GOLF TIP: Golf Backswing Drill

The backswing might be the one part of the golf swing that amateur players obsess about the most. Swaying back away from the ball during this critical moment of the swing is one of the worst -- and most common -- swing flaws in the game. Today's golf tip video from PGA teaching professional and YouTube golf instructor Chris Ryan offers a simple drill you can use on the driving range to correct this flaw. All you need is a range basket and a golf club of alignment stick.

What are some of your favorite backswing tips? Share them down in the comments below!

The Wide-Narrow-Wide Golf Swing Drill

Like most amateur golfers, I struggle with finding distance in my irons. This is can be the result of a poor strike, but more often this is due to an improper swing sequence through impact. To get the most distance out of every swing, you should incorporate a "wide-narrow-wide" sequence. As the name of the sequence implies, your goal should be to start your takeaway in a wide arc away from your body by keeping your arms straight. The "narrow" portion occurs during your downswing as your swing arc moves closer to your body as your right arm reattaches to your torso. Finally, the last "wide" step focuses on driving through the ball and finishing with outstretched arms once again.

To illustrate what I mean by wide-narrow-wide, YouTube golf instructor Chris Ryan has a great golf swing drill for you to practice on the range. This is what I will be working the most on in my own golf swing for the next few weeks.

The Best Golf Pre-Shot Routine Tips Ever

Hitting great golf shots is next to impossible unless you have an elaborate pre-shot routine. This is basically science and should not be disputed. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to grasp this concept despite seeing concrete proof from golfing savants like Keegan Bradley (h/t Adam Sarson):

That man has a major. He also has horrific nervous tendencies, but OCD really means Officially a Cool Dancer.

Luckily for us, Twitter was invented for the sole purpose of providing helpful hints on how to play golf like a pro. And for sharing pictures of cats playing the piano. But moreso for golf instruction (which is why Twitter's icon is a birdie).

So for the low price of absolutely free, here is a list of the three best pre-shot routine tips from the greatest minds in the Twitterverse. Think well of me when you win your major.

Calm your nerves by any means necessary

@AdamJFonseca Start with a shot of Jameson's. #BreakfastOfChampions

— John Lahtinen (@JohnLahtinen) March 14, 2015

Not only is this suggestion completely inappropriate to good health, it's also important to playing great golf. Alcohol has been as big a part of the game as mashies, sand bunkers and smearing deer urine on your hands.

In addition to starting your day off with a substantial pull from your family's bottle of Jameson Whiskey, be sure to always carry a minimum of one gallon of the beverage in your golf bag at all times. Any proper pre-shot routine includes swallowing an ounce of the Irish nectar prior to every swing. Following this method is guaranteed to lower your scores dramatically as you are forced to minimize your strokes lest you experience instantaneous liver failure.

Daydream like a crazy person

@AdamJFonseca Visualize your shot. — Steinthor Sigurdsson (@SteinthorSig) March 14, 2015

If I've said it once then I've said in a thousand times: take every opportunity to escape from reality while playing golf.

One such way is by staring off into another dimension for the purpose of accidentally noticing a premonition on how the future will unfold. Experts in this technique include those of incredible mental prowess, including:

• Tiger Woods (before 2009)
• Jack Nicklaus
• Miss Cleo

Visualizing your shot is imperative to proper course management and instilling within yourself an extreme level of confidence. Take a few moments to will your next shot to its target by way of subjectively wishing yourself to death.

Placate yourself like you were your own mother-in-law

@AdamJFonseca only positive thinking: brain doesn't understand negation

— Dante Isingrini (@EasyCicero) March 14, 2015

The power of positive thinking cannot be overlooked. It's very much like the power of the positive leads on a car battery: placing your tongue on its surface may seem like a bad idea, but you'll be shocked at the results.

The greatest golfers in the world never allow negative thoughts to enter their minds. This is likely accomplished by years of brutal self-discipline, monk-style flogging and repeated viewings of Johnny Miller shooting 63 at Oakmont. In time, the very notion of a negative thought is instead met with an avalanche of positivity and an immediate release of the bowels.

Focusing on nothing but positive encouragement prior to every shot is, arguably, the most important element of a pre-shot routine.

