When making the golf swing it is very important to stay connected. The left arm (if you're right handed) should stay touching with your chest on the backswing and down to impact. This will increase both power and accuracy. Keeping connected will reduce the chances of going outside the club plane and hitting a weaker fade or slice. The easiest way to check the swing without becoming disconnected is to put your golf glove under your left arm and hold it there for the backswing all the to the top of the swing to the bottom without letting it fall out until just after impact. This tip will certainly improve your ball striking.

A common misconception that amateurs have is that if they tee the golf ball further away from the trouble will keep them away from the potential watery grave. It is actually the opposite. Teeing the ball closer to the side of the hole with the most trouble will actually force you to aim back to the fairway and away from the trouble. If the hole has water down the right side and you tee the ball on the left side of the tee box, will cause you to aim back to your right, where the fairway is but also where the hazard is too. Teeing it on the right side of the tee box will increase the landing area and force you to aim away from the trouble. This will help you hit more fairways and eliminate bigger numbers on you score card.

The slice is probably one of the biggest issues most golfers face and can be fixed with a little work and a couple key tips. There are two reasons that people slice. One: The club face is open at impact. The fix: When approaching impact, rotate your forarms so that the back of your left hand is facing the target. Two: The swing plane is traveling outside to in. This is also known as coming over the top. This traditionally happens at the top of the golf swing, when the club is routed outside to inside on the downswing. This will produce a divot that is traveling outside to in and pointing left of your target. The fix: try to get your divots to point right at the target or even a little right of the target. Keep your right elbow very close to your right hip when approaching impact and strike the inside back corner of the golf ball. This is the part of the ball that is closest to you. Proceed too release the club head by turning your hands over and up around to the finish position. The more level your swing, or parallel to the ground, the easier it will be to draw the ball. So, swing around your body on more of a flat plane, or more like a baseball swing than a more vertical plane which will produce a slice. Shorten your backswing to about 75 percent while practicing so that you have better control of your swing path. This will also help by preventing you from rerouting the club at the top of the swing where the flaw most commonly occurs. This will take a little work but will be well worth it when you start to pick up effortless distance and accuracy.

In this video we can watch Tiger hitting his driver. This is one of my favorite slow motion videos. There are a lot of great positions worth pointing out in this swing. Notice the take away. Look at how long Tiger keeps the triangle of his arms and how this creates a wide arc, which produces power. This triangle can be seen again with an accending blow at impact. This position produces both power and consistency. Look at how straight Tiger keeps his left arm throughout the entire backswing and up until the finish. This also helps produce power through a larger arc as well as superior control. The most remarkable positions that I see in Tiger's swing are his head movement and finish position. He only moves his head a few inches laterally and vertically during the entire swing. This produces great consistency. Look at his finished position. The left side of his body is completely straight . This positon creates an almost perfectly straight line and a very repeatable swing for increased consistency.

The last hole of my round consisted of a very daunting tee shot. I was 3 under par going into the last hole, but I had not been hitting my driver very straight or long all day. The hole was 420 yards long with a slight dog leg right. Out of bounds lined the left side of the hole, so any drive left or too long down the left side through the fairway may reach. Down the right side of the hole had a bunker at about 270 yards and a tall group of dense trees lined the entire hole. The hold dog legged right at the bunker and over hanging limbs jetting out. Any shot short right would either find the bunker and would be blocked out from the a direct line to the green or a shot too far right would inevitably end up blocked by the trees. My good round relied on a good tee shot. It was time to dig down deep and be mentally strong, trusting my swing. I find that making an aggressive swing at a conservative target with good alignment is the key to this type of pressure packed shot. I picked a tree in the far distance that was directly behind the middle of the fairway. I ended up hitting the best drive of my day. The tee shot was far and hit right at my target. This left me with just 110 yards left to the hole. This gave me a good opportunity to make birdie on the 18th instead of bogey. I was very happy with my confidence and execution during this pressure packed situation. Keeping calm under pressure will lead you to a better game of golf. Just be sure to remember that keeping focus can take the unnecessary stress off and improve your overall performance.

One of the most important lessons in golf is the grip. This is your only connection with the golf club and the foundation of a proper swing. For a right handed golfer the correct placement for your hands on the grip should start by placing your left hand on the club first, followed by your right. The handle of the club will run diagonally across the base of your fingers, from the base of the pointer finger to a point atop the callus pad below your pinky finger. The grip should be higher than the callus on the pointer finger while running just lower than the callus of the middle, ring, and pinky fingers. This will have the grip moving slightly further away from the base of each of those fingers in that progression.

The thumb should then be placed over the top of the grip, just running past the thumb straight down the shaft. To check that you have the correct grip, take a look at the line formed by the thumb and the pointer finger should point up to your armpit. You should be able to look down and see the 2 knuckles of your pointer and middle finger on the top of your left hand. The right hand grip is similar to that of the left. The biggest difference is the club is placed more in the fingers. The grip handle should be running from the callus on the base of the pinky finger to the middle of the pointer finger. The thumb should come over the top of the club and form the same line or crease between the thumb and pointer finger which should point to the armpit of your right arm while being able to see two knuckles on the top of the right hand as well. I prefer to interlock while others may prefer to overlap. This is related to the placement of the pinky on the right hand and the pointer finger on the left hand. I put my pointer finger on my left hand in between the pinky and ring finger on my right, wrapping them onto the knuckles of the opposite hand. This is called an interlock grip.

The overlap grip is taking the pinky finger on the right and resting it in the crease formed by the space between the pointer and middle finger on the left hand. The grip you choose is based upon personal preference. Whichever makes you feel most comfortable swinging the club. I would advise that you choose one grip and be consistent with it. You also want to check the grip by the "V's". The V formed by the thumb and pointer finger should point up to the arm-pit of the same arm. This should happen with both hands while being able to see two knuckles on each hand as well.

One of the key components of a consistent golfer is good tempo. Tempo is the speed or pace of your swing and putting stroke. Each person typically has a unique internal clock causing different rhythm. There is a clear difference between Nick Price’s golf swing and Ernie Els'. Nick has a very quick tempo while Ernie’s is very slow. They are both great players and have many victories on tour which proves different speeds work for different players.

What is important is to find your own rhythm and be consistent with it. The best way to find this would either be with a metronome or by counting if you don’t have one handy. I like to count to three. 1. On my takeaway. 2. By the time that I reach the top of my back-swing and start back down. 3. When I get to my finish. Many people prefer to use the two count. One back and one through. I make sure that my back swing is full and not too quick. When I putt and chip I actually prefer to use the two count tempo. Find a tempo of your own and work on keeping it consistent. If you play with the same tempo on every shot throughout a round, I promise that the amount of strokes saved will be countless.