Improve your ball striking - stabilise your swing

As we all know, a solid strike is crucial in order to be successful on the golf course. Without this then you cannot think about hitting the ball good distances or straight.
One of the key factors in achieving consistency within your strike is to have a stable swing. Too many moving parts and excessive movements will result in a swing that is out of control and can lead to topped, thinned and heavy shots to name but a few.

One thing you will notice with all the top players is that they maintain a central rotating position throughout their swings. This eliminates swaying movements and makes it much easier for them to return to the ball in the correct position for a crisp strike.

Notice how Anthony Kim has gone from his set - up position on the left, to the top of his backswing on the right hand side. You will notice that he has remained in the circle by rotating around on the spine angle he adopted at address. He has not stood up or dipped towards the ball, therefore making it very easy for him to return to the ball at impact.

The same can be seen here from face on. Again the player has remained in the circle and the spine has just rotated. There is no upper body sway to one side which would make it hard to get back to the correct ball striking position.

Watch your own swing in a mirror from both angles to see if there is too much movement in your takeaway and backswing.

The stability that both players have produced results in a simple rotation motion that is not over complicated. As with a lot of aspects of golf, less is more. The simplest swings are often the best. Eliminating leaning one way or the other and standing up or dipping, can make your swing more consistent and improve your strike straight away.

Daniel Gale 

PGA Professional

Dan teaches at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex

Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

Alignment and swing tips - alignment rods

Using alignment sticks is a great way to improve your aim, check ball position and also to assist with swingpath and pane changes. You will see a lot of pros using these now at tour events and i am getting pretty much all my lessons to use them in some form when practicing.

Using alignment rods to assist with alignment & ball position

Some swing changes can also be assisted with these alignment sticks. By putting them in or along the ground in various angles and positions, changes such as swing path, swing plane and hip drive can also be assisted.

 Using alignment sticks to check swing plane

 Using alignment sticks to help swing path change

Using alignment sticks to help with hip drive

You can pick these sticks up nice and cheap and use them in a number of ways to assist your golf practice. Pick up a couple to help your golf.

Daniel Gale

PGA Professional

Dan teaches at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex

Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

Golf practice swing - the rehearsal!!

No matter who i am teaching, whether it be a beginner or a low handicap player, i always encourage practice swings whether working on the range or on the golf course.

We hear a lot of people saying they have given up on practice swings because they always do them well but then mess up when it comes to hitting the ball. But ask yourself a question, What were you actually trying to hit? The answer is nothing. You were just having a swing of the club that had no end result, you can't even tell if you were skimming the grass that would have been directly under the ball.

There are a couple of good reasons for doing practice swings prior to hitting the ball:

1.Managing the change in scenario

Every shot you play in golf is different. Whether it be putt, chip or drive or down to the conditions such as lie, undulations or wind. This means that you must rehearse for each scenario prior to taking the shot. This will allow your muscles to adapt to the change from your previous shot and also a slight stretch in preparation for an athletic movement.

2. Helping swing changes

When on the driving range you will also find that you will swing smoother, and more than likely better, when doing a practice swing. This means you are practicing/rehearsing the correct method.  When there is a ball in front of you then your natural instinct is to try to do a HIT a good shot, rather than do a good SWING. So a couple of practice swings with the correct movement will help your muscle memory develop in the correct way.

3. Pre shot routine on the golf course

A consistent pre shot routine helps to put you into a comfort zone on the golf course. As well as the benefits listed above, doing the same number of practice swings behind the ball and taking aim in the same way each time will put you in a familiar, more comfortable position in pressure situations. Whether it's because you need a par on the last to beat your best score, chipping over a bunker or trying to win the British Open. A consistent routine of practice swings will help you manage this tense position.

So next time you head to the range or out onto the course make sure you have a few swings prior to hitting each shot. It will definitely help you get round the course in lower scores and help when trying to improve your swing.

Daniel Gale
PGA Professional

Dan teaches at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex

Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

Beginner Golfschool - introduction to the game

What a great morning. The weather was spot on for the third day in a row and my Golfschool group are progressing really well. I have just finished day two of a 3 1/2 day beginner school with a really nice couple, Rob and Karen, who are completely new to the game.
It is really refreshing teaching players who are new to the sport. Their golfing background was a little knock around a local pitch and putt in London, so to get them onto the 'proper' golf course on day 2 was a great experience for them.

Having covered the set - up, half swing and putting yesterday afternoon, today we worked on extending the follow through and introduced chipping around the green.We also played with a wider variety of clubs, having learnt the basics with a 7 iron. This allowed Rob and Karen to learn how ball flight and distance changes as you work through the set.
Seeing as we had covered quite a lot of ground through the afternoon session yesterday and this morning we made the decision to head out onto the golf course. We opted for the 9 hole par 3 course. It is a great test of golf out there. There is a variety of yardages on this short course, hitting to undulating greens with thick rough lining either side of the holes. My main tips to Rob and Karen were to keep the ball in play. Explaining that three 50 yard shots could set you up nicely for a score of 5 on most par 3's, which is a very good starting point.

