfers hit hundreds of balls every week. They take lessons with some success, but not 100% satisfaction. It’s fun buying new clubs, but did they really make a difference? Did you lower your score by 4-6 strokes?

When trying to achieve a higher level of golf swing consistency, the mechanical component comes in to play. But digging a little deeper will get you to the ‘real’ answer to your lack of golf swing consistency.

If it’s not hitting more balls…or taking more lessons…or buying more equipment what could it be? What’s left to work on? Am I getting warm yet? Are you following where I’m going with this? We’ve just eliminated what seems like everything haven’t we?

We haven’t! There is ONLY one thing left! Your BODY! Your “golfing machine”. The one and only thing that can make a direct and almost immediate impact on your golf swing consistency and power.

When you step onto the golf course, do you feel like your body moves efficiently during your golf swing? Do you feel like you can make a full turn with minimal tensions? Can you stay in balance throughout your entire golf swing for 18 holes?

If you answered no to any of the above…it’s time to “get it going!” It’s time to become a “golf athlete!” No longer will you step onto the tee box and feel like an out-of-shape, has-been. You’re going to have an intensely higher level of confidence, and your golf performance will show it.

When you get your body moving better, your golf swing mechanics and golf swing consistency will happen naturally. You won’t have to stress out about it. You can let it go and just play.

It’s time for a new approach to your golf improvement…and it starts now!

You will reach new levels of performance and golf swing consistency.

Golf Nutrition Is Not An Oxymoron

Golf nutrition is still a relatively new concept. However, everybody knows that leading athletes in the NBA and NFL quite often have special diets and specific nutrition programs to help them perform at their peak.

The reasons who golf nutrition is still in it’s’ infancy in the golf game is easy to see. To start with nutrition in sports goes hand in hand with the training and physical exercise program for the particular sport.

In golf, exercises are still a very new concept although many professionals have already embraced it as an important part of their golf game.

For years golf has had the image of being a leisure sport to be played by the rich and the sort of people who do not just carelessly break into a sweat. Then came golfers of the likes of the legendary Tiger Woods.

For the first time in the sport, leading golfers were very young and extremely physically fit. Since then, the game has never been the same again and as exercise continues to take center stage golf nutrition has to grow alongside it.

Golf nutrition is usually part and parcel of a golf exercise program and is really designed to enhance energy and strength even as the exercise program works to build up the golfer.

The sort of golf nutrition that will become common will not be very different from what we see in other sports. The idea will be to have a diet of energy foods and foods that will help in building up strength and endurance for a better golf game.

So the typical nutrition recommendations that go with weight training for strength will be found in the special golf nutrition that leading experts are recommending to golfers.

This is the direction that the wonderful game of golf has taken and it seems that there is no turning back for any golfer who wants to improve their game. You just have to consider golf nutrition alongside your current golf exercise program.

A Better Golf Swing Is Inevitable

A better golf swing is inevitable…for any golfer, with the right approach. It doesn’t matter age or ability. It’s a reality…and can happen very quickly!

To achieve a better golf swing, a golfer needs to realize just how physically demanding it is on the human body. You are swing an object (golf club) at up to 100 mph. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles.

If these tissues of the body are weak, tight or brittle they will rupture and eliminate you from playing golf indefinitely. If it doesn’t, your performance will pay the price. The outcome either way is not what you want…but will happen without an emphasis on strengthening these areas.

Along with strengthening comes stretching. Stretching muscles to attain a better golf swing is common among most golfers. Although it is common, most golfers don’t stretch. Why? Because it is viewed as ‘work’. But if it were viewed as a form of golf improvement it would be a different story.

Swing mechanics cannot be improved if your golf specific strength and flexibility are ignored. It is an impossibility, unless you compensate for this lack of capabilities in your golf swing. Teaching pros are now starting to realize there is a definite connection between golf swing mechanics and fitness.

But that’s where the BIG gap is. Between instruction and physical fitness. This is the ultimate combination for total golf performance and I have been preaching it for several years now. When your physical capabilities are improved, your golf swing mechanics become much easier to achieve.

The next time you visit your teaching pro, to achieve a better golf swing, you’ll be able to do what he/she wants and the desired outcome will be achieved. This outcome is inevitable when you get your body moving better. Your golf swing mechanics fall into place.

