StrokeSavers

At least a third of the people who come into my golf store come in search for 10 more yards in driving distance.   So they mosey over to the driver displays, that consume about a third of our floor space (no coincidence), to check out the $300 to $400 drivers.  They say they are “just looking” when I offer to help, and later on they appear at our simulator with three or four drivers in their hand (I call that their bouquet) and ask, “Can I hit these?”  After thrashing around for a while, they often select one of the drivers, throw down a credit card and leave the store full of hope.

The problem is, they use the same swing with the new driver that they used with the old one, and rarely find the extra ten yards.  That means $300 lost.

To find more length for much less than the price of a new driver, use your hips and wrists to create more power with two rotational levers.   

The big rotational lever is your hips, and a smaller but very effective rotational lever is your wrists.  Here is a video showing “Arnold Palmer Hip Speed = Effortless Swing Speed”.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk66Fej5TS8&feature=related .

Think about starting your backswing and your downswing by rotating your hips, in balance.  A lot of other good things happen with that one swing thought.  Your feet and knees are lively in both directions, your arms relax and just go along for the ride, and your upper body posture remains intact if you maintain you balance.  Try it.

The second rotational lever is your wrists.  They turn over each other very quickly at impact.  Here are some of slow motion professional golf swings.  http://www.pgatour.com/swingplex/02/43/57/index.html.  Choose the “back” view and stop the motion at impact and notice the ten degree angle between the golfers leading arm and the shaft.  That small angle produces a second rotational lever that produces additional club head speed.  1 mph of club head speed = 3 yards distance. 

The driver that is in your bag will give you more distance and accuracy, if you use these two rotational levers.  

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Do you want more distance?  Are you hitting shots to the right?  The tip I give most often at the golf store as about grip pressure.  At least 70% of the golfers I meet grip the club too tightly, and many are amazed when they swing with the pressure demonstrated at the following link from Christina Ricci, author of, A Girl's On-Course Survival Guide.  (I review several film clips on this topic, and I liked Christina’s the best.)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5PDDPug_VI&feature=related

A firm grip takes much more effort that a light one. Lighten your grip as step one in your search for the effortless swing. 

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Once you have installed fresh, clean grips that are the correct size, (  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajFE9XGLsQ) you have to hold the club with a proper grip.  In his Little Red Book, Harvey Penick said, “Just pick up a yard stick, put a golf grip on, and you understand it at once.”  At the following link, Michael Breed shows, with a little more detail, how to grip the club properly for better golf shots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQP_NGc_A-4&feature=related

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Golf grips are very important to your success in shot making, and I will bet the technology is more complicated than you imagined.    

I have done some research looking for new grips to start my 2011 season, and I discovered the new Lamkin 3GEN .  The 3GEN material features a vastly improved resistance to environmental aging and weathering factors. The material will not absorb any moisture and its tackiness is activated by toweling off the grip or using a light abrasive brush. It continually performs better if it's cleaned regularly. Simply brush it with a wet towel and not only will any dirt or grime be removed from the grip, but the material's incredible tackiness will come back.  Here is a movie from Mr. Lamkin himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3WcIasZgVM&feature=player_embedded

The grips comes in white to alert you when they need to be cleaned.  I discovered that cleaning is required more often than I expected, because my previous black grips were not so fussy.   Here is more about cleaning.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIhKwWQ0oBs

The grips also provide an unmatched “single-strike” vibration-damping property that protects a golfer's hands and arm joints from jarring shockwaves.  Watch this bounce test.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXLB8HcA_yE&feature=related

I found the best price for the grips at an eBay reseller.  Go to this website and click “visit my store.”  http://myworld.ebay.com/golfgripsnmore/?_trksid=p4340.l2559 then choose Lamkin Grips.  You will find LAMKIN PERFORMANCE PLUS WITH 3GEN in all sizes. 

Be sure you have the correct size grip.  I spend a lot of time at Golf Galaxy talking about that subject.  Here is more about grip size.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajFE9XGLsQ

Once you get your grips you have to install them.  I found the easiest way is with an air compressor.  Here is how to install grips with an air compressor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukvAAc6AUn0.  I found this grip tool with another eBay Top-rated seller at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170550592764&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1138wt_905 .

If you don’t want to buy the installation tools, get in touch with me, and I’ll help you get them on. strokesavers@gmail.com. Or, you can get one stop shopping at Golf Galaxy and have the Lamkin Performance Plus Grip with 3Gen installed for $7.99 per grip. 

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