BY MIKE GELHAUS

Whack! The feeling of a great drive, the sweet feel as the ball jumps off the clubface and rockets down the middle of the fairway — it’s one of the best things about playing golf, and one of the reasons that we keep coming back for more punishment. If only it would happen more often! Ah, to see the green envy in your opponents’ eyes when your ball blasts by theirs.

Unfortunately, the average male golfer’s swing speed is around 85 mph. With a USGA conforming driver, this equates to drives of about 225 yards, an embarrassing 83 yards shorter than Tiger Woods’ average drive, and even 45 yards shorter than Cory Pavin, who is the shortest driver on the PGA Tour. So most of us go to the course with an inferiority complex already deeply ingrained from watching Tour broadcasts which constantly and blatantly rub our faces into the fact that the pros outdrive us by a country mile. No wonder most amateurs can’t relax over the ball and tend to overswing. How could the average guy hope to hit the ball that far?

Well, the good news is — it’s possible for you to hit long drives! To hit like the pros, all you have to do is swing as fast as they do, while at the same time maintaining your balance. If it sounds like it is easier said than done, just think about this: As mentioned before, Corey Pavin, the shortest hitter on the PGA Tour, averages just under 270 yards per drive. He is 5′ 9″ tall and weighs 155 pounds. Now, the average male is 5′ 9″ tall and weighs 190 pounds. If Corey Pavin can average 270, then you can hit it just as long or longer!

Let’s set a goal of outdriving Corey Pavin, so we can tell ourselves honestly that we can drive the ball as far as someone on the Tour. To figure out how to do this, let’s start with the average swing speed of 85 mph and average distance of 225 yards. Now, physics tells us that we get approximately 3 extra yards per additional mile per hour of swing speed. So, if we want to go from 225 to 270 to beat Corey Pavin, that means we need 45 extra yards, which equates to adding 15 mph to the swing speed.

How can you use golf training aids to add that extra 15 mph? Since low swing speed is usually the result of a combination of factors including untrained muscles, poor technique, and lack of physical fitness, a multi-pronged approach is required to get to the goal fast! To accelerate your progress, you can use golf training aids to train and strengthen your golf-specific muscles, to correct poor technique, and to improve your overall fitness. A variety of training aids exist to help with this. Here’s a 3-step plan for increasing your swing speed as fast as possible:

1. Make sure that your grip, swing path, and swing plane are correct. It will do no good to increase your swing speed if technical flaws in your swing prevent you from hitting the ball straight. I suggest using a single training aid for both grip and swing plane (many exist with this combination) and another training aid for swing path. For example, a hinged club with a molded grip is perfect for grip and swing path, while a foam obstacle training aid will work well for keeping your swing path on track. Practice with these training aids for at least 2 weeks before moving on to step 2.

2. Get some type of weighted club. Weighted clubs are perfect for training the golf specific muscles to have the strength and explosive power that you need to produce higher swing speeds. In addition, training with a weighted club can increase your core stability and balance if done properly. Be very careful not to overswing with a weighted club since you can injure yourself! Stretch out and warm up thoroughly before you even start swinging the heavy club. I suggest using this training aid at least 3 days a week, but not more than 5. It’s important to let your muscles rest a bit each week.

3. Get a golf fitness book to augment your regular training program. Overall physical fitness is just as critical to your golf game as golf-specific training. Work out 3 times a week and don’t forget your cardio to reduce fatigue at the end of your round!

If you take these three steps I think you will see a great improvement in your driving distance within 2 months, if not sooner. Good luck and I hope to see you on the par fives in two!

Mike Gelhaus, once a racquetball professional and published author for Racquetball Magazine, has turned his attention back to his first love, the game of golf. He recently achieved a handicap of 3 only weeks before having to go in for back surgery. Hoping for a quick recovery and a possible professional career, Mike Gelhaus is going to help you improve your game through the use of golf training aids. To seriously knock strokes off your score by uncovering the golf training aids which will work best for you, check out his site, The Best Golf Training Aids.

BY WILLIAM P. ALLEN

Here is an incredible golf tip… but first, answer this question: What is the simplest shot in golf that all beginners can make with their eyes closed? It’s the shoe-in putt. In other words, it’s when the ball is almost falling into the hole. The tougher the shot, the further the distance from the hole. Pretty simple stuff. So what’s the incredible golf tip you ask? The incredible golf tip is this…

Start Small

Starting with this great golf tip in mind, you will see that when sharpening your golf skills it makes sense to start with smaller swings, then eventually move towards a fuller swing. This is the reason why a beginner will learn and teach his/her body the correct motions. Eventually after a bit of time (and much practice) the body will start to adjust and develop an accurate and powerful swing.

So that’s why this golf tip stresses learning by starting with the short swing. When you’re just starting out and you try to start out with the full swing you won’t be as successful. This is because it’s much more difficult to learn the correct muscle coordination that the full swing requires.

Now, here’s another incredible golf tip…

Don’t learn to hit for distance before you learn to hit for accuracy. Always learn accuracy before distance. You want to have a strong, accurate, powerful swing and stroke. Not a terrible, blasting hack. You can see what I mean when you examine the shoe-in putt… when it’s easy to stroke the ball. These two golf tips tie into one another. You see, blasting the ball is not an option for the shoe-in putt, which makes it the easiest shot on the course.

So just as you perfect your swing (golf tip number one: start small) you should perfect accuracy by starting smaller. Perfect this starting shorter golf tip for short-distance shots and you will also find increasing accuracy and distance with your long shots.

William P. Allen is a golf enthusiast and lives in Wilmington, Ohio.

BY MIKE GELHAUS

Baaack and thru. Baaack and thru. Baaack and thru. Feel the rhythm, feel the tempo. Bring the club back and let it go.

If you want to find The Zone, that elusive state of mind and body convergence where you are one with the golf ball and can do no wrong, then you need to develop a tempo in your swing. With the right tempo, your muscles will work in unison to produce a smooth, powerful motion. Choose the wrong tempo, however, and your muscles will fight each other, causing your swing to fall out of synch, which causes hit-or-miss erratic results.

Everybody’s swing is different, so how do you find the right groove for your swing? Practice and experimentation is the only answer. You have to search for the true essence of your own swing, grasshopper-san. Fortunately, a variety of golf training aids exist for training tempo, from small metronomes that you can clip to your shirt collar, to magnetic balls that click as you swing. Here are some tips for using these training aids to groove your tempo:

1. Check out various pros’ swings on TV to get a few tempos you’d like to try out. For example, 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell has a fast tempo, while Ernie Els has a slower, gliding tempo. Vijay Singh has a medium tempo that’s right in between. Once you have a few tempos to try out, then make sure that whatever training aid you buy is variable so you can try them out. If the training aid is locked to a single tempo, don’t buy it. There is no “one size fits all” for this.

2. Use your swing metronome or other training aid to try out different tempos until you find one that’s right for you. This could take several practice sessions. How will you know when it’s right? It will feel smooth and good and you will hit better, more consistent shots.

3. Practice your tempo as much as possible. Try to groove the tempo for five minutes before each round, and practice the tempo for a few swings before each shot. Practice it until you feel it in your bones. This should give you a good, repeatable base tempo to use as an anchor for your swing. Then, if you face adversity or a pressure situation during your round, you will always have a solid base tempo that you can go back to. This will allow you to relax more easily and focus on the shot at hand.

Good luck and feel the rhythm!

Mike Gelhaus, once a racquetball professional and published author for Racquetball Magazine, has turned his attention back to his first love, the game of golf. He recently achieved a handicap of 3 only weeks before having to go in for back surgery. Hoping for a quick recovery and a possible professional career, Mike’s been working on The Best Golf Training Aids site to help you improve your game and seriously knock strokes off your score through the use of golf training aids.

BY TODD HARMON

Over a decade has passed since I crested the hill of age continuum and yet it just dawned on me last year, at 53 I should be getting more roll out of my drives than I did before! Seriously I’m no physicist, but even I know that golf balls roll further downhill. And I’m definitely over the hill!

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BY MIKE PEDERSEN

If you want to rapidly improve your golf, stretch your golfing muscles on a consistent basis!

What’s the difference between a “golf stretch” and an everyday stretch? The answer to this question may be your missing link to a great game and years of enjoyment instead of frustration and weak attempts at quitting the game. I know… you’ve considered it! I’ve been there many times. But the bottom line… we keep coming back!

So to end the years of frustration and quickly transform your game, you need to do golf stretches daily. Yes, that’s right…daily!

It will only take you a few minutes to get them done, but the improvement in your game will be quick and dramatic. The return on this investment (of time) is well worth it.

Now which golf stretches to do to get the quickest return?

That’s a personal issue. Everyone has different limitations. Some are backswing related, others are follow through or even maintaining golf posture.

Here are a couple of golf stretches that will help you prevent back pain and increase your backswing range of motion for longer drives.

The Lying Leg Crossover:

1. Lie on back with legs extended.
2. Raise one leg and bend at knee to 90 degrees in knee and hip.
3. Cross that leg over extended leg, while opposite shoulder stays on ground.
4. Go until slight pull in butt and lower back.
5. Hold for 15 seconds and repeat once more.
6. Switch legs and do opposite side.

This simple golf stretch will not only make your back feel better, but it will improve your ability to make a bigger turn, with less hip movement, creating torque and energy.

The Backswing Stretch:

1. Extend left arm out in front of you (if you are a right handed golfer).
2. Take right hand and put under left wrist.
3. Pull with right hand against left wrist and make as big a turn on back swing as possible.
4. Hold for at least 15 seconds, repeat once more and do the opposite arm for your follow through side.

This simple golf stretch will loosen up the muscles in the back of your shoulders and your upper back (lats) for more freedom on both your backswing and follow through.

Do these two golf stretches daily and watch your game improve quickly.

NOTE: These are only 2 golf stretches isolating certain areas of the body. To get the full benefit for your golf game, you need to do golf stretches for each muscle group.

Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author of the Ultimate Golf Fitness Guide, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites.

BY MARTIN VOUSDEN

Even the best in the world get it spectacularly wrong on occasion, so we take a slightly malicious delight in reminding you of the days when things went pear-shaped.

Seve Ballesteros, 1986 Masters, Augusta National, 15th hole

Everyone remembers Augusta in ’86 for the stirring Jack Nicklaus final round that brought him his sixth green jacket and 18th and last Major, but it should never have been. As Nicklaus stood over a putt on 16 — that he missed — Ballesteros was standing in the 15th fairway, waiting for Jack to finish and the fuss to die down. Having eagled the 13th he had hit a superb drive on the last par five on the course and now stood with a two-stroke lead, and a 4-iron in his hands ready to negotiate the remaining 210 yards for a certain birdie, possible eagle. He knew the only way he could mess up was to hit it short in the water but that was his ultimate undoing because, subconsciously, he also knew he had too much club. The swing was short and lacked conviction and the ball went unerringly into the pond. Bogey six, followed by a three-putt bogey on 17. Game over. “That’ll be a 44 large,” said Jack.

Phil Mickelson, 2002 Ryder Cup, The Belfry, 6th hole

The world number two golfer was drawn to play against unknown Phillip Price in the singles of the 34th Ryder Cup and by the sixth hole was just getting into his stride. A fine drive, followed by a searing iron to three feet set up the easiest of birdie chances for Mickelson — especially as his opponent was in real trouble, having to stand half in a water hazard with the ball well above his feet. He then produced a great shot and put the ball to within six feet himself. When he holed the putt for the most unlikely of birdies, Mickelson was rattled and allowed it to show. He not only missed but his putt never touched the sides. “Tell ‘em who I beat,” said Phillip.

Sandy Lyle, 1985 Open, Royal St. George’s, 18th hole

Unusually in this selection, the man concerned still went on to win — but it was a close run thing. Having started the final day of the ’85 Open three shots adrift, Britain’s favorite golfing son gradually hauled himself back into contention and it looked as if a par up the 18th would be good enough for victory. But then Lyle’s approach found Duncan’s Hollow, a dangerous dip in the ground to the left of the green — and the flagstick was perched just over a small rise. To get it close would need a delicate touch and at his first attempt Sandy had the touch of a donkey wearing boxing gloves. The ball came right back to his feet. But unknown to him at the time, immediately behind on the 17th, Bernhard Langer and David Graham were also making bogey, so Sandy’s second chip and a putt were good enough. Just. “Stone me,” said Sandy. “Screw you,” said Langer and Graham.

