If you're an avid golfer or want to become an avid golfer, you look for golf swing tips from everyone. Some are pretty bad. The following tips on golf swings are taken from what the pros do to maximize their game.

1. Watch the pros in slow motion. If you really need to know how to improve your golf swing, take advantage of that TiVo. Each pro has a slightly different technique, and you'll only pick it up by watching them over and over, from different angles. Tiger Woods has the fastest drive in the sport, and just watching his smooth motions and practicing them yourself in the mirror can do you more good than a hundred mediocre golf swing tips.

2. Use the right golf grip for you. There are as many ways to hold golf clubs as there are to hold pencils, and not one of them is right for everyone. Talk to the golf pro at your favorite course, and he'll help you decide, by your height and grip and habits, which one is perfect for you.

3. If you're left handed, golf swing tips need to be modified to work perfectly for you. You know that to function in a right-handed world, you have to do more than just mirror things. Seek out tapes of left-handed pros like Mike Weir for golf swing tips, and don't buy clubs made for righties just because that's what they sell at the pro shop. Go to a large sporting goods store, if possible one recommended by another leftie who plays, and pay a little extra to get the right clubs. And don't give up; there are golfing organizations specifically for left-handed golfers like you. Help is out there!

4. If you're a beginner, golf tips from DVDs are almost mandatory. The great thing about an instructional golf swing DVD is that you can watch it and practice your swing at home, in private, with no one around to laugh at you. Add a full-length mirror so you can critique yourself and get it just right, and you become your own golf pro.

5. Wrist cocking is not optional. One of the simplest golf swing tips you'll ever learn: you must cock your wrists (at a 90 degree angle) on the backswing so that on the downstroke you can get that extra bit of energy. Remember the best golf swing is like a spring uncoiling.

6. Learn a little bit about geometry. Golf is a sport about the head as much as it is about the body, and if you don't understand why you slice instead of hitting that perfect 12-degree angle out, then the answer might be in a math book, not in a golf driver swing tips manual or DVD.

7. Watch out for free golf swing tips. Golf, let's face it, is a sport that costs money. You need more than an inflatable ball and some sneakers. Lots of people out there are selling snake oil - and where there's money, there are scammers. Remember that there is no quick fix, that any improvements start with information and finish with hard work, and that the best golf instruction tips will come from professionals who are well-paid. Good free is out there - but a bad free tip can start you at less than zero.

8. The most perfect golf swing tips are the ones that are specifically for you and your needs. After you get the basics, learn about yourself - your quirks, your bad angles, your problems with concentration. You may need to seek golf swing tips from unexpected places - books on how to focus, for instance. Keep golf in the back of your mind, and you will be astounded at the insights you get just working through your daily life.