Thursday, November 11, 2010

The Best Golf Training Aid

These days, golfers are bombarded with a variety of training
aids to help them improve their golf swing. Golfers are
known to be fanatical about trying to improve their game, so
they will try just about anything to get better.
Unfortunately, even with golf balls that fly 20 yards
further and golf clubs that allow us to hit it straighter,
handicaps have remained unchanged for both men and women
over the last thirty years.

Over the years, we have seen all kinds of new golf training
aids come on the market. The Medicus club was probably one
of the originals. Some try to teach you to swing the club
on a better swing plane. Most seem to be devoted to helping
you increase your swing speed. When the Golf Channel burst
onto the seen, the golf training aid industry exploded along
with it. Now, you can find an entire website devoted to golf
training aids.

Can these training aids help? Sure, if they are used
consistently. Unfortunately, most people will use a
training aid for a period of time before stuffing it into
their closet with all of the other discarded training aids.

The fact is, you do not need all these fancy gadgets and
gizmos. What you do need is to learn the proper
fundamentals of the golf swing. There are plenty of
instructional books and videos to choose from in this
regard. It would also be very helpful to find an instructor
who will take you through the swing slowly, and help you FEEL
how you need to position your body and the club. In many
cases, the student will be unable to achieve some of these
positions due to injury, lack of flexibility, etc. However,
they will at least come away with a better understanding of
the swing.

Then, it is time to take this knowledge home, and apply the
best training aid in the business. A MIRROR! Golfers
should get in front of a mirror and practice putting the
club in the proper positions as communicated by their
instructor, or whatever book they've read, or video they've
seen. By seeing their swing in the mirror, and feeling
where the club needs to be, they will get instant feedback.
They can swing the club very slowly, or in piecemeal fashion
to gain a better feel for the swing. The best thing is this
can be done without really breaking a sweat.

Tiger Woods is known for spending hours at a time in front
of the mirror working on his swing. Ben Hogan was known for
taking up to ten minutes to complete a practice swing, so he
could feel every inch of the swing. Most golfers don't even
take any practice swings when they are working on their swing
at the driving range!

So, as the colder months approach here in the northern
states, it is a great idea to get in front of a mirror to
improve your golf swing. You can do this in any room where
you have enough room to swing your club. And, if your local
practice facility also has a mirror, that is even better.
Get in front of that mirror! When the new season arrives,
you will have a tremendous head start to improving your
overall game.

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