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Probably what separates the PGA Touring pro and the amateur golfer is “feel.” Every pro I know can “feel” where the club and clubhead are at any point during the swing.

Not an easy task, especially for the weekend golfer.

Many amateurs struggle with the idea, concept, or understanding of how to develop “feel” for the swing. It is a process that requires time, patience, and practice.

Part of the process of developing “feel” for the golf club is through proprioception. This may or may not be a term you have heard, but it is vitally important to the golf swing.

Proprioception is a big word that, simply put, is defined as “knowing where your body is in space.” Essentially, it means consciously knowing where your body is when moving, what your limbs are doing, and in what order. To simplify it further, it is feel. Some of us are better at it, others worse.

The good news is that you can improve your proprioception, or your feel.

Think about this for a moment: what is one of the most important aspects of improving your golf swing?

It is “feel” for the golf club at every position within the golf swing. Beginning with address, into take-away, your backswing, downswing, and follow through. “Feeling” where the club is at every moment is key.

PGA Tour pros “feel” the club during the swing, or in other words they have excellent proprioceptive abilities. As a result, they have the ability to make the little adjustments that are crucial in the golf swing. Additionally, their outstanding level of proprioception allows them to know what is going on with their golf swing the majority of the time.

How do you develop your ability to better “feel” the golf club and clubhead?

First and foremost, your development of better golf swing mechanics is center stage. Understanding the mechanics and where the clubhead should be is the first step.

This allows you to consciously know and practice the positions of where the golf club and body should be at any moment in the golf swing. Mentally understanding golf swing mechanics allows you to have a “map” to refer to when developing your golf swing.

Secondly, when it comes to golf swing mechanics we look at practice. We all know the body learns a new movement through repetition. The mind and body learn either the correct or incorrect golf swing through practice.

This is the point where the proprioceptive or “feel” abilities of your body for your golf swing begin to form. The movement pattern begins to be ingrained as you continue to practice your golf swing.

This is where the third component of developing “feel” comes into play. The third component of developing “feel” is the body.

Golf swing mechanics are performed by your body, and, as a result, the body is critically involved in developing feel in your golf swing.

Developing feel is linked to your nervous system and the ability of the brain/nerves to input/output information efficiently.

Improving the process by which your brain and nerves input (learning the golf swing mechanics) and output (execution of the golf swing) has a direct effect on your ability to feel the club.

How do you improve the proprioceptive qualities of the body that directly affects your ability to feel the golf club? Improvement in this area lies within performing exercises that increase the efficiency with which the nervous system operates.

Exercises that improve proprioception and “feel” during the swing are called balance exercises. Balance exercises challenge the nervous system, creating more efficiency in the input/output system of the body.

Better balance allows for the body to learn new movements (i.e. golf swing) more quickly and efficiently. Additionally, these exercises increase the ability of the body to “feel” athletic movements like the golf swing.

In summary, we have three components that improve our “feel” for the golf club. Number one is an understanding of golf swing mechanics. You must have a conscious “road map” of the golf swing. This allows you a reference point to develop the correct swing mechanics.

Secondly, practice is required. The body learns through repetition. Practice allows the brain and the body to learn the movement sequence of the golf swing. Practice is also the point where the body begins to develop the proprioceptive qualities required for the golf swing.

Finally, you need to develop the proprioceptive capacities of the body itself through balance exercises. These types of exercises improve the input/output system of the body allowing for improved learning capacities by the body, better “feel” of where the body is in space, and a greater capacity to “feel” the golf swing.

All in all, it is a combination of developing these three entities within your golf swing and body that creates “feel” for the swing. They all work together and cannot be separated.

If you truly want to develop a PGA-Tour-type swing, you will need to have a better understanding of the golf swing, practice, and development of the body.

About the Author

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2005 PGA & 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To learn more about Sean and his golf fitness programs go to http://www.seancochran.com

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You may receive all the greatest golf tips in the world, take countless lessons and get superior instruction and still may not be able to gain consistency. If you’re like most golfers, you want to improve, not just hack around the golf course. It’s important to remember, your golf swing is what drives your score; not your clubs or ball.

