Improve Your Golf Swing

“The number eighteen is symbolically meaningful because it is the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word chai, which means life.”

~ From To the Linksland by Michael Bamberger

How many times have you watched a particular sport and thought to yourself that there was no rhyme or reason or logic to what was happening on the playing field or track?  Maybe you’ve watched a NASCAR event and thought that the cars were just driving around in circles for an hour, or have watched American football and think the players do nothing but run a few yards and then fall down.

When you do find out the rules and the objectives of these sports or games, do you find that they’re much more interesting to watch or get involved with?  Do you suddenly have a better appreciation for what the players are doing and why they’re doing it?

It’s not unusual for anyone to have a much better appreciation of a sport when they learn the technical aspects of it.  This can make the game more interesting and absorbing to watch, and for those who participate it can make it more challenging and enjoyable.  A participant can also be much more successful at the game or sport when they understand different technical aspects of it; if you know more techniques and plays in American football you can be more successful in blocking the defense or in getting the ball across the goal line, and so on.

Understanding some technical aspects of the game of golf is going to be a key component in improving your swing and in improving your score as well.  Far too many players simply get up to a tee and start swinging away with nothing more than a cursory knowledge of the game itself and of how courses are laid out, and then they wonder why they do so poorly at the game itself.

Let’s cover a few technical aspects of the game of golf so that you can improve your swing as well as improving your own score.  Note that the rules of golf are composed and regulated by the United States Golf Association (USGA).  You may be tempted to think that when you’re with your friends or out on your own that you can make up your own rules as you go along, but typically these rules allow for the play to flow smoothly and are meant for all players to be courteous to other players on the course.