Entering this past weekend’s Chevron tournament, Tiger Woods was riding a two year streak without a single tournament victory, following his extremely well-documented personal life collapse roughly two years ago. Woods has been criticized for off-the-course issues, has lost endorsements, took some time away from the sport, and battled injuries, all the while putting together a performance that was significantly below average for arguably the greatest golfer ever to walk the earth. So, there’s a reason all eyes were turned on the relatively small Chevron tournament when Woods entered the final day within striking distance of the title.

Throughout the day, Woods and Zach Johnson battled back and forth, neither ever gaining much ground on the other. It became clear after just a few holes that this championship would come down to Woods and one other man, giving Tiger an opportunity he hasn’t had very often in the last two years: to prove he still has what it takes to take Sunday. In the end, while he didn’t necessarily possess the same terrifying swagger he once seemed to have on final charges, Tiger had what it took – he birdied the last two holes, one with a great put on 17, to take the tournament, his first win since his career and personal life took their turn for the worse.

Of course, all of this begs the question that golf fans have been salivating over for two years: is Tiger back? Whether you root for him or not, and whether you care or don’t care about his personal life, there is simply no denying that the possibility of a return to prominence is extremely significant for the sport of golf. On the 17th and 18th holes at the Chevron, Tiger seemed a bit nervous and uncomfortable – even, almost, self-conscious. Yet when his final put went in to secure his victory, Tiger let loose an all-too-familiar roar that signaled at least a possibility that this win represented a turn back toward dominance. There are no guarantees – but every other professional golfer will feel a bit less comfortable Monday morning.

Before learning proper setup and proper stroke, you need to learn how to read a green properly. You should start each round by practicing some green reading, as this will be vital in helping you to sink the tougher putts.

Here are some tips for learning to read greens properly.

• Survey the lay of the land and the general terrain before you even reach the green. Look for things like high and low areas, along with how the green runs and the basic slopes that are in the surrounding area. You may also take note of the green speed (if posted).
• Get as low as you can to view the characteristics of the green and the surrounding area. Don’t be afraid to bend down and get your face close to the ground to survey the green. This is totally legal and will give you a better understanding of how the terrain on the green runs.
• When choosing your line you need to first determine you speed (green speed as mentioned above). If green speeds are not posted, then you will have to estimate on the first hole, and then use that knowledge for the other holes.
• After you choose your speed, then choose you aiming line. Pick a spot on the green to aim at, then hit the ball directly there. The spot you pick will depend on the speed and break of the green. Again, this could be a guessing game on the first hole, but then you may have some info to go on for the rest of the round.
• Finally, after you have hit the ball, judge your putt and see where you ended up. Take note of how the ball behaved and what adjustments need to be made for you to be more successful on the putting green.

Reading the green properly is vital if you want to continue to become a better putter. Using the above techniques will allow you to become a better putter and allow you to save some strokes off your round.

There are a number of parts needed to perfect a good golf swing. Read some of the articles below that Getting to Scratch has written in the past to help you perfect one aspect of a golf swing and then move on to the next.

Utilizing these swing tips and tricks will allow you to build a golf swing that best fits your stroke, while at the same time educating you on how everything should work when the entire swing comes together.

You may already have one part of the swing down, if so, then use these resources at will to perfect another part of your golf shot. I hope you are able to use this as a great resource, and in turn, perfect your golf swing.

Golf Swing Tip Articles

• Throttle Back on Your Golf Swing
• Proper Knee Action
• How to Hit Straighter Shots
• Loosen Your Grip
• Golf Club Takeaway Drill
• Golf Swing Rotation Tip
• Releasing the Clubhead Properly
• Cures for Putting Problems
• Golf Club Distance Guides
• Building a Solid Grip
• Techniques for Longer Driving
• Allow the Club to do All the Work
• On the Fly Golf Swing Tips

The irons are inspired by the R11 Driver design, and are built for any golfer.  R11 irons have Precision CG placements, ultra-thin faces, a tour sole design and Inverted Cone Technology. All of this makes these irons very powerful and easy to use.

Taylor Made R11 Features

• Ultra-thin face thickness promotes faster ball speed and distance.
• Inverted Cone Technology promotes faster ball speed and distance on off-center hits.
• Multi-Functional sole increases playability from a variety of lies.
• Progressive topline thickness promotes confidence at address throughout the set.
• Advanced groove design promotes increased spin and control.

Check out this video where Taylor Made CEO Mark King introduces the irons and get a good look at them for yourself. Then you can head to your nearest golf shop and test them out on a simulated driving range.