Overall, you generally want to play golf with confidence. It’s been proven that thinking positively about bettering your golf game will benefit you more than playing to compete with your partners and trying to win for winnings sake. Approach the game with a positive attitude and repeat affirmations if you can, such as “I play great golf all the time.”

Putts and short chips are ideally played without much movement of the body, but most other golf shots are played using variants of the full golf swing. Try not to grip the club too tightly. After the ball is hit, the follow-through stage consists of a continued rotation to the left.

The backswing is a rotation to the right, consisting of a shifting of the player’s body weight to the right side, a turning of the pelvis and shoulders, lifting of the arms and flexing of the elbows and wrists. At the end of a backswing the hands are above the right shoulder, with the golf club pointing more or less in the intended direction of ball flight. Before you swing, make sure you’re relaxed; contract all your muscles tightly for a moment and then relax them.

Standing over the ball for too long a time and wondering whether you’re going to swing the club correctly can easily result in a skewed shot, or completely missing the ball. Ask your golf pro to evaluate your posture while swinging. The most important thing about the golf swing is the angle and not the strength that’s applied to it.

Trust your golf club to do the job it was intended to do. Many golfers who are strongly left-handed in their daily life prefer the right-handed golf swing.

Don’t underestimate the value of fitness when it comes to your golf swing and your overall golf game. It’s no secret; most of the professional players actively participate in workouts. Using a weighted club, make rotational golf swings to improve your power.

There are golf swing aids that will help you with swing alignment. Golf aids are often for sale at your pro shop or local golf shop. There are golf swing aids that act as driving range simulators. Golf swing aids will improve your golf game. There are a wide range of golf swing aids on the market today to help the beginning and advanced golfer. Look for golf swing aids at your local golf course.

Overall, investing in golf swing aids will greatly improve your golf swing and your golf game. Most of all don’t waste your money on a golf swing aid you don’t need or will never use. Keep in mind that with some golf swing aids, you may still need advice or help from an expert.

There are a number of good golf swing aids on the market today. Before buying any golf swing aid, check with an expert to get an idea of what problem you need to work on first; backlift of golf swing, momentum of downward thrust or stance for example.

Try to concentrate on one golf swing weakness at time. Practice, practice, practice! Take as many private lessons as you can afford with a good golf pro.

For more information on golf swing improvement golf swing aids and golf swing fitness go to http://www.Best-Golf-Guide.com specializing in golf tips, help, advice, resources, and instruction including information on golf swing tips.

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Imagine every one of your shots in the middle of the fairway, every chip two feet from the hole, and every putt nailing the center of the cup. Well, maybe some of us dream of never having to ever putt and each approach shot goes into the hole, but I think you get the picture. A consistent swing is probably what many golfers dream of when our heads hit the pillow.

The majority of us are aware that golf is a game that requires consistent shot making to be successful (and have fun). If we are hooking, slicing, and hitting our wedges fat, it can really start to get frustrating. Consistency is key to hitting a low score and enjoying the game. So how do we get there?

First, let us do a little review of the golf swing. To hit the ball squarely on the center of the club head you must take the club through the proper swing path. A proper swing path will allow the club to align itself correctly with the ball to hit the shot you are trying to hit. For more advanced players this could be in the form of a draw, fade, cut, or some other variation. Higher handicappers will be happy with just plain old straight shots. Anyway, this process begins with your address, moves through your take away, into the back swing, onto the transition between back swing and down swing, into contact, and finishes with the follow through.

Quite a complex sequence of events for the body to perform! And we all know that if our timing is slightly off, or we are just a little off mechanically, disaster is the result.

Knowing that a consistent swing requires the execution of these complex moves over and over again is quite mind-blowing. But let’s get back to our question: how do we develop a consistent golf swing? The answer is two-fold, and I imagine most golfers are aware of the first point but probably only a few are aware of the second. The keys to a consistent swing are: 1) efficient golf swing mechanics and 2) the body. Got it? Good, now I can stop writing this article and all of us can become scratch golfers, right? Well, not exactly, and I imagine some of you are saying, “I already know all this stuff.” Others may be quite intrigued. Regardless of which category you fall into, let me expand on each of these topics a little.

