Michelle Wie Blog

There are three elements of proper alignment in the game of golf:

*Aligning the body, the ideal body alignment aims all of your body, feet, knees, hips, forearms and shoulders parallel to the target line.

*Aligning the ball, if the ball is aligned to far forward, it can cause you to hit it while the putter is swinging up, causing the ball to leave the green.

*Aligning the putter face - according to some professionals if your putter alignment is off by 10 degrees, and your putt is 20 feet, you will miss the hole by 3 feet. That sounds like aligning the putter is pretty important!

Contact should be made with the ball at the bottom of the stroke for putting, at the point where the putter head is horizontal to the ground. In the ideal stance this is directly beneath the center of your stance. The center of your stance should be directly below your breastbone.

To determine your low point, try some practice swings, the point where the putter brushes the grass is your low point. It may be further back if you put more weight on your back foot or further forward if you lean towards your target. Your ball should be placed slightly in front of your low point, this is necessary because each persons low point is different.

The direction your putt is off may be caused due to the fact that your ball is positioned improperly to your low point. If you continue to push puts right, try moving your ball slightly forward. If you pull your puts to the left, try moving your ball back slightly in your stance.

Placing the ball to far forward is the most common mistake golfers make. This makes it easier for them to see their shot, but gives the shot less power than it should have.

alignment, golf, golf clubs, playing golf, putting

Source: playing golf

Are You Better on the Front or Back Nine?

Looking at the way you perform through the course of a game can give you a lot of powerful information that can be transferred into results the next time you play.

I have talked to many golfers and there seems to be a consistency with a lot of them relating to their performance on the front nine compared to the way they play on the back nine in most tournaments.

Not that there is a consistency in their game, but a consistency in the part of the game where they consistently fare worst.

Some people struggle to get their game right for the first nine holes and then improve on the back nine, whilst others start off fine and then fade on the last nine holes.

It is like there is a switch that gets flicked half way through the game and their performance changes in one direction or another.

There is always a reason why this is happening and targeting that reason can result in some excellent improvements to your score.

More often than not the second nine holes result in a poorer performance and this can be due to a number of factors.

Those factors can be fatigue or a lack of hydration.
Hydration in itself will result in fatigue.
These are simple factors that can be easily addressed with regular intake of water and foods containing some carbohydrate content to keep the energy levels up.

Other people find they perform worse on the first nine holes and that can often be from tension where they tend to relax later in the game and start playing better.
Once again, if you are aware that this is happening you can address the problem by making an effort to relax.

Learning relaxation techniques can do more for many people’s game than all the advice in the world and it might be just what you need to take your game to the next level.

Technorati tags: nine game there their they back

Source: nine

This is a fascinating look at the swings of two golfers that are world class but not done alot of winning lately. When you compare the swings of Michelle and Ernie Els, an uncanny resemblance unfolds. The swings are almost identical in shape and in timing. We have never heard that Michelle ever tried to emulate Ernie’s swing, although she does admire his play.

One look at this video however and it would make it seem that Michelle studied Ernie’s every move when swinging a golf club. Too bad she doesn’t have the identical swing to Tiger though, maybe she would have won once or twice on the pro tour. Let’s hope she doesn’t emulate Ernie’s win record over the last few years. So far she is staying right with him in both categories. Take a look….