It will only be a matter of time when all golfers will approach their golf improvement this way. It’s the only way that will warrant lasting results and ultimately a better golf swing.

Golf Swing Improvement The Fast Way

Golf swing improvement is a never ending goal for every golfer wanting to play better golf.

This is hardly surprising because the golf swing is such a critical area of the game and is indeed the core of the golf game.

Without making any visible improvements on their golf swing, the chances of any individual’s golf game improving are close to nil.

However many golfers have discovered that although learning the necessary technique is important, it often does not yield the desired effect and hardly brings any visible improvement in the golf swing.

Time and again it has been proven that golf exercises and especially golf-specific stretch exercises are really the fastest route to golf swing improvement.

Experience has clearly shown that all the best techniques and tips are virtually useless when the body and muscles have not been conditioned to play their important role in the whole thing.

Golf swing improvement exercises usually include various stretch routines designed to impact on the muscles used during a golf swing.

The program will also include weight training with the use of dumbbells to build strength in the muscles.

Many golfers fear golf exercises without really understanding what they are. They are in fact fairly easy to do. And what is more, your golf exercise routine can be stretched to include brief sessions in the office and home when you have a moment to spare.

This is no doubt a very attractive preposition to those busy executives who may feel that they will not have enough time to spend hours on end in the gym doing exercises. Actually golf swing improvement exercises do not at all require long hours in the gym.

The building of strength and flexibility through stretches in the body play a major part in golf swing improvement.

Functional Exercise For Golf Warrants The Quickest Results

Functional exercise for golf can mean different things to different golfers. But the key is to take a look at the golf swing mechanics and devise golf exercises, drills, and golf programs to strengthen weak or limited phases of the swing.

Not every golfer has the same deficiency and treating golfers this way is like “one-stop” shopping. This will result in failure. No improvement for the golfer. This is a complete waste of time, money and physical effort.

The first step is for the golfer to partake in a golf fitness evaluation to determine the correct functional exercise for golf program.

This evaluation should cover strength, flexibility, stabilization and endurance. These are all key factors in performing at your best. These individual tests cannot be general fitness tests, but tests devised specifically for the golfer in mind.

Functional exercise for golf is dynamic, sequential and incorporates core strength and stabilization. Any functional exercise for golf that does not address this is not for golfers.

First off the golf posture is not common among many sports or athletic movements. Being ‘bent-over’ at the waist with your weight more at the balls of your feet incorporate balance and stabilization immediately.

And remember…this is only at address!

To maintain your posture dynamically throughout the golf swing takes a ‘unique’ blend of all components mentioned above. That is why it is so important to incorporate functional exercise for golf in your routine.

Once you’ve taken the above mentioned evaluation, you’ll have a good idea of what your weaknesses (limitations) are and start designing a function exercise for golf program that will hit those areas.

This functional exercise for golf program should be done a minimum of twice, but preferably 3 times a weak to get results. Being consistent with your program will leave you a happy golfer on the course.

No one ever said it would be easy, but by incorporating a functional exercise for golf program will be well worth it.

Benefits of A Golf Fitness Stretch Trainer

Hardly any professional worth his name today will dare approach their game without a golf fitness stretch trainer of sorts.

The game of golf has changed tremendously in recent times. No longer is it viewed as the leisure sport of old. Golf is now recognized as an athletic sport where performance depends a lot on your fitness level. Thus the wide introductions of golf fitness stretch trainers and training.

Stretch training plays an important role in improving the flexibility of a golfer and therefore the quality of the swing both in terms of controlled direction and much more power and distance.

A stretch training program from a qualified golf fitness stretch trainer will also help in increasing strength in the golf-specific muscles of the golfer.

A golf fitness stretch trainer also helps a professional golfer to recognize the correct warm-up exercises to carry out before any session on the course. This not only improves performance greatly, but it also reduces on the risk of injury.

Golf related injuries can be quite frustrating to a golfer especially when that golfer continues to ignore the possible benefits in quick and permanent recovery that are possible with the help of a golf fitness stretch trainer.

There is one compelling factor about golf that makes the work of a golf fitness stretch trainer so important. In other sports, it is possible to increase fitness level and muscle strength by simply playing the game itself as much as possible.