Golf Swing Mechanics

Golf Swing mechanics is probably the easier of the two areas to understand. It is the reason why we take golf lessons and practice so much at the range. Beginning at address, moving through all the stages of the golf swing, and finishing with the follow through, the body is required to move through a specific sequence of movements to perform the golf swing correctly. If the body does not move through this sequence properly then the result will be a poor, inefficient and awkward looking swing. Over time, a poor swing results in poor consistency (every once in awhile you hit a good shot regardless of your swing, that’s what keeps us coming back for more). An easy example of this is when you “come over the top” with the club. This usually results in a slice (I know, easy thing to do and very hard to correct).

In addition to the body performing an intricate number of biomechanical movements in the golf swing, timing of these movements is critical for you to hit the ball successfully. Each and every biomechanical movement within the golf swing has a certain sequence and timing. If they are not performed in the correct order or timing, then the golf swing will not be efficient. Poor timing results in those wonderful slices, snap hooks, chili dips and topping the ball that we know all too well.

Now, how do we improve on the mechanics of the golf swing? I would have to say it is through two things:

1) Proper instruction (Find a good teacher and stick with that teacher. Most of the pros do, why not you?) and

2) Practice, practice, practice. As they say “practice makes perfect”, and I believe this is true when it comes to the golf swing.

Fix the Engine that Swings the Club

Now, on to the second point when it comes to consistency in golf. Again, this is probably the lesser known of the two points about consistency in the swing. It is also equally as important as the mechanics of your swing. One question might help you realize the importance of “the body” when it comes to the golf swing. What swings the golf club?

Some of the answers I have heard are: “my hands,” “the swing,” “my hips” and even “the grip.” Well, these answers are in the ballpark and are close to being right, but let me simplify it for you. The answer is your body. Quite simple when you think about it: The club head is attached to the shaft, your hands grip the shaft, your arms are attached to your shoulders, your hips rotate through the swing, and on and on we go. It is the body that swings the club. So why is this so important to consistency in your golf game?

We know from our golf lessons, that there are certain positions the body is required to be in during the golf swing. For example, at address we know that the feet are slightly wider than shoulder width, knees slightly bent, back at a certain angle, head in a specific position, and our hands gripping the club a certain way. This is only the beginning of what the body has to do to swing the club correctly. Now, from the address position your body must move the club on the correct path and generate club head speed to hit the ball accurately and with power. Doing this over and over is what we define as consistency.

What most people do not understand is that for the body to perform the golf swing correctly, certain parameters need to be met by the body. The body must have certain levels of flexibility, strength, endurance, balance, stability, and power. If your body does not have the minimal levels of these factors in relation to the golf swing, then what do you think will happen? Well, let me tell you, it will be very difficult for the body to swing the club with the correct mechanics. And what will this result in over time? A large amount of time spent on the range with little improvement on the course and a swing that looks less than desirable.

So what does consistency in my golf swing really come down to?

It is vital to understand that improvements in your golf swing mechanics and improvements in your body specific to golf are equally important when it comes to creating a consistent golf swing. If you ignore either the body or the mechanics, it would be safe to say that your golf swing and game will suffer. Take some time on a routine basis to address both the mechanics of your swing and the body supporting it. I think you will find the benefits to be very rewarding.

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To lesrn more about Sean Cochran and his golf fitness programs go to http://www.seancochran.com

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The concept of “core training” is a “buzz word” in today’s fitness and training community. It has also become a prevalent idea in the game of golf. In regards to golf it has been noted by many individuals that the core area of the body is where the “power” comes from in your swing, and in order to make a full turn you need flexibility in the core. This article will discuss the function of the core in relation to human movement and the golf swing.

We will discuss categorically the functions of the core and how improvements in these areas can assist in the improvement of your golf swing. Before we begin discussing the functions of the core, let us define it. The core can be defined as an anatomical area of the body. The core is includes all the muscles from below the chest to the hips. Separated out into body parts the core includes all muscles of: the hips (glutes, hamstrings, glutes), abdominals, obliques (side abdominals), and low back. These muscles groups essentially comprise the core region and are involved in the majority of movement elicited by the core.

