Keep a sense of Humor
Golf can be tough, even down right cruel sometimes. If you get angry, or down on yourself, extra tension will creep into your swing leading to more dropped shots. Do your best to shake off bad bounces and keep a smile on your face. This is the best strategy for trying to minimize the damage on the scorecard when you are not on top of your game. Remember, the best golfers are the ones with the shortest memories.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act,but a habit.
-Aristotle
Better ball contact
If you want to improve your ball striking, check your hand position at address. When you address the ball the grip of the club should point to your left hip joint (if you are a right handed golfer). This position puts your hands slightly ahead of the clubface, which is the same position you want your hands at impact.If a player’s grip points toward their zipper at address, their hands are even or behind the ball and in a position to promote a “scoop” down at the ball.Try this set up position where the butt of the grip points toward your left hip joint, it should improve your contact with the golf ball.
To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at whathe has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.
-Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer
Better Posture
Have you ever heard that you should bend from the waist to take your posture? Well, if you do, you will limit the amount of rotation in your spine. Bending from the waist to set up to a golf ball causes your spine/back to round. A rounded position in your back limits the amount the vertebrae can rotate.
To improve your posture and your ability to rotate bend from the hip joints to get into your setup position. Bending from the hip joints will allow you to keep your spine “straight.”
If you think it's hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.
-Jack Lemmon
Hover the club
Have you ever gotten frozen over the ball? Or have you felt like you just couldn’t get your swing started?
Try hovering your club off the ground to keep your muscles relaxed and your body ready for the swing. Keeping the clubhead on the ground, or worse pressed in the ground, allows tension to creep in to your muscles. Hover the club just an inch or two off the ground and take a couple of waggles – from there you should be able to start your backswing in a smooth manner. The smooth takeaway will hopefully carry over and result into a fluid powerful swing.
One of the advantages bowling has over golf is that you seldom lose a bowling ball.
-Don Carter
Stroke Saving Strategy
Crushing the driver is a fun way to play golf but it is not always the best strategy, especially if you are trying to post a good score. The next time you are faced with a difficult shot…say out of bounds on both sides of the fairway; consider taking a more lofted club and positioning the ball in play.
The more loft a club has, the more backspin it imparts on the ball and less sidespin. In my book, this is a good equation for keeping a ball in play. The next time you are faced with going for the gusto or keeping a ball in the short grass consider taking a more lofted club – more often than not you will make the same or better score on the hole.