We managed to play 3 holes in the time we were out there and i think they both found it fun and also enlightening. It is always good to see how the lesson time and practice they have carried out with me would be converted into a 'playing golf'. It was also a great opportunity to explain some of the basic rules and ettiquette that is expected of a golfer. Simple things that would speed up their rounds of golf, and also allow them to know they are doing everything correctly around the more seasoned club golfer.

We finished the session at 1 o clock. Looking forward to their 2.32 tee time this afternoon, Rob and Karen headed off to lunch. I will be looking forward to hearing how they got on with their first 9 hole round when i return to the Golfschool to teach them in the morning when we will also move onto using some nice big Callaway drivers once we have finished working on the swing and some more short game.

Novices on Monday, golfers by Wednesday.

Daniel Gale
PGA Professional

Dan teaches at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex

Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

Golf Professional and the team. Path to success

I am a golf instructor, that is what i do and what i am good at. I also know that through the training i have carried out that i can identify any physical limitations that may be preventing you from carrying out what i would like to see in the golf swing. However i am not a fitness instructor or a medical professional, what i am saying is on a physical side i am not the expert to fix you. I fix your swing, somebody else fixes your body!!

A good professional will have a team around him who can assist his pupil outside of the golf swing. It may be a physical coach, a chiropractor or a mind coach. For a player to truely develop to their full potential all components need to be available to them.

At junior level now it is normal practice to have all the rescources available to the player from a young age. At under 13 age county level it is common place and expected to have swing, mind, nutrition and physical specialists on hand to assist in the development of a juniors golf. No stone is left unturned anymore, with every aspect covered to hopefully path the way to success.

This is also available to the club golfer. Ok, so we aren't expecting everyone to become an elite player. But say for example i am coaching a golfer who constantly comes out of their posture through a physical limitation, then i need to have somebody on hand who could assist me (medical or fitness professional). Otherwise i will just feel i am banging my head against a brick wall and the pupils progress will be restricted. It is a simple referral process.

Covering all areas will speed up the progress of your golfing development, and prevent week after week of the same lesson. Probably saving money in the long run as well. And everyone likes to save a pound or two.

Golf Professional - fulfilling your role as a coach

Every golfer that comes to a coach for a lesson is different. Whether its age or sex, or if it is down to ability or future goals everybody has different requirements in some way. As a golf instructor it is important that we carry out our job as best suits the pupil. This will mean identifying (through feedback from the player) what they hope to achieve from their time with you.

Your average club golfer may be a 19 handicap player who wants to reduce his slice a little in time for his monthly medal in 4 days time. The budding junior with a 6 handicap may be wanting to work over the winter on their swing technique and physical conditioning in order to be at peak performance for the start of the new season. Two vastly different cases will need a completely different approach.

It is my duty as the instructor, along with the player to identify where is best to start and set realistic, achievable goals as a pair. This may be tweaking the grip a little to reduce the slice to a controlled fade, or setting a periodised timetable of goals over a half year period, raising performance in various areas throughtout. Either way it is important that good comunication takes place to stop confusion and prevent a lack of direction towards success.

Next time you head for your lesson make sure you and your instructor are singing from the same hymn sheet and have a clear understanding on where you want to get to.If we are listening to your personal aims and goals then together (provided you don't mind putting in the work) we can form a successful partnership and build a path to better golf.

Dan teaches at The James Andrews School of Golf in East Sussex

Check out his website at www.dangalegolf.com

  

Lee Westwood - England's world number 1??

So what, he hasn't won a major yet. We know this as Lee himself says himself, 'it's a consistency thing. Louis Oosterhuizen won The Open, does that make him the world number 1?'

Lee Westwood has been the consistently at the top of the European Tour for the past decade, apart from a small break where he was took time out due to the birth of his son Samuel Bevan in 2001, and this consistency may finally be rewarded with the top ranking in the world of golf.

With over 30 career titles from all Continents around the world, including 20 on the European Tour, the accolade could not be more deserved. Since 2000 Lee has also been the winner of the European Tour order of merit and also the recently created Race top Dubai in 2009. 2010 saw Lee finish in 3rd place in the same season long ranking.

In the majors his consistency has been somewhat remarkable. In the last 3 years Lee has achieved no less than five top 5 finishes, including two 2nd place finishes in 2010. At the US Masters and The Open Championship.

His 6 Ryder cup appearances have also made him a mainstay of the European team and last weeks victory over the USA, following severe doubts regarding Lee being even able to play through injury, saw him collect 2 1/2 points over the weekend including a 6&5 thumping of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.

The hard work and consistency that Lee has put in may just be about to pay off and then as he was quoted as saying this week 'If i get to number 1, i will tell people i am the best player in

world'. 

Too right. You will definately deserve it.