Golf Swing, Lessons, Tips & Instruction - Nervous on the First Tee?
12. January 2009 by Tee It Up Pro Shop.
By Jaacob Bowden
If you’re like me or most people, I would imagine that there are times were you experience first tee jitters.
Although, I’m much more comfortable that I used to be, I still occasionally get nervous on the first tee of a tournament, especially if I haven’t been in competition for a while.
Here are a few quick tips to help get more comfortable:
1) Get to the Tee Early to Visualize and Get Comfortable
When I played in my first PGA-sanctioned event, you can bet I was a bit anxious before my round. However, I was able to mitigate those feelings quite a bit because I went out to the tee box early to “make friends” with the tee box and get comfortable.
As I got there, I noticed there was quite a gallery around the box. The public address guy was announcing the names and I felt some chills. To calm myself, I started visualizing myself up on the tee box and it being my turn to hit. Right away, I felt more tense, but then I forced myself to feel calmer. I knew that the more relaxed I could be, the better I would start. I kept going back and forth between calming myself and picturing it being my turn to hit until I could do so feeling calm.
When it came to actually be my turn, I focused on feeling the same way that I had just rehearsed. Sure enough, it worked and I made solid contact on my drive and started off the tournament with a good par.
2) Educational Kinesiology
A second thing I do when I feel nervous is to put my hand over my stomach. If you’ve ever heard of educational kinesiology, you’d know that by performing certain movements, things like acts of speech, hearing, vision, coordination, etc, are enhanced. As an example, by placing my hand on my stomach, I experience a drop of energy from my head to my stomach, which in turn helps ground me, clears my head, and puts me in a calmer and more relaxed state..and as I’m sure you know, hitting a shot under a calmer and more relaxed state will produce more consistent results than if you are amped up and all over the place.
3) Getting Grounded
A third trick I sometimes do when I’m stirring around in my head too much is to imagine roots growing out of my feet. When I focus on this for a few seconds, all of a sudden I’ll feel the bundle of energy stuck in my head drop down and I’ll enter a more zen-like state. As I mentioned in the previous example, playing in this state is much more conducive to lower scores.
Hope that can help you get your round off to a better start.
Jaacob Bowden is one of the world’s foremost experts on increasing golf swing speed. His Swing Man Golf web site was built around both the knowledge he used to increase his own swing speed by 26 mph in 37 days while training for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championships, and also what he has learned about golf that took him from average length hitting 14-handicapper to Professional Golfer and Long Drive Champion. Swing Man Golf subscribers regularly gain 30-65 yards of distance when signing up on Swing Man Golf.
To learn more information about what Jaacob can do for you and your game, visit Swing Man Golf.
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Putting - A Key to Lowering Your Golf Scores
12. January 2009 by Tee It Up Pro Shop.
Mastering the short game in golf is a key to lowering your scores. Without a doubt, if you can master your putting game, you can dramatically cut strokes off your game.
Good putting starts with your grip. You need to pick a grip that is comfortable for you and allows you to easily control your putter. The reverse overlapping grip is the most widely used.
The index finger on your left hand overlaps the little finger of your right hand. Many golfers prefer the index finger to overlap more than one finger.
The thumbs are straight down the front of the shaft. Your hands should be at the top of the club, or close to it. Gripping too low on the shaft is not recommended because of the longer distance the club would have to be swung for the longer putts.
Your feet should be about shoulder width apart. Stand close to the ball with your arms close to your body and your eyes directly above the ball. Bend your knees slightly and bend your elbows.
The swing should be a relaxed swing. Your arms and your hands move together through the ball in a perpendicular motion. You want to stroke the ball with the middle of the putter head. Keep your eyes on the ball at all times and you should see the putter hit the ball. Do not look up to follow the flight until you have completed your swing.
Adjust the length of the swing according to the distance of the putt. The swing mechanics remain the same for short putts and for long putts. The length of the swing is all that changes.
When lining up the putt, the putter head should be square to the target. If you anticipate a break to the right, for instance, your intended target will be above the hole. How far above the hole you aim depends on the break of the green. Your putter head will not be square to the hole but will be square to the point above the hole where you expect the break to occur.
You want to practice putting before you start your round. Too many golfers hit the practice green and begin trying to drop long putts. It will be to your advantage to start your practice putts close to the hole. Get this stroke down until you are comfortable and the ball is dropping consistently.
Now begin to move away from the hole and continue putting. As you get more comfortable, begin to move farther away. For most weekend golfers, the objective is to get long putts as close as possible to the hole to make the putt more manageable. If you can consistently make putts from a short to midrange distance, you will easily lower your golf scores.
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Source: Golf
