Improve Your Golf Game With Secrets From Other Sports

Whether it's tennis, basketball, baseball, or racquetball, most golfers have played other sports at some time in their lives. What many are unaware of is how these activities can prove beneficial to their golf game. By looking at these other sports and their components, you soon will be able to see that they can relate to golf. Consider the following:

Posture - Whether playing basketball or receiving a serve in tennis, your posture should be loose, springy, steady and balanced. The same should be true for your golf posture.

To incorporate proper posture into your practice, start without a golf club and assume the posture of whatever sport you choose. Note your weight distribution, balance and muscle tension. Then, put a golf club in your hand and recreate that same posture or feel based on those parameters.

Getting Started - Many sports share a pre-motion that prepares the athlete for the process of the activity. In preparation for a tennis serve, you might rock on the balls of your feet or bounce the ball. In golf, the waggle helps you prepare for your shot by relaxing your body and putting you in a rhythm. It also previews the motion of starting the swing and gives you a better chance for your swing to begin. The key to successful pre-motion is to waggle your entire body, not just the clubhead.

The Away Swing - The secret here is that it is in fact a swing. While you must work on technique and position, when it comes to actually playing the game, you need to rely on the platform and motion you have started. The next time you practice, try hitting some balls starting with the clubhead a foot or so in front (toward the target) of the ball. Be sure to maintain your posture and allow the club to swing back to the outside of the ball. This motion should give you a sense of truly swinging the club away from the ball and a much better chance at that easy transition.

The Through Swing - I relate this swinging motion to batting a baseball or hitting a tennis forehand. The motion is nearly identical. In each of these motions, the side nearest the target leads, spreads and separates from the trailing side, which creates a natural weight transfer. This reaction is a result of moving the club, bat or racquet toward the ball.

To improve your through swing, practice non-stop "baseball swings," starting with the clubhead at the same level as your knees. This exercise will allow you to feel the full swinging motion in a transitional position.

The Big Finish - Great baseball and tennis players share one common element of their swings - the finish. When the ball has been hit well, the hitter's front shoulder finishes away from the target, while the back shoulder finishes toward the target. This finish signifies that the motion of the swing, and consequently the weight shift, has been carried through.

If you have a tennis racquet or baseball bat, swing it first and notice where your shoulders and hips start and finish. Then, take a golf club and apply the same motion. In both motions, you are unwinding your trunk and swinging your arms. This motion automatically will shift your weight and provide the power and finish you want.

- Chip Koehlke is director of instructor at the Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott, in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Institute, a leading golf instruction school, is part of the Marriott Golf portfolio, which includes 25 facilities and more than 500 holes of championship golf in the United States, Spain and Egypt.

"Provided by GOLF ILLUSTRATED Magazine. To receive more tips on how to improve your golf game, visit www.golfillustrated.com."