Golfers have had an ongoing debate for years, “Which is the most important club in the bag?”  The putter usually wins out in the discussion simply because more strokes are attempted with the putter throughout the course of an eighteen hole round than the driver.  However, those that favor the driver in the discussion do have a compelling point – if you are able to get off the tee box long and accurately, it makes it all the more possible to shoot a low score on a given hole.

When setting up to hit the driver, the feet should be slightly wider apart than normal.  They should actually be outside of the tips of your shoulders.  Also, in the setup for a normal golf swing, the back foot is set perpendicular to the swing line.  When hitting the driver, because the feet are wider, you may want to turn the back to outward slightly, to take some of the stress off the back knee.

From this point, the back swing should be similar to any other club.  Don’t be tempted to take the club back faster just because you want to hit the ball far.  Increasing the tempo of your back swing can throw of many other elements of the golf swing.  Club head speed should be generated on the downswing.

It is also important to stay “on” or “over the ball when you take back the club on your back swing.  Do not allow your hips to slide backwards with the club.   The hips should turn, not slide, and that front foot should stay on the ground during the back swing.

The club should be taken back straight and away at to cause a wide arc, but you must stay over the ball.  The weight should be shifted to the back foot without sliding the body.  It cannot be said enough, “turn the hips, don’t slide them”.

The setup and back swing are really the only elements that should be changed between using the driver and other shots.  There are slight differences that will occur throughout the swing based on a wider stance, driver length and a heavier club head – shoulders turn further, chin tucks into chin deeper, down swing is faster – but these are naturally occurring events, and the golfer should not give thought to giving assistance for any of them.  The only caveat to that statement would be to make sure that your arms and shoulders are working in conjunction, and that one is not getting ahead of the other.

The game of golf is a game of skill and endurance, but there is also a mental component to the game that can separate a successful round of golf from a nightmare.  The ability to clearly think through each and every shot, without becoming distracted or frustrated, is critical throughout the course of a five-hour round of golf.  Most important, you have to perform self-therapy several times per round to keep your mind clear and focused.

The first, and perhaps most important thing to remember is that each shot must stand on its own.  There is nothing you can do about the last bad shot that you hit, so do not dwell on it.  Conversely, you can’t think too many shots, or holes, ahead.  You must play with the mindset that the most important shot of your entire round is the one you are preparing to hit.

It is important not to dwell on bad shots, but you should take ownership of your mistakes.  Bad breaks can arise that are outside of your control, but you shouldn’t be upset that a ball took a bad carom off of a tree, you should accept that a good shot on your part would not have hit the tree in the first place.  You need not go through the five phases of death – anger, denial, bargaining, regret and acceptance – you should just go straight to “acceptance”, and prepare to hit your next shot.

If you do hit a bad shot, you should spend the time walking or riding to your next shot thinking about what it was that you did to hit the shot poorly.  Once you have analyzed your mistake, make a mental note of it, so you won’t make the same mistake again in the future.  Throughout the course of a round of golf, a golfer should also make mental notes of mistakes and aspects that he can work on at the practice range in between rounds of play.

Finally, remember to have fun.  A day at the golf course is a long one, there is plenty that can go wrong from the very first tee box, but stay focused on why you are there – to enjoy the day and play a game.  It is a fun game to play, and even more fun when you are playing the game well, so remember to put in the hours of practice required to improve your game.  If you have not taken the appropriate measures to prepare yourself for success, then you should lower your expectations of your performance, and play just to enjoy the day with good company.

The golf swing is probably one of the most frustrating parts of the game of golf.  People are constantly modifying their swing to get more distance or to correct problems like a slice or a hook.  Really, though, the golf swing is just a matter of mechanics and putting body motions together in the right way to be consistent.  But experienced golfers know this is easier said than done.  What are the basics of a good golf swing?

* Your stance should be about shoulder width apart and your feet should be pointing slightly out – but not too much!
* Let your arms hang naturally down from your body and place the club behind the ball.  If your shoulders hunch or you have tension in your arms, you are probably too close to the ball.  Stand back a little bit.
* Place about 70 percent of your body weight on your back leg.
* Straighten your spine and have a bit of bend in your knees.
* Keep your eye on the ball during your entire swing
* Grip the club as if you are holding a small, delicate bird.  You want to keep the bird in your hands, but you don’t want to crush it either.  That’s how you should hold your club.
* A good golf swing will be a fluid, easy motion with your shoulders turning slightly in the backswing and your follow-through complete.
* Make sure you keep your feet planted and slow down in your backswing.  Most problems with a golf swing are cause by swinging too quickly in the back swing and then not accelerating through the ball.
* You will want to hit the ball in the “sweet spot” or the center of the club.  Hitting it anyplace else will cause your ball to travel in directions that you really don’t want it to go in.
* Then grip it and rip it!

It might help for you to take a lesson or two on the golf swing or even watch the way the pros do it on television.  There are numerous articles that exist on the Internet that can help you with your golf swing, so always look for information and take as much advice as you can get.

Learning to swing a golf club takes years of practice as any avid golfer will tell you.  There are “a hundred” things to know and they all have to be working in exactly the right ways at exactly the right time to a have a good, consistent golf swing.  Sometimes this just doesn’t happen, but when it does, it certainly is a great feeling!