Enhance Balance for a Full Swing
Why?
That may seem obvious, but what many people don’t realize is that balance continues to improve over your lifetime based on what your body experiences. The more you stimulate the little balance mechanisms in your inner ears, the more your balance improves.
Optimize your overall balance in the golf swing by hitting full swing shots with any club with one foot.
For a right handed golfer stand on the left leg. With the right foot off the floor resting behind the left leg, take a swing and keep balance. This is a difficult but wonderful exercise that will show up any problems with balance and coordination immediately. The tendency is to want to put the right foot back on the floor at the end of the swing but with a little practice you will be amazed how the body remains still, but turning at the same time. Once good balance has been achieved, try hitting a few balls on one leg. Keep a smooth rhythm and concentrate on that balance. Very quickly, you will see just how beneficial this type of practice can be. When really confident, try hitting a few balls from a tee with a lofted fairway wood, still on one leg. You might well be surprised to see a gentle draw shot flow from your club head as retaining good balance will allow the hands and arms to do their job properly. Finally, using this golf swing tip you should be almost able to hit the ball three quarter distance still on one leg, proving that good balance and timing are vital ingredients to hitting better shots.
Stabilize yourself by placing one foot behind the other as shown in the picture.
Balance for pitch shots
Either barefoot or in athletic shoes, for 1 minute a day stand on one foot while you:
Brush your teeth
Open your mail
Do the dishes
Watch TV (during the commercials)
Have a conversation
Enhance Timing for Putting
Why?
Timing for putting is the rhythm at which you rock your shoulders to make the putter stroke the golf ball, as long as the shoulders, arms and hands work together as one unit as shown in the picture. Maintaining the shape of this triangle is important to your putting stroke.
How?
Start by visualizing your arms holding a basket of newborn bunnies. These fragile creatures need to be rocked to sleep, so your arms are holding the putter very naturally and symbolically of rocking the bunnies to sleep. Be careful not to rock them too fast or many will fall out of the basket.
Use this image and stroke a nine foot putt, if you would like to go longer just make the rocking bigger, not faster. It is important to keep the speed of rocking smooth with out thrusting, you wouldn?t want to drop the bunnies!
Enhance timing for Full Swing
Why?
Your inner-rhythm at which you talk and walk are a key component to your golf swing. This component can be sabotaged by too much tension in the upper body, rushing the takeaway with the hands, and pulling with the arms and hands from the top of the back swing.
How?
In order to keep your natural rhythm , practice enunciating the syllables in your name while making a full swing. You can also say your favorite food slowly such as “Ham…burg…er”.
Enhance your Energy flow for putting
Why?
Putting should be a natural rocking motion, with fluidity. Often in Putting the stroke can be manipulated by a thrust of energy that takes the natural synchronicity away from our stroke. How do we learn and maintain a truly synchronized energy flow? A metronome. Musicians have been using them for years. Practice your putting stroke at home while listening to a metronome. They can be purchase and clip right to your collar for less than $30. You don?t have to manipulate the stroke at all. Simply allow it to naturally go back and thru at your own natural rhythm.
How?
Set it to 60 bpm which gives you a slow, long stroke. The beat is perfect for short and long putts alike. Start back on the first beat and make sure to be going thru the ball on the second beat. Eventually, I will be stroking the forward swing through the ball area on the metronome tick. You may need slower or faster timing, but 60 bpm is a good starting point. This exercise provides both, an audible (metronome tick) and visual (putter passing thru ball strike zone) cue. This helps to hard wire the rhythm into your stroke. If, while playing, you lose the rhythm, make a clicking sound, and swing my putter until I settle on the right beat. It?s like having a metronome in your pocket.
Enhance Energy Flow for Full Swing
Why?
Energy flows around your body with centrifugal force when swinging the golf club. Many golfers struggle with shifting weight from one foot to the next in the golf swing. How?
To enhance your energy flow imagine your golf club is a bucket of water. Swing the golf club like you were throwing the water out onto the fairway. This will assist you in your ability to utilize your large muscles as a bucket of water will “feel” heavy. Your body then can learn to swing the golf club more efficiently and not disrupt any flow of energy.