Golfing

Discount Ladies Golf Shoes by Tom Antion

Finding discount ladies golf shoes is easy for those who are Internet savvy. Sure, you could hop in your car and sit in Sunday traffic to get to that weekend sale at your local sports store, but who wants to do that?

One established company web site to visit is discountgolfshoes.com. Since 1999, The Palm Beach Golf Center has been delivering consumer discounts while selling name brand golf shoes through this site. The store keeps a stock of over eight-thousand discount golf shoes, including golf shoes for ladies, men and juniors.

The Palm Beach Golf Center also has a team of golf shoe experts with over fifty years of shoe selling experience. The Palm Beach Golf Center’s discount golf shoe store has won numerous industry awards including Golf Shop Operation’s “100 Best Golf Shops,” and was named one of the Top 25 Golf Shops by “Golf For Women Magazine.” So you should feel confident in searching for your discount ladies golf shoes at this online store.

Another great store that features an online shop is Golf Shoes Plus, Inc. This company operates a retail mens and ladies golf shoe and accessories store in Fort Myers Florida. They offer a special section for discounted ladies golf shoes.

This store opened in 1984 and has experienced a steady, successful growth because of loyal customers, knowledgeable staff, and consistent value pricing. They expanded into online sales in January of 1996, and are now ranked among the leading Internet sports-related businesses in regards to sales volume and customer satisfaction.

When you are shopping online for your discount ladies golf shoes, it is a great idea to shop at an accredited store. You will find great values and a large inventory. You also do not need to make your decisions hastily, as most online stores will offer a revolving inventory and quickly refresh their line of discount ladies golf shoes often.

http://www.holeinonegolfshoes.com

Article Source: Golf Articles

Pre Game Warmups by John Hinds, PT

“Pre game” warm ups are built in to the routine of all team sports and you won’t find many people within individual sports such as golf who don’t have a warm up routine of their own, especially among professionals. Not everyone is a professional, of course, but for optimal preparation and performance, a comprehensive warm up needs to be a part of every golfer’s routine. Warm up prepares the body for activity by promoting more efficient movement patterns through increased flexibility and blood flow. Proper warm up helps tune the neuromuscular system, optimizing muscle force production (aka strength and power), coordination and reinforces proper movement patterns specific to the golf swing. Sufficient preparation also reduces the risk of injury.

All warm up routines should include both static and active stretching techniques. Static stretching is a passive stretch technique that requires you to relax the area being stretched in order to achieve a greater range of motion. Active stretching involves movement that utilizes and enhances the flexibility gained from the static stretches, increases body temperature and reinforces movement patterns specific to golf. Each technique compliments the other and serves to prepare your body and mind for optimal performance. You want to feel as prepared on the first tee as you do on the 6th, twelfth and eighteenth tees. I recommend a minimum of 20 – 30 minutes warming up prior to stepping into the first tee box.

Note: When performing static stretches, consciously relax the area you are stretching and as much of the body as possible. Hold the stretch for 10-20 seconds (no bouncing) and feel for a mild to moderate stretch sensation; the intensity of this stretch sensation should stay constant or ease. If the intensity or sensation of the stretch increases as you’re holding the stretch, you’re being too aggressive and you need to back off. This is called the ‘subsiding tension principle’. Follow this simple rule and you can stretch any time, “warm” or “cold” without risk of injury. Pain should not be a part of any stretching program. If you have persistent pain during a stretch, stop. Stretching an “injured” area may do more harm than good. This one reason why a golf conditioning program, or any conditioning program, should be preceded by an individual assessment: everybody is different and has different strengths, weaknesses, abilities and histories. The best program is a customized program.

The following is a list of some key areas to target in your warm up routine. Your body will tighten up after you practice or play so be sure to stretch again in order to restore optimal muscle length and balance.

