The tendency I see with a lot of my students is that the men are not flexible in their hips and shoulders, so they usually move off the ball in their backswing and come over the top on the downswing which is a huge power loss. My women students, on the other hand, sometimes are too flexible in their hips and shoulders and tend to over-rotate during their backswing which is also a power loss. To correct this, we spend time learning to separate what the upper body is doing from the lower body to create a coil effect. ...

Many people mistakenly think stretching is a warm-up to play golf. I always cringed when I see people stretching their arms over their heads and behind their backs, thinking that they are warming up their muscles, when they are potentially harming themselves. The worst thing you can do before you play golf is start to stretch muscles and joints cold before they are warm-up properly. You should warm-up muscles and joints before you stretch. To increase your blood flow, which brings needed oxygen to muscles and joints, you can jog in place, do jumping jacks or take a brisk walk. If ...

One of the reasons Tiger Woods creates a tremendous amount of clubhead speed in his swing is because he turns his left shoulder over his right knee at the top of the swing. To do this, one must be flexible in the shoulders and back. Stretching improves the flexibility of the muscles and joints necessary for a smooth , rhythmic golf swing. A complete fitness program should include stretches for your legs, back, shoulders and arms. One of my favorite stretches is a simple way to help increase your shoulder turn – and help your everyday posture. Standing straight, hold ...

Most people know it is important to begin a strength training program to improve their golf games, but they don’t know where to start. In my next several blogs, I will introduce you to exercises that are golf specific and easy to incorporate into your practice routine. Strength training exercises, important for increasing muscle strength and bone mass, require the addition of weight or resistance to challenge the muscles. But I feel that free weights and machines can leave a golfer tight in the shoulders and chest, so I recommend using resistance bands instead. Available at sporting good stores, resistance bands ...

I often hear golfers tell me that they can hit a series of good shots at the practice range, but then have a hard time taking their swing to the golf course. The reason is that the conditions on the course are different every shot from the consistent conditions on the practice range. Every course, every hole, every shot is different. So you need to make adjustments to your swing and set-up differently for different conditions. Many high handicappers try set-up and swing the same regardless of the lie, slope, green elevation or weather conditions. Good golfers are able to recognize these ...

How well do you really know the game of golf? Are you familiar with the golden rules of golf? Could you explain the basic fundamentals of the golf swing? You may not know as much as you think you do and this lack of knowledge may be holding you back from playing your best golf. The more you know about the basics and fundamentals of the game, the less intimating this game becomes. In Part I, I laid out a few questions to see how much you know about your equipment. Today’s quiz is on what I call the “golden rules of ...

Since my husband Dan Jansen is a native of Wisconsin, he is very partial to Wisconsin golf courses. He always talks about how great they are and how they may be some of the best golf courses in the country. I always appease him and say, “Yes, honey, I am sure there are a couple of nice little courses up in that area.” We all know that the Kohler Co. Resort has a very nice golf course: the Straits at Whistling Straits, home of this year’s U.S. Senior Open and the 2004 PGA Championship. Standing on the Straits course looking out at ...