The 80/20 Principle of Golf

If you want to challenge your creativity, to go outside of your comfort zone and get better quicker then read on, this article is for you.

PARETO’S PRINCIPLE

You have maybe heard of the 80/20 rule (also known as Pareto’s Principle). Its a general rule that states that 80% off the outcomes can be attributed to 20% of the causes. Don’t spend countless hours working on things that will impact your score very little. Read on as we discuss how to get the most from your practice, how to shortcut the drudgery and engage your brain in a new way.

GOLF IS JUST A GAME

When your wage is on the line, a tournament becomes a very serious week and perhaps thats the mistake a mini-tour player might make. We watch Bubba curve it round the trees, Rickie and Rory joke and laugh in the final pairing of The Open Championship and marvel - how can they be so relaxed? The cliche does hold true, it is just a game. They play for victory. Games by nature have a degree of randomness and reward aggression.

GETTING OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY

Personally I look back at my own golf and think when did I most outperform my technical ability? How did I achieve my best scores when I wasn’t able to practice much, my golf consisting of 9 holes in the summer evenings with friends.

I believe that the way we played was instrumental in developing my attitude to the game. (How could I ever turn away from a game that has shown me such fun?) I see many low handicappers and professional friends lose interest in the game. They aren’t quitters, they aren’t soft and they have definitely given it their full attention over years of dedication.

But the exactness and loneliness of the pursuit of ‘better’ combined with the wrong perspective on improvement has defeated them.

Did they not have what it takes or did they chase performance in the wrong areas?

THE PURPOSE OF FUN

On those summer evenings we never kept score. There was no winner, just memorable shots. There were no rules. Hit when you want, change your lie, play another ball, don’t bother with a marker. Absolutely any form of mental intimidation was acceptable. We played from the wrong tees, sometimes making up a par 6.

We were challenging our creativity, we were testing our mental strength, our resilience and we were having fun. It forced us to acknowledge that it was a game and that being out of your comfort zone could be a positive thing.

MUSCLE MEMORY

Varied training prevents it becoming drudgery or becoming an isolated skill that will not transfer under pressure. Rather than feeling good about hitting 500 hundred balls you will learn to judge your practice by its quality. Habit formation improves greatly in all fields when challenges are present and emotion is created. More emotion equals more memory - the brain is engaged.

If that brilliant four iron you hit on the range is one of five hundred shots that day how will you ever remember that? What if after those five hundred balls you went on the course and hit a brilliant four iron 220 yards over water to ten feet? You would remember that! We know that muscles have no memory, your brain is responsible for movement. Without this positive emotion and powerful memory recall, little is gained.

THE 'TRY HARDER' FALLACY

Many think that better means repetitive grinding, going through the motions of appearing dedicated, showing to all how serious we are about getting better. Revelling in the glory of ‘digging it from the dirt’, measuring achievement in time spent or number of balls hit.

Why not judge yourself by your creativity and mental freedom? Is that not what peak performance is all about? Getting out of your own way, eliminating excess thought, playing on instinct and joy are all features of ‘the zone’. Why not search for these in your practice in training? Or is that elbow position really going to make a difference?

• Why are drills so effective at creating big changes? They enforce a feeling without conscious thought. It’s hard to practice the instinct to balance unless you challenge yourself by hitting balls with only one leg in position for instance.

• Try some ‘Happy Gilmore’ shots or perhaps a mild version by stepping on and off the ball. Notice how hard it is to create change or think too much when a swing at the ball starts from a very dynamic position.

• Practice your short game with only one club like Seve - try and hit every trajectory with one loft. Make it harder by using less loft. Seve became a master with a long iron only!

• Play most of your practice rounds with a half set. This makes you versatile and adaptable. Never again will you feel uncomfortable between clubs.

• Next time you are on the course with a friend choose each others shot requirements and only as you settle over the ball, so like a footballer you will have little time to process and create the shot.

GOLF IS JUST A SPORT, TREAT IT LIKE ONE

We tend to think our sport is special. We think it is more difficult than others and has its own set of rules for success. It isn’t. Success under pressure means embracing your creativity and reactions and your unconscious ability.