• Neck: you need optimal rotation to keep your head relatively still and your eyes on the ball during trunk and shoulder rotation away and through the ball
• Shoulders: for takeaway, full turn and follow through; restrictions will alter the swing plane and increase stress in the back, neck and hips
• Upper Back and Chest: both allow for a power generating full shoulder turn and if tight, will restrict your turn and alter your posture during the swing
• Trunk: sufficient separation between your shoulders and hips promotes a full turn away and through the ball to helping maintain a stable base while generating power with accuracy with full swings and feel and accuracy with the short irons and shots where you want to make a shoulder turn yet keep the hips quiet. Sufficient trunk flexibility also helps maintain your posture throughout the swing
• Hamstrings and Hips: the hamstrings influence multiple areas, helping maintain posture in the knees, hips and back. Flexibility in the hips assist with adequate rotation over a firm base of support
• Calves: helps maintain posture in the ankles and knees

Examples of active warm ups
• Arm Circles: stand tall with your chest out, shoulders back and belly button pulled in to the spine, feeling as if you are elongating your spine and upper body. Lift your arms out to your side and over your head and reach to the sky. Pause for 5 seconds and slowly bring your arms to the horizontal position, palm facing upwards and move your arms in circles 10 times forward and ten times backwards while maintaining a tall posture. Side bend 3x to each side when reaching to the sky to add a lat stretch.
• Squats: holding a 5 iron behind your neck and resting on your shoulders, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and brace your abs in a neutral spine posture. Keeping your weight over the mid foot to heel portion of your feet, squat to 60-90 degrees, return to standing and repeat. Your upper body will lean forward a bit to maintain your balance but be sure to bend at the hips and not your back. You should feel your gluts, quads and hamstrings working. This is a great multi area warm up targeting your ankles, knees, hips, and back.

• Trunk Rotation: holding a club across your chest with arms crossed, brace your abs, assume your address position and rotate to the right and left maintaining a comfortable range of motion. Keep you hips and your head still, shift your weight and maintain your posture as you would during the golf swing. Complete 15 repetitions and progress the ROM.

• Practice Swings: grab your 5 iron, brace your abs and assume the address position. Utilizing a half swing with 25% - 50% effort, swing back and through without stopping, concentrating on proper weight shift, posture, head alignment and release; try to feel relaxed and fluid. Repeat 10 reps and progress to a 75% effort 10 times. Repeat the progression with a full swing, pause, and then repeat using 5 wood then driver. Now you are ready to start hitting balls. Start with a wedge and work up to driver. I like to start this warm up with a mid to long iron vs. a shorter iron because you’re in a more spine friendly upright posture to start an active rotation movement.

These are just a few warm up techniques to help sharpen your game. (Space here doesn’t allow for complete description of the static stretches but check my website for upcoming posts). Allow an extra 20 to 30 minutes at least for proper warm up and you will feel better, score better and likely reduce some aches and pains. Remember, you want to feel as prepared on the first tee as you do on the 6th, twelfth and eighteenth tees. Find a routine that works best for you and make it practical so you will do it. Whenever possible, consult an experienced professional who can customize a golf specific program that addresses your individual needs and goals.

John Hinds is a golfer and licensed Physical Therapist specializing in Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation, Conditioning and Injury Prevention. He is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Golf Team at El Camino College and currently owns and operates JMHinds Physical Therapy in El Segundo, California (www.golfconditioningpt.com).



Article Source: Golf Articles

Posture, Posture, Posture by John Hinds, PT

“Stand up straight”, “Sit up straight”. How many times did you hear that growing up? Good posture is important for many reasons, not the least of which is confidence and self-esteem. Although most parents probably didn’t have golf in mind, proper posture also aligns the body in a way that promotes the most efficient movement patterns with the least amount of stress. Our body’s framework, the skeleton, and the muscles that control movement are engineered to work most efficiently when aligned correctly.

Take the spine as an example. When looking at it from a side view there are 3 “natural” curves, one each in the neck (cervical), mid back (thoracic) and low back (lumbar) areas. These curves are there for a reason. It is in this “posture” that the spine, the ligaments and the muscles supporting it, are best able to absorb and distribute force and provide stability and strength. When flexing, extending, twisting, side bending or any combination of those (as in the golf swing), you want to maintain a posture that will optimize efficient movement patterns and performance as much as possible. The more we deviate from the ideal posture, the more other areas have to compensate and inconsistency, fatigue and injury will eventually result.

