Fitness Ball Training for Golf
Fitness Ball Training for Golf
There are many training tools available to help achieve better balance in your golf swing. The most effective way to improve balance is by training the core musculature. Any time you put yourself in an unstable environment through the use of balance pads, fitness balls, or various other balance training aids, you increase your body's awareness and balance. As golfers make their way through the exercise continuum they will progress from simple to more complex exercises.Fitness balls are an effective training tool for increasing strength, improving joint and body stability and increasing joint flexibility. The ball's round surface allows activation of the core stabilizer muscles. The unstable surface forces the body to adapt from moment to moment producing better balance, coordination between muscles and, ultimately, greater stability.It can be suitable for people of all ages and activity levels because there are many progressions for each exercise. It can effectively and safely work essentially every muscle of the human body through a full range of motion with or without external resistance. The body's core is the foundation for all movement, so strong arms and legs without proportional core strength is counterproductive.The fitness ball is a great way to make even the simplest exercises more complex, improve coordination and engage smaller muscles, which are chiefly responsible for balance and stability. Your chest, abs, back and glutes can achieve more functional, sport-specific strength with exercises of varying complexity.Many golfers enjoy home based workout programs which allow them freedom away from the gym. Fitness balls are relatively inexpensive, versatile, and produce great results for your game. You can simply deflate the ball and take on trips so you don't miss workouts. Inflating a ball for use is simple and generally takes less than 5 minutes. Fitness balls are a natural training tool for most athletic endeavors and, in particular, golf.Susan Hill is a CHEK golf biomechanic, sports nutritionist and fitness trainer. For more information on her golf specific programs, visit http://www.fitnessforgolf.com
Why A Golf Ball Actually Flies Through The Air
Why A Golf Ball Actually Flies Through The Air
Not accounting for weather conditions there are a few things that influence how high and far a golf ball will fly.The first thing is the spin of the ball.A ball must spin to be able to fly through the air. The spin rate is measured in "rpm" or revolutions per minute.A driver, because of it's lower degree of angle on it's face will produce less spin than a wedge which has a a higher lofted face. A driver may have a 10 degree loft while a wedge may have a 60 degree loft. The wedge will produce much more spin on a ball than a driver will. This is why the ball gets in the air much quicker with a wedge than with a driver.As the balls spins faster it creates less pressure on top of the ball than under it. This creates lift. As the balls slows down the lift is decreased until the ball eventuallly looses lift and height and gravity takes over. Just like an airplane wing.The spin of the ball has to be clockwise. If struck properly, the ball actually spins towards you as it flies through the air. If you top the ball, and produce a counter clockwsie spin, or the ball spins away from you, the normal result is that the ball falls to the ground much quicker.Another factor are the dimples on the ball.The dimples on a golf ball have everything to do with the areodynamics of the ball. The dimples create a restless boundry of air around the ball, technically called lift. Larger dimples creates more turbulance which produces less lift. Flatter dimples create a smoother flow of air over the ball and thus more lift.For example the Maxfli 432 dimple pattern is made up of 12 pentagons and 20 triangles based on a icosidodecahedron. Six circles define the pattern and generally this pattern stands for distance and control in a ball.The Maxfli 408 dimple pattern consists of 6 squares and 8 hexagons based on a octahedron. This is a "crossover" dimple pattern and some of the patterns have the contour of a ball while others have the contour of a saucer. This dimple size, contours and allocation on the ball, contribute to a good distance ball.The Maxfli 402 dimple pattern (Noodle), has 20 triangles, 30 squares, and 12 pentagons based on a rhombicosidodecahedron. This pattern provides excellent flight qualities. Many weekend golfers use the Noodle because it gives them a better trajectory, better lift!Read more articles by this author, about this and other subjects, here.About The AuthorBob Power has been an Internet entrepreneur for longer than he would like to remember. He is currently on a voyage of learning, thanks to his readers, who have asked him to answer questions about topics they want more information on. You can see some of the surprising, and at times exciting results, and variety of topics and paths this has taken him on, or to contact Bob Power please click here.These articles may be reproduced exactly as shown above. No revisions or changes are permitted.
Getting Your Hands Through the Ball at Impact
Getting Your Hands Through the Ball at Impact
Have you ever thought about what your hands and forearms are actually doing at the moment of impact? If not, please give this a try because it's one of the most important parts of the swing. The Simple Golf Swing explains this move, and others, in much more detail.Try to get into the impact position, like you are about to make solid contact with the ball. Now flip your trailing wrist like you were casting a fishing pole. This is referred to as a wrist break, and it's not a move that you want to make in golf. So if you are trying to "flip" your hands through the ball at impact, this tip may help you understand the correct way to make this happen.If you put a wrist watch on you'll be able to visualize the correct moves to make. As your leading arm approaches impact the watch face should be getting close to pointing exactly down the target line, or to the flag. Now simply ROTATE the watch face so it's pointed at the ground. With a club in your hands, you'll see that this move makes your trailing wrist and forearm "flip" on top of your leading wrist and forearm.You also see that this will help to "close" the face of your club nicely, that will both reduce your slice, and add distance. This is the correct move to be completing through impact.It's important to note that your forearms should be working together as well. Try to keep your forearms as close to each other as possible through the impact zone. If you can master this move, you'll find increased distance and it will also do wonders for your slice.David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of "The Simple Golf Swing" which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com