Improvement to your golf short game will without doubt see the quickest reduction in scores and enjoyment of the game.

For years I spent my time practising driving and trying to hit the ball further but my scores stayed broadly the same.

Over the years, how many times have you or a playing partner taken one shot to cover 200-300 yards and another 4 or more to cover 50 yards?

Taking just one stroke off per hole (and for many of us 2 or more should be possible) will have a profound effect on not only your score but your confidence throughout the round.

At one time I was just happy to reach the green but as I improved, in particular my short game, I started to see where I could shave a shot or two of each hole. Then as things improved further, I grouped the wholes into 6 groups of 3 and focused on reduce the total for three holes by at least 1 shot.

Try it yourself, I am sure you’ll soon start to see the benefit. So what can you expect from golf short game instruction?

Things you will learn from golf short game instruction

• When to try the high flop shot

• Why you need a selection of wedges in your bag

• Knowledge of what is the right shot to take

• When to use a chip and run shot

• How to hit a perfect chip

• How to hit a perfect pitch

• When to use a sand wedge

• Why a high flying shot isn’t always right

• You will gain more confidence with every shot from within 100 yards with golf short game instruction

Tips for golf short game improvement are provided from regular amateur players like myself, as well as golf pros and coaches.

I found when I as struggling that the high level theory was all very well but my shots were poor, sometimes shanked, sometimes scuffed or thinned yet I couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong.

I thought I was following the short game instruction from the book or game improvement video but the results were just not there. Then I stumbled across something that worked for me – I was taking the club away too shallow and too rigid.

My point being – does that mean anything to you? We each need telling in a particular way which is why I have assembled information from a broad range of sources so that you’ll be able to find the right golf short game instruction just for you.

Lower Body Golf Swing  – “Golf exercise to improve your swing”

Is golf a sport? Should sportsmen or sportswomen be fit?

If you answered yes to those questions then you must agree that too many golfers don’t take the game seriously! Do you expect to play golf perfectly yet don’t spend any time working on your fitness?

Here’s why the lower body golf swing will increase power and distance…

A Lower Body Golf Swing Can Generate Maximum Power By Mike Pedersen

The perfect lower body golf swing involves the legs to a very large extent and it is therefore true to say that exercise that conditions these parts of the body will have a positive impact on the quality of the golf swing.

This truth is obvious when you take a closer look at the golf swing. During the backswing, the feet, knee and hamstring muscles are extremely important. The rest of the golf swing movement will usually require a lot of participation of the hip and lower back.

Thus no good golf exercise program designed to improve the golf swing will avoid the lower back.

In fact some golfers are puzzled at first when they see some of the golf specific exercises which concentrate on the hamstring and lower parts of the body. They may initially feel that too much emphasis is being placed on this lower part of the body. Actually too much emphasis can hardly be placed on the lower body when it comes to the golf swing.

This is because that is precisely where most of the golf swings happen.

In the past, even when golfers though of a little exercise, their emphasis was always on the upper part of the body, rather than on the lower body, when thinking about improving their golf swing.

Times have changed and today every genuine golf exercise program will usually place a lot of importance and emphasis on the muscles on the lower body for the sake of the golf swing. These lower body golf swing exercises will involve both stretching exercises as well as strength-building exercises that will usually involve weight training.

A good program should include a wide range of different exercise and you should also be able to use various golf aid gadgets to correct weaknesses in your golf swing. By strengthening your lower body golf swing you will always feel more confident and better prepared to perform a more powerful golf swing.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds at his golf fitness site – Perform Better Golf.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Pedersen

The sequence in which you make your golf swing has a HUGE effect on the distance you hit the ball.

If you get it wrong you’ll be robbing yourself of a lot of distance, and if you’re like most golfers, you want to hit the golf ball the longest you possibly can. To do this you need to understand golf swing sequencing.

So let’s get started by looking at what should be happening in the backswing and in what sequence.

To start the backswing you must do so with your big muscles…namely your back and shoulders. You do NOT want to start your backswing with your hands. Now as you’re starting the backswing by turning your shoulders and back you also need to shift your weight to your right foot. And you should continue to move your weight to your right foot (for a right hander) all throughout the turning of your backswing so that when you reach the top of the backswing position you have about 90% of your weight on your right foot.

So you can sum up the backswing as a shift and turn.

Now at what part of the golf swing does the most power come from?

The correct answer is the transition. And the transition in the golf swing is when you change directions from the backswing to downswing.

Just think, if this wasn’t true you’d have golfers setting themselves into a perfect top of the backswing position and then swinging from there. But that doesn’t happen and never will because it’s the change of directions from moving the club back to bringing it down where the real power in the golf swing comes from.

And that’s the key place in the golf swing where most amateur golfers lose a heck of a lot of distance. This is through a lack of the correct golf swing sequencing.

Let me explain. Imagine you’ve reached the top of your backswing position. What should start the downswing?

The correct answers is: The weight shift should!

To start the downswing you need to first move your weight back to your left foot. Then you need to move your left knee towards the target, then the left hip needs to move towards the target, followed by the left shoulder and finally your hands should move.

The sad thing is that most golfers start their downswing with their hands and that’s a killer as far as creating distance is concerned. You’ve got to start the downswing with the weight shift and then the left knee.

