Why do some players on the PGA Tour who are relatively small manage
to generate such tremendous power in their golf swing? These players
understand that power and control come from a powerful core.

The body's core consists of the lower chest through the lower
abdomen and back. During the golf swing this part of your body must
turn away from the ball on the backswing, then back through the ball on
the follow through. It is important that the "core" works with the
hands and arms throughout the swing.

To practice these moves try this simple drill. First, address the
ball without a club, crossing your arms in front of your chest. Second,
take a backswing with your arms crossed, then at the top of your
backswing swing down and through to your follow through position,
keeping your arms crossed in front of your chest. Be sure to allow your
head to turn and rotate through the follow through motion. This is also
a great drill to improve your tempo and balance.

Next, take some practice swings with a golf club, feeling like your
hands and arms are working with the core. You should start to feel how
the hands, arms and core are all functioning as a unit. When you start
to hit actual shots you should experience improved ball striking,
better tempo and a more fluid golf swing.

Finally, to gain distance just simply turn your "core" faster
through the downswing to the follow through, letting the hands and arms
go along for the ride.

Bruce Romberg

To hit more powerful and consistent shots, keep your body behind
the ball before impact. Most average golfers have two common flaws:
they either have a tendency to hang back on their right side upon
impact; or they move their body ahead of the ball before impact. Both
moves sap power, distance and control.

First, let's talk about hanging back on the right foot at impact.
Golfers do this to help get the ball airborne. As they swing the club
through the impact zone they scoop up instead of hitting out toward the
target. Getting your weight to the left side is crucial. It allows
golfers to swing the club head out, down the target line, just as a
baseball pitcher steps onto his front foot as he releases the ball
toward home plate. The weight shift must be in the proper sequence to
be effective.

The opposite problem is leaving your right foot too early, which
moves your head and upper body in front of the ball before contact.
This leads to miss-hits and sprays.

Here are a couple of practice drills for consistent, solid ball striking:

One, take a medium iron, like a 7 iron, and hit shots with your
right foot flat on the ground until you have almost completely finished
your swing. This move will help you stay behind the ball just before
impact. (Next time you watch Ernie Els on TV notice how he does this on
practice swings, especially on short iron shots). With your right foot
anchored, you'll be able to stay behind the ball and release your power
like a baseball pitcher.

Another drill: get a beach ball half-filled with air. Swing at it
with a middle iron, concentrating on keeping your weight on the right
foot and upper body over the ball at impact. Hit the ball hard, feeling
as though your left side is being restricted by a wall at impact. Your
head and body should feel like they are just behind the ball at impact.
Hitting the beach ball will give you a feeling of power and control.

Try these tips and see your ball striking improve.

Bruce Romberg

Dave Pelz specializes in short-game instruction and in this video
he shares a few exercises that will improve your short-game aim.

The exercises Pelz demonstrates will eventually train golfers to
aim directly at the target each time. Pelz emphasizes the importance of
correct body alignment, alignment with the target and hitting the mark.

To show how to get the proper alignments, he employs the use of a
T-square made of PVC tubing. Although such a device is banned in
professional games, it is an effective practice tool that will allow
golfers to accurately set up the shot.

Bruce Romberg

By now it is common knowledge that improving flexibility will
enhance golf performance. There are numerous programs ("golf-specific
flexibility," "yoga for golf,") available. The problem with many of
these programs is they address only static flexibility, which is great
if you have some serious muscle tightness. What they do not address is
the issue of functional flexibility (the ability to move through all
planes of motion/direction while maintaining muscular control).

Golf requires a high level of functional flexibility. In order to
swing a golf club, the hips, trunk and shoulders must move through
extreme ranges of motion. Not only that, but the muscles of each body
segment are required to work in conjunction, from the address to the
follow-through, to produce a golf swing that is true, accurate, and
powerful. Because flexibility is a foundational physical ability in
golf, it only seems prudent to address flexibility with dynamic
exercises that are specific to the movements required by golf.

Here are four dynamic exercises to improve flexibility:

Dumbbell PNF Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (shoulder flexibility/stability)

Total Body Extension (total body flexibility)

Pick-up and Rotate (trunk and hip flexibility)

Lunge with Rotation (trunk and hip flexibility)

In some of the pictures, you see me using a medicine ball or a
dumbbell. If you are unable to use these pieces of equipment, don't
worry. Spend some time perfecting your form using just your body weight
and then add some resistance. Possible options are a can of soup, water
bottle, or a small child if you are really feeling good (just
kidding!).

Exercise Protocol: Two sets of 10-15 repetitions of each exercise
every day. Increase your resistance only after you have perfected each
movement.

Note: On Pick-up and Rotate and Lunge with Rotation be sure to perform equal numbers of repetitions both directions.

Tips for making the exercises more effective:

• Always stand with good posture.

• Always slightly retract and depress your shoulders (press them down and back. Maintain this position throughout the movement.

• Practice the "Drawing-In Maneuver." This is a function of the
inner musculature of the torso, the Inner Unit muscles. One of the
Inner Unit's main functions is to stiffen the torso in preparation for
work, e.g., lifting weights. The easiest way to learn to perform the
"Drawing-in Maneuver" is to lie flat on your back, relax, and perform
diaphragmatic breathing. When done properly, your stomach should rise
when you inhale and fall when you exhale. When your stomach falls, you
want to hold that contraction. This is the most basic form of the
"Drawing-in Maneuver."

• Always to try to maintain a neutral spinal curvature, meaning that you are neither over-arching or rounding your back.

• Always to try to keep your knees in line with the center of your feet. Don't let your knees cave in or bow out.

• Start with no weight and perfect the movement, then choose a VERY light weight.

So there you have it. Four dynamic exercises for golf-specific
functional flexibility that will have you well on your way to shooting
lower scores! Enjoy.

Bruce Romberg

Years ago, when I was VP of sales and marketing at Cleveland Golf,
I had the opportunity to spend time with John Cook. Over the years John
has played some fantastic golf, but many observers think he never
reached his potential. One thing for sure is he is one of the nicest
PGA Tour pros out there.

In January 1992 John stopped by the company to have his clubs
worked on, and I asked him how he felt about the upcoming season. His
response surprised me. He said his confidence was kind of low but
improving. As Cook had just come off the best year of his career -
three wins and near misses at the PGA Championship and British Open - I
wondered how he could lack confidence.

That's when I realized how important a positive attitude is to
playing your best golf. Here are a few tips to help lock in that
positive thinking during your round.

• As you approach every shot, think of where you want the shot to
end up. Never think of where you don't want the ball to go. Concentrate
on your intended target, relax and hit the shot. A clear mind leads to
good shots.

• Analyze each shot's given circumstances and, depending on your ability, play the safest shot.

Take this situation: You're teeing off on a hole that requires an
extremely accurate drive, with water on the left, out-of-bounds on the
right. The hole is a 300-yard par 4, and you're a 20-handicap player.
The yardage is saying you could drive the green, but your golf brain
should tell you to hit a safe middle iron shot into the fairway,
followed by a short iron approach. Easy pars are better than an
occasional birdie and many double bogeys.

• Feel the shot before you hit it. Rehearsing a shot exactly how
you want to execute it is an important part of building confidence in
your swing. All too often, golfers take practice swings with little
regard to the actual shot that is going to be played. A good practice
swing creates a feeling of the shot at hand.

• Now the final step, executing the shot. Narrow your focus to a
specific target, like a tree in the distance or a bunker in the
fairway. Trust your shot, stay focused on your target and execute by
just letting go. Again, focus on what you want the shot to do, not on
where you don't want the shot to go.

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