Golf is a sport riddled with tips. Seriously, whether you look for advice online- like you’re doing now. Everyone has some sort of wisdom they are eager to share. But don’t worry, I have uncomplicated it for you by sourcing all the best tips that will give you the biggest reward.
Key Takeaways
- Your choice of clubs can make or break you..
- Understanding the appropriate amount of grip pressure is essential
- Your posture and stance at the end of your swing can tell you a lot about your shot
- Always return to the fundamentals when it goes wrong.
Finding The Right Advice
Sorry to say, there is a downside to getting tips from your pals on the course. In a lot of cases, advice shared among your comrades can be useless. Yes, you mean well when sharing advice with one another, but that doesn’t mean this works.
Are any of your friends’ instructors? If that’s the case, then why are you here? And if they aren’t then they aren’t particularly trained to give you some “valuable information”. Each time you get a tip while out on the course, you need to be cautious to consider who it comes from.
With that in mind, there are still loads of easy golf tips that can help you play better. As new player, we think it’s best of you start with the following tips provided here. No lecturing, promise.
Take It Slow
As an eager golfer, you might be tempted to hurry into your golf swing. You are most likely aiming to strike the ball at a considerable distance. There’s a natural unexplained impulse for every new golf player to swing as hard and fast as they can.
Let’s be real. In all honesty that measure of energy is only going to cause more damage than good.
The greatest golf swings are mostly those that give room for speed to advance slowly, with the club speeding up all the way to the point of impact.
Our first bit of advice is to pay special attention to taking your time when it comes to the change in your swing. Many casual golfers hurry through the transition. Typically, they’ll rapidly shift from their backswing to their forward swing as they haste to strike the ball.
Sorry to say, but this is where many players lose the plot completely. With this approach, you can set up many problems because of a flawed transition. Sliced shots are some of the major problems that emanate when you rush to the top.
So, the next time you hit the course, prioritize some time at the top of your swing. You can start with hitting a few easy wedge shots while employing a very slow changeover.
By plunging the ball, a short distance while keeping your transition slow, is crucial to knowing how important this part of the swing is. Throughout your game, your choice of clubs will become longer while your swing speed will increase in intensity. Make sure to follow your transition ensuring that it doesn’t accelerate pointlessly.
Choose Your Target
A deeply important aspect of your game is to choose a particular target for every shot that you have in mind. By choosing a specific target, youre likely to stay dedicated to your swing at hand. Being hesitant is a sure indication of uncertainty in your game, which will throw you off track quicker than you think.
Regardless of the kind of shot you are embarking on; it is always imperative to seek out a target before even taking your stance. Even though some golfers are great at choosing a target while striking an approach shot, it’s a different story off the tee. Regular golfers have a habit of taking their driver, aim for the fairway and launch the ball.
This simply won’t do when you are looking for a target. Instead of just mindlessly targeting the fairway, choose a particular target in the distance that will help guide your swing.
As soon as you have gotten use to selecting special targets, you will become aware of how helpful this approach can be. You may even become aware that the certainty and commitment has been boosted in your swing.
Your mindset is a strong weapon when you step onto the course. Teaching it to focus on a precise target before every single swing, can lead to big rewards in the long run.
Relaxing Your Grip
Giving you tips about your golf grip can be a double-edged sword. This is mainly since everyone has their own way of holding onto the club. There are multiple different grips that players use, and most of them are capable of delivering excellent shots.
Nevertheless, we do feel like there is one golf grip tip that can be used all over the spectrum by every golfer. This teeny tiny detail we are talking about, is the fact that your grip should be comfortable and relaxed.
More often than not, placing less tension on your grip helps increase clubhead speed and flawless strikes. A lot of golfers jam their grip too tight throughout the swing, and this ends up with a loss of power as a result.
Then there is the other side to this. If you are swinging the club while holding on too frivolously you would also be in some trouble. In retrospect you have to hold on just tight enough to keep control of the club from setup to finish. You don’t want the club zooming out of your hands while you swing, so the grip just has to be tight enough to hold on – but no tighter, ok?
Practice finding a grip pressure that will allow you to swing freely while still directing the club and you will be a better golfer in the process.
Calm Hands in the Takeaway
Keeping your hands calm in the takeaway would likely benefit you more if you’re new to golf. It has become second nature for average golfers to use their hands far too aggressively throughout the takeaway part of the swing. Doing this only ends up with the club being off-plane when they have concluded their backswing. A great way of keeping the club in a decent position on your way to the top, is by keeping your hands out of the takeaway while your shoulders do all the work.
A great way to move the club back away from the ball, is by concentrating on rotating your left shoulder away from the target. When you’re able to do this effectively, the road to a picture-perfect takeaway is paved. In truth, the proper takeaway is pretty simple, yet many golfers overcomplicate this and end up making costly errors. In particular, you should pay attention to your wrists throughout the early stage of your backswing. When your wrists are calm and stable, you’re definitely on the right track.
Adjusting to the change from a takeaway that is controlled by your hands rather than one which is steered by your shoulders can be challenging. As a result, you must invest some time on the practice range before getting over to the course. You can start with some of your shorter clubs and slowly work your way to the longer clubs.
This approach is only to help you become more and more comfortable with this kind of takeaway. At long last, you will have a swing that is consistent and just as effective as the one you left behind.