Sadly this is not the case with golf. One of the reasons is that the most common and strenuous activity in the game, the golf swing, usually lasts barely a second.

This means that the only way to improve golf fitness and the strength of muscles is by exercising away from the course and generally making use of the services of a golf fitness stretch trainer.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Golf Injury Prevention

A golf injury is one of the most common issues with all amateur golfers. But having adequate strength and flexibility of muscles and joints and participating in effective training technique, can also prevent a golf injury.

Well-conditioned limbs and joints that are under control when the stresses of the swing are encountered will greatly reduce risk of a golf injury.

If your body motion is out of control when you execute the swing, the muscles and tendons have little room for error. The result is likely a tear or strained tendon or ligament…keeping you off the course indefinitely.

The golf swing is a complicated movement (skill). In order to maximize your distance and power, you must have a high level of flexibility (range of motion) and force in the joints involved. This would include the shoulders, back and hips.

And when looking at the areas of a golf injury, the above mentioned areas are at the top of the list. Go figure!

Keep in mind that with an above average level of strength and flexibility and swing technique, you will not only reduce the occurrence of a golf injury, but also enhance the quality of your game.

Many golfers think they are generally healthy and able to play a round of golf without a golf injury…however, I have heard and read dozens of times where a golfer gets injured on the course…swinging a golf club. Has that happened to you or a golfing buddy?

Somewhere I read a statistic from 10 years ago. There was over 39,000 golf injuries treated in emergency rooms back in 1995! Wow! That’s unbelievable! How about all the injuries that weren’t reported or that were treated by the golfer himself? Or how about the chronic golf injuries the golfer ‘lives with’ just to be able to play golf?

These are numbers from 10 years ago! I wonder what they are now? I’m here to tell you golf is a physical sport and without the proper training, you’ll be added to that number mentioned above.

I don’t think it’s a tough sell to say that participating in a golf strength and flexibility program will help you avoid a golf injury.

Golf Swing Training The Right Way

Golf swing training is a critical area in the improvement of any golfer’s game. Yet not all golf swing training programs are the same. The truth of the matter is that there are some that are better and more effective than others.

In this article, I will examine the aspects that make for a good golf swing training program.

Before you even set foot on the course for a golf swing training session, it is important that you prepare your body physically and especially the muscles in your body that you will need to use in your golf swing.

A good golf swing exercise training program must include stretch exercises. Golf-specific stretch exercises are very powerful and extremely effective in improving the golf swing.

The amazing fact is that you do not need to be in the gym or away from your work station to carry out golf swing stretch training exercises. There are many stretch exercises that can be carried out in a spare moment in your office, throughout the day.

A good golf swing training exercise program will also involve weight training using dumbbells. The idea here is not to build bigger muscles but to strengthen your golf swing muscles.

Golf exercise experts will be able to give you the dumbbell exercises that will build your strength without giving you bulging muscles.

This is one of the reasons why these exercise programs using dumbbells have been embraced by lady golfers and even very young junior teenage golfers.

Your golf swing exercise training program can move to the course where you can make full use of golf exercise products like the weighted club.

Here you will be further enhancing and conditioning your golf muscles even as you practice the correct technique golf swing.

By the time your golf swing training program reaches the course and hitting actual golf balls, you will tend to find that your drives will be longer and you will also be more confident with yourself.

The right golf swing training can make a huge difference in your golf game.

What Are Those Golf Ball Dimples All About?

How many times have you... wondered why there are dimples
all over the golf ball?

In this article I will explain to you why golf balls have
dimples. How it controls the flight of the ball and why they
are really important to your golf game.

Did you know that golf balls were originally smooth? That
is right. Smooth as glass. Here is the funny thing though.
Golfers started to notice that the older the golf ball with cuts and bruises
traveled longer distances!

Apparently the nicks and cuts on the golf ball caused the
ball to fly farther down the fairway compared to a brand new
ball. So like all golfers will do, they flocked toward the
old balls like a moth on a heat lamp!
I imagine at this point some aerodynamicist must have
examined the beat up ball syndrome and realized that the
cuts were acting as turbulators. These nicks and cuts were
reducing drag which gave greater distance!

