The Elements Of A Better Golf Swing
For a complete beginner golf can be one of the most daunting sports there is
. The prospect of teeing off in full view of experienced players can be terrifying at the beginning of a round. Likewise, there can be nothing more embarrassing for a beginner than having to hack your way up towards the 18th hole in full view of the club house.
So here are a few tips to steady the nerves and improve the swing of complete beginners.
Set Up
1. Do not grip the club too tightly. Start by holding the club up at a 45% angle and pace your left hand on it so that the thumb runs along the shaft and points towards the club head. Make sure the leading edge of the head is vertical. Now place your right hand over the left in your accustomed grip with the thumb resting on the top of the shaft.
2. Now bring the club down so that the head is snug behind the ball. The shaft should be pointing at or a little below your belt buckle. The ball should be opposite your left armpit. This is true for every club you use. The more lofted the club, the narrower your stance.
3. Your toes should be pointing a little outwards to help you turn. Flex your knees so that your kneecaps are over the balls of your feet. Your left hip should be slightly higher than your right hip. Your buttocks should protrude, and your right shoulder should be over the right knee and ball of your foot.
4. Your arms should hang quite freely with the elbows pointing to your hips, and your head should be slightly tilted to the right.
5. Your weight should be distributed a little to the right for heavier clubs, 50-50 for medium clubs and a little to the left for lighter clubs.
Upswing
1. Start the movement in your navel and move your weight from the ball of your right foot to the right heel while keeping your right knee firmly flexed. During the upswing your weight shifts to your right.
2. Your hips and shoulders rotate as they follow your navel and your club continues to point towards your centre as you swing.
3. Keep your left arm close to your chest and extended but relaxed. As you swing up, flex your wrists so that when your left arm is parallel to the ground the club is perpendicular and the left arm appears behind and above the right.
4. At the top of the swing your left arm should be bent into an L shape at the elbow. The two elbows should be on an equal height, i.e. forming a line parallel to the ground.
Downswing
1. This begins as you reach the full extent of the upswing with a slight motion of the left knee out towards the toes of your left foot. This places your legs in a shallow squatting position.
2. The angle of the club on the downswing is shallower than on the upswing, but in many respects you will be performing a mirror image of the upswing on your way down and through the ball.
3. Your weight will shift to your left leg, which will firm up as you swing. Your right arm gradually straightens as your body unwinds and your left arm moves downwards.
4. On impact, your back should be at a similar angle as at the address, with your spine and head behind the ball. By now your hips have moved round about half way towards the target. Your left leg is firming up but still a little flexed, with weight now evenly distributed but shifting leftwards. The club head is still behind the butt.
5. After impact your body continues to turn as you take the club through the ball. Your head remains behind the ball as it was at impact and your left upper arm remains close to your chest.
6. On completion of the swing your body has almost completed its full rotation and most of your weight is now on your left leg. Your head remains at impact position but turns so you can look beneath the line of the shot. Your right arm is now extended and pressed against your chest and your wrists are hinged so that the club finishes pointing upwards at an angle similar to the angle it assumed at the address (but of course with the club head upwards and not downwards).
If you can do all of this without straining, then you will stand a good chance of making a good connection with your ball each time.
Of course it takes practice, but anybody in reasonable health and with a good back can improve their golf technique at least sufficiently so as not to embarrass themselves whenever they find themselves under observation on a golf course.
by: Ryan Round
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