Australian Senior Golfer » Instruction

Golf Rules Quiz No 4

Brian O'Hare — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:47:08 +0000

A PLAYER’S ball comes to rest on a cart path such that his nearest point of relief is behind the obstruction. He properly determines his point of relief and lifts and drops the ball in accordance with Rule 24-2b. The ball rolls and comes to rest nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief but not nearer the hole than where it originally lay on the path. What is the procedure?

a. The player must re-drop the ball

b. The dropped ball is in play

Answer:

‘a’ Having determined the point of relief this then becomes the reference point superseding the previous position of the ball. Rule 20-2c (vii)(b)

This golf rules quiz item supplied by Cliff Nunn, a VGA state accredited rules official and proprietor of Golf Clubs Down Under.

The golf swing - in every minute, gory detail

Brian O'Hare — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:19:33 +0000

IF IT is possible to focus too much on the modern golf swing then maybe Jeff Mann has done it.

Jeff is a retired doctor who has built an amazing resource at his website, Perfect Golf Swing.

As Jeff happily admits, his analysis of the golf swing is so detailed it is not for everyone.

But for those who are interested, it is fascinating stuff.

Even though Jeff set up the website entirely himself and it has a very simple, no frills design, it demonstrates the internet at its best.

The only problem is, if, like me, you start reading, viewing and absorbing and then look up and realise several hours have passed and you haven’t even reached the top of the backswing.

As for Jeff, he has obviously spent countless hundreds of hours putting it all together – and the project is still ongoing.

The beauty of Jeff’s work – apart from the fact that it is all entirely free to access - is that he has drawn all the material together from the best teachers and resources from throughout golf’s history.

And because it is online every minute, gory aspect of the modern golf swing can be analysed not just with words, pictures, illustration and graphs, but with relevant video clips and links as well.

The amazing thing is that Jeff only started playing golf when he retired from practicing medicine in 2001.

Jeff looked around and noted there was no free online review of the full golf swing available. Sure, there are a myriad of sites offering free golf tips, but nothing detailed like this.

Jeff decided to approach it as he would a scholarly analysis of any educational subject and that’s why he decided on the no frills style of Perfect Golf Swing.

As in a scholarly review, every point is referenced to the original source, whether that is from a David Leadbetter book, a Ben Hogan video clip or an animated robot swinging at one of the modern golf clinics. And all of it is based entirely on traditional golf instructional teaching.

As an older golfer himself - and with the benefit of his medical knowledge of human physiology - Jeff knows that most senior golfers are not going to be physically able to exactly replicate the perfect swing of a golf robot or even a young Aaron Baddeley. Allowances can be made.

And as Jeff freely admits, the review will not offer a developing golfer any secret formula that will magically enable them to instantly perfect their golf swing.

What it does do for those interested is provide the basis for a thorough and in-depth understanding of golf swing mechanics.

Read and absorb it and suddenly all those seemingly disparate and (often in reality) confusing golf tips in the magazines and websites will all make perfect sense. You’ll know exactly where they are coming from.

Visit Perfect Golf Swing here

(Illustration from Swing Like a Pro. Ralph Mann and Fred Griffin)

Correct address - foundation of the golf swing

Brian O'Hare — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:16:09 +0000

By Bobby Eldridge, Head Teaching Professional PurePoint Golf

This is part of a series of articles on the full golf swing. They are adapted from the PurePoint Golf eBook “Full Golf Swing Fundamentals”. The eBook is currently available at a special price that includes a Free DVD and other benefits. Click the PurePoint link below if you want more details.

The Feet

As we move through the address position section I want you to wrap your head around the idea that we are going to construct a building. The building is four to six feet tall and not very wide. Of course I am referring to the human body. The first place you would start is the foundation, so let’s talk about the feet first. Let’s see how far apart they are supposed to be and exactly where we place the weight once we get the feet planted.

The feet have to support the upper body and once the golf club, the arms, and the body get moving in the downswing there is a lot of force that the foundation has to support.

