golf95477

The perfect golf swing is not just in the shoulders or the arms. The way your wrists release during your golf swing can have a major impact on the ball. So, how do the wrists release in the golf swing?

If you don't release the swing at the wrists just right, you may end up with a slice. This is what most beginners, and quite a few pros, often do. Of all the culprits that might be ruining your game, you may not think to blame those harmless old wrists. Let's take a look at the way you release that swing...

Perfect Timing Means Perfect Results

Here's the perfect release:

Make a good backswing turn. As you start your swing, shift your weight to your left foot, the forward foot of your swing. As you swing, you unwind, starting with your legs and torso, then moving on to your shoulders and arms.

But wait a minute! Keep those wrists locked up. Until the very last part of the downswing, keep those wrists locked. Then, let them go and watch that ball fly.

Wait!!! not Yet!

Most golfers release their wrists too soon in the swing. You just can't wait to send that ball flying, so you start to swing your shoulders and arms down too early, instead of letting it start naturally with the torso. You end up swinging the club down and then you have to release the wrists in the middle of that downswing.

You've really got to wait until the final nanosecond of the downswing to let the wrists go. The timing is something that you have to work on. You shouldn't have to force it; if you let yourself unwind just right, your wrists will know when to release.

Usually, when you release your wrists too early, you end up hooking the ball. If you get lots of hooking, you should take a closer look at your wrist release.

What Happened?

Some golfers don't release the wrists at all. This is most often due to nerves, or trying to force the ball right into the target area. You might be uncertain of your shot, and this will make your shot stiff and frozen. It sounds bad, but even very good golfers do this.

If you don't release the wrist at all, or not enough, you'll end up hitting the ball much shorter than you intended to. You probably will be closer to your intended target, but you'll lose yards and yards on it.

Get It Right!

Here's a good tip for you when you're practicing: Relax. Let all that tension go. Being nervous about your shot is the number one cause of improper wrist release. Twist your body, put your weight on your forward foot, and do it. It should be a natural motion, and you just can't be natural with it if you're whole body is tense.

Here's another way to think about it: You are using the rotational force of your body. Black belts in karate rotate their torsos in the same way to add power to their punch.

Getting the right wrist release is a zen thing; it happens when you don't think about it. Sound esoteric? Sorry about that! put another way, you shouldn't have to consciously release your wrists. If you twist your body just right and let the natural rotation do its thing, your wrists will know when to go.

A good grip, a good set up, a natural swing and you don't have to do anything at all. Just let those wrists go!

You can also find more information on as modern golf swing and golf course. GetGoodAtGolf.com is a comprehensive resource golf enthusiast to improve their game through helpful tips and instructions.

There is no denying it: Ottawa is known is one of the coldest capitals in the world (only as far as temperatures are concerned though). But does that mean you stay at home during the winter and mope? Absolutely not! Ottawa has turned a potential liability into a key asset and really shows us how to celebrate winter.

First there is Winterlude, Ottawas winter festival, which is being held this year from February 3 to 19, 2006. Winterlude is apparently attended by more than 650,000 winter revellers and encompasses a myriad of events: concerts, special events, culinary demonstrations, restaurant festivals and the list goes on. Skating on the Rideau Skateway, at almost 8 km the worlds largest icerink., was our main reason for coming to Ottawa. Indeed we had travelled to Ottawa about 3 years ago and due to warm weather Winterlude was a total washout for us that year (I guess the appropriate term for that event would be "Waterlude").

But our earlier experience didn't deter us, so this year Theresa and I decided to come back and pray for better weather so we would indeed be able to check out this phenomenal skating and entertainment venue for ourselves.

Incidentally, the Rideau Canal Skateway has been recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records as the world's largest naturally frozen ice rink. The skateway is 7.8 kilometers long and takes you from the Rideau Bridge all the way to Dow's lake.

We got going early just around 10 am on an absolutely perfect winter day, but even at that time, the skateway was packed, and the walkthrough over the frozen ice from Confederation Park to the skateway entrance on the other side of the river was chock full with people in a long lineup.

We laced up our skates and put our boots in our backbacks which would give us the flexibility to get off the ice at any time and continue our explorations on foot. Or if we got too tired, we could even hop on the "Sno-Bus" which connects Dow's lake with Confederation Park during the entire Winterlude Festival for the low fee of $2.50 (more information on the OC Transpo site) .

But, apparently we didn't need a Sno-Bus, we skated our way down on this wonderful natural ice surface all the way to the lake and didn't even need to rest. On this gorgeous day with crystal blue skies and perfect winter weather and amazingly no winds, skating on the Rideau was a phenomenal experience. We could indeed not have picked a better day to explore the Rideau Canal on skates.

At different intervals along the way there were a variety of rest areas, food concessions and special entertainment or information areas. Well represented of course is a famous Ottawa trademark: the Beavertails concession booths which sell freshly made warm pastry, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. The perfect snack and energy source on a cold winter's day.

At the Via Rail Concord Station Rest area an exhibit shed light on Ottawa's railroad history. Apparently many years ago, trains would arrive in downtown Ottawa right next to the Rideau Canal. At Fifth Avenue, young sports fans were enjoying the canadian Tire JUMPStart Activity Centre where they were jumping through the air on a trampoline system and putting their hockey skills to the test.

At Pig Island a special area with teepees was set up to get a taste of Aboriginal traditions, culture and cuisine. In addition the area featured a loggers' exhibit, a snowshoe-making workshop and aboriginal songs and drumming.

Once arrived at Dow's lake I went on to explore the 26th Annual Bed Race, a fundraising event which proved to be an absolutely hilarious experience, for a good cause no less. The Bed Race is organized by the Ottawa Kiwanis Club and the proceeds, close to $50,000 will go towards the Children's Read-A-Thon.

A young hockey star tests his skills at the canadian Tire JumpStart Activity Centre

But I had more to cover, so I started skating back towards the downtown and by this time the skateway had filled up quite a bit. It seemed like young and old, the whole family was out. Parents were pulling their children on little sleds, or even pushing them in all-terrain baby carriages. Everybody was having a ton of fun.

On the way back one person struck my attention: a young lady on red skates with red gloves and a red scarf was skating down the canal, juggling, apparently just having a ball of a time. I approached her to find out a bit about her. She introduced herself as Sylvie, and shared with me that she is part of a juggling family and that juggling is in her blood. She said that juggling is her life, and although she doesn't drive the fanciest car, she is happy because she gets to do what she loves.

After all this skating I got really hungry, so I took off my skates and simply headed up to the Rideau Centre, one of Ottawas biggest shopping centres. It is located right next to the Canal and was positively packed on this day. The Rideau Centre offered a welcome opportunity to warm up and catch a nice lunch in its food court.

Obviously I love outdoor activities as well as urban exploring, and skating on the Rideau Canal through downtown Ottawa combines both activities perfectly. I got a brief taste of this special winter activity, and one thing is for sure: I'll be back!!!

This entire article including photos is located at http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/ottawa_skating_rideau.htm

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of http://www.travelandtransitions.com, a web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new http://www.travelandtransitions.com/ebooks.html FREE ebooks about travel.