People started playing golf back in the middle ages. Since then it has been a gentleman’s sport. A subtle vibe of elegance surrounds the sport when you aggressively hit balls with a stick.
Popularly, the sport is said to be played first in Scotland. A lot has changed since its emergence. The sport is not just a simple game of using a stick to hit balls anymore.
As time passed, more and more technicalities were added to the sport. The core idea of hitting a golf ball into a hole remains. People gradually mastered the arts of golf swings, posture, putting, equipment and much more.
This will be a guide to help you to get better at your game. More specifically, the guide is to help you to improve your golf swing. We will go step by step into what you can do to improve your golf swings.
The Basics of Golf Swing
Before we head into improving your golf swing, you need to learn about the foundation. Whether you will be able to master a skill or not depends on your foundation. Therefore, let’s begin by learning the very basics of golf swings.
We will talk step by step about how you can do a proper golf swing. The golf swing has five consecutive steps once you have taken a good stance.
These are respectively the address, backswing, top swing, downswing and finally follow up.
Address the Ball
Have your feet separate from each other. The distance from one to the other will be the width of your shoulders. Each of your feet will be aligned with the corresponding shoulder.
Make sure your knees are slightly and firmly bent. Keep your head over and above the golf ball. Adjust your shoulder positioning to make them parallel with the target line.
Put the sole of the club down behind the ball on the ground. Now open up the front of your shoulder. Keep it for the left side of the line towards the target. This will help you with generating more power for your swings.
The Backswing Part
During the backswing, you are pulling the golf club back to prepare for the shot. You might think that this part requires the body parts to be acting individually. However, for a good backswing, you have to think of your body parts as a single unit and move them accordingly.
Keep your arms as straight as you can when you start rotating your body with the golf club. If you see the move as a single unit movement, it will help to tone down on your error margin.
The Top Swing Part
When you go further back and up, you get the top swing. In the top swing, your goal should be to adjust the angle between your left arm and shoulder. They should be forming around 45 degrees of an angle.
This angle and your left arm helps you with power as well as leverage for your swing.
The Downswing Part
This is the part of the swing where you come down with the golf club to hit the golf ball. Remember to see your movements as a single unit movement throughout the process. Follow the exact path you followed for the backswing and the top swing parts, but in reverse for this.
The key to a good downswing is keeping the shoulders as stable as possible. That way, when you are repositioning the club, it will be preventing hooks or slices. You are hitting the golf ball using the golf club’s face here.
The point of focus for the delivery should be the ball’s back side.
The Follow-up
Your job in the swing is not quite finished as you hit the golf ball. You have to let your golf club and your body follow through. Your club will follow the circular path it came down and go back along with your body rotation.
The reason behind following up after hitting the ball is the restrictive mentally people tend to have. If you do not have the intention to follow up, you will end up restricting physically. As a result, your swing will not get the full force that it should be getting.
In addition, without a follow up, you will end up with a flatter trajectory. Hence, you probably will fall short of your target.
Improve the Golf Swing
Now that we have discussed the correct way to do a golf swing, it’s time to improve it. Let’s talk step by step about how you can improve your golf swings.
Step One: Grip Improvement
Anyone can get a golf club and start swinging at golf balls as they please. Accordingly, if you truly wish to improve your golf swings, you have to start by focusing on how you are holding the golf club.
First, you have to understand the neutral positioning of your hand. To do so, stand up and keep your arms hanging by your sides. You should be able to see the index finger knuckle as well as the middle finger knuckle.
You have to replicate this position when you are holding the golf club. This will help you to be more consistent as well as natural when squaring the face of the club during the swing. This way you will be able to increase the probabilities of hitting the golf ball with the middle of the head of the club.
How to Get the Neutral Hands?
First, get a golf club and hold it with the lead hand gently. Your thumb should be pointing downwards. If you do it correctly, you will easily be able to see the middle as well as the index finger knuckles.
The V-shape created by the index finger and the thumb should also point at your shoulder that is near and not at your chin. Then take your trail hand and position it below the lead hand. Try to maintain this position with your hands.
Choose a Grip Method
Once you are using the neutral hands to hold the golf club, it is time to tighten the grip. You can do so by choosing one of the three common ways to lock the hands.
The Ten-finger
Also known as the baseball grip is for beginners and the players with smaller hands. These players tend to find this grip easy to get and comfortable.
For this grip, take your trailing hand pinkie finger close to the other hand’s index, and simply lock it.
The Vardon Grip
It is probably the most common and popular grip to use on the golf club. It is also known as the overlapping grip.
To do this grip, fit the trailing hand’s pinkie finger in between the other hand’s middle and index finger.
The Interlock Grip
This is best for the players with small or weaker forearms. The handle with this grip can cause the handle to sometimes slide against your palms. Thisis the only bad side of the grip if you apply less finger pressure.
To do this grip, simply curl around the lead hand’s index finger with the trailing hand’s pinkie. As a result, the hands will get locked.
Proper grip helps you improve your golf swing by miles. You can connect the middle of the face of the club with the golf ball. Moreover, you will be able to get proper hinge for the wrists. In turn, you will be increasing your power for a farther stroke.