So go out and try this now…. Swing slowly back to the top of your backswing and then when you’ve almost reached the top of your backswing move your weight back to your left foot and move your left knee towards your target. Once you’ve got the feeling of doing this then speed up the swing.

Now personally I just like thinking about moving my left knee towards the target to start the downswing. And I suggest you try that golf swing trigger as well. If you get this sequencing correct from the backswing to downswing you’ll gain a lot of distance and the golf swing will be a lot easier for you.

Try it…you’ll love the results!

Article used with permission from Nick Bayley (Professional golfer) who has discovered just one golf swing fault that could be stopping YOU from ball striking consistency and success. But luckily for you, now you can take a simple 2 minute golf swing test to see if you have this swing fault or not. So don’t delay! Go here to take The Golf Swing Test™ now:

Golf Swing Sequencing Test

The perfect golf swing is essential for a great game or perhaps it is really just a myth – it is simply not possible for a human being to attain perfection!

Or maybe it is. But even if it is possible to groove a perfect swing I’m afraid that human failing – the brain – will do something to sabotage it for you.

Have you ever had an approach shot over water and told yourself that you must not think about what could go wrong only to find that water is the the only thing on your mind? Sure enough the brain focuses on something else other than your perfect golf swing!

So now we have two problems – developing the perfect golf swing and dealing with the mental aspects of the game. For now we’ll deal with the swing as the mental side is covered elsewhere on this site.

Because I started playing golf without any proper instruction I found I developed a less than perfect golf swing that sort of worked for me. Although some of my shots were OK I was extremely inconsistent and couldn’t work out why. I read an interesting article by David Peltz who said that the subconscious human brain will force you to make a compensating swing to try and force the ball to go where it is supposed to. I’m sure you’ve witnessed some very odd looking swings from fellow golfers that are effective but are far from the perfect golf swing.

My idea of a perfect golf swing is not necessarily one that looks just like the golf pros, for example I’d love to look like Tiger Woods when swinging a golf club but frankly my back wouldn’t stand the hammering!

No, ideally it should look good but more importantly it will be totally effective and can be replicated every time. That way you can focus on the flight of the ball and where you want it to end up rather than the technicalities of the swing. So instead of thinking have my wrists hinged right – too late or early, have my hips turned enough, is my head still, when am I supposed to shift my weight and a thousand other thoughts that race through your head just prior to impact you concentrate on the flight of the ball in the knowledge you already have a perfect golf swing.

If you are ready to develop a perfect golf swing for you, which will undoubtedly make you more consistent and reduce your scores then you will find the information you require in these pages. There are tips for beginners, answers to common problems and guidance from experts in creating the perfect golf swing.

Many of you may not know it, but I have been very busy over the last 2 years putting my thoughts and ideas together in a book. I am very proud of the results and to assist and believe my new book on BEGINNER GOLF gives the reader valuable playing tips and insider information that I have gained through my years of struggle and experience.

I received this by email from an annonymous individual. If you wrote this “book” then thank you – it has been needed for years.

“Golf mental game” what’s that? Sounds like something someone not of a sound mind might play. Mmm, sometimes I thinks that’s me with golf! But seriously unless you can focus on your game it doesn’t matter whether you have grooved a perfect swing you will not achieve the consistency you need to play golf to a high standard.  Do you think today’s professional golfers differ dramatically in their ability, the level of practice or quality of golf equipment? No the real difference is in their approach to the golf mental game.

The golf mental game seems to affect some players more than others. Take Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie for example. He has been outstanding in Ryder Cup competition but has fallen short of winning individually at the highest level on a number of occasions. Why is that? It is certainly not his  swing or ability with a golf club. A study of his game will reveal he excels in a number of areas. No, I believe there is a very small issue that creeps in at a crucial moment – it could be self-doubt, it could be pressure, concentration, or it could be simply a lack of belief. Whatever it is, and it certainly affects amateur golfers and sportsman to a greater degree, it can be categorised as part of the golf mental game.

Some fantastic studies into the mental game within golf have been undertaken including Nuero Linguistic Programming (NLP), concentration studies and the ability to focus and the results are quite incredible. I believe that with a good basic understanding of the golf swing it is in the area of golf mental game that most improvement can be made.

For example, have you ever been about to play a shot over water and found yourself thinking what you must not do (hit into the drink!) rather than concentrating on the flight of the ball and where you want to pitch?

Or about to take a short chip onto the green and the thought of the duff short to the previous green comes back to haunt you?

The human brain works in a stange way sometimes – seemingly to sabotage us but in reality it is simply a question of programming it it correctly. Tell it what to do and it generally will behave. Feed it negative instructions and it cannot cope as it does not respond to the “don’t” part of “don’t hit it in the water” and acts to ensure your body responds to the “hit it in the water” part!!

So you can see getting the golf mental game sorted will be of real benefit.

Tiger Woods, clearly a master at the golf mental game, is reported to say that he only concentrates on golf for part of the round because it is not feasible to focus as clearly as necessary for upwards of 3 hours. He focuses ONLY on the shot when he is within an imaginary box of I think a yard square around the ball. Watch him, he is then totally focused and in complete control of the golf mental game.

Through studying as much as I can on the subject of the “mind and golf” I have seen great improvements in my own game and I highly recommend anyone to pay equal attention to the important aspect of the golf mental game.