Make each session on the course or range as unique as possible. Make performance gains quicker than ever before.

(Malcolm Isaacs is a fellow golf blogger who maintains MeandMiBlog.com. He can be reached via email at malcolmisaacsgolf@gmail.com.)

Have You Applied the Antifreeze to Your Golf Game?

(The following is the first training installment from Top 50 LPGA Instructor Maria Palozola for ChicagoDuffer.com. Visit her website at My Golf Instructor today.)

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE...

Yes. Yes it is cold, but that doesn't mean you need to let your game freeze this winter. Something that just breaks my heart as a caring instructor is when I see my students working hard and making progress over the summer, only to let it fade away during the off season. I often think they must feel like a rat in a wheel. It breaks my heart yet at the same time it is so furstrating, because it just doesn't have to be that hard. After putting in hours hours hitting practice balls, working on your short game, spending money on rounds and taking lessons, it's wise to have a game plan that will prevent your game from unravelling in the cold months. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to prevent that from happening.

Living in a northern climate doesn't mean golf has to stop. I lived and taught golf in Chicago for a decade before settling back in my home town of St. Louis. Interestingly enough, St. Louis is much more seasonal when it comes to golf because of a lack of facilities in general, but especially in winterized golf facilities. Chicago on the other hand has many ranges prepped for the cold weather as well as indoor opportunities. I was the first Director at the Links & Tees Golf Dome in Addison and when that opened it was a game changer for me. I kept my lessons going, but also kept my game in good shape.

1 STEP FORWARD AND WELL 2 MORE STEPS FORWARD

You don't have to back track with your game just because it gets a little chilly. There are several options for honing in your game over the winter:

• Work on indoor drills for every part of your game. You don't even need to hit a ball to accomplish this. On my game improvement site http://www.mygolfinstructor.com I have 30 indoor drills listed with videos demonstrating how to do each. That's just the tip of the iceberg too, as there are many more. I share one of my favorites with you below.
• Hit outside at a covered/heated range. With heaters and wind blockers, many ranges offer you the opportunity to hit and be sheltered no matter what the weather. Be sure to dress appropriately with knit caps, long underwear, Under Armour, layers and even hand and foot warmers. You'll be surprised how warm you get once you start swinging.
• Go to a golf dome like Links & Tees in Addison, IL. Not only can you work on your full swing, but many of these facilities offer short game areas as well for putting, chipping and bunker play.
• Find an indoor hitting bay. There are indoor facilities where you can't see the ball fly like in a dome, but rather just have you hitting into a net. These are just as good and sometimes better as you can become to outcome oriented when you see your ball flight. It's much more important to focus on what's going on in your swing and your contact than where it's going in the off season. If you must see where it's going then check out simulators at restaurants and entertainment centers in the area. Some even offer leagues.
• Learn. Read articles and watch videos. Work on a game improvement site like http://www.mygolfinstructor.com. and spend time watching your favorite players on television. The point is to keep your mind in the game and keep you thinking about good golf.
• Get a net and hit in your garage or basement. If you have the space, for just a few hundred dollars you can set yourself up with a golf net and mat so you can take a few swings whenever you have a free moment.
• Just swing! Whether you hit in the back yard or a nearby field or simply just swing in your living room, do what you can so that you don't lose feel for your grip, your posture or your swing. The ball is not relevant at this point. Just keep the feel going.
• Last, but definitely not least, work on your golf body through a solid golf fitness routine. I also have a vast number of fintess drills on MyGolfInstructor.com. If you are dedicated at all to this you'll most likely gain yardage over the winter rather than lose yardage.

To help you get started I'd like to share one of my favorite drills. Close to 20 years ago as an apprentice pro I used this tip when I got a one minute spot on Chicagoland T.V.. I thought hard on what drill I should give that could help golfers of all skill levels improve their swings. Without seeing your swing or knowing what you need to work on, I need to pick a universal drill than can help all players keep or get their swing in shape when they are away from the course. It's a drill I call Swing Plane Point Check and it has held true through the years to help beginners and professionals alike. The best part is it can be done indoors!

