The golf swing is arguably one of the most difficult athletic actions to perform. The golf swing requires you to draw the golf club through a long range of motion with proper technique and exact timing.

Any error in swing plane, timing, or sequence will cause your golf swing to suffer, and suffer it will. Unfortunately, the result of your golf swing suffering will be errant shots, poor golf scores, and frustration on the golf course.

Often the amateur is at a lost for why their golf swing results in errant shots. Countless hours are spent at the range in an effort to improve their golf swing. Hundreds or even thousands of dollars are spent on lessons each year, and not to mention the purchasing of new equipment.

It all adds up to a lot of time and money spent on improving the golf swing. Unfortunately, for many amateur golfers their handicaps and score never improve. Leading to the question "why is my golf game not improving?"

If this is you and this question lingers in your mind. The answer to your question could easily be staring right back at you in the mirror. The failure of improvement may have absolutely nothing to do with the driver you are swinging, the teaching pro helping you with your swing, or even your practice routine. It could all do with you! Yes you, the physical body swinging the golf club.

Keep in mind the golf club does not perform the mechanics of the golf swing. Nor do the mechanics of the golf swing execute themselves without you. It is you and your body executing the mechanics of the golf swing. The point to make is your body directly affects the mechanics of the golf swing.

Additionally, the golf swing requires your body to encompass certain physical qualities to execute the mechanics of the golf swing correctly. These physical qualities are certain levels of flexibility, muscular strength, balance, and power. If you are lacking the minimal amounts of flexibility, balance, strength, and power to execute the golf swing correctly. Compensations will occur even before you swing the golf club.

For example, let's look at your flexibility. The golf swing requires you to draw the golf club through a large range of motion. The backswing requires a full shoulder turn to set the club in the correct slot for the downswing, and the finish position is almost a mirror image of the backswing.

In order to perform these parts of the golf swing correctly, the muscles of your body must be flexible. An inflexible body in which muscles are "tight" creates restrictions in movement. Restrictions in movement in relation to the golf swing will undoubtedly result in limitations pertaining to golf swing. The limitation will impede you from creating a full shoulder turn and balanced finish position. This causes compensations in the mechanics of the golf swing.

The entire body needs to be flexible for the golf swing. Certain muscles more than others are involved in the golf swing, and if these muscles are "tight" they will directly affect your golf swing. One such set of muscles is your hamstrings.

The hamstrings (back side of your upper leg) are often "tight" and cause problems to many people, not just golfers. However, they have a profound effect on the golf swing and it is not a good effect. Hamstrings that are "tight" are in a shortened position. The shortened position of the hamstrings has a direct effect on the position of your hips. Your hips will be "tucked", directly affecting your posture. This in itself can hamper the ability to place oneself in the correct position at address within the golf swing, not to mention maintaining a proper spine angle during the swing.

Additionally, "tight" hamstrings place an undo amount of stress on the lower back. Large amounts of stress on the lower back cause fatigue, soreness, and increase the possibility of injury. If you are a golfer that has ever experienced lower back pain you know the effect it has on your ability to swing the golf club correctly.

A combination of a postural change and undo amounts of stress on the lower back, just begin to scratch the surface of the effect inflexible muscles can have on the golf swing. "Tight" muscles change the kinematics of the body. As a result, the biomechanics of the golf swing must be altered. These alterations usually lead to compensations in the mechanics of the golf swing resulting in errant shot patterns on the golf course.

And no matter what you do in terms of practice or instruction these alterations will not go away until you address them. Just as you address swing faults, you must address flexibility faults. Flexibility faults can be addressed through golf stretches.

Golf stretches enhance the flexibility of your body in relation to the golf swing. Golf stretches often times return muscles that are "tight" such as the hamstrings to their proper length. This results in the ability of your body to perform the biomechanics of the golf swing correctly. If you are one of many golfers who are not finding their golf swing improving through practice and instruction. Take a moment and look at the body swinging the golf club. This very well may be the root of your golf swing problems. Fix your flexibility faults through golf stretches and find yourself on the road to lower golf scores and more enjoyment in the game of golf.

Sean Cochran



By: Sean Cochran

About the Author:

When you have to find a gift for a golfer, are you lacking in gift ideas? As there are so many options, it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with the ideal gift. By taking into consideration the personality of the golfer and their tastes you should be able to tell what they would like to receive. To help you further, here are my top 4 ideas for golf gifts.