The feet have to be just slightly further apart than shoulder width. This distance is far enough apart to maintain a solid base.

1. Slightly More Than Shoulder Width

As the club begins to build up speed and the left hip makes the first move down the target line before it turns backward, the width of the stance will hold up just fine. If you have a tendency to lose your balance, your stance might be to narrow.

Too Narrow

After impact the golf club swings back around your body and up towards your left shoulder. As the golf club comes to the end of the swing your weight has moved from the right side over to the left side. The width of your feet will accommodate this move. Your weight needs to be evenly distributed between your toes and heels.

The Knees

From the feet we are going to move up the building to the knees. The knees have played a huge role in most sports- golf is no exception. The knees are going to come into play in two different parts of the golf swing.

The first part is the address position.

As you address the golf ball your knees will have a slight flex in them.

2. Knees are Slightly Fixed

You are NOT going to “sit” on your knees and they are NOT locked straight.

For a long time instructors taught students to have the feeling you were “sitting” on a bar stool. I always believed we should have been teaching people to feel as though you were “leaning” back on a stool. The last thing you would ever want to do is sit in golf. Sitting will cause the golf club to swing too level to the ground in the downswing, and you will have a tendency to hit the ground behind the golf ball.

Straight

Sitting

Before you start to “straighten” your knees to a “locked” position, which is just as wrong as sitting, let me give you a bit of advice. The knee position is what I refer to as “slightly” flexed. Because we are all different heights, I cannot give you an exact degree you should flex your knees- however; if you simply relax your knees, you will find the correct amount of bend on your own.

The second roll the knees play in the swing is when the golf club is in motion. As the golf club swings back, the single most important thing for you to remember is the RIGHT knee never ever moves from the original position. If you think of the two knee caps as head lights shining in front of you as you drive along a road, you might make some twists and turns but the headlights are always in front of you. As you start the backswing the right knee does not slide, bend or straighten out- it stays very quiet and solid during the entire backswing.

Both knees must remain flexed during the entire backswing and until impact.

The Hips

If your chin is in the correct position, and your spine is long (don’t worry we’ll talk about these shortly), and your knees are flexed the correct amount, the golf club will not sole correctly on the ground until you tilt or bend over from the hips. You do NOT want to bend at the waist. You ALWAYS want to bend from the hips. The difference is if you bend at the waist your spine will bend (not good).

If you bend at the hips you can maintain the spine angle and sole the club on the ground correctly.

3. Bend at the Hips

If you do not bend at the hips, you will not be able to sole the golf club correctly.

When you bend over from the hips you have to make sure you do not straighten out or lock your knees. When you bend at the hips you have to pay close attention to making sure you do not bend at the bottom of the spine.

Not Tilted

Tilted Too Much

The hips play another role not related to their position

Your hips must be parallel to the line of the ball flight at address.

4. Parallel to the Line of the Ball Flight

If your hips are open at address you will have a tendency to open the hips too soon in the downswing. The clubface will be open at impact and the golf ball will start right. If your hips are closed at address the golf club will swing too much from the inside in the downswing and the golf ball will either start right or you will struggle with a quick hook left.

Open

Closed

At address the hips are parallel to the ball flight line. As the golf club swings back down from the top, the first move from the top is for the left hip to move an inch or two parallel to the target line and then the left hip should begin to turn backwards out of the way so the golf club can swing back to the inside after impact.

When you arrive at the finish of the golf swing your belt and shoulders should be level to the ground. Your belt buckle will aim at the intended target and your hips are level to the ground.

The Shoulders

The shoulders play three major roles in the golf swing. The first two roles are static and the third is a moving role. In the address position the shoulders compliment the spine angle.

If the shoulders are opened up and back at address the spine angle will be in the correct position as long as the chin is up.

5. Shoulders Back

If the shoulders are rounded the spine will be bent over too much.

Rounded

The second role the shoulders play is they must be parallel to your intended line you want the golf ball to travel on. When you look down your toes, knees, hips and shoulders must be in line with each other. Parallel means they have to be on the same line going to the left of where you want the golf ball to start. If the shoulders are aiming to the right of the target the golf club will start too much inside the correct path in the backswing. If they are aiming to the left of the target the golf club will start too much to the outside in the backswing. For the golf club to start back on the correct path the shoulders must be parallel from the start.

The shoulders play yet another role in the backswing. As the clubhead, shaft, hands, arms and (shoulders) start moving backwards, the right shoulder has to move out of the way to give the hands, arms and golf club a place to swing to at the top of the backswing. The right shoulder does not slide back. Instead – rotates around your body.

The shoulders play a huge role in distance and direction. The shoulders have to turn as much as possible in the backswing. Once your back is facing the target (this for the 30ish and under crowd) or as much of a turn as possible, you will be in position to swing the club down with maximum club head speed.

The Spine

The spine has taken on an all important part in the golf swing in the past 10 years. Not many words were written about the spine and its role in the golf swing until then.

If the spine stays long during the backswing, not rigid, you can make a much bigger turn.

6. Long Spine During Backswing

If your spine is curved at address the shoulders will have a tendency to tilt and not turn. In the downswing the shoulders will have a tendency to turn on top of the golf ball instead of moving under. If the shoulders can move under, the golf club will stay on the path in the downswing (producing an inside to out swing). As the golf club swings back the right shoulder has to turn to allow the golf club to swing up, if the spine is too long the club will swing around too much and not up enough.

Bent Over

Too Long

There is yet another role the spine plays in the golf swing. At the top of the backswing the spine supports the upper body, the golf club, the arms and most importantly the speed at which we swing the golf club. If the spine maintains its length in the backswing, you will be able to swing the arms at a greater speed in the downswing.

The golf club is at its maximum speed as it nears the golf ball and the spine is supporting the “frame of the golf swing” - your upper body. As the club head passes the impact zone the spine is at its most vulnerable position and from that point to the finish is when the spine is taking a real beating (physically).

Maintaining the correct spine angle will play a major role in club head speed and, the direction the club actually swings (swing path). The spine maintains the same angle from address to one foot past impact and it is critical that it starts from the correct position.

If you are in the correct posture at address no changes are necessary.

If you are standing too tall at address, bending at the hips will solve this problem. If you are bent over too much at the top of the spine or your shoulders are too curved, you will have to take a very serious look into changing your spine angle. Opening your shoulders and lifting your chin will be a great place to start.

The Chin

After you address the golf ball there is a check-list of things you need to go through to make sure you are ready to take off. I am not going to tell you the position of the chin is the most important- however, it ranks up there for sure. The chin controls what happens to the shoulders in the backswing.

If the chin is down in your chest at address, the shoulders will have a tendency to pop up in the backswing. The right shoulder will NOT turn out of the way to make room for the arms to swing around. If you continue to leave your chin down in your chest you might have some success with the shorter clubs, but the long clubs will be very difficult to hit. You can get away with the arms swinging up and down with the short clubs, you might not be so lucky with the longer clubs.

If you have a tendency to top your shots or hit thin, your chin might be up too much.

Too Down

Too Up

If you have a tendency to top your shots or hit thin, your chin might be up too much.

So now you want to know how much you should lift your chin up. I have some advice that is not the answer of all answers, but it is a wonderful starting point.

Lift your chin up just enough to get your fist under your chin and touch your throat.

7. Use Fist as a Guide

Correct

When you start experimenting with this new position you will want to start with a club you like to hit. You will know right away if the correction is going to help you or not. Give it a chance. If you top a lot of shots, you have lifted the chin up too much. The first few shots you might want to start with half a fist so you can ease into it. Keep in mind it is an extension of your spine. You might have to bend over at the hips another inch or two; this will compliment the chin position.

Perfect your backswing with the one piece take away

Brian O'Hare — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:51:46 +0000

By Head Teaching Professional Bobby Eldridge of PurePoint Golf

This is the first of a series of articles on the full golf swing. They are adapted from the PurePoint Golf eBook “Full Golf Swing Fundamentals”. The eBook is currently available at a special price that includes a Free DVD and other benefits. Click the PurePoint link below if you want more details.

Standing to the Handle

As you address the golf ball there are some critical parts of the setup that must be in place before you start the backswing.

If you look down and see the grip-end of the golf club across from your belt buckle there is a good chance you have MOST of the critical parts in place.

1. Across from Belt Buckle

Having the grip-end of the golf club across from your belt buckle assures you of having your head in the correct position, not tilted too far to the left side or the right side of the golf ball. The second part is your spine is probably in the correct position, if the grip end is pointing towards you chin, your spine is too long. If the grip end is pointing lower than your belt buckle, your spine is bent over too much. Lastly, the most crucial part is the golf club is soled on the ground with the correct amount of loft.

The golf club being soled correctly on the ground is the sure guarantee that you are in the correct set-up, after you confirm all the positions that we discussed above.

The Key to Starting the Golf Club Back

One of the top five most asked questions in the past 25 years has been, “What starts the backswing?” The answer is a bit complex, so grab your Hi-Liter and let’s get started.

When you are ready to start the backswing, the clubhead, shaft, your hands, arms and right shoulder move in ONE PIECE at the exact same time.

The clubhead starts back on an arc (we will get to that in the next section). The right shoulder starts turning backwards.

2. One Piece Take-away

3. Right Shoulder Turns as Arm Swings Club

The take-away is one piece all the way until it arrives at the 9:00 o’clock position (we will get to that in two sections).

As you start back, both knees are flexed and during the backswing- the right knee NEVER changes positions. It does not flex more, nor does it straighten out and it does not slide back away from the target.

The left knee also plays a major role in the backswing. It does not move towards the line of flight and it does not straighten out. As the golf club starts back, the left knee moves towards the right knee as a RESULT of the upper body turning and the lower body resisting this turn. The left knee never passes the golf ball in the backswing.

The Correct Path in the Backswing

As the golf club starts back away from the golf ball the club head must swing back on an arc which is inside the straight line to the target.

4a. Correct Arc

4b. Correct Arc

If the golf club travels outside in the backswing the right shoulder will tilt up in the backswing and the golf club will swing vertical to the ground in the downswing. If the golf club travels too much to the inside of the arc in the backswing, the golf club will travel too level to the golf ball in the downswing. If the golf club swings too straight back you will have a tendency to hit the ball in the heel of the club at impact.

Too Much Outside

Too Much Inside

Too Straight Back

When the golf club travels back on the correct path the combination of the arms and hands will be able to swing the golf club back to the correct position at the top of the backswing as long as the right shoulder turns out of the way.

From Address to the 9:00 Position

When the shaft of the golf club is level to the ground and parallel to your intended target line- we refer to that position as 9 o’clock.

The first check-point in the backswing is the 9:00 o’clock position.

5. First Check-Point is the 9 O’Clock Position

When you reach 9 o’clock, you are half-way back and this is a great time to stop and take a look around, as long as you know what you are looking for. The first thing you want to take a look at- is the golf club in the exact correct position? The club should be parallel to your target line and level to the ground. The second part to take a look at- is the right shoulder turning and not tilting? It is very difficult to get to 9 o’clock with a tilted right shoulder.

Right Shoulder Tilted Too Much

Right Shoulder Turned Too Level

If the right shoulder is tilting up the golf club will most likely be outside the path and pointed up. If the right shoulder turns too much in the backswing the golf club will swing around you too much. If you are in the correct position, it is time to head back to the top of the backswing.

From 9:00 to the Top

From the 9 o’clock position the golf club must continue up on an arc.

6a. From 9 to the Top

6b. From 9 to the Top

This can only happen if you continue to turn the right shoulder out of the way. As the right shoulder turns out of the way, the arms, hands and golf club will continue to swing inside, however, after the golf club passes the 9 o’clock position, it will have to swing up. This combination is what I believe is the most difficult part of the backswing.

You can not stop turning the shoulder. If you do stop turning the golf club will start to swing up to much. If you continue to swing the golf club around with the shoulders the golf club will swing too much around.

The proper combination is when the shoulders turn and the golf club swings up. When you reach the top of the backswing with this combination you will be in position to swing the golf club down on the correct path and with clubhead speed.

Shoulders Stop Turning, Club Swings Up

7. Shoulders Turning Correctly

GOLF CONFIDENCE: The Golfer’s Mind Part 2

Brian O'Hare — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:36:08 +0000

MANY golfers have a much bigger reaction when they hit a bad shot compared to when they hit a good one.

They’ll beat up on themselves unmercifully for fluffing a shot, and don’t mind doing it publicly.

But hit a great shot and they’ll brush it off with little actual acknowledgement.

And that, according to leading golf psychologist Dr Bob Rotella, is not the way to build confidence in your game.

Because of the way our memory and subconscious works, memories are much stronger, have more influence and remain in our minds far longer when we attach strong emotions to them.

So, many golfers are reacting exactly the wrong way around, if they actually want to improve their game, or even their enjoyment of their game, that is.

By going over the top and getting really upset at bad shots they are ingraining that feeling in their minds and making it more likely to happen again.

When you hit a great shot, you don’t have to carry on like a public lair, but you can take a moment to inwardly savour it, and help to store away that feeling for future use.

In his book, The Golfer’s Mind: Play to Play Great, Rotella expands on the importance of building, and playing with, confidence in golf.

Given two players of equal skill, the more confident one will nearly always win, he says.

Confidence about a shot is no more than thinking only about the ball going to the target

Rotella recounts talking to Fred Couples the night before he won the 1992 Masters.

Couples told him that in his pre-shot routine he was thinking about the best shot he had ever hit with that club in his hands. Rotella wasn’t surprised when Couples won.

Rotella suggests keeping a note or record of your best ever shots.

If, unlike many of his clients such as Padraig Harrington, you can’t put a video together drawn from your television coverage, a notebook will do.

Rotella wrote The Golfer’s Mind as an easily digested, ready reference guide players can carry with them and refer to when they need it.

Each chapter features a list of the main thoughts or ideas to work with on each topic.

10 Thoughts on Golf Confidence

1. Confidence is knowing that if you play the golf you’re capable of, you will win or have a chance to win.

2. Confidence is being more comfortable as your score gets lower and you get in a position to win.

3. Confidence is feeling like a winner even if you are not the winner.

4. You should be more confident at the end of a round than at the beginning.

5. If you don’t grow in confidence with every year you play golf, your thinking needs adjustment.

6. Thinking confidently about your game should be no different than thinking honestly about your game.

7. A confident player thinks about what he wants to happen on the course. A player who lacks confidence thinks about what he doesn’t want to happen.

8. Given two players of equal skills, the more confident one will win nearly every time.

9. Confidence about a shot is no more than thinking only about the ball going to the target.

10. Confidence doesn’t come from a full trophy cabinet, it comes from within.

The Golfer’s Mind and Rotella’s other books, including Golf is Not a Game of Perfect and Putting Out of Your Mind are usually available at great value prices from the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop.

The Golfer’s Mind Part 1

Golf Rules Quiz No 3

Brian O'Hare — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:06:19 +0000

Tony and Joe are playing a course that is wet and muddy. Both have played their second shots to just short of the green. Joe is away by a few centimetres. Tony, thinking his ball will interfere with Joe’s play, marks, lifts and puts it in his pocket so he can hold an umbrella and his clubs. After Joe plays, Tony goes to replace his ball and finds that Joe has left a divot where his ball marker had been. Tony then drops his ball as close as possible to its original position, not nearer the hole, chips onto the putting green and two putts. `What is Tony’s score for the hole?

a) 7

b) 8

c) 9

d) 10

Answer:

a). Tony is not permitted to lift his ball because he thinks it might interfere with Joe’s play (Rule 22) so he incurs a penalty stroke for lifting his ball when it was not permitted (Rule 18-2a) but there is no additional penalty under Rule 22 so he incurs no penalty for putting the ball in his pocket. But when he failed to replace the ball according to Rule 20-3b (after Joe altered Tony’s lie) he incurred the general penalty under Rule 18. Therefore 5 strokes played plus 2 penalty strokes equals a score of 7.