The dimples on a golf are the same exact thing as these
nicks and cuts. The just are modernized! I think this is
absolutely amazing. I love learning the history and
evolution of golf equipment. Maybe it is custom clubs and
how they evolved.

Concluding, I hope you enjoyed this brief article on golf
ball dimples. So head to the golf course and don't worry if
your ball bounces off a tree. It may help!

A Golf Fitness Exercise Program Will End Your Frustration On The Course

Even as you read this article, golf fitness exercise programs continue to positively revolutionize the games of many golfers around the country and indeed around the world.

A golf fitness exercise program plays a major role in helping many golfers achieve consistent and good results on the course with their swing.

Still many golfers are yet to fully appreciate the potential of a golf fitness exercise program and many are not aware of the fact that they usually have a huge impact on a golfer’s game.

A golf fitness exercise program will tend to concentrate on the muscles and parts of the body used when playing golf and especially during the golf swing.

A useful golf fitness exercise program will be able to help any golf attain more flexibility as well as strength on the course. It is important to remember that most of the body is used for a golf swing.

Right from the feet to the knees, hamstring and hip, the lower part of the body is critical to the golf swing. Then there are the more obvious participants in the body like the arms and upper body and neck.

A golf fitness exercise program does a significant job of ensuring that most of these muscles are ready for the strain that golf usually exerts on them.

Usually a golf fitness exercise program combines dynamic strength and flexibility exercises, as well as stabilization and core strength. Most of these exercises can be done with simple handweights (dumbbells) and exercise tubing.

No gym required!

Too many golfers go to the gym, plop down on a machine and hope their game will get better. It usually doesn’t. You’ve always got to keep the golf swing mechanics in mind when doing a golf fitness exercise program.

Understanding The Rotary Nature Of A Golf Swing

A careful and close study of the golf swing will reveal that it is mainly a rotary golf swing movement.

This is the reason why the most effective golf swing exercises are rotary in nature.

When using golf training aids like the weighted golf club, the rotary golf swing is practiced very effectively. This is a very golf-specific way of practicing and conditioning your muscles for the rotary nature of the golf swing. Using this aid, the golfer goes through the exact set of movements required in the rotary golf swing.

The inside approach is another golf aid that brings out the rotary nature of a golf swing. This device is quite useful for slicers and helps them deal with this problem.

Actually this is basically a problem of ignoring the rotary nature of the golf swing and the result is the problem of slicing the golf ball instead of hitting it correctly.

Another golf training aid that helps a golfer a great deal in appreciating the rotary nature of the golf swing is the exercise tubing. The real strength in this golf aid is in its’ ability to break down the golf swing into many different phases that can be zoomed in on for improvement.

There are also stretch exercises that one can do with a stability ball that will help improve the rotary nature of a golf swing in a golfer’s game. More so the kind of stretch exercises that involve the twisting of the body in different directions.

Stretch and strength exercises can also be done with dumbbells. Dumbbells these days are designed to be fairly portable, meaning that they can be carried around and conveniently kept within reach at home or even in the office for some simple exercises.

All in all, exercises are an important part of getting to appreciate the rotary nature of a golf swing which can result in great improvement of a golfer’s game.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness swing trainers in the country, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds and manual at his proper golf swing site - Perform Better Golf.


The golf swing is a physically demanding movement. Until golfers realize this, their pursuit of the perfect swing will never be achieved. Mike Pedersen is President/CEO Perform Better Golf which offers golf training dvds, manual and equipment.

Golf Fitness Helps Generate More Speed in Your Swing

The golfing industry speaks about clubhead speed constantly. We see advertised in the golf magazines all the time. We hear about it on the Golf Channel endlessly

Clubhead speed is more a result of what you do with the golf club than an entity of its own. A driver is not going to generate clubhead speed on its’ own! Someone has to swing it!

Clubhead speed is contingent upon swing speed. Swing speed is directly related to the person swinging the golf club. So the question to really ask is:

How Do I Develop Huge Gains in My Swing Speed?

Another term directly related to swing speed and clubhead speed is power.

More Power = More Swing Speed = More Clubhead Speed

Bottom line is we are looking to increasing the power outputs of your golf swing. This will allow for an increase in swing speed. An increase in swing speed translates to more clubhead speed.