Practical Golf Gifts

The best golf gifts that you can buy are practical ones. All you have to do is check to see which brand and type of golf balls the golfer uses. You could then either buy a dozen of those golf balls or maybe even buy some more expensive ones. Just make sure that you find out what golf ball specifications the golfer prefers - distance, medium feel, high spin, etc.

A different idea for choosing practical golf gifts is to buy brand name replacement head-covers. If the golfer uses Adams golf clubs, for example, and the head-covers are scuffed and worn or mismatched, then you could buy some Adams replacement head-covers.

Personalize Your Golf Gifts

If you want a more unique golf gift, then how about buying Personalized Golf Gifts. There are many options of personalized golf equipment or accessories. The most popular are personalized golf balls, where you can usually have up to three lines of text imprinted on the golf balls of your choice.

Some more golf accessories that can be personalized are embroidered golf shirts, golf towels, and golf caps. You can also find personalized golf bags with two lines of customizable text from the likes of Nike and Callaway Golf.

Golf Memorabilia Gifts

Maybe you are searching for an unusual golf gift; then you can't go wrong with golf memorabilia. You will have to make certain that the item is certified and authentic golf memorabilia. Check for a guarantee and that every autographed product comes with a certificate of authenticity (COA). You will surely find that unusual golf gift you were searching for and something that any golfer would be delighted to receive.

A Corporate Golf Gift

Most business owners that are also golfers have probably completed some business on the golf course. But have you thought about custom logo golf products; they are a fantastic way to promote your company. Custom logo golf balls are the best value and you can even order them with their own custom logo packaging.

So, there you have my top 4 golf & gifts ideas. You should be able to find the perfect golf gift from these ideas - whether it is for a friend, a loved one, or a business associate.



By: Mick Euan Tait

About the Author:

The rules in golf are fairly simple if you already know them, however explaining them could take a while. If you are not very familiar with the basics, the first thing you would need to know would be the main objective of the game: you have to hit the ball at the start or at the tee into the hole for every section in the course's 18 sections or 18 holes.

The hole is located on the green, which is a piece of short and well-maintained grass. Once you are already on the green, you need to use your putter, which is the club that has a slab-like end, instead of your other normal clubs.

Every hole has a specified target number of shots to be done from the tee to the hole. This is called the par. For instance, if you are on a par 5 hole, you would need to get the ball from the tee to the hole in five shots or less. If you were able to do it with exactly the number of shots specified, then your score would be a par. If you did it in one less than the par, your score would be a birdie. If you did it in two less than the par, your score would be an eagle. Three below par would be called an albatross and the best score would be a hole in one, which happens if you were able to get the ball from the tee to the hole in one hit.

On the other hand, if you scored one more than the par then that would be a bogey. Two more than the par would be a double bogey. If you have tried for more that 12 shots, then you forfeit the hole. You would then have to move to the next hole.

Eventually, as you go through the game, there would be various hazards that you would have to deal with. If your ball lands on the rough, which is an area on the course that has long grass, you could find it difficult to move on from that area. There could also be trees on the rough of some courses, which could make them harder to get out of. The worst hazards would be the lakes and the ponds, because if you hit the ball into one, it would cost you the shot you took and another shot as a penalty, which would make it harder to reach par.



By: Golf Gift

About the Author:

Mastering the art of the golf swing could be complicated and challenging, and you are most probably trying to improve yours. There are a couple of very simple errors in balance that most people make but can easily be avoided. Here are two simple tips on improving your balance and golf swing, as well as correct the basic slip-ups that you could be doing.

1. A Good Setup, A Good Balance, A Good Swing

A good tip for improving your golf swing would be improving your setup. A lot of golfers do not have a good balance because they started off from a bad setup. If you have a good and solid setup, you would be able to keep balanced as you swing. Maintaining your balance would give you a solid swing plane as well as a good pivot. Make sure keep your whole body under control during your setup so you could improve your balance and swing.

2. Swinging Too Hard

Although having great distance is essential, having perfect control of your swing is equally important. What usually happens is since you want distance, you give your all you can when you swing. This causes you to wheel around and lose your balance, as you swing too hard. What you would need to do is trust your club. It is already designed to send the ball to great lengths so you would need to focus on making your swing as solid, as steady and as balanced as possible to stay in the fairway.



By: Golf Gift

About the Author: