The best way to master the game of golf is to begin closest to the hole to farthest away - from short putts to the full swing. The reason is simple: the short game is a microcosm of the full swing. In many cases, the skills utilized in short game shots the same as those used in the full swing, just on a smaller scale. Closer to the hole, the swing is at its shortest and least complex: a smaller motion made using fewer body parts and thus less to coordinate. The full swing is the most complex, a much larger motion with many more moving parts at a higher rate of speed. Trying to master the full swing without first mastering the short game is like trying to gallop on a horse before you’ve learned to climb on.

A corollary of this truth is that many problems in the full swing can be spotted within the short game and vice versa. For example, if you come out of posture in your full swing, you will tend to do the same in your short game and will probably miss a fair number of putts. If you tend to reverse-pivot in your full swing, chances are you do this in your pitch shots as well.

Improving your short game will not only make you a better scorer overall, but it will have positive repercussions throughout your game. As you work on and master your short-game shots, you will not only iron out the problems you are having in these particular shots, but your full swing will likewise benefit. You will also develop feelings you need to understand and incorporate (e.g., what a proper pivot feels like) while working through your short game that you should also feel in your full swing.

This is not to say you won’t be using both short game shots and full swing as you play a full round - but during practice time, which you must incorporate into your golf time to develop a solid game, the best way is to start small and work up from there.

Tom Patri is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and the author of “The Six-Spoke Approach to Golf” (2005, The Lyons Press; foreword by Fred Couples), available at http://www.globepequot.com or http://www.amazon.com In 2003, Tom was chosen as Southwest Florida’s Teacher of the Year. Tom coaches players of all levels (from beginners to PGA and LPGA Tour professionals) at his golf academy, TP Golf Schools, based in Naples, Florida. To subscribe to Tom’s free golf newsletter, visit his website at http://www.tompatri.com To contact TP Golf Schools, call (239) 455-9179.

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The perfect golf swing drill is a joy to behold. And yet it is not too hard to achieve.

The perfect golf swing drill starts with a proper back swing with the golf club swung right back to the limit of your body. At this segment of the perfect golf swing drill your mind should be preparing for the rotation of your body and the arm extension.

Next, the movements of the perfect golf swing drill moves to the down swing, which starts with the lower part of the body, including the legs and hips. A transfer of weight will take place from back to front with the knees, thighs and hips all moving forward.

The perfect golf swing drill ends with the body weight on the outside of the front heel and the inside of the rear foot.

Perfect golf swing drill is easy when your body is prepared and conditioned to achieve it. However perfect golf swing drill can be very difficult for a golfer not involved in any golf specific exercise designed to condition and prepare their muscles and body in general for the strain and pressure that golf usually brings.

Most professionals take their golf-specific exercises very seriously, but some amateurs are reluctant to let go of the so-called good old days when exercise had no role in the leisure sport of golf. Still they are finding the going increasingly difficult as more and more golfers embrace golf exercise programs.

There is no doubt that the perfect golf swing drill happens only with those whose muscles and bodies have been prepared.

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. Visit his new golf training site at Perform Better Golf.

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Isn’t it a fact of life that the first person who teaches one about a topic or a skill remains in one’s mind more than any other.

This is as it is for me.

My first professional said many things to me but one of the most sage was that not only should one practice to improve one’s golf, but one should practice ALONG THE RIGHT LINES.

I have thought about this over the years, and have put his advice to good use.
So often one sees people on the practice fairway hitting ball after ball, spraying them over a wide area.

These people do not improve very much because they are not practising along the right lines.

They are practising their faults.

Their golf swing remains the same, good or not so good.

How often do you see someone hitting short wedges to 50 to 80 yards for say two hours, and then go home?
No, they hit a few chips, and then graduate to hitting longer shots.

I believe that one should practice as often as possible for a week or two using just 2 clubs.
For example the sand and pitching wedges.

With these clubs, practice simulating varying conditions, for example, imagine having to hit over a bunker and stop the ball quickly.

Hit out of a bad lie, hard pan, a divot.

Practice different down swings to make the ball do different things.
Experiment with depth of divot to vary the spin. Become skilled in what you do so that when a situation comes up on the course, you have practised the shot many times at practice.

Practice hitting the club different distances. Hit low shots, high shots. Increase your arsenal of shots with the one club.

Do this with every club in your bag, and spend a week or two with each, doing the same thing as you did with your wedges.

Your shot making will improve greatly and you will have more one put greens thus lowering your score and your handicap.

By practising in this manner, your mental game will improve greatly. Your confidence to make a certain shot when it is needed will be sufficient to allow you to pull it off.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.
He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12.
He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help.
To learn about his tips and simple techniques,

Visit Online Golfers Handbook, (http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com)

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