NB If Joe had requested Tony to lift his ball because of interference (Rule 22-2) that would have been OK but Tony would then have been penalised for cleaning the ball when he put it in his pocket. (In that situation you lift and hold the ball between fore-finger and thumb until it is replaced).

This golf rules quiz item supplied by Cliff Nunn, a VGA state acredited rules official and proprietor of Golf Clubs Down Under.

The Golfer’s Mind

Brian O'Hare — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:28:36 +0000

When you walk onto a golf course you are only allowed to have 14 clubs, but you can carry around as many demons as you want.

Top golf psychologist Dr Bob Rotella has worked with the likes of recent major winners Padraig Harrington and Trevor Immelman and says it is impossible to overestimate the importance of the mind in golf.

Rotella believes golf is as much about self confidence and trust as it is about physical competence.

Rotella believes golf is as much about self confidence and trust as it is about physical competence

Rotella has written a number of best selling golf books and has distilled much of his teaching into a new book, The Golfer’s Mind, which is intended as an easy reference guide golfers can return to again and again when they need to refresh themselves with advice on the mental game.

ASG will be publishing a series of articles based on The Golfer’s Mind: Play to Play Great.

Firstly, here is a list of ten principles, or what Rotella calls “process goals” to take with you on your next round of golf.

As Rotella says: “If you follow them, you’ll give yourself the best chance to find out how well you can play in that particular round.

The Golfer’s Mind 10 Mental Game Goals

I will trust myself and my swing on every shot. I don’t have absolute control of where the ball goes. I do have absolute control of whether I trust myself.
I will execute my pre-shot routine on every shot.
I will stay in the present moment. I won’t speculate in the middle of the round about what my score will be, or where I’ll stand in the tournament. I’ll stop worrying about not breaking 90, or 70. I will refrain from critiquing or analysing the shots I’ve taken. I will focus on each shot as it comes, and that will be the only shot I care about. When it’s over, I’ll see how I did.
I will refuse to allow anything that happens on the golf course today to bother me or upset me. I will accept bad breaks and mistakes, and be tough in adversity. I am going to be in a good mood and a great state of mind for the entire round today. I’ll enjoy playing.
I will trust my instincts and be decisive and committed.
I will get looser and freer and more confident as the round progresses, resisting the urge to get tighter, more careful, and doubtful.
I will love my wedge and my putter today.
I will let the ball go to my target on every shot. (And in other words firstly have a specific target to aim at)
I will maintain a constant ideal level of intensity on every shot.
I will play to play great, not play not to play poorly.

The Golfer’s Mind, Play to Play Great, by Dr Rob Rotella with Bob Cullen, is available in the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop. Also check out Rotella’s other books including Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, Putting Out of Your Mind and Your 15th Club: The Inner Secret to Great Golf.

See The Golfer’s Mind here for US $16.29 (Hardcover) plus postage or less for used.

Rules Quiz No 2

Brian O'Hare — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:28:09 +0000

On a steep, fast green a player putts the ball above the hole. The player marks, lifts and cleans the ball and replaces the ball. Then, before the marker was lifted, the ball rolls off the green. What is the ruling?

a) The player may replace the ball at the marked position.

b) The player must play the ball as it lies

Answer

This depends on whether the ball, when replaced remained at rest on the spot on which it was placed for a moment before it started to move. (The fact that the marker had not been lifted is irrelevant as it is only an indicator of where the ball should be replaced.)

If, when released from the fingers, the ball stayed at rest for a moment before rolling; Answer b) the ball must be played as it lies.

If, on the other hand, the ball immediately moved as it was released; Answer a) the player is required to replace the ball - (Rule 20-3d)

This quiz item was supplied by Cliff Nunn. Cliff is a Victorian Golf Association (VGA) State Accredited Rules Official.

Less is More: Senior Golfer Flexibility

Brian O'Hare — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:45:21 +0000

According to one leading US golf teaching professional, “Less is More” when it comes to senior golf flexibility. That means you can still produce the same distance and accuracy but with less in your swing.

Top 50 LPGA Teaching Professional Lynn Bernadett says loss of flexibility is a major concern for anyone in the 40 and above age bracket.

“In golf, flexibility is a major factor in creating an effortless swing,” Lynn says. “Whether male or female, you will lose a good percentage of your flexibility as the years go by.

“If you are in this category, the majority of swing flaws that occur could be from a, “trying to do, like I used to do”, syndrome. You can do like you used to do, but it may be a scaled-down model.

“This means that you will be able to produce the same distance and the same accuracy with less in your swing. No matter what level your swing is at, less is more in golf.

Lyn says that unlike most other sports activities, golf is a game that you can play for the rest of your life.

“Involve yourself in some sort of regular exercise in order to maintain a healthy mind and body,” she says. “The older you get, the more important it will be that exercise becomes a part of your everyday life. In golf, do not expect to increase your mobility without involving yourself in some sort of extracurricular exercise.

“Swinging within yourself” is to swing within the natural boundaries of ones own sense of balance. The speed at which you chose to start your swing will only increase as you continue your motion. Flexibility and balance cannot be achieved if your swing speed is too fast. You need to find a rate of speed that keeps you on your feet, and in balance, through to your finish position. You want to create a “low and slow” takeaway as you start your club back. “Low and slow” benefits the stability throughout your swing and definitely maintains flexibility, and a steady balance check.

“At the top (or end) of your backswing, turning your shoulders to a 90-degree angle to the target line (or your back completely to the target), may no longer be your goal. Since you have lost some of your flexibility, your ability to turn will now end somewhere short of that 90-degree mark. Once you have found the maximum potential of your coil, a simple readjustment in rhythm, tempo, and timing has to be made in your swing. You would be keeping the same dynamics and principals of the golf swing but, it will be a more condensed version - Less Is More.”

“Neither age nor physical disability should restrict a person from enjoying this great game of golf. The majority of my students are in their senior years of golf, and I wish to thank them all for bettering my understanding of “I CAN”! “

A gentle reminder: Disability is only in the mind, and the golf ball does not discriminate.

Lynn Bernadett is an LPGA Golf Professional at The Pines Golf Club in Tucson, AZ.

Seven Minutes to a Better Swing

One way to maintain or improve flexibility is by regular stretching.

Golf fitness guru Mike Pedersen has just released a new Golf Stretching DVD that will help you begin a regular stretching program at home.

The DVD contains a number of golf stretching routines that will take just seven minutes a day and will, according to Mike:

Release those tight, golf-specific muscles (resulting in a tension-free golf swing).
Give you a full backswing (for maximum power and distance) for 18 holes.
Remove stiffness in all the major joints of the body (eliminating aches and pains).

“This unique golf stretching video incorporates several sequences of stretches utilizing the entire body, similiar to your golf swing. This is a “plug-n-play”, no fluff stretching dvd you will find enjoyable,” Mike says.

Senior golf swing

Brian O'Hare — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:35:58 +0000

Want a successful and repeatable senior golf swing?

You could try following the hundreds of different (and often opposing and confusing) golf swing tips in golf magazines or all over the internet, or you could take a few minutes and have a look at the easy, fluid motion of the swing of current Australian Senior Amateur Golf Champion Stefan Albinski.

Stefan Albinki Iron shot Royal Perth Golf Club

Stefan Albinki Fairway Royal Perth

(Uploaded to YouTube by AUSOOM)