Controlling The Golf Ball
Whether you are just beginning your golfing career or have been hauling all over the back nine since I was knee high to a grasshopper, there is always room for improvement in a round of golf.
There isn’t a golfer alive who doesn’t want a straighter, longer drive or a more precise putt. Even the best of the best in all their grace and skill perpetually strive for the better game, the game where control is paramount.
Control of the golf ball of course begins with control of the body. When first learning to play golf, and for some of us years into our learning curve, despite what our better judgment tells us we step up to the tee with tight muscles determined to whack the dimples off the ball. Inevitably, we resemble displaced baseball players rather than graceful golfers as we pull back and swing with all our might. Despite our best efforts we slice and hook and no matter how many dimples we whack away from the ball it still won’t sail over the horizon for us. How frustrating.
What we fail to either realize or practice is that out tense muscles are causing the problem. Golf can not be played with tight muscles because inevitably, our heads are going to insist on following our bodies and we will lose sight of the ball right at the last moment. In order for us to really make that contact with the golf ball that we are truly seeking, we have to keep our eye on the ball. Ironically, this is also true in baseball and some of us do have a tendency to bring our baseball skills onto the golf course with us.
When we lose sight of the golf ball at the last moment our body shifts just enough to keep our golf club from making good contact with the ball. Our hands lose their follow through and our golf ball goes flying off into the rough. We stand there seriously contemplating wrapping our clubs around the trunk of a tree wondering what it is that we’re doing wrong. After all, we couldn’t be trying harder to hit our golf ball straight and far.
Sometimes, that’s the exact problem. Trying too hard to hit the ball in a round of golf can actually backfire and create the opposite of the desired effect. Our body is tense, our mood is tense, and of course our ball ends up tensely leaving the tee. However, a relaxed body has a greater chance of keeping the eye on the ball and making the appropriate contact with the golf ball and sending it much farther and straighter than the baseball bat swing.
THE PRACTICE SWING
Luckily, golf has become a fairly affordable sport as of late and we have plenty of time to perfect our golf game before our next round with the guys from the office. So we approach the task of perfecting the golf swing over a series of rounds over a few weeks. After all, there is room for improvement regardless how good of a golf swing you may have. For some of us, however, there is only room for improvement.
Before heading out to the fairway, I sat down like so many other individuals like myself to search out the internet for a little golf swing guidance. A few words across my browser and a click of the search button and I found one of the best sites around for some golf swing guidance. Keeping in mind that not all of us are retired and we have jobs and families to keep us quite busy, I wanted to read the information that I needed without being glued in front of the computer screen for hours on end. The goal is to find the assistance and then actually take it out to the fairway and practice it.
Golf is a game of patience, and for most a very relaxing activity that encourages physical exercise. A relaxing game of golf. I truly couldn’t remember the last time I was relaxed when I played golf. Because I tend to be quite competitive, I also put a lot of pressure on myself to play golf at very high standards. A self taught golfer, I never took a lesson or really had any assistance in learning the game and how most people play it. Rather I came onto the fairway with my clubs and sheer determination.
Right there in front of me was an article explaining how my baseball approach to golf was exactly what was killing my ball before it had a chance to soar. I buckled down and went through the basic steps that were kindly outlined for me and then I headed off to the driving range for a practice round.
Don’t get me wrong, one article didn’t fix ten long years of hacking and whacking my golf ball into various bushes. What it did do was make me aware of exactly what I was doing wrong. It allowed me to adjust my focus and relax and within just the first ten swings I began to notice a difference. Of course then I got giddy with excitement and blew the next ten swings, but then I returned to the basics and got my rhythm back.
As I focused on improving my swing and cleaning up my nasty slice, I hadn’t forgotten that this site had helpful tips on everything golf, even things I didn’t know I wanted to know. And over time, I knew that I would improve my game to the degree that it wouldn’t even really be my game any more. My game involved fishing golf balls out of some pretty interesting places.
I am now learning the mental game of golf as I accomplish more of the physical game of golf. I always knew that golf was a game of grace and quiet dignity, but I truly didn’t realize just how much of this sport is played in your head. I have learned different concentration techniques to improve my putting, driving, and of course, lower my score. I feel more confident and I certainly play with more patience and grace than I ever had before.
The driving range has become a hot spot for me since that first day when I showed up to practice those first tidbits of knowledge that were kindly shared with me on my new favorite website. My constant improvements have people approaching me for advice. It wasn’t that long ago that some of these same people were approaching me to offer me a new golf ball so I wouldn’t have to go dig mine out of its landing place.
Anyone who really wants to learn about golf needs to check out this site. It has every slice of information a person needs to begin understanding the game a bit better and improving what once may have been a round of embarrassment. The golf instruction offered is as valuable as several private lessons down at the club. Beginners and pros alike can find just about anything they need to know to lower their golf score and have more fun playing the game. After all, this is supposed to be fun. I was especially pleased to find an article that thoroughly explained some golf rules that apparently I had misinterpreted. I’m sure the guys from the office were pleased when I started adhering to the rules of the game without the argument I used to put up. It’s been so exciting to improve my golf technique.
Since then I have visited ebookcashstreams.com/Golf daily, sometimes a few times a day to learn and improve upon the steps I’ve made thus far. And the last round of golf I played with the guys from the office they didn’t know quite what to make of the improvement. I even received a few of those backhanded compliments of how nice my swing was, for a girl.
Author: Lisa Veeanne Denver, CO
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Lisa
