Golf is a game of precision, and all golfers want to perform at their best, regardless of ability. Becoming a successful golfer takes years of dedication, commitment and meaningful practice. Many golfers put inefficient time into their games and never improve. Others have the physical ability and are capable of hitting all the shots required, but their mental game hinders their chances for true success. The most competent golfers rely on a combination of top physical and mental performance on the links.
Some golfers get up on the tee and crush the ball. Some have the best success with irons. You will also find strong chippers and putters out on the fairways and greens. The golfers able to master all or most of these skills are...
Club head speed, the single most important factor in generating power and distance in your golf shots, can be compromised by any one of a number of flaws. Mis-hits, shots hit off center on the club face, do not cause reductions...
Many novice golfers and hackers have a tendency to take the club back in a hurried motion and swat at the golf ball. Good hitters take the club back and swing with a fluid motion. Hitting a golf ball effectively requires the co...
Making consistent, solid contact on the center of the club face is one of the most challenging aspects of golf. One of the more common off-center misses involves hitting the ball on the toe -- the spot on the club face farthest...
You can hit what feels like a perfect drive, have it head straight down the fairway, then have it fall 100 yards short of your intended target. The fix often comes from simple adjustments to avoid hitting the ball toward the to...
The ability to use your sand wedge effectively in either situation will help shave strokes from your score. The sand wedge is an iron with the highest loft of any club in your bag, which should enable you to produce enough spin...
Discussions surrounding golf swings are as common as grass on a golf course. Most golfers agree on the basics, such as taking the club back and keeping the front arm straight, but sliding the hips is often overlooked. A minimum...
Hitting to an elevated green stands out as one of the more intimidating shots in the game of golf. Not only is the putting surface not visible, but the question of how much extra club to play to offset the elevation leaves many...
The United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Association have spent countless hours developing and revising the rules for tournament and casual play, and have specific rules governing playing the wrong ball.
The feeling of taking the club back and launching a shot that flies high and straight over the fairway can be quite addicting. However, golfers make plenty of mistakes on the way to developing a consistent and repeatable swing....
One of the problems that many golfers have with their swing is the tendency to hit the ground before hitting the ball. Tee shots are usually not a problem because the ball is elevated, but hitting from the fairway is often a co...
Golf is a game of nuance, with the slightest adjustment in swing leading to variations of how the ball is struck with the face of the club. Keeping your back to the target longer helps eliminate a pesky slice with the ball drif...
It might look easy to do on TV, but playing golf takes a lot of time, experience and skill to master. There is a particular kind of precision and form when it comes to hitting a golf ball. How you hit the ball determines where ...
But a look deeper shows that left-handers have several disadvantages that they have to overcome when they take up the game. First, left-handers don't have the equipment choice that right-handers do and that may make hitting the...
Every once in a while during a round of golf, your ball is going to find a sand trap. Sometimes you'll be in a fairway trap, still a good distance from the green, but more often, you'll be in a greenside bunker. Getting your ba...
One of the big keys to putting the ball well is comfort. If you are not comfortable when you stand over the ball, you will not feel ready to hit it. The thickness of the grip will have a lot to do with how comfortable the putte...
The loss of distance in any golf shot usually stems from improper form during the swing. Many golf products are on the market that claim to improve the distance of your shots, but few will benefit you as much as learning the th...
Hitting a hole-in-one during a round of golf is one of the great sporting achievements. The ball is struck from the tee and sails through the air, finally rolling directly into the hole. It is a rare event and one that most gol...
The great golfers will analyze their next shot like a mad scientist at the chalkboard. Nothing is left to chance and nothing is overlooked. For every approach, they consider the riskiest move, the safe move, the creative move a...
Hitting a hole in one is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement for many golfers. To make a hole in one, you have to hit the golf ball into the cup in one stroke from the tee box. The United States Golf Register and the PGA consider ...
More distance on your golf shots means you get closer to the hole. And the closer to the hole you are, the easier it is to get the ball where you want it to go. Many exercises can help you hit the golf ball further, most of whi...
Building a consistent golf swing is the most important task in becoming a good golfer. If you can step up to the ball and put a good swing on it, whether you are hitting from the tee, fairway, rough or the bunker, you are going...
