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Chipping Tips - 3 Easy Ways to Instantly Improve Your Short Game With These Chipping Tips - ...make sure that the golf ball is nearer to your back foot. Placing the golf ball in this manner promotes a steeper stroke rather than a scoop. Some amateurs try to scoop the ball in these situations because they want more control. The fact is you need to develop touch and feel so scooping will actually do the opposite. You should also start with your hands ahead of the ball to provide further insurance against this scooping...

Get Into Shape For Golf - ...little caveat here, I'm not talking about becoming another body building superstar, but rather just the proper toning and conditioning to allow your body to do the things that it needs to do as best as it can do them. A lack of the proper flexibility and conditioning can hold your game back. If you can see a video slow motion of a professional's golf swing mechanics you will see a tremendous amount of different muscle movement, coordination and balance that...

The Golf Backswing - Set Yourself Up For Success

There seems to be a tendency among golfers to spend a great deal of time and energy focusing on the backswing. There are certainly a few fundamental ideas that are important if you expect to return to the ball in the proper impact position however is there really a need to pick apart the golf backswing and analyze every foot of it?

The purpose of the backswing is to end-up in a good position from which to start the downswing. So what is that position and how do you get there?

Many golfers buy into the old "low and slow" adage. Certainly of you are prone to making very quick swings this can be a helpful piece of advice but for many people this tip can do more harm than good. First, there can be a tendency to sway rather than rotate on your backswing if you focus too hard on keeping the club low to the ground. Second, if you slow your backswing too much this can cause you to over-swing and also encourages a feeling of really wanting to lunge into the downswing - neither of which are desirable. It's also worth mentioning that everyone has a different temperament and forcing a highly energetic person to swing too slowly will not be beneficial.
As with most things it is best to keep the backswing as simple as possible. Rather than focusing on every position you feel you should be in during the backswing try focus sing on two basic swing thoughts.

Perhaps the best thing the average golfer can do is not try to imitate the pros. Most of us have limited flexibility and do not spend any time on golf specific muscle strengthening so trying to achieve a 90 degree rotation or reaching a parallel position with the club at the top of the backswing is not realistic. The average golfer will have to make various compensations in their backswing in order to achieve these positions and this means that even more adjustments will be necessary on the downswing if there is any hope of making solid contact.

Related to this idea of swinging within yourself is to try to picture that your chest, shoulders and arms are moving back basically in one piece. Doing this while staying centered over the ball and well-balanced will ensure that you don't over-swing. The key thought is to stop moving, what ends up really being lifting, the arms as soon as your chest and shoulders have achieved their maximum rotation.

You will discover that by doing this the top of the backswing will be maybe a 10 o'clock or even 9 o'clock position which is fine. If you are concerned about lack of power you will more than make up for it by hitting the ball solidly. A good drill to help make sure you don't over-swing is to place a golf-glove under your right armpit and make sure it does not fall out at any time during your backswing. Work on this and you will ingrain a more consistent and repeatable backswing that will set you up for success on the downswing.

All the best,

Steve

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Steve Donelly has compiled many more simple yet effective tips like this one on the golf backswing on his website http://www.tipsongolfswing.com. If you don't have time to check it out right now why not just take a minute to sign-up for the FREE golf tips email newsletter mentioned above.

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