Step Two: Stance Improvement
Professional golfers make the sport look easy whereas new players struggle just to hit the ball with the club. It is crucial to fixing your stance before you start taking your swings.
For the stance, you need to focus on alignments. Imagine a railroad track that is going through you and the golf ball straight from the target. Your body would be the rail on the inside, whereas the ball will be the rail on the outside.
Your weight needs to balance on your feet. To apply that, your feet will need to be spread at the width of your shoulder. Likewise, you will need to flex and bend your knees. Do not forget to keep your spine as straight as you can.
The most important thing to remember during a stance is to relax. Ease up on the grip on the golf club. You are not trying to choke the golf club to death. It is also not a baby bird you are trying to hold.
Keep the grip firm somewhere in between. The idea of relaxation goes same for your body. Therefore, loosen up there as well. A relaxed stance with a proper grip will help you balance out your swing and control. Thus, you will be able to direct the golf ball where you intend for it to land.
Step Three: Rhythm & Balance Improvement
Two of the essential parts to improve a golf swing are the balance and rhythm of the swing. When you get the basics of the golf swing down, it is time to focus on those elements.
To improve your rhythm in the golf swing, you can try out two drills. In the process, you will also be able to improve your balance.
Count-it-Out
It is one of the exercises. That counting style you learned back in second grade. There you go “one-and-two-and-three-and” will come in handy for your rhythm-skill improvement for the golf swing.
The exercise is similar to the strokes on the guitar strings. You will be swinging down on the numbers and swinging up on the ends. Try to hold a steady beat for the practice.
If you are struggling with randomness in your golf swings, this will help to eliminate that to improve the golf swing. The drill will make you more aware of your swings.
Two-Balls
It is the other drill you can do to improve rhythm and balance. In this case, put down two of your golf balls behind each other on the ground. Then put your iron in between the balls and perform a swing.
If the golf ball in the back is going off far into the distance, you are likely to be rushing in your swing. To get good with your rhythm, you should keep practicing this. Your goal for the practice is to make the ball in the back roll only a few feet.
Step Four: Driver Force Improvement
Smashing the golf ball with your swing can be a wonderful moment. Many of them live to feel those moments. There is a certain kind of pleasure being able to connect your club squarely with the golf ball.
For most of the beginners, it is rare to see constant power shots from their swings. You can do a certain drill to improve your golf swing. Through that, you will be able to hit those power shots or drives more consistently.
For the drill, focus on getting your club up and over your shoulder on the top swing. To avoid swinging the club back instead of up and over, put the lead hand behind your trailing arm’s elbow.
Then swing the golf club back to the point your arm is pivoted at an angle of ninety degrees. When you are at this point, stop and then add your lead arm as you start to follow through with the swing. This will help you to add more power into your swing. As a result, you will be able to increase the distance of your shots.
Step Five: Fairway Swing Improvement
Drivers and putts are probably the most focused on parts of a golf game. In deed, when it comes to a good strategized round of golf, it all comes down to the fairway. You get to try out various types of shots in the fairway. Also, you can compensate for your bad drivers there.
The fairway can be tricky for some golfers. In this regard, it is necessary that you adjust your swings to direct your golf ball out of there and into the hole. Through practice, you will develop trial and error, and improve your swing repertoire for the fairway.
Firstly, you have to find the correct golf club for your swing. For the fairway, you would want to get a club that will offer you the most loft. You can consider a wedge or perhaps a nine-iron in the particular matter as a choice.
Hacking at the golf ball or chopping at it will hardly get you a couple of inches. Nevertheless, you will surely end up with a bogey. On this account, you should spread the legs wider for your swing and hold the club a little tighter than you usually would.
During the swing go and stand closer to the golf ball, make sure you hit the ball with your swing at a narrow angle. This will reduce the amount of grass being clogged between the face of the club and the ball. Most likely you will be able to get the ball out of the risky area.
Step Six: The Final Swing Improvement
Once you have made it through all the drives and fairway takes, it is finally time to take on the final challenge. It is the time to take on the green and the hole. You only have to take the final swing to get that hole.
For the green, you do not need grips as you would need for drivers and the fairway. Instead, put your index fingers as well as the thumbs on top of the shaft of your golf club. Likewise, you will be getting a good sense of how your swing will be going.
For the next step, you have to change your stance a little. Get closer to the ball than you would in a drive. Unlike before, you don’t want to equally divide the weight on your feet. This time around, put around seventy percent of the weight on your front foot.
Finishing it up, your arms should be kept straight as well as parallel to each other. During your swing, try to control the club with minimal shoulder adjustments.
As a drill for your putt swings, try to putt three golf balls into a hole which is twenty-five feet long when you swing to focus on the hole rather than the ball. Through this, you will be able to judge distances better. Moreover, you can focus on targets.
This is a drill for long distances. You can also try out one for short putts. Unlike the previous one, find a hole which is less than six feet or around two meters. This time, putt with your eyes on the ball and not the hole. Hence, you will teach yourself to trust your instincts.
Our Final Thoughts
We have talked about how you can improve your golf swing in a step by step manner. We have covered all the parts of the sport where you have to swing at the ball as well as what you can do to improve in those areas. You will be able to improve your golf swing skills by following this guide.