Hitting a golf ball 300 yards is the dream of many golfers. For most, it is just that--a dream. Most players are not capable of hitting the ball that far even though they may see top professional golfers hitting the ball 325 ya...
After hitting the perfect shot from the tee box down the middle of the fairway, your mind immediately turns to what you need to do to get the ball from the fairway to the green. While a shot from the fairway is significantly ea...
Most new golfers quickly realize that swinging a golf club the correct way is not easy. In order to learn the correct way to stand, how to hold the club and how to swing it, a golfer has to study by watching top players, talkin...
A golf swing is only as good as its individual components. You must move your legs, hips, torso, shoulders, arms and head in one fluid motion, all while keeping good form and a clear mind. To conquer this challenge, you must im...
Hitting a golf ball properly is perhaps one of the most deceptive processes in the sporting world. While hitting a ball with a club may seem easy on first sight, you are required to focus on body kinetics, mental clarity, hole ...
The best golfers hit the ball first in the center of the clubface every time, except when they find themselves in a green-side bunker. When faced with this shot, the goal is to hit 1 or 2 inches behind the ball so that the ball...
You may have played with someone who was an absolute abomination off the tee. His drives were "military golf": left, right, left, right, hit the beach. But at the end of the day, he posted an honest score in the 70s. Success co...
According to the Pat Ryan Golf website, for every increase in 1 mile per hour on your driver swing speed, you will increase the velocity of the ball by 1.5 mph and add 3 yards to the distance the ball travels. Although none o...
His famous instruction book, "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf" spends 19 pages on the grip, and he advocated a neutral to weak grip in which you could see only one or two knuckles of the left hand when addressing ...
This is known as the sweet spot. If you want to hit the ball solidly on the sweet spot, you need to have the correct stance, grip and swing. One of the other keys to hitting the sweet spot is the crisp impact of the club head a...
The distance is not great and there are a variety of clubs that can help you negotiate that distance. However, if the golfer has to hit that shot over water, the situation becomes complicated. Instead of thinking what needs to ...
On long-distance holes, you will have to use your driver. When that time comes, you want to be able to get a long and high shot. You don't want to roll the ball across the fairway with a worm-burner. To gain the most amount of ...
They will lunge at the ball, try to lift it up or even tweak their backswing or downswing. When golfers are in these slumps, the direct result is a poorly hit ball. The golf ball did not get as much height, distance or backspin...
Getting a golf ball airborne can be a struggle for many golfers, in no small measure because the physics of hitting a golf ball in the air can seem counter-intuitive. You might think you need to hit the ball on your upswing to ...
Hitting the golf ball well is a thrill that keeps many golfers coming back for more. A golfer who can hit one or two good shots knows how good it feels to hit a ball squarely and have it fly down the middle. However, improving ...
If you are an avid golfer, few things likely feel better than feeling the ball explode off your driver and seeing it soar down the middle of the fairway for a perfect tee shot. Unfortunately, this may happen far less than you'd...
A strong, reliable golf swing can mean the difference between a pleasant outing on the links and an afternoon of sheer humiliation and torture. A good golf swing has to be "built" in the same way you might build a physical stru...
Hitting the golf ball out of the rough is a challenge that all golfers face on a regular basis. You may want to keep the ball in the fairway, but the golf course designers know that you are not a machine. They put bunkers, wate...
Every golfer will eventually run into high or erratic wind conditions or might find his ball lying where tree branches or other overhanging obstacles are between himself and the hole. Situations like these can be dealt with gre...
Hitting the ball to the left or right is usually a mistake for many golfers. On certain holes, though, you'll want to send your ball to one side of the course or the other. Hitting a ball to the left, for right-handed golfers, ...
On occasion, your golf ball will come to rest in another golfer's unrepaired divot, and you will be forced to shoot it out. Divots are part of the game, and encouraged for quality shots, but they must be replaced immediately fo...
The ability to hit a golf ball 150 or 200 yards and have it land softly just a few feet from your target takes years of practice. For most amateur golfers, hitting your irons is an exercise in frustration most of the time. Your...
When most golfers start to play the game, the most satisfying feeling is hitting the ball well and watching it fly down the fairway. However, it doesn't take most golfers long to learn the importance of putting well. A golfer c...