Golf includes both “static” and “dynamic postures”. We are static at address but dynamic throughout the backswing, downswing and follow-through. Your posture at address dictates how efficiently you will move throughout the rest of the swing, from your ankles, knees and hips to the trunk, shoulders and head. Good posture at address, and the ability to maintain* proper posture throughout the swing, promotes efficient movement and allows for a more reliable axis of rotation throughout the golf swing which then permits more precise coordination of the legs and arms with our core; compensations that result in mis-hits are minimized and a more reliable and powerful swing realized. For instance, if your back is rounded and your shoulders forward, your spinal and shoulder rotation will be limited and power compromised.

Proper posture must also be practiced during your workouts and daily activities. For most golf specific exercises, it’s not about how much weight you can lift but about the quality of the movement; focus on your posture, technique, balance and coordination when performing a movement. During all exercises, especially with a sport specific movement pattern, it is important to establish proper posture prior to and maintain it during the exercise. A quick checklist prior to each exercise might include, “posture, engage, perform”.

a. Posture includes keeping your shoulders back, chest out, getting into position to perform the exercise and whenever possible complete the exercise in your golf stance or address posture.
b. Engage your abdominals/trunk muscles in a neutral spine posture prior to and during the exercise. This can be accomplished by pulling your belly button in towards your spine and making a hard “s” sound so that all abs and some back muscles engage. This acts to stabilize your spine and promote more efficient movement.
c. Perform the movement.

So if you want a more reliable golf swing and more consistent scoring, posture is a fundamental that cannot be overlooked. Proper posture at address sets the tone for the rest of the swing and promotes a more efficient, consistent golf swing. The ability to maintain your posture throughout the swing is one of the keys to a more consistent and repeatable swing. Optimal flexibility and strength enable you to get into and maintain your posture throughout the swing and serve as the building blocks for stability, balance, coordination and power. Not everybody is going to have “perfect” posture, but the closer you are the less you will compensate and the less likely an injury will occur.

*Before you send constructive criticism, I realize that posture at impact, with regards to shoulder tilt, hips and spine angle will be different from your set up posture, but on the whole, “posture” at the ankles, knees, hips and spine need to be maintained for consistent, reliable contact.

John Hinds is a golfer and licensed Physical Therapist specializing in Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation, Conditioning and Injury Prevention. He is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Golf Team at El Camino College and currently owns and operates JMHinds Physical Therapy in El Segundo, California (www.golfconditioningpt.com).



Article Source: Golf Articles

Flexibility, Strength and the Golf Swing by John Hinds, PT

Consistency is a universal goal in the game of golf. One sure way to improve your scores is to develop a consistent and repeatable swing. Lessons, practice, more lessons and more practice will certainly help develop a more consistent and reliable swing but you also need ample flexibility and strength. Flexibility and strength work together to develop a more consistent and reliable swing by promoting a more efficient, stable, balanced and coordinated swing. Adequate flexibility and strength will enable you to take full advantage of your lessons, your time spent on the range and help reduce the risk of injury.

Flexibility
Although golf is a sport that is generally not considered strenuous, a minimum range of motion or flexibility is necessary. Adequate flexibility promotes an efficient swing by reducing stress on the many muscles, connective tissue and joints involved including those of the neck and back, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands as well as the hips and knees. Restriction among any of these ‘links’ that make up the ‘kinetic chain’ that is our body promotes compensation. Compensation puts stress on areas above and below the area of restriction and eventually causes injury. For example, restricted shoulder motion causes excessive spinal rotation and can lead to injuries in the back and shoulder and visa versa. Restricted movement also promotes inconsistencies in our swing which may manifest themselves as slices, hooks, fat shots, thin shots, etc. Adequate flexibility results in a more efficient golf swing.

