Bogies To Birdies

Tutorial Two - Drawing & Fading

2009-04-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

Drawing a golf ball is the harder shot out of a fade or a draw, this is basically due to most intermediate or beginner golfers having the confidence to hit the shot, setting up the shot down the right of the fairway and having the ability to stay committed to the shot.

However, once you have a swing that you are comfortable with your ability and confidence will grow. Just imagine a pool or snooker ball, if you hit the ball on the right side of the pool or snooker ball the ball would spin anti clockwise and if you hit the ball with the cue on the left side it would do the opposite and go clockwise!

So if you now adapt that thought to the golf swing and imagine if you were setting up for a fade, you would open up your shoulders to the target and swinging across the ball you will put clockwise spin making the ball flight left to right, now if you close your shoulders to the target and create anti clockwise spin on it which produces a draw. Now if you over compensate on both swing planes you will create a "hook" or a "slice which is what we have all experienced in our golfing careers.

So have confidence in your swing whether you are a natural fader or drawer of the ball and stay with the shot and dont pull out of it, committing to a shot that works for you is the best way to go forward in your golfing career. Happy Golfing, if you have any questions please drop me an email and I would be glad to answer them.

Tutorial One - The Grip

2009-04-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

The grip is your only contact with the golf club. You can therefore save yourself an awful lot of problems by getting it right. The correct grip encourages the hands to work together as a unit. Adopt too strong or too weak a grip and your hands will be fighting each other throughout the swing with potentially disastrous results. It is true that some top players through history have used unconventional grips but they have had the athleticism and ability to make them work through compensatory movements. It is unlikely that you have. It is far better for you to adopt a neutral (neither hand dominating) grip at the start as it is the basis of a conventional reliable swing. The grip is a notoriously difficult thing to change once ingrained so please take some time to make sure you start with the good foundation of a conventional neutral grip.

Taking Your Grip
Place a club across the bottom fingers of your left hand then close your hand to show around two and a half knuckles on your left hand. Your left thumb should be very slightly flexed to act as a support. Make sure there are no gaps between your fingers or you may risk losing control of the club at the top of the backswing.
Now place the right hand on the club. The shaft of the club should be in the base of the fingers and your right thumb should be on the left hand side of the shaft as you look down. The back of your left hand should be facing your target and the back of your right hand should be facing directly away from the target - this will ensure a neutral grip in which neither hand dominates.

Overlapping or Interlocking or Baseball?
To further ensure that your hands work together through the golf swing most good players adopt either the overlappping or interlocking grip. In the overlapping grip the little finger of the left hand rests on top of the first finger of the right hand. In the interlocking grip the left little finger and right forefinger interlock. Either is fine but avoid the two handed or baseball grip as making the hands work as a unit becomes more difficult with this approach, this is explained on the video however it is hard to maintain and not many pro golfers use this grip, but it might suit you and your swing so don't totally rule out this option.

Introduction

2009-03-24T04:38:00.000-07:00

Tried all other tips and coaches? Purchased loads of equipment that doesn't improve your game? Watched the pros and wished you could play the same? Would like consistency in your game?

Welcome to Mick's Alternative Golf Tips and Tricks - turn bogies into birdies!

I will be posting online video golf lessons on a weekly basis to help you improve your game - from beginners to pros of all ages I will give you an alternative outlook on your game.

Please check back soon for updates and thanks for visiting.

Mick Baker