The putter can be one of the most maddening clubs in your bag. It’s designed to hit the ball a relatively short distance when compared with the other clubs, but it can add more strokes to your game. Choosing the right put...
While many people say that golf is mostly mental, there are a few things you can do to improve the physical component of your game. Hitting the golf ball flush on every swing can not only take strokes off of your score but impr...
The pain of golf is felt most when landing in a hazard; the joy is felt after successful recovery. The bad shots turned great are ones that your golf mates will admire and remember, so it makes sense that you would practice you...
The objective is to loft the ball into the air quickly and land it softly on the green. Flops shots are effective for hitting over small ponds, over green-side bunkers or out of thick grass around the green.
A hole-in-one is one the most magical achievements in the sport of golf. It consists of hitting the golf ball in the hole on your shot from the tee. While it is simple to explain, it is certainly not easy to accomplish: Many pr...
A hook or slice can leave many golfers confounded and frustrated with their golf game. Not only does a curved shot generally wind up where you never intended it to be, but it can also add many strokes to your final score. Repea...
Hitting a golf ball properly is vital to the success of any golfer, whether a recreational player or an aspiring professional. You should choose golf clubs you are comfortable using. A good club will help you hit a golf ball if...
Several variables affect the distance you can hit a golf ball. The swing path and acceleration of your club affect the trajectory, flight path and distance your ball travels. Understanding what makes a golf ball go far, as well...
A frustrating trend for many golfers is the experience of striking a ball perfectly only for it to carry on traveling onward past its desired target upon landing. Learning to apply backspin on a golf ball can help to eradicate ...
Something about the ball not being on level ground just throws everything off kilter. Often times, the ball ends up being hit thin, or way to the right, or not it at all. Hitting the golf ball solidly when it is below your feet...
Following a few specific steps can make hitting a high shot easier.
The longer your golf ball is in the air, the less ground friction will slow your ball down, and thus the less distance you will lose on your shots. On shorter shots, such as approaches and pitches, it's important to minimize fo...
Standing over a golf ball takes more than walking up to it and preparing to hit. Your distance from the ball may create a swing path that causes you to slice or hook. Placing the ball too far back or forward in your stance may ...
There could be a tree branch in your way, or a stiff breeze could be blowing, and taking a high shot will only get you into trouble. Hitting a low shot requires some modifications in your approach and swing technique, but it is...
Hitting a golf ball from a level lie can be tough, and it gets harder when the ball comes to rest on a severe downslope. Taking a normal swing without picking the right club can cause a shot that is topped or hit heavy, both of...
Driver loft, stance, swing plane, and tee height can play key roles in hitting your driver too high.
The objective of golf is generally to hit the ball in a straight line in an effort to achieve a low score. Hitting the ball right or left of the intended target is one of the fundamental causes of bad golf scores. Although it m...
The stroke before you putt (your approach shot to the green) is critical to post that successful score. Selecting the right club for that approach shot is equally important.
You learn to write by starting with the alphabet. You learn music by practicing scales. So why do golfers try to learn the game by slamming drivers, the most difficult club of all? To improve your golf game, begin with the putt...
Selecting the right golf shot depends on a number of different factors. Distance from the hole, lie, elevation to the pin and hole layout are all factors that determine what type of golf shot to play. Knowing all of the differe...
Hitting down on the ball is a phrase that is often heard in golf. It has to do with iron play but there is nothing mysterious about it. When you hit down on the ball, it is the normal descending angle of attack that golfers tak...
It doesn't take a long time to fall in love with the game of golf. However, it can take years to learn how to hit a golf ball correctly. While it takes a long time to perfect a swing, you can take a few important and basic step...
While you may become a competent golfer in a relatively short period of time, building an excellent swing takes a long time. Hitting the ball properly is a combination of many factors, not the least of which is clubhead speed a...
It takes time and effort to get to the point where your swing is grooved and you don't make basic errors. One of biggest problems is hitting behind the ball, which is also known as "hitting it fat." This problem often happens w...
His strength results in swings that are 25 percent faster than the average golfer, according to research done by a physicist at Malaspina University-College in British Columbia. This increased speed puts the golf ball farther d...
