How to Swing a Driver Like Tiger Woods
Most people who play golf would love to be able to reproduce the swing of Tiger Woods, given the fact that he has won 15 major championships and 82 tournaments overall. He is also one of the most recognizable figures in the entire world, and has inspired more people to take up the sport than anyone in history.
Tiger doesn't have any secrets, anyone who watches his swing on film and in slow motion could analyze it and try to replicate it. The trick comes in repeating it every single time, instead of once in 50 tries. If you would like to improve your game, and find out what makes Tiger's swing so effective, then you need take that swing out onto the practice range and make it your own.
Best Way to Start Golfing
The best way to start golfing if you have not previously enjoyed the sport is to get a simple set of starter golf clubs, because initially the clubs are far less important than your golf swing is. Later on, you may want to purchase a more expensive set which is customized to your height and swing characteristics, but at the outset a starter set will do just fine. The most expensive set on the market cannot correct poor form and fundamentals.
The next thing to do is to go to your local golf course and engage the services of a PGA professional in residence, so that you can take some lessons. It is really important that you begin playing golf by performing as many proper elements of the golf swing as possible, so as to avoid incorporating bad habits into your swing.
In a few short lessons, your PGA instructor will be able to impart to you the right way to perform a golf swing, and from there it will be up to you to practice what you have been taught. The practice part of learning the game of golf is an essential component that you simply cannot get around. Much of golf is centered around being able to repeat a golf swing correctly at any given time, and the only way that can happen is when you perform the swing frequently enough that it comes naturally to you.
Once you have a good practice regimen going, the next part of your game that you need to work on is putting. This is another aspect of the game which requires a great deal of practice, because you need to have just the right touch to navigate certain distances on the greens. Unlike most of your golf swings which are full swings, putting requires a strong element of precision, and figuring out how hard to hit the ball in order to get it to the cup.
Being a good putter also involves practice at identifying the slope of the green, so that you can account for any contours which may deflect the ball off of its straight path. After you have been practicing these elements for a while, it is time to take your game out on the golf course and see what you can do.
Getting Better at Golfing
There are three major elements you need to focus on in order to get really good at playing golf, those being the strike point, driving distance and accuracy, and putting. Strike point refers to the moment of impact when the blade of your club comes in contact with the ball, and this is critical because if it isn't straight, it will cause your ball to go either left or right. The ideal position at the strike point is having the blade squared to the ball, striking at it with a downward motion, and with sufficient clubhead speed to get the most out of any club you're swinging.
Much of driving distance is determined by strong leg action rather than anything you do with your hands or arms. Accuracy involves pointing your left shoulder at the target, making a smooth swing which incorporates a good amount of lag, and following through on-balance, so that you keep the ball online as it heads toward the target.
Good putting is comprised of a great deal of practice, so you can acquire a feel for how hard the ball must be struck to get it to the cup, as well as acquiring a good sense for how any green is sloped. When you can account for any dips or contours on the green, you'll have a better chance of keeping the ball online and headed toward the cup.
Tiger Woods' Swing Sequence
Tiger Woods' great swing begins with a solid takeaway, which is a one-piece motion where his chest, arms, and club all go through the backswing in unison, until they reach the apex. This kind of action encourages energy to coil, or build up, rather than just a simple turn which does nothing to build up power. This coiled up energy will be released in the downswing at the moment of impact, but it must first be generated during the backswing.
After reaching the apex, there must be a smooth transition from backswing to downswing, which is generally referred to as good rhythm, and this is important because it keeps the golf club on the correct swing path and does not jerk it inside or outside the swing path. Tiger starts this transition by dropping his hands first, so that the hands and arms can deliver their full force. At the bottom of the swing, all that coiled up energy is released at impact time, with the clubhead squared up and online. Then, his body turn and arm swing both finish together, on-balance and smoothly, so that the flight of the ball is influenced to head straight down the target line.
Final thoughts on swinging the club like Tiger
Now that you know how to swing your club like Tiger Woods, what you need to do is practice that swing, over and over. In order to do that, you should purchase your own golf mat, so you can practice frequently without having to pay outrageous prices for a bucket of balls at your local range. The best golf mat to buy, in terms of quality and affordability, is the Rawhide slightly used mat, which you can purchase for about 1/3 the cost of what a brand-new one would cost you. It has the look and feel of a real golf course, and will accelerate the learning process for you as you begin your quest to become the next Tiger Woods.