Strength
Strength is important to the golfer for many reasons: yes, strong muscles, tendons, and ligaments help keep us injury free by improving our body’s ability to absorb and distribute the stress of the golf swing. But strength training also provides stability and improves our coordination. Strength in our legs, hips, back, shoulders and arms, which make up the links that connect our kinetic chain, provides a stable base of support for each succeeding link to work off. This allows the forces we generate throughout the golf swing to be transferred through each link to the club head and golf ball in a more efficient and coordinated manner. Improved efficiency yields greater power with less effort and less stress on the body. Core strength (strength in our trunk and hips) is important because it provides the foundation for the extremities to move on. The more stable and efficient our trunk and hips, the more efficient our extremities are. It doesn’t matter how fast you can swing a golf club if the foundation on which you are swinging is not stable enough to control the path of the golf club.

Posture
Strength also provides the ability to maintain proper posture and spinal alignment. The ability to maintain your posture throughout the swing is one of the keys to a more consistent and repeatable swing. Postural strength and stability, combined with leg, hip and trunk strength, allows for a more reliable axis of rotation throughout the golf swing which allows for more precise coordination of the legs and arms with our core. Good posture is also less stressful on your spine and back muscles. The inability to maintain your address posture throughout the swing will result in fat shots, thin shots, slices, hooks, pushes and pulls and possible injury.

Balance
With club head speeds averaging 70-110 mph, the golf swing is a very dynamic movement. Good balance promotes crisp ball contact by preventing excessive movement such as hip slide or sway. In order to be most efficient and successful, to be more consistent and accurate, we need to maintain our balance throughout the swing. Adequate flexibility and proper strength training that includes balance training will contribute to a more balanced swing.

Endurance
Strength training also improves our muscular endurance which delays the onset of fatigue. Fatigue will cause a breakdown in one or more links within the chain and can lead to any number of faults such as loss of posture, balance, coordination and timing, which is not conducive to an efficient or reliable swing. Fatigue also leaves us more vulnerable to injury.

Injury prevention
All of the above reduces the risk of injury and promotes an efficient, more reliable and well coordinated golf swing. Of the hundreds of training devices on the market today, not one is more effective at improving your ability to play the game of golf better than your own body. It’s never too late to start a flexibility and strength training program.

John Hinds is a golfer and licensed Physical Therapist specializing in Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation, Conditioning and Injury Prevention. He is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Men’s Golf Team at El Camino College and currently owns and operates JMHinds Physical Therapy in El Segundo, California (www.golfconditioningpt.com).



Article Source: Golf Articles

How To Lower Your Handicap Over The Winter by Bobby Lopez, PGA

Over the winter is an excellent time to make lasting changes in your swing movement. Why? Because it takes slow deliberate repetitions to teach your body to change motions or patterns which you probably would not be willing to do during the season because you want to play.

I once saw a very rare video of Ben Hogan. I tried to get it from the person that showed it to me but he wouldn’t even let me boot up a copy. It’s hard to find. The video showed Ben Hogan out at the beach swinging in slow motion, and I do mean slow motion.

He was performing his swing over and over again in a motion so slow, well I tried to mimic it myself and it took me about a minute and half to make one swing. Now that’s slow! The purpose was to feel the swing at every point and communicate to the mind what the position felt like slowly and deliberately.

Most of the tips I will give you in this report will be similar in nature. No golf ball needed. Just your golf club and a position far enough away from any lamps! Of course I will practice close to my wife’s cat in case I get lucky and cut a divot down his back. Rrrraoow!

1) You Must Have a Good Grip.

Most golf professionals have a golf club along side they’re sofa. After all, we do have to make any television viewing productive. When a silly commercial message comes on you hold the golf club in your hands right up in front of your face so you so you can see your grip. Grip the golf club slowly.

Notice where your fingers are and how it feels to you. You need to grip the golf club in your fingers. If you have one of those training grips that would be a good idea as a reference. One commercial use the training grip, and next commercial use the golf club. Compare the too and keep doing it until the golf club grip feels and looks very similar to the training grip.

Once you think you have the two grips feeling similar then stand up and make a stance. After you make a stance lift your grip up in front of your face again so you can see and feel the proper grip.

2) Drills for Your Address Position.

It would be best if you could do this in front of a full length mirror. You’ll also need a helper the first time to help put masking tape on the mirror.

Stand before the mirror as in the picture below. Then place the tape where I have the lines drawn. If your address position does not match the one in the picture below, please put your masking tape according to my picture and now follow those lines and angles in setting up to a golf ball.