So how do we increase the power in our golf swing?

Two aspects require tuning and development of you wish to improve the power in your golf swing.

§ Number One: Improve Your Swing Mechanics
§ Number Two: Improve Your Body

Developing optimal swing mechanics is the first part of the equation to great power.

The golf swing is one of the most difficult, finite, and complex athletic movements performed. As a result, it requires time spent on the refinement of the movements involved.

Any athletic movement, the golf swing included, can be performed efficiently or inefficiently.

An efficient golf swing allows for the highest percentage of power generated by the golfer to be translated into the club, and delivered into the golf ball. An inefficient golf swing decreases the amount of power delivered to golf swing.

Efficient Golf Swing Mechanics = High Power Outputs

Inefficient Golf Swing Mechanics = Low Power Outputs

A pretty simple equation if you think about it.

Now how do you develop efficient golf swing mechanics?

Through a process of proper instruction, proper practice, and time. The body can learn either the correct or incorrect way to swing a golf club. In order to learn the correct way to swing a golf club, proper instruction is required.

Secondly, the body learns through repetition. In order to learn efficient golf swing mechanics it is necessary to practice the correct way to swing. Finally, this process takes time.

The body will not learn how swing a golf club correctly in a day. It takes consistent time spent on the swing.

Putting it in math terms, the equation for efficient golf swing mechanics is:

Proper Instruction + Proper Practice + Time = Efficient Golf Swing Mechanics

Unfortunately, efficient golf swing mechanics is only one-half of the equation to increasing clubhead speed, swing speed, and power.

The second half is your body.

The golf club cannot develop power on its own. It is a combination of developing efficient golf swing mechanics and a body that can generate power.

A Body that can Generate Power = Increased Clubhead Speed

Your body swings the club through the mechanics of the golf swing. In order to perform this efficiently and powerfully requires the development of certain disciplines within your body.

Generating power in the golf swing requires your body to be:

§ Flexible
§ Strong
§ Powerful

The development of these three disciplines within your body allows the foundation to swing the golf club with more power.

If your body is inflexible, weak, and powerless, generating clubhead speed will be very difficult, let alone performing the mechanics of the golf swing correctly. How do you develop such a body for the golf swing?

Quite simply by implementing a golf fitness program. A golf fitness program will develop the required flexibility, strength, and power required of the golf swing.

It comes down to this equation:

Efficient Golf Swing Mechanics + A Flexible, Strong, & Powerful Body = Increased Clubhead Speed

Put in place a plan to develop efficient golf swing mechanics and a powerful body. The swing speed and clubhead speed you desire can be a reality. Remember; proper instruction, practice, time, and golf fitness training are the keys to more power, more swing speed, and more clubhead speed.

How A Golf Stretching Routine Can Impact Your Game Quickly

Even as you read this article, golf stretching routines continue to positively revolutionize the games of many golfers around the country and indeed around the world.

Golf stretching routines play a major role in helping many golfers achieve consistent and good results on the course with their swing.

Still many golfers are yet to fully appreciate the potential of golf stretching routines and many are not aware of the fact that they usually have a huge impact on a golfer’s game.

A golf stretching routine will tend to concentrate on the muscles and parts of the body used when playing golf and especially during the golf swing.

A useful golf stretching routine will be able to help any golf attain more flexibility as well as strength on the course. It is important to remember that most of the body is used for a golf swing.

Right from the feet to the knees, hamstring and hip, the lower part of the body is critical to the golf swing. Then there are the more obvious participants in the body like the arms and upper body and neck.

A golf stretching routine does a significant job of ensuring that most of these muscles are ready for the strain that golf usually exerts on them.

Usually the golf stretching routine is combined with weight training for maximum effect and results. In fact there are some stretch exercises that involve the use of dumbbells.

Part of the better golf stretching routines will also involve a warming up process and some stretching exercises shortly before you start your golf swings.

This work well to help many a golfer’s body feel much more comfortable during the golf swing. The truth is that the more comfortable a golfer feels when executing a golf swing, the better the results will be.

In fact a golf stretching routine is at the very heart of any genuine golf exercise program.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness swing trainers in the country, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds and manual at his golf swing tips site - Perform Better Golf