SWING PLANE POINT CHECK:

The first thing to note here is that at all times during your swing your club is either parallel to or pointed at your target line IF IT IS ON PLANE. That's the purpose of this drill; to see if your club is on plane at all the major check points.

Step 1 - Lay a club or shaft down on the ground pointing at your target and set up so that with the club you are gripping in your hands, the head is hovering over the shaft on the ground. Your clubface should be perpendicular to the shaft on the ground (Which represents the target line).

Step 2 - Swing back so that your club reaches the point of being parallel to the ground (1/4 backswing). Check to make sure it is parallel to your target line.

Step 3 - Swing until your left arm (for right handers) is parallel to the ground (1/2 swing). If you have cocked your wrists properly and your club is on plane it will be pointed at your target line.

Step 4 - Finish your shoulder turn until you reach the top of the swing. Your club should again be parallel to the target line.

Simply repeat these positions on the way down and then mirror them on the follow through part of your swing as well. Just remember, the club is always pointed to or parallel to your target line at all the check points.

KEEP THIS TRAIN ON THE TRACKS

Perform this drill every day for 10 minutes. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised come spring time at how on track your golf swing has stayed during the off season. It will also help keep your body golf fit by going through the various positions and holding them. 1 step forward and 2 steps back stops this year!

Maria Palozola has been a leading golf instructor for over 20 years. She has been a Top 50 Instructor with the LPGA since 2008 and is currently listed as a Golf Digest Top 5 Teacher in the State. She currently offers private golf lessons in the St. Louis area at http://www.stlouisgolflessons.com and offers online instruction at http://www.mygolfinstructor.com.

YouTube Review: The Most Powerful Move in Golf

It has been awhile since I've shared a golf instruction video on this site, so I figured now was a good time to let my readers in on my most recent golf swing obsession. Originally posted as a series of videos on Steve Elkington's Secret in the Dirt YouTube channel, golf pro Martin Ayers explains what he calls the "most powerful move in golf." (Note: The following video -- which you can rent for $7.99 -- is over 90 minutes in length, but you kind of get the gist of the message after the first 15-20 minutes. You can also find a variety of video responses to Ayers' technique on YouTube.)

I've played around with this move for a couple days, including playing nine holes with it in mind. My first impression of the "golf swing is always in one direction" mindset was that it made total sense in terms of physics... although it seemed difficult to conceptualize in relation to how I should move my body. To help me make complete sense of the move, I recalled another YouTube video I saw on imagining the golf club as a weight on the end of a string.

The premise to the swing is simple: your right arm (for right-handed players) is always moving in one direction (backwards) around your shoulder joint. After all, your shoulder is a ball-in-socket joint with almost 360 degrees of movement. The key to Ayers' swing is to properly load your swing at the top to a position that feels natural and powerful to you. The second key -- once again keeping in mind the towel drill in the second video -- is to "whip" the golf club in a wide, one-direction arc.

While I haven't noticed a substantial boost in power using this technique for about a week, I definitely see how thinking of the golf swing as one fluid motion can help with consistency and power over time.

Five Ways to Help Your Golf Game in the Winter

Christmas is right around the corner, and for those of us in the Midwest that means our golf game is in hibernation for the next few months. Snow will be falling soon, courses will be closing and our golf clubs get stuffed into a storage bin. It's a sad time of the year, really. Luckily, there are still a few ways to help your golf game by keeping it sharp even if you aren't playing full rounds this winter. Here are five of my favorite ways to scratch the golf itch during the offseason.

Visit an indoor driving range -- This may be an obvious option, but you'd be surprised how much practicing indoors can benefit your game. There are a number of indoor golf domes and heated ranges around my hometown, allowing me to keep my golf swing loose and fluid all year. Golf domes are also a great way to keep your short game sharp, especially since anything longer than a pitching wedge will find its way into a driving range net.

Driving ranges like the new Top Golf facilities around the US are another unique way to practice even with snow on the ground. These might be a little pricey for a driving range, but the full-service bar and restaurant make up for the cost.

Hit the gym -- Another great way to keep your golf game fit and in shape is by joining a gym. I'm not suggesting that you should start popping supplement pills and chugging protein shakes; instead, doing some golf-themed workouts can pay dividends to your game in the long run. Focus on exercises that build up your back, stomach and legs to give your game a distance boost the next time you tee it up. Have you ever considered taking a yoga class?