Recognize Your Fortes
While you might think that you’re a big strong golfer without any weaknesses, this is simply not the case. Regardless of your level of experience. Even the top pros in the sport have flaws that they try to side-step on every occasion. Yes, It would be fantastic if you could strike any shot at any time no matter what gets in your way. However, realistically that just isn’t a talent that you are expected to have. Especially if you’re new to golf.
Keep away from trying shots you really can’t perform. As a beginner you have nothing to proof so just be kind to yourself and enjoy the sport. You see, the best thing about the ability to choose your own shots on the course, lets you make decisions which complement your abilities. Choose your clubs wisely and avoid those shots that actually give you a hard time.
That doesn’t mean that you should just stop trying to correct shots that are problematic to you. At some point in your practice sessions, you should definitely develop your game in the areas that you consider weak points. But then don’t solely focus on the negatives. You should pay attention to your strengths on the course.
While improving on some of your weaker spots, you might not have to stay away from them in the future. Simply keep in mind that you can use the driving range for training and progress. This is also the ideal place to emphasise on scoring your best. Here it’s best to, continually choose the shot that gives you the greatest chance to succeed.
Look at The Club & Strike the Ball
This next piece of advice might same the same as the age old ‘keep your head down’ preaching you may have heard countless times. However, “looking at the ball” has a whole other significant meaning. When concentrating on keeping your head down, you won’t be able to move your shoulders as much. This is because you will be absorbed in keeping your head still.
The most important thing here is for your shoulders to turn through the ball on the downswing. Don’t think about keeping your head still. It’s absolutely fine if your head moves a tad through impact. Just keep your eyes on the ball.
Remain Motionless
When you’re putting, it’s best to keep your head motionless during the stroke.
Different from a full swing, putting is all about precision and control. You won’t need plenty of help from your whole body to create swiftness and control. To roll the ball toward the hole doesn’t require much effort. So, pay attention to the control of your stroke. You can control the club well by keeping your body still while the putter swings.
A deeper understanding of how to keep your body still, is to know which parts of your body to move. Know which body parts are responsible for moving the putter from side to side. Idyllically, the onus is on your shoulders to move the putter. They move in harmony with your arms and hands.
Controlling the stroke with your shoulders lets you remove a lot of the redundant movement that causes putts to swerve off course. While swinging the putter, your lower body should be faultlessly still. The latter includes your head and your torso.
If you’re really looking for a great way to keep your lower body still while putting, consider the placement of your kneecaps. They are easy to focus on, and you will be able to tell if they move.
When you start swinging your putter, concentrate on holding your kneecaps completely still when they were at address. When you can do this simple but effective task successfully, you will get many good putts during the day.
Avoid Sliding
Here’s a quick and easy tip- don’t slide. That’s right, you only have to do your best not to slide throughout your swing. This is important regardless of the direction you’re swinging in. Focus on not sliding away from the target, or toward the target.
Preferably, you should keep your weight in the center of your stance as you swing back. Also, your weight will only shift forward toward the target in the downswing because of your body turning rather than sliding. Balance is a key component in golf and standing back from any sliding action will quickly improve your playing skills.
Let’s discuss two contributing factors that are resulting for a golfer sliding.
- In the Takeaway -When the golf club starts moving, there are players who slide away from the target. This only results in their body weight moving along with the club.
- In the transition – This is where players slide their lower body in the direction of the target before even beginning any sort of movement.
Clearly, you don’t want any of these mistakes to happen to you. No, you obviously want to make your swings as controlled and reliable as you possibly can.
To avoid the backswing slide like the plague, focus on the position of your right knee. Provided that your right knee is held in its place while you’re about to start the swing, you should be able to avoid that untimely slide to the right.
When it gets to the transition slide, it boils down to starting your move down. You do this by rotating your lower body in the direction of the target. Do all you can to turn your left hip open towards the target as you start your downswing. When you get to the point of making this move consistently, the chances of ending up with a slide are reduced significantly.
Ending The Swing
The finish position at the end of your golf swing, can tell you everything you need to know about your golf swing. When you have a full co-ordinated finish position, it’s probable that you have used your bodies correctly. This accounts for both your backswing and downswing. On the other hand, if you haven’t been able to fail to get it right all the way to a full finish you need to make some improvements. Common indicators of a poor swing include, bad balance, poor posture and slicing.
Have you seen that many professional golfers will hold their finish while waiting for the ball to land. This is a clear example of excellent control and stability. When you’re a beginner, this is what you should aim to achieve.
As soon as you start swinging all the way through your game, you will gradually become faster with the club through impact. While this is an essential part of getting your swing right, there’s something more important.
Develop a balanced finish while practicing on the range. Focusing on your balance will help you end each swing reliably and with the same ambition as when you stepped on to the course.
Enjoy
Despite our next tip not being as practical as the others, it is the most important. It doesn’t matter why you’re on the course, whether you are exercising your swing technique or playing a round, you need to learn to always have fun.
If you keep your mind on having fun and staying motivated, you will notice that golf becomes a far more-rewarding experience in the end. It is both a sport and a game and is meant to be enjoyed.
Conclusion
Golf may seem like rough clay, but you can shape it as you go.
Our aim with this feature was to provide a decent foundation if you have just gotten into golf. Sure, we could have told you about a whole bunch of fancy tips and tricks, but in many cases, this won’t work for everyone.
Ironically, even more experienced golfers may learn a thing or two from our guidance. If you’re serious about becoming a good golfer with an effective swing, you should check out our other features.
