The Secret To Early Success For The Novice Golfer

You have decided to learn about the golf game at last! You bought your golf clubs, a few balls and are anxiously awaiting your new life experience. 25 million people do it-why not me, you say. The choice seems fairly straight forward, a few lessons, a few rounds with your buddies, and you are on your way.

NOT!

While getting prepared for your first golf lesson, what to look for? If you expect success at a reasonable pace, then hire a professional teacher who follows these instruction techniques.

The method may be called " the short swing", its, purpose-to teach the golf fundamentals in the easiest, most satisfying and quickest way. Professional instructors and golf schools all teach golf fundamentals, with varying results. Depending on instructor skills, practice facilities, amount of time instructing, these methods vary greatly. The emphasis in golf instruction is power, distance and strength. These attributes are the hardest to teach, and the most frustrating to the typical beginning golfer.

It is my belief as a long time teacher, that a golfer will never develop consistency without consistent correct fundamentals, and these are best taught in "slow motion" and in simple, achievable segments.

From the first teaching hour, the instructor must approach the fundamentals through the "short swing" with positive reinforcement and successful ball striking.

In practice , the student will hit few full golf shots but , instead must work on achieving proper grip tension, proper physical positioning, and proper club face contact.

The takeaway, the most critical part of the golf swing is particularly crucial. By use of the "toe up to toe up" drills, these skills/fundamentals are taught in a "mini-swing" (short-swing, ½ swing, ¾ swing) context.

The reason for this? A golfer can more easily feel the swing parts, since the clubhead is moving slower (50-60 miles per hour)-back and forward with little brute strength and force. A player, at all levels, can sense the timing of the legs and the upper body. He or she can see the parts of their swing in real time. Advance skills such as visualization can be taught to the moderately skilled golfer as well by this technique.

When a student has acheived success within a 30-40 yard distance, with their fundamentals in order, then he is ready to move to the 50-80 yard shot. As the day progresses, the ball striking changes from wedges to 7 irons. If the golfer has any serious trouble with his golf mechanics at these distances, he should NOT be attemping to hit the longer clubs!

The entire teaching process develops from the short swing to the full swing with a constant emphasis on contact, tempo and proper swing fundamentals.

The wonderful part of this process, is that at some level even the moderate player has success, and he understands quickly what he must work on. The more advanced player moves rapidly, but not unless the fundamentals are mastered within his skill level. One reason golfers do not improve is that the relationship between distance/power and technique is usually out of balance. Instinctively it appears easier to swing hard than to swing with rythmn and tempo.

The longer, heavier clubs should not require a different swing than the shorter ones, but that is rarely the case.The "short swing" helps the golfer to develop one's swing and creates better consistency.

In these first few hours if the student can strike the short irons with decent contact and a reasonable ball flight, then progressing to the next level is a foregone conclusion.

With the use of this secret, the golfer will have greater early success, a better feel for the moving parts, and significantly more fun in the process! Without good understanding of golf fundamentals from the beginning, frustration and anxiety is the normal pattern, sometimes for a lifetime!