No matter what exercise program you choose, be sure to incorporate a ton of stretching. Nothing kills a golf swing more than tension and a loss in flexibility; two bi-products that could happen after lifting weights.

Study the Game -- When was the last time you read a golf book focused on strategy and technique? The winter is a great time to jam as much golf swing theory and short game philosophy into your noggin as possible. A quick search on Amazon.com will yield multiple titles from which to choose, so you'll have more than enough material to pass the cold winter months.

The goal with this season-long study session is not to memorize multiple swing philosophies. Instead, use this time to introduce yourself to different techniques, methods and approaches to your game.

Perfect Your Putting Stroke -- There isn't a club in your bag you will hit more often than your putter. The best part? You don't need to be outside to practice your stroke!

There a number of indoor putting greens you can purchase to practice at home, but you can accomplish the same thing by finding some shallow carpet and throwing down an empty glass. Voila! Indoor putting green!

Take a Break, Will Ya? -- Finally, sometimes all we really need to improve our game is to stop and smell the roses. Taking a much-needed break from obsessing over our golf swing can be incredibly beneficial to the overall health of our game. No matter how you choose to scratch that golf itch this offseason, remember that moderation is the key.

REVIEW: The Bender Stik

Golf is a sport that has twice as many gadgets to practice your game as equipment to actually play it. Training aids range from the highly elaborate to the excessively simple. Every once in awhile, however, a training aid comes along that offers true benefits to golfers at any level. The Bender Stik is one such training aid. The Bender Stik – designed by master instructor Mike Bender – appears simple in its design. It is comprised of a long stake that you can stick into the turf, a bendable upper portion that can be shaped in many ways and a large, soft, yellow ball at its end. You can use the Bender Stik to work on many different aspects of your swing, including posture, swing plane and weight shift.

I had the chance to try out the Bender Stik at a local driving range to get a closer look at its versatility. By placing the Bender Stik in the ground in front of my address position, I was able to practice a proper downswing.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlhUYzAMhRI]

By sticking the Bender Stik next to my lead leg and positioning the bell near my left hip, I was able to practice a proper weight shift without over-rotating.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eAhQ42ssI8]

The Bender Stik retails for $99.95 and comes with an instructional DVD to give you more examples of how you can use it to work on your game.

Garret Kramer's 'Stillpower' Offers A Look Inside You... And Me.

As a book about optimizing sports performance and coaching technique, Stillpower: The Inner Source of Excellence In Spots - And Life by Garret Kramer is bound to be challenged by some of sports' most seasoned experts. As a book about life and inner dialogue, however, Stillpower succeeds admirably in more ways than one. According to Kramer, Stillpower "is a perspective of clarity;" that is, Kramer's message is not meant to be a self-help book as much as it provides a means for any athlete to recognize his or her mental challenges that may be preventing the athlete from performing at a high level. This book doesn't espouse calming techniques or mediation for the reader. Instead, Kramer offers the reader a higher understanding of what unclear thinking can do to a person no matter their level of athleticism or professional career choice.

For me, Stillpower radiated in a very specific way. As someone who deals with anxiety on almost a daily basis, I often find it difficult to remain focused on the task at hand, especially when on the golf course. I sometimes fall into the routine of remembering what went wrong on a particular golf hole the last time I played it as opposed to playing freely and allowing my experience playing the game take over naturally. When I am playing my best, I know understand that I am hardly thinking at all while maintaining a high level of free confidence and deep trust in my ability. Stillpower asks the reader to embrace this "free-thinking" mindset and proposes that we perform at our best when we simply stop thinking.

However, I also disagree with some of the elements Kramer introduces in his book, especially as it pertains to coaching. For example, Kramer describes a scenario when a coach of a little league team struggles with keeping his team focused during a tough day of practice. Instead of encouraging the team to grind through the practice session, Kramer suggests halting the session and taking the team to another activity they may enjoy more at the time. While the message Kramer attempts to convey is understood, one cannot help but wonder how this same coach will react once players learn that "coach will take us out for ice cream if we just stop practicing". A slippery slope is created, in my opinion, and coaches might be doing more harm than good in that scenario.