Curtis Strange, 1985 Masters, Augusta National, 13th and 15th holes

While everyone else gets one mention, Curtis gets two, in the same round, on the same day, within three holes. Having shot 80 on the first day he roared back with rounds of 65 and 68. Then on the front nine on Sunday he went to the turn in a four under par 32 and grabbed the lead as statisticians looked at each other and agreed that yes, this would be the best ever comeback in Masters history. The man had played 45 holes in 15-under par and was virtually through Amen Corner unscathed. And then he took his 4-wood and chunked it in the water. And then he did it again at 15 and came home in four over. Thankfully, he recovered well enough to win consecutive US Opens in ’88/9. “This’ll ruin you or make you a better player,” Jack Nicklaus said.

Ian Baker-Finch, 1984 Open, St. Andrews Old Course, 1st hole

Like many comparative unknowns before him, Ian Baker-Finch was largely ignored after a first round 68 in the Open Championship but the good-looking Australian with the smooth swing refused to go away. When he followed it up with a 66 to take a three-stroke lead, and then consolidated with a 71 on day three, the whole world took notice. So he started the final round of the most important day of his golfing life, leading the Open, alongside five-time champion Tom Watson. Was he nervous? Nah, his opening drive split the fairway, leaving a short iron to the first green. He hit it smoothly and watched it settle on the putting surface, before the ball sucked back into the Swilken Burn, taking Baker-Finch’s hopes with it. He limped around in 79 and finished tied ninth. “Bloody burn,” he said.

Tom Watson, 1984 Open, St. Andrews Old Course, 17th hole

Watson had, the year before, taken his fifth Open Championship but he now desperately wanted a sixth to tie Harry Vardon’s all-time record — and do one thing at least that Jack Nicklaus hadn’t done. He started the final day in a tie for the lead with Ian Baker-Finch and by the time he reached the 17th tee he was still sharing top spot — only this time with Seve Ballesteros, who was in the group ahead. Seve made his first par on the hole all week but Watson, from the middle of the fairway, hit far too much club — a 2-iron that finished up against the wall, across the road for which the hole is named. He still insists to this day that 2-iron was the right club. We still insist he’s wrong. “I am the champion.” Seve Ballesteros

Martin Vousden is a freelance golf writer, a former editor of Today’s Golfer and launch editor of Golf Buyer and Swing magazines. His book, With Friends Like These; A Selective History of the Ryder Cup, was published in 2006 by Time Warner. He edits the Rare Birdie website.

BY WILLIAM HIGGINBOTHAM

Golf vacation: a magical phrase. Dreaming of a golf vacation is exciting, planning one can be just as rewarding. Good planning prevents a dream from turning into a nightmare.

The first consideration is the budget, how much do you have to spend. Realistic is the key here, figure a dollar amount you can spend and subtract 15-20% off the top for a cushion for those unforeseen expenses. Surprises can and do happen, even with the best planning. After you have your top dollar amount or the amount you can spend minus your 15-20% cushion, then move onto other considerations.

Are you driving or flying? Search out deals for complete packages, with flight, hotel green fees, or if driving, hotel and green fees packages. Some hotels offer stay and play packages, and these offer a price break on your room as well as green fees. Just be sure to know and understand if any special stipulations are attached such as minimum number of nights, days of the week available. Inquiring about other charges would be helpful.

Next is the make-up of the group that will be traveling with you. Are the players roughly of the same skill level or is it a mixed bag of skills? This needs to be taken into account when planning what courses will be available. Are you traveling with friends and family that will not be golfing? Then check on surrounding activities and attractions. If the non-golfing members have already voiced their expectations, great, if not it would be wise to inquire about their expectations and wishes for the vacation. While everyone won’t get everything they desire, mutual give and take and the airing of opinions helps everyone own the experience, and gives everyone more piece of mind and it will increase the fun for the whole group.

Faraway exotic places or big name courses are not the only or the best solution, but rather the key is planning, preparation, and open dialog among the members of the group about expectations and desired outcomes. While you cannot plan for every surprise, failure to plan leave’s everything a surprise.

List the articles needed for the trip, such as clothing, maps, tickets, medications, toiletries. Make provisions for stopping delivery of mail and newspapers while you are gone. Can someone check on your place of residence if the trip is longer than a weekend? What about pets, plants. Turn the thermostat back a few degrees; also consider turning down the hot water heater (if you are comfortable doing this). A lot of people put their lights on timers for that at home look. To some people the details may seem annoying, but a comprehensive list saves time and annoyance.

Plus every time you work on the list or the details of the trip, it affords the opportunity to take a little mental vacation to your destination.

William Higginbotham writes for sports-barn.info.

BY LARRY FOSTER, M.D.

Females account for about one-quarter of the 25 million-plus recreational golfers in the United States.

When I was writing Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf Injuries I knew all along that I would have a separate section in the book for female golfers. While performing my research for the book I came across a thick medical text written exclusively about the female athlete. It was a very comprehensive book that covered every conceivable sport. I eagerly flipped to the chapter on golf, hoping to uncover some juicy new material. What I found, however, was the same material I was already familiar with.

The point here is that even though females are well represented among the golfing population, there is surprisingly little research published in the medical literature that is dedicated specifically to the woman golfer.

What we do know about injuries among female players comes from large published surveys of professional and amateur female golfers. These surveys shed light on how frequent injuries are among the ladies.

First, the professionals: One survey of nearly 100 LPGA members revealed that greater than 80 percent of these golfers reported having suffered a golf-related injury, and that there were an average of two injuries incurred per player. The typical injury forced the female pro to miss almost three weeks from the Tour, though some players reported missing up to one year from the competition due to their injuries.

The most frequently injured body areas among these female professionals were:

• Left wrist (31 percent of all injuries)
• Lower back (22 percent)
• Shoulder (8 percent)
• Left hand (8 percent)
• Left knee (6 percent)
• Left elbow (5 percent)

The two most common reported causes for injury by this group of women professional golfers were:

• Overpractice/repetitive swings
• Contact with an object other than the ball during a swing (for example, the ground or a rock)

In summary, female professional golfers experience the same high injury rate that their male counterparts on the PGA Tour do (the males also report an injury rate of about eighty percent). Overuse injuries, brought on by the relentless practice and play schedules these players maintain, predominate.

Now for the amateurs: One large published survey of amateur golfers (which included both men and women) provides some insight. For starters, the overall frequency of injuries was virtually the same for women and men — just over 60 percent for both sexes.

The most frequently injured body areas among these female amateurs were:

• Elbow (36 percent of all injuries)
• Lower back (27 percent)
• Shoulder (16 percent)
• Wrist/hand (15 percent)
• Knee (11 percent)

The three most common causes for injury reported by this group of women amateur golfers were:

• Excessive practice/play
• Poor swing mechanics
• Hitting the ground or an object during a swing

So, there are many similarities and a couple of differences in the injury patterns of female and male golfers. Women golfers (amateur and pro) run the same overall high risk of injury as the men (about an eighty percent injury rate for professionals and about sixty percent for the amateurs, regardless of gender). The left (lead) side is most at risk for all golfers, regardless of their skill level or gender.

The overall pattern of distribution of injuries by body part is similar for females and males. One exception to the trend, however, is the disproportionately high rate of back injuries seen among men as compared with women. This is true for both professionals and amateur golfers. Conversely, female golfers (amateur and pro) are more likely to sustain injuries to the upper limb (elbow, wrist, and hand) than male golfers.

So, how can you lady golfers out there work toward reducing your risk for golf-related injuries and remain pain-free when you play? The advice I give to you is the same as it is for the men: Be aware of the ingredients to Dr. Divot’s Recipe for Injury:

• Poor physical conditioning
• Overuse
• Inadequate or improper warm-up
• Poor swing technique

During the golfing season as well as the off season, make sure that you devote time to basic fitness and conditioning. It will prepare your body for the rigors of golf — a game that is surprisingly tough on the body. Next, avoid the temptation to play or practice too much. Our bodies need time to recuperate after each round of golf or trip to the range. Each time you do play or practice, make sure you warm up and stretch beforehand (a complete and proper golf warm-up routine is outlined in Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf Injuries). Finally, make sure to use proper swing mechanics by having a local golf pro evaluate your swing. Getting lessons from a qualified pro (and not your cranky husband!) is a great way to lower your score and prevent injury.

O.K. ladies — go get ‘em!

Larry Foster, M.D., F.A.A.O.S., is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and self-described golf nut. Trained at Columbia University and the Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York, Dr. Foster is the author of Dr. Divot’s Guide to Golf Injuries — A Handbook for Golf Injury Prevention and Treatment. Written in a humorous “plain English” style, Dr. Divot’s Guide teaches the reader how to prevent and treat the most common golf injuries. Visit Dr. Divot’s website for more information.

BY BILL MAITLAND

Do you often, or even ever, move your hands closer to the head of the club by choking down on the grip? I guess it is a thing that many of us forget to do. For delicate shots around the green, choking down on the grip allows for much more control over and feel for these shots.

Don’t forget you can use any club to make these shots, and the one to use is usually the one that will place your ball just on the green and allow it to run to the hole. This is much more accurate than trying to loft the ball to the hole and hope it will stop.

It takes a bit of practice to master hitting, say, an 8 iron five feet onto the putting surface just beyond the fringe. However, an 8 iron may be needed to get the amount of run that you want.

So, you need to practice with several different clubs to get the feel for each and know what each will do. Spend a great deal of time practicing this; it is so important and almost the whole basis for reducing your score and handicap.

Make sure you can put the ball where you want it every time and understand the type of swing you are making. Pinching the ball, or almost putting it, using the loft of the club to send the ball to land on the desired spot, how much back swing, firm wrists, wristy shots — all these have to be worked out to suit you as this sort of chip is as unique as your putting grip. stance and stroke.

Don’t move on to the next club until you are totally consistent with the club you are using. As before, if you can go out onto the course and practice with a real green, you will benefit greatly.

If you are having difficulty hitting the ball sweetly, try standing closer to the ball. Experiment with your distance to the ball. Standing closer to the ball will usually allow you to hit it sweetly with a nice square club face.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru. He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12. He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game through his website, Online Golfers Handbook.

BY MIKE GELHAUS

How many times has this happened to you?

You get to the course 15 minutes before your tee time. By the time you get all your stuff together, pay the greens fees, etc., and then get yourself to the putting green there is less than 10 minutes left before game time. You hit some putts, some chips, and then take a few swings to loosen up. Feeling pretty good, you stroll to the first tee, put your bag down, and look down the fairway.

It’s a dogleg right with OB on the right and tree trouble on the left. It’s not long but it’s tight, with the potential for a round-ruining big number. That’s when you start to realize the full extent of the tightness that’s still in your muscles. You take some more swings, desperately trying to get the muscles in your legs, back, and shoulders to warm up, but to no avail. Your tee time is up and you still don’t have any kind of rhythm or feel to your swing, and the OB on the right looms ominously.

You tee it up and make a tight, nervous swing, overcompensating due to your fear of the OB. Your ball jumps left off the clubface, a nasty pull-hook that burrows deep into the trees. You groan and shove your club back into your bag, then stomp off to try to salvage something resembling a decent score.

If this type of thing happens to you on an all-to-frequent basis, trust me you are not alone. Fortunately, there are plenty of golf training aids out there that can help you avoid it. Swinging a weighted or increased-resistance club, for example, is a good way to get warm before a round. However, if you really want to be loose and feel confident for the opening drive, you probably need to get to the course a littler earlier and add a stretching routine to your warm-up.

There is no way to get your muscles prepared for the intense effort involved with the golf swing without stretching. Also, stretching helps to relax the mind as well as the body, which really helps with the first tee jitters. So in addition to resistance training aids like weighted clubs, consider adding a stretch routine. There are lots of books available with stretch programs that are tailored specifically for golfers. Here are some tips for finding a good stretching program:

1. A book is just as much a training aid as any of those gadgets that are designed to help your swing, so approach it the same way. As you would try out a training aid before you shell out the money, make sure you check out the contents of the book before you buy. It should have pictures for all the stretches. Stretches without visual aids are dangerous because you can never be quite sure if you’re doing them correctly.

2. Make sure you find a book with a variety of stretches for daily stretching as well as a pre-round warm-up. Training for flexibility daily can add yards to your drives and years to your golfing career.

3. Get to the course early! Rushing through your warm-up stretches doesn’t work and can cause injury. If you are short on time, do a smaller number of stretches correctly rather than trying to do them all quickly.

Good luck, and remember the mind is just as important as the body in golf, if not more so. Books are training aids for the mind, so get a few good ones and go to it!

Mike Gelhaus, once a racquetball professional and published author for Racquetball Magazine, has turned his attention back to his first love, the game of golf. He recently achieved a handicap of 3 only weeks before having to go in for back surgery. Hoping for a quick recovery and a possible professional career, Mike’s been working on The Best Golf Training Aids site to help you improve your game and seriously knock strokes off your score through the use of golf training aids.