Step back and set up to the ball again once the tape is on the mirror. Once you think you’re set up properly swivel your head up so you can see where you are. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LIFT YOUR BACK OUT OF POSITION! Just slowly swivel
your head. If the angles are perfect step back and do it again. You can’t do this too much. If you can’t set up to the golf ball perfectly every time, how can you expect to produce the same ball flight every time.

Next get to work on your down line view. Look at the picture below and follow the same procedures. The big key here is the 90 degree spine angle found in every successful golfer.

3) Top of the Back Swing Position.

Remaining in the down line view make a back swing, hold the top of the back swing position, turn very slowly and swivel your head looking at the mirror to see if you have lifted your spine out of position. You MUST maintain spine angle to be consistent! You may need to feel as though your chest is working downward on the back swing in order to stay level. Many golf professionals talk of the back swing as being down hill.

I’ve shown you a perfect example here in the picture comparison to a touring professional.

Now go for the frontal view and see if you remain in the proper position at the top of the back swing. Also notice if your head moves slightly backward at the top of the back swing. Moving your head laterally if fine just avoid any upward or downward movement.

4) Starting the Down Swing.

Once you’re at the top of the back swing position, stop and look at the mirror, then very very very slowly start your arms straight down toward the ground while holding your body perfectly still. The more you do this the better.

The arms and golf club have more territory to cover on their way to the impact position so they must get a head start on the body. This drill will really help in
your creating a feeling of the arms moving first on the downswing without the body helping or shifting laterally prematurely. An early turn of the body is the killer of many a good golf swing.

5) The Finish.

Go ahead a make a full golf swing now. Once you make a swing hold your finish. If you have trouble holding your finish position you have a problem somewhere in your swing motion.

Once holding the finish swivel your head over to the mirror and see if your back is nice and straight and that you’re balanced on your front foot. Any bending in your spine, (the reverse “C”) is not desirable.

Of course once you work on these drills there is nothing wrong with going to a driving range that is covered and heated and hitting a few golf balls too see how the drills are effecting your ball flight. With today’s covered ranges it certainly provides an opportunity earlier golfers never had.

Follow these five easy steps, hit some balls in the meantime and sneak out for a round or two if you get some decent weather and I will assure you that you will see a significance difference next spring.

Get a FREE online golf lesson from the Golf Swami at: Bobby Lopez, PGA Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM (757) 382-5500 bobbylopez@bobbylopezgolf.com www.bobbylopezgolf.com http://golftipsbobbylopez.blogspot.com/ Describe your ball flight to the Golf Swami and he will tell you what you're doing wrong in your golf swing.

Article Source: Golf Articles

Golf Swing Compensations...the Golf Swing's Biggest Killer!!! by Bobby Lopez, PGA

This brings up the subject of “compensations.” An awareness of compensations will help you understand the relationship between various swing movements.

What is a “compensation”?

A “compensation” is a movement for the purpose of overcoming another flawed motion. In other words, if one part of your swing contains a flaw, in time your body will develop an accommodating motion that allows you to strike the ball with some success. This is the
concept of “matching up mistakes.”

This may sound like a good thing, and you may achieve temporary positive results. However this is a dangerous concept. When a compensation helps you hit the ball more accurately, you tend to try to repeat the move. Thus, you focus on improving the compensating move instead of correcting the fundamental problem. The compensation becomes another movement requiring voluntary
control. The more moving parts in the swing, the more difficult it is to repeat with consistency.

For now, you only need to be aware of the concepts of compensation and matching up mistakes. As your knowledge of the swing increases, you will more fully understand and be able to eliminate the compensations.

Understand that if you already have compensating factors in your swing, then you need to repair both the improper motion and the compensating motion.

Get a FREE online golf lesson from the Golf Swami at: Bobby Lopez, PGA Bobby Lopez and the G-TEAM (757) 382-5500 bobbylopez@bobbylopezgolf.com www.bobbylopezgolf.com http://golftipsbobbylopez.blogspot.com/ Describe your ball flight to the Golf Swami and he will tell you what you're doing wrong in your golf swing.

Article Source: Golf Articles