Tiger Woods is the undisputed king of professional golf. With a smooth technique you could set your watch by, he makes winning those championships look like a walk in the park.

Imagine if you could sit with Tiger for a few minutes and pick his brain to help improve your game. Here are some great golf tips from Tiger Woods.

It’s All About Rhythm

Every player has their own natural rhythm. Some players are energetic and full of motion; others are stoic and deep in concentration.

Tiger says that when he’s playing his best, everything he does is just second nature. He just goes with the flow, and there’s little else involved. That’s because he’s found just the right groove that suits his natural rhythm.

If the rhythm’s off, Tiger misses a swing or two. When things are flowing for him, he has to work a little to get it back into a natural rhythm.

So, how do you learn to keep your natural rhythm? There are a few ways Tiger suggests to help you find your groove and keep it.

Stick To Your Routine

Rhythm and consistency are important, so how you get ready both physically and mentally for the game is essential. Tiger has a practice routine that he does before every single game. He uses the same clubs, and the last club he uses for his pre-game warm-up is the one he plans to use for the first hole.

The point isn’t to practice swinging, but to get into your groove.

The First Hole Is The Most Important

Long before he swings for that first hole, Tiger plans the whole game ahead. He prepares himself for the game mentally and emotionally. This involves relaxation, and deciding his game plan beforehand.

An awkward, uncertain first shot is a sure-fire rhythm-killer.

Keep Things Steady

To keep your rhythm going, you have to keep the tempo steady. When you get stressed, you start to speed things up. All that nervous energy makes you hurry to the next hole, and you end up making silly mistakes you wouldn’t have made otherwise.

The next time you watch Tiger play, pay attention to the way he walks to the next hole. Even after a great shot, you’ll never see him rush on to the next one. He’ll pump his fist, smile, and stroll to the next hole with the same leisurely pace.

Tiger recommends a good pre-routine warm-up that helps you get into a relaxed frame of mind. This will get you started on the right foot.

Posture Means Perfect

When asked for practical golf tips, Tiger Woods always mentions posture. Tiger always stands straight and tall, a decent distance from the ball so that he can keep his chin up. Lots of golfers (including Tiger when he was a beginner) put their address position too close to the ball, and end up having to bow their head down too much. Tiger says to keep a good distance away so you don’t have to lean over the ball.

Tiger Woods is not only one of the best players, he’s also one of the most reflective. Perhaps the key to his success is his ability to look at his mistakes and shortcomings, and work to improve them, instead of getting frustrated. This is why his golf tips are so helpful to his fans. When you blow it, think about why you did it. Then, correct it next time, and you’ll see improvement.

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This article was written by Marc Spencer

Golf is a sport that attracts such a wide audience. Unlike other sports, golf is a game that one can participate in regardless of age or limits due to physical condition. As a fellow golf professional I instruct golfers of all ages and abilities. In my experience there are many common mistakes that most golfers make. Here is a list of 10 tips that will help improve your game.

1. Grip Pressure. Grip pressure and arm tension is something that all golfers fight. On a scale of 1 to 10, feel like you’re holding the club at a level 3. Golf is hard enough to play relaxed; tighten up and you won’t have a chance.

2. Set Up. So many times students say there is a problem in their swing. 90% of the time the problem is in their set-up. This usually results in poor posture. Make sure that your back is straight to allow for proper trunk rotation.

3. Alignment. Alignment is so important. Make sure that the line of your feet is parallel to your target line. Then make sure your knees, hips and shoulders are parallel to your feet.

4. Tempo and Balance. Tempo and balance go together like peanut butter and jelly. When you have the proper tempo, you create good balance. If you can finish a swing on balance, you have a much higher chance of getting a good result than if you are falling off balance during the swing.

5. Take One Extra Club. Leave your ego at home. Take an extra club and swing it 80%. Your balance will get better and you will start hitting more solid shots.

6. Loosen Up Before The Round. Loosening up allows you to relax and get some of the bad shots out. It also allows you to get familiar with the speed of the greens. Most importantly, it loosens up your body to prevent muscular injury.
7. Make An Aggressive Swing At A Conservative Target. Follow this advice, it really works.

8. Swing The Club; Don’t Hit The Ball. Amateur golfers hit the ball. Swing the club through the ball to a picturesque finish.

9. Don’t Keep Your Head Down. Where is your head when you finish your golf swing? Keep your head up through the swing and let your body turn through to the target.

10. Spend 70% Of Your Practice Within 50 Yards Of The Pin. This is not the fun part of the game to practice but this is the fastest way to cut strokes off your game.

Written by Jim McLean for Golf Digest

One of the fundamentals I’ve taught over the years is that all better players make a wider backswing than downswing. In other words, if you were facing the golfer, the arc of the club coming down would be inside the arc going back. I’ve recently done some research on this topic with one of my lead instructors, Michael Hunt, and we’ve identified the power source produced by this move from backswing to downswing.

We call it the V-Gap, which measures the angle of the shaft at halfway down compared to where it was at halfway back — in both cases measured when the left arm is parallel to the ground. Picture those two shaft angles forming a “V” (above). Our V-Gap study of tour players proves the correlation between the gap and power. I’ll show you how to increase your V-Gap and maximize your distance.

CHECK YOUR ‘V’ (PHOTO ABOVE): Wrist hinge is a big factor in the V-Gap, which compares the shaft at halfway down to halfway back.

HINGE SLOWLY

The takeaway is critical because it establishes tempo, width and the proper sequence of movements in the swing. Historically, the game’s longest hitters, like Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods, have delayed the wrist hinge in the takeaway. This promotes freedom of motion in the backswing and creates a wide move off the ball and a longer swing arc.

Shorter hitters tend to set their wrists early in the takeaway and make a much narrower backswing, where the right elbow bends too soon and the club gets vertical very quickly.

NO: Hinging the wrists from the start decreases width in the backswing. The V-Gap and power will be limited.

SPLIT GRIP FOR A WIDE START: This drill will give you the correct feeling of a long right arm in the takeaway. Set your right hand on the grip farther down than normal — like you’re gripping a hockey stick. Then swing the club into the takeaway, feeling the width you create. You should get the sensation of reaching to your right. Your right arm should be extended but not completely straight; you want it to feel long but supple, not rigid. Width in the takeaway translates into a powerful position at the top, setting up a huge V-Gap coming down.