Now that we have a brief understanding of what exactly the core refers to in terms of a reference point, let us begin to discuss the pertinent connections between the core and the golf swing. We will be discussing the following topics in relation to the golf swing: 1) range of motion, 2) speed of motion, 3) balance, and 4) coordination. All four of these categories are related to the core of your body and have a direct effect on your golf swing. We will first begin by discussing range of motion and move forward from that point.

Range of Motion

Most of us have probably heard of this term before and may have some type of definition for it. Let us first define range of motion. Range of motion is essentially a distance that the body or body part moves during an activity. For example, walking down the street requires all segments of the body to move through a certain range of motion. In addition to the entire body, specific body parts move through a specified range of motion. The knee for instance, when you are walking, moves in a linear range of motion to create movement in the legs.

The golf swing is similar to walking when discussing range of motion. The entire body must move through a specified distance to perform the golf swing correctly. The core as a segment of the body also has to move through a specified distance to perform the golf swing correctly. Relating the core and the golf swing range of motion is very important. It is the primary body segment that allows for the rotation of the body to occur. The back swing, down swing, and follow through require an extensive range of motion to be provided by the core. If limitations exist in terms the distance that the core can “move through,” then limitations will occur in the golf swing. On the flip side, a greater range of motion (distance that the body segment moves through) generates greater amounts of power. This gets into what can be termed as the “X” factor in the back swing. The more turn (range of motion of the core) you can get in the golf swing, the greater ability the body has to generate more power.

Range of motion is quite a relevant topic when reviewing the golf swing. It becomes quite apparent that a connection exists between the range of motion available to the core and what the end results are in the swing. A brief synopsis would indicate that a greater range of motion in the core results in a more powerful swing, and less range of motion decreases power in the golf swing.

Speed of Motion

Connected to range of motion is the speed of that range. Speed of motion is essentially adding a time component to range of motion. It is connected to the speed at which an object would move.

If you have a large range of motion created by the body over a short period of time, the speed of the motion is fast and power production is high. On the other hand if you decrease the range of motion the body moves through with the golf swing and slow the movement down, power production will be less.

The core is again at the center of this discussion pertaining to the golf swing. At this point, we know that a large range of motion creates a greater “X” factor in the golf swing. This will ultimately result in greater power output. Add into the equation a high speed of motion, and the power component of the swing becomes greater. The point to be made is that range of motion and speed are interconnected in relation to the golf swing. The core is connected to these two entities in that it is the segment of the body that creates the greatest range of motion in the swing.

Balance

Balance is a key component of the golf swing that we hear about quite often. Balance can be defined as the amount of stability within the body during a movement. The greatest amount of balance by the body can be achieved if it maintains a center of gravity around the middle line of support. If you have ever taken a golf lesson you know what the above sentence is talking about. The body including the core must rotate around a center axis in the body. If rotation is moved to far away from this center axis, balance in the golf swing will be lost. As a result of weight shifts in the golf swing, the axis which the body rotates around does move, but movement by certain body segments beyond a certain point reduces stability.

Research indicates that accuracy and consistency is connected to stability in the golf swing. In addition, EMG studies indicate that the core is involved to a high extent in the stabilization of the body in any human movement, including the golf swing. We could probably make the connection that the core is a relevant body part in the ability to maintain balance in the golf swing.

Coordination

The final point of this discussion of the core and the golf swing is coordination. Coordination is essentially the ability of the body to activate body parts in a sequential order to create a desired movement. Go back to the walking example, and the body must coordinate all parts of the body to create this movement. The golf swing is essentially the same. The body must “fire” the muscles of the body in a certain order with the correct timing to create the movement of the golf swing. The core is actively involved in the coordination of the golf swing, as is the rest of the body. The two points to focus upon in terms of coordination are: 1) timing and 2) sequence. Both of these terms are essential for a mechanically efficient golf swing. The sequence in which muscles are “fired” in the golf swing require a certain timing for an efficient swing to occur.

Sean Cochran is one of the most recognized golf fitness instructors in the world today. He travels the PGA Tour regularly with 2004 Masters Champion Phil Mickelson. To learn more about Sean and his golf fitness programs go to http://www.seancochran.com

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