Driving the ball off the tee with an 85% maximum swing effort will promote a number of positive outcomes after the ball is launched off the tee. What are some of the outcomes of throttling back? Here are just a few:

Helps Maintain Proper Balance

Golfers who swing with all the possible force they can muster up often get out of balance. This means they have to make other compensations during the swing to correct the situation. This leads to other compensations, then others… well, you get the point. The whole thing is like a floodgate. Once one gate is opened, all the other gates start to open as well.

Better Ball Contact

Throttling your swing back will allow for better club control and body control. This will, in turn, allow for much better ball striking, which is crucial off the tee. Striking the ball perfectly with a 75%-85% swing will send it much farther than striking it poorly with a 100% swing.

Equipment Works Better

Believe it or not, most golf equipment works better if you don’t swing your hardest. The way golf equipment is built today, the properties of torque and flex that are built into today’s shafts will perform best when the club is not being swing so violently.

If you are one of those golfers who hit a long drive on occasion, but more often than not can’t get the distance or angle needed off the tee, then I highly recommend you throttle back on your swing to promote more positive outcomes off the tee.

Woods was not able to qualify for the Ryder Cup, and since his season was effectively over after the embarrassing performance he had at the PGA Championship, he has been looking for something to play in to continue to try and make it back to where he once was.

“I always enjoy competing in my home state, and this tournament fits my schedule perfectly,” Woods said Monday on his website. “I’m looking forward to seeing some old friends.”

Woods had been dropping hints to us that he may indeed add a tournament or two because he hasn’t played a lot this year due to lingering leg injury issues. They Frys.com tournament is one that he has never played.

The Frys.com Open, in only its fifth year, was one of the more exciting tournaments of the Fall Series last year. Rocco Mediate holed out for eagle in each of the four rounds, including the 17th hole in the final round, for a one-shot win. What is even more attractive to golfers is the fact that the prize purse for the tournament is a whopping $5 million. This is the biggest purse among events after the FedEx Cup is over.

So how will Tiger play? Well after seeing him in tournaments the last few months it is anyone’s guess. At least he is trying though. After the PGA Championship performance there really is no where to go but up. Hopefully we will see Tiger at his best when the new season starts.

You need to maintain a firm base and proper knee action to allow your lower body to create a powerful backswing coil that will in turn, deliver maximum ball impact. A good golfer will maintain the proper creation of a backswing coil by keeping the proper gap between the knees during the entire duration of the golf swing.

How Far Apart Should my Knees Be?

Truth be told, this depends on what type of golf shot you are playing, as well as what type of lie you are dealing with. The point is this, your knees should stay the same distance apart during the backswing, and then the knee gap should be closed properly during the downswing to create a coil that will unleash properly on the back of the golf ball, which will send the ball soaring into the direction you desire.

A high handicap golfer tends to do the exact opposite, closing his/her knees too much during the backswing, resulting in a downswing that will more than likely send the ball in random directions, depending on how the rest of the swing goes.

How To Improve

There are a couple of excellent drills you can utilize to ensure that you are keeping your knees where they need to be during each part of the golf swing.

1, Practice your swing in front of a mirror. This will allow you to see where exactly you knee action errors are occurring. You can then fix these errors while seeing you progress.

2. Place a soccer ball between your knees and take practice swings on the driving range. The soccer ball forces your knees to stay in the correct position during the entire swing. This will probably be pretty uncomfortable at first, but once you get a feel for it, your golf swing will improve.

We understand that there are a lot of things to remember during a golf swing. Having a good base and maintaining proper knee action is a great place to start. This will allow you to build your swing from the ground up.

Remember, a proper base and proper knee action will help cover up other little mistakes that your swing may have.

The other question is how many clubs are they carrying in their bag? The technical rules state that a player is only allowed 14 clubs in their bag when playing in a tournament. Some players carry around various wedges or hybrids to suit their specific set of skills on the course. Some players are like Phil Mickelson, they like to tinker and change clubs frequently. Phil adds clubs takes them away to adapt to course, he has even brought 2 drivers to The Masters.

When a weekend warrior golfer buys a new club he indubitably shows it off to his buddies during his next tee time or when he hits the range. There are entire sites and communities dedicated to the golf fan and connoisseur of golf clubs; even down to the specific club like the putter i.e. puttertalk. Making popular destinations for like-minded golfers. Fans are able to discuss their latest purchases and help others find their vintage or shiny new clubs.

It begs the question what are the everyday golfers carrying around in their golf bag. Do they run out and buy the latest and greatest club that manufacturers are advertising or are they sticking to their trusted set they found in the closet from 1980. Generally they tend to have a hodgepodge of clubs, balls, tees, and other gear.

