Sunday, March 23, 2008

Play Tennis Like Pros

Mastering the strokes of the game is a must for any player that wants to do more than just hit the ball and hit the net. There are several strokes that can be used and there are also more advanced strokes that can be used. Here we will go through several of the most important strokes that you need to play the game.

The Forehand Counterhit this is perhaps the first stroke that you should learn when playing the game. Once you learn this basic stroke you will be able to learn more complex and advanced strokes that can offer more extreme levels of play.In this hit, the goal is to hit the ball with medium levels of speed with some topspin to it. This will bring the ball down on the other side of the table. This works well against a light to a medium level of topspin.Place your feet so that the right foot is just slightly further back than the left. Place your weight on the balls of your feet to allow you to move faster, but keep your weight evenly distributed. Your knees should be bent and the feet are your legs should be spread father than shoulder length. Your shoulders should be in line with your legs and you should hold your arms at shoulder width apart.The ball is coming towards you and you need to use this stroke to hit it. You will begin with the backswing on the stroke.

Your right foot and your leg will turn to the right and your body has turned to the right in general while keeping your head facing forward. Your paddle should only have moved slightly backwards at this point because you are not putting a lot of force into the stroke.As the ball bounces on the table coming towards you, your backswing will be completed. This means that most of your weight is on your right leg and your body should move to the right and then back to the left without losing your balance. Your shoulders should move to the position of being parallel to the end of the table. Your right hand should be at the height that is just lower than what you expect the bounce of the ball to be.Now, you begin your forward swing. Your head must remain centered so that you can watch the ball easily.

The angle of the paddle is about 45 degrees. Your body should be turning forwards at this point.Now that ball is in contact with you. You watch this contact happening. Your body is moved towards the left as this will provide additional power when you do hit the ball.The ball should hit about 10 o'clock on the back with the bat moving forward and slightly up in direction. The angle of the paddle should still be at 45 degrees.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Power Golf

Improving your Golf Game

If you have decided to take up golf or even if you are a seasoned vet of the game, you are probably on the lookout for golf tips. I have decided that since I am helping you to learn certain aspects of the game, it just made sense to add a tips section for making your game better.
How can you really hope to be a good golf escort or mystery golfer if your game is only so-so? You don’t want to make yourself or your clients feel silly on the green, so it just makes sense to add some cool tips like these.

Let me tell you that I have used many of these tips and they have certainly helped me out in my game. All of the tips I mentioned here are tried and true ways that have proven to work.
When it comes to your golf game, you can never have too much knowledge, but a little extra never hurt anyone. You can also turn to many instructional videos and websites like PGA.com for many videos that come straight from the pros. I have located many of the tips mentioned here at PGA.com and used them. I practiced them and they really work. I am not a pro, but sometimes it is hard to tell. It is a great resource for your golf game too.

Check out http://www.pga.com/ today for some really great tips.

Here are some great tips that you can use to make your golf game just a little bit better if not; a great deal better.

• The first tip is to beware of tips! This may sound strange as I am giving you some here, but it is true. Many well meaning golfers will offer you a great deal of advice, but what they don’t realize is that what works for one golfer probably won’t work for others. The tips I am offering work all around, not just for the advisor.

• You have to have fun. Getting mad all of the time isn’t going to make the game any more fun for you. If you aren’t enjoying the game, you need to find out why, and fix the problem. Staying calm is the key to golf success. It’s just a game so relax!

• Be a great sport. Be respectful to the other players. Don’t try to sabotage the other players when they are taking shots. Don’t criticize or make fun of the way they stand, shoot, or grip the club… your game is not so perfect that you can make fun of other players.

• When you practice, practice at the hardest holes on the course because this will definitely improve your game. You don’t want to take the easy way out; practicing only on the easy holes, thinking you are making headway is pointless because you aren’t. Practice on the hardest tees, and the hardest putts. Put yourself in the traps on purpose, and practice getting out of them. Imagine worst case scenarios and set them up. This is what will make you a better golfer.

• Play miniature golf as often as possible because playing miniature golf is a great way to improve your putting skills. Many seasoned golfers laugh at trying to do this but its true! Good miniature golf courses provide really challenging obstacles that you must put through, under, around and over which will offer a bigger challenge then you think. Some of these are harder to putt than the fanciest greens!

• Keep your eyes open for used training aids that you can find. If they are reasonably priced take advantage and– buy them! Not all training aids will help you, but unfortunately, you won’t know which ones will unless you try them out first. The aids that are available on the market today will help you improve your game a great deal, in a short amount of time.

• Read a lot about golf and play even more. There are lots of techniques that you can learn a lot about golf from. You can find great resources from the sources mentioned above from others like golfing websites, golf books, and golf magazines – but you will learn them faster out on the course! After you read their advice and then try out the suggestions!

• If you can’t get on the course, and you have some spare time and enough room, practice your swing. You don’t need to use a ball for this.

• Consider using a training club during these times to help build strength in your swing as well. The best free golf tips you will ever receive will all include the practicing over and over again

• Hold Up the Ball. Many golfers let their left knee collapse toward the right on the backswing. This causes your shoulder to drop, and makes your hips swing too much and overturn. To fix this, imagine your left knee going out toward the target on the backswing. If you do this right, you should feel tension and stability in both knees.

• Be a Hitchhiker. Think of placing your right hand in a hitchhiker position. This means that when the club is about waist length, you should be able to look back and see your thumb pointing upward to the sky. If this doesn’t work try to imagine that your hand is in a handshake position, with the palm facing neither up nor down.

• Pause at the Top. Swinging too quickly is a common mistake that even the pros make. I'm not saying that you should not swing with power and acceleration that you need to maintain a rhythm. The best way to accomplish this is to imagine taking a bit of a pause at the top of your backswing before changing direction and heading on to the downswing. Do this and you'll find your ball in the middle of the fairway rather than in the rough

• Rock-Solid Right Knee is the key. On the backswing, it's absolutely crucial to keep your weight on the inside of the right foot, and maintain a slight bend in the knee. If you don’t do this you will lose power. As you take the club back, imagine that the right knee is braced and solid like a wall. This will help your upper body coil behind the ball, so you can make an aggressive move that will send it soaring.

• Put some muscle into it! Golf isn't an “all in the wrist game” as is often suggested. If you want to get a powerful swing, you need to use your leg and arm muscles to do it. The common instinct of many amateurs is to hit at the ball with only the arms and wrists. That doesn’t always work.