Regardless, Stillpower is a book worth reading if you are looking for a unique opinion on how to excel in sports, how to think more clearly despite your past struggles, or are interested in learning more about the human psyche from an athletic arena. If you are looking for another self-help book that offers a "quick fix" technique, however, Stillpower might not be your cup of tea.

Stillpower - The Inner Source of Excellence in Sports and Life

Garret Kramer

Atria/Beyond Words Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-5827-0388-6

YouTube Golf Review: Vol. 1

YouTube is a wonderful source of information for those who are looking to research a new topic, learn more about a specific golf product or lesson, or to kill time at 3 in the morning after drinking a 6-pack (not that I would know). From a golf video perspective, I figured I would begin sharing the videos I have stumbled upon that I have found the most valuable in a new blog segment: YouTube Golf Review. This week I will focus on a few videos that helped recently with my downswing. Click the link to read on.

I have lately been struggling a great deal with my downswing into impact, especially with my long-to-mid iron shots. Golf balls would end up in places on the course that boggled my mind despite having pretty sound fundamentals getting my hands to the top of my swing. I needed a simple tip to help me visualize the proper transition from the top of my swing to impact, and the following video was one that helped provide what I was looking for.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dzfIke5tdQ&feature=related]

This is another video that focuses on the same hip-first movement to help drop your hands into the proper position:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dolmhb-qNcs]

Kyle Rich: PGA Teaching Professional

As most of my regular readers know, I often have the opportunity to visit with local PGA Teaching Professionals to learn more about their instructional styles and what they have to offer golfers in the Chicagoland area. This past weekend I have the opportunity to visit with PGA Professional Kyle Rich, the Director of Instruction of the Kyle Rich Golf Academy. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvEneMrAM_A]

Located at Bogies Indoor Golf in Downers Grove, IL., Kyle Rich has been instructing in the Chicago area for quite a while and has made quite the name for himself in the process. Most of his instruction takes part on a golf simulator in a training area of Bogies and includes many state-of-the-art training tools to help golfers of any level improve his or her game quickly and efficiently.

One thing I found most impressive was the fact that Rich focuses his instruction on the physical capabilities of each individual golfer. In other words, Rich is able to adapt his training methodologies and tools to the player as opposed to somehow forcing the player to fit into a preconceived template of instruction. This not only helps the player become comfortable with Rich's instruction, but it also provides the player instant feedback to changes introduced to their 'normal swing'.

Furthermore, Rich prefers to help golfers improve their games gradually as opposed to force-feeding a ton of mechanical adjustments or introducing a flurry of swing thoughts all at once. I found this to be most beneficial during my one-hour session.

As part of my lesson, Rich also set me up with the K-Vest; a valuable biofeedback tool not normally seen used by many teaching professionals in the Chicago area. K-Vest's cutting-edge technology enables professionals to stay at the forefront of the very competitive golf performance industry by providing the player audio and visual feedback on virtually every movement of their golf swing. While this was not my first exposure to the K-Vest, I was most impressed with Rich's use of the audio feedback function to show my where my shoulder turn should be in relation to my overall posture. When I placed my shoulders in the proper position at the top of my backswing, the K-Vest system played a tone to cue that I had been successful in my takeaway.

Kyle Rich proved to be extremely personable throughout the lesson and certainly knows his stuff when it comes to teaching the golf swing. He exhibits an obviously vast knowledge in the mechanics of the swing and has the uncommon talent to convey complex mechanics in a manner that any golfer can clearly understand. Additionally, Rich moves at the pace of the student and frequently checks to ensure the player fully understands each new element introduced during the lesson. This is extremely valuable for the student and shows that Rich takes a serious, player-centered approach to his instruction.

The video at the beginning of this post shows a few highlights of my time spent with Kyle Rich. As you can see, we covered a great deal of information in one hour. I hope to visit Rich again in the near future to keep my game fine-tuned.

For pricing options and packages, please visit the Bogies Indoor Golf website. Kyle Rich is available by appointment only and can be reached by dialing 630-853-1326, or via email at kylerichgolfacademy@yahoo.com.