Let’s spend a couple of minutes talking about one of the three most abused and misunderstood golf swing fundamentals, timing. It’s an important term but it’s misused a lot. So, let me explain to you what timing is, and then it’ll draw you a lot closer to understanding when you’re struggling.

Timing is your ability to swing your arms and hands back to the golf ball as your hip turns out of the way. And the reason it has to turn out of the way is so the arms and hands can pass your body and wrap around you. That’s the definition, no more, no less.

Now, I have gone to the golf course many days where I’ve hit the ball beautifully, solid, straight right. So, my timing was off a bit because my body was turning out in front of my golf club and that was sending it off to the right.

Now, the correction would be to slow the bottom half down and speed up the top part. There have been days where my timing has been off because the arms and hands were quicker than the bottom.

How do you correct that? Speed up the bottom and it’ll catch up with the arms and hands, and that will help that.

Now, how do you fix your timing? That’s probably the most difficult question in the game of golf. How do you get your timing back? I believe that if you can’t hit your pitching wedge, you probably aren’t hitting your 5 iron and your 5 wood and your driver.

So, I love to send people out to the practice facility to hit thousands of pitching wedges and work on their golf swing fundamentals. That, to me, is the easiest way to find your timing.

Now, let’s say that your favorite club in your golf bag is your driver and you’re driving the ball beautifully. Then go hit a thousand drivers. Or maybe it’s a 5 wood or a 5 iron. Whatever club you’re struggling with, stay way away from that one.

Go to the club that you’re doing well with. And if you’re not doing well with any of them, then go to a pitching wedge.

Now, the next question most difficult after that: How do you know when your timing’s off? I believe that your timing is off when your miss/hit pattern is not consistent. One’s fat, one’s thin, one’s top, one’s good, one’s to the left, one’s to the right. That’s a great indication that your timing’s off.

Find your favorite club and go to the practice tee and hit ten thousand of them and remember when you hit the golf ball to think of the golf swing fundamentals.

This article courtesy – PurePoint Golf Instruction Golf Swing Fundamentals

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.

Playing out of the deep rough is one of the hardest shots in golf.  There are so many variables depending on the lie that it is hard to predict how your shot will turn out.

Playing out of the deep rough is difficult but there are some adjustments you can make to control the affects that it may have on your shot.

Here are 5 free golf tips you can use when playing out of the deep rough:

1. Club Selection – Choosing the right club in any situation is important, but it is even more important when playing these shots.

If the grass is growing away from the target, take one more club than you would normally play for the distance if you were in the fairway. Be sure to position the ball a little further back in your stance.

If the grass is growing towards your target, then take one less club than normal.

2. Stand closer to the ball – Standing closer to the golf ball will help you swing the golf club more vertically. This will get the golf club in and out of the grass more quickly, reducing the overall effect the grass will have on your golf club.

3. Open the club face – You are not going to be able to completely stop the grass from grabbing the hosel which will cause the club face to close.  By opening the club face some you will be able to help offset the effect the grass will have on the golf club.

4. Grip the club tighter – We have been taught that having a light grip on the club allows for a more fluid swing.  The opposite is true when playing a shot out of the deep rough.

Because the grass will grab and twist the golf club during the downswing, having a tighter grip on the golf club is imperative to minimize the effect.

5. Cock your wrists – When playing out of the deep rough, you want to come down sharply to reduce the amount of time the club face is in contact with the grass before striking the golf ball.

Playing out of the deep rough is never an easy.  Next time you find yourself facing one of these tough shots, try these 5 free golf tips.

Click here For more tips on playing those difficult shots.

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.

As a golfer, when putting, what’s more important?  Do you think it’s the speed or the line of your putts that makes the difference?

If you have played golf for any length of time you know that putting is where the rubber meets the road.  If you can’t make putts, then your golf scores will never improve.

Many golfers believe that picking the right line for their putt is the most important part of putting.  In some ways this is true, you can’t sink a putt if you are putting away from the cup.

But in reality, it’s your distance control that makes all the difference to whether or not you will make more putts.

You probably heard the saying, “Never Up, Never In.”

Any good golfer knows that if you don’t get the ball to the hole, it’ll never go in.  It’s the golfers who understand this who are winning the skins and bets on the golf course.

Here is an example that will help prove this point:

Say you reach a typical par 4 in regulation and leave yourself with a 15 foot putt for birdie. When you read the putt, there is no break at all; you just have to get it to the hole.  You stroke your putt and it only goes 8 feet.  You are now left with a 7 foot putt for par to save the hole.

Take that same 15 foot putt, but this time you miss read the line, but when you strike the putt your ball reaches the hole, but is a foot or so to the left or right.  Instead of facing a daunting 7 footer for par, you are looking at a tap in.

Which putt would you rather have to save par?

Do I even need to ask?  This is really a no-brainer.

Improving your putting is one of the easiest ways to improve your game.  The best part is, it won’t cost you hundreds of dollars at the driving range.

So I ask again, when putting, what’s more important?  Do you think it’s the speed or the line of your putts that makes the difference?

Discover the secrets that professional golfers use to make more putts and watch your golf buddies turn red with envy.

Eliminate those knee knockers for par – Check out: Putt Like a Pro

© 2010, David Wakeman. All rights reserved. On republishing this post you must provide link to original post.