Much has been written about the proper method of swinging a golf club, and there are many opinions on how to accomplish it. The truth is that there are a great many ways to swing a golf club properly — below is described just one of the ways to do so, along with some tips on how to correct errant shots. No matter your method, however, the best tip and your greatest strategy is simple: keep playing and keep trying to get better, because the better you get, the more you’ll love playing the game.
What is the best way to swing a golf club?
Even among professional players, there are myriad ways to swing a golf club for a successful shot. The one thing that’s common among all good golfers and all successful golf shots is this: the face of your golf club should be square to the ball at the moment of impact. The best way for you to produce this kind of shot consistently is to either take lessons from a professional or to follow a proven method like the following:
First, you should set up with the front foot a little ahead of the ball, so that if you place your club on the ground in front of you, it is in the middle of your feet. When using bigger clubs like hybrids or drivers, the ball should be placed more towards your front foot; with smaller ones like irons, it’s better to place the ball in the middle of your stance. Allow your arms to dangle down in front of you as you hold the golf club in a relaxed manner, with your grip no tighter than would be necessary to prevent someone from pulling the club from your hands.
Your upper body should be bent down slightly toward the ball. Your knees should be slightly bent, with your weight situated slightly toward the balls of your feet and with your weight evenly distributed between them. As you begin your backswing, you should move your hands straight back while keeping them to your back leg and keep your front arm straight.
As you begin your downswing, you should feel as though you are slightly tugging on the head of the club. Then, unwind rapidly through the point of impact to generate clubhead speed. Just before you make contact with the ball, you need to lock the front arm again to ensure it is completely straight, as it was at the beginning.
At the same time, you should be transferring weight from your back toward the front foot, allowing knees to be positioned toward the target. Make sure to keep eye on the ball throughout the takeaway, the backswing, and the downswing. Only as you begin to follow through should you finally bring up your head to watch the ball in its flight.
How to tell if your golf swing is broken
It’s not uncommon to be out on the golf course and having a terrific day of striking when the bottom suddenly drops out and you can’t seem to hit anything. Don’t be too surprised: it’s virtually impossible to be completely consistent for four or five hours on the golf course, hitting the ball in exactly the same way each time.
The truth is, there’s very little wiggle room on a golf shot, and you have to hit the ball precisely in order to get the desired results. The key to this whole scenario is that you should expect that from time to time your golf swing will seemingly desert you and that you simply won’t be able to hit with your typical accuracy or power. Don’t panic when this happens and just watch the flight of the ball, because that will almost always tell you what’s happening with your golf swing.
It might be that a very minor adjustment is needed in your swing, such as slowing down a little for extra control. There are a million and one things that might cause your swing to be a little off, but you just need to think about what they might be and correct them rather than panicking and just thinking that the golf gods have abandoned you.
Best ways to fix your swing
Depending on what’s wrong with your swing, there are several techniques you can use to correct the problem and get your game back on track.
If you’re slicing the ball, try keeping your right elbow tucked in during your backswing so that it doesn’t fly out and promote an outside-to-inside swing.
If you’re routinely hooking the ball, make a conscious effort to strike the golf ball on the half that is closer to you.
If you’re hitting the ball fat, you need to make your swing a little more upright so that your clubhead does not hit the ground before striking the ball. If this is a little too difficult to try right out on the golf course, a quick fix would be to move the ball a little further forward in your stance so that your clubhead is not as low at the time of impact.
If you’ve been topping the ball a lot, that means you’re hitting the upper part of the ball and driving it into the ground, rather than hitting it lower to get it airborne. One of the best ways to avoid topping the ball is to try to center your left hip over your left foot during your swing so that the clubhead stays lower in relation to the golf ball.
Another frequent cause of topping the ball is bringing your head up too soon during the swing and losing eye contact with it at the critical moment of impact. For most amateur golfers, this is the primary cause of topping the ball, so if you make a point of keeping your eyes on it throughout impact, you’ll probably eliminate most of your top shots.
Where can you buy a golf practice mat?
To get better at golf, there is no substitute for regular practice. While you might not be able to afford daily trips to the driving range, you can certainly afford to buy your own practice mat for home use, and you can get high-quality golf practice mats from Rawhide Golf Ball Co. at one-third to one-fourth the price of what a new one would run you. You’ll love the fact that it feels exactly like being on the course, and you’ll probably notice a steady reduction of your scores after you’ve been practicing a while with your Rawhide practice mat.
Final Thoughts
The game of golf can be one of the great joys of your life, and it’s an activity you can literally do for as long as you’re able to walk. And, as with any hobby or sport, it’s even more fun when you’re hitting more good shots and manage to sneak in a win every once in a while! So don’t despair over your routine blunders or lack of consistency just yet: it’s all about practice, patience, more practice, and more patience. You’ll be seeing an improvement in no time!