Both golf clubs and bags have new designs and technology to make them lighter, so why do they still seem to be getting heavier? I have more stuff in my bag than a small village. Does you’re golf bag sound anything like this:

Tees, balls, ball markers, divot tools, towels, golf gloves, rain suit, umbrella, water bottle, rule book, bag tags, blank score cards, pencils, golf GPS, first aid kit, sun glasses, sun screen, energy bars, gloves…. I swear the list goes on it’s insufferable.

So have you trimmed you’re accessories down or do you just pack on the weight and hoof it out? Maybe this is the reason I have been opting for a golf cart your last few rounds. So what do you have in your bag?

Golf fanatic and blogger that enjoys sharing my new found golf knowledge with others. I am a fan of checking out the latest golf clubs and learning new techniques and tips from fellow player. I can be found writing about all of this and more at my golf blog Discovering The Game of Golf.

Most high handicappers hit the ball like military cadence: Left! Right! Left! Right! Leeeeft! And just like someone giving their stalled vehicle the once over and not being a certified mechanic, it’s not a good idea to try and fix something without knowing something about it. In this case it’s simple. It’s the position of the hands at the bottom of the swing arc that causes our line to the clubface to close or open resulting in enough wayward shots to put you over 100 for the day.

I pulled and pushed shots all over the course so much it had the local homeowners worried. It isn’t easy to adjust during play as an amateur because there are other factors like swing speed, tempo, and course management running through the mind. It is vital to square the face of the club so that it is inline with the target through the impact zone. I was not executing this. If I simply slowed down my speed/tempo to get the back of my left hand facing the target at impact, I would have saved myself a lot of scrambling which in effect, took away easier shots at par. I wasn’t conditioned to do this. My mind was aware but my body went rogue cutting at the ball like a Yakiniku chef. So how do I program my body to square the clubface?

Use an Impact Bag!

If you can’t get your mitts on an Impact Bag, use an old tire. The basic fundamental here is to learn just how your left hand controls the face of the club. Grip the club with your left hand, take the club back, and tap at the bag or tire (for right-handed golfers). Note the position of the clubface as it hits the bag or tire. Is it open or closed? Next, look at your left hand and see if your grip is strong, neutral, or weak. These two factors are relative to the behavior of your ball flight. If your left hand is in too much of strong grip, chances are your clubface will be open causing the ball to head right. Continue practicing on the bag or tire until you grasp the concept of  the drill and then try a controlled swing from your usual address position.

DO NOT SWING FOR THE FENCES ON YOUR IMPACT BAG OR TIRE! You could cause your wrist and/or hands serious damage. Learn control through this drill and use the same patience when executing your shots on the course.

Even John Huggan (former editor of Golf Digest Magazine) went so far as to say it’s time to take away the PGA’s status as a major championship. Here is an excerpt from part of his story that has been gaining some serious steam since it was first published a couple of days ago.

Besides, in this ever-changing world, the PGA of America — like its counterparts elsewhere, in so many ways a dying organization — has no business running such an important event. Sweater salesmen should stick to what they do best and leave big-time golf to those who have at least a clue about the running of an elite professional tournament. Think about it. Never before in the history of the game has the gap between “golf professional” and “professional golfer” been so vast. And it’s only going to get bigger.

Here’s just one example of how the PGA of America is out of its depth. The television coverage here at the Atlanta Athletic Club has fallen far short of what we should be able to expect from such a supposedly important championship. In almost complete contrast to the four minutes of commercials per hour limit imposed by those charged with running the Masters at Augusta National, the telecast was a dog’s breakfast at which most discerning canines would turn up their snouts.

As you can see, Huggan was pretty unhappy with the telecast, as well as the overall event as a whole. But that was just part of the issue. This takes us back up to the top of this article. Besides the fact that the overall coverage was bad, there were no big names, there was not too much appeal, and apparently ratings were way down.

That being said, in my opinion Huggan is speaking a bit fast. Everyone in the world knows that unless a select few names are on the leader board of any big time event, then not many people are going to watch. The difference in viewership is staggering when Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and a select other few are not in the running. So much so that it tilts the ratings very badly in the wrong direction for golf.

So, aside from taking the “Major” status away from the PGA Championship – which is probably not a good idea, what can be done?

Well, for starter a better production and production managing crew can be put together for the event. Also, there really is no need for all of those commercials. The PGA Championship should take a page out of the Master’s production book, four commercials an hour is plenty. Simply charge more and hope that the right golfers are in the mix on Saturday and Sunday. Which brings me to my next point. It is nobody’s fault that the big guns couldn’t make the cut and hang with some of the up and coming young guns in the game.

All anyone can do that is involved with these big tournaments is hope that the Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson’s of the world make the cut next time. Taking away “Major” status from the PGA Championship is probably not the best road to take. However, there are definitely some adjustments that need to be made.