Playing golf is one of the most enjoyable activities you can perform. It’s a gentle sport that doesn’t require excruciating physical effort which can actually be enjoyed with friends while you catch up. Even though this sport isn’t particularly hard compared to others, such as football or basketball, you still need to have some basic knowledge on how to correctly swing your golf club so you don’t end up missing the hole each time or hurting someone else while trying. Check out this beginners golf tips guide to swing a golf club.
1. Find the Right Golf Grip for You
The golf grip is basically the way you grasp at the handle of your golf club. Since the right grip can make or break your shots, it’s of vital importance that you find the one that suits you best. Before you get into matters of grip size or types of grip, you should hold the golf club and check if your fingers grasp it comfortably, and if you see yourself making a good shot with it.
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Grip Size
Any golf club that you choose is covered with a rubbery surface, made with different sizes and thickness to fit several hand types. If you tried on many different sizes of the same type of golf club but you don’t feel comfortable with them, you might be trying on the wrong type of grip. Smaller hands call for smaller grips, while bigger hands will be more comfortable with larger grips.
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Baseball Grip
It’s no surprise as to why this grip is called that. A baseball grip imitates the way you would hold a baseball bat, placing your hands open around the golf club and making one of your pinkies gently graze your opposite index finger to have better control. The golf club should be resting comfortably on the palms of your hands.
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Overlap Grip
The most popular type of grip is called the Overlap or the vardon grip. A little different from the baseball grip, you place your hands together holding the golf club, but your index finger rests between your pinky and ring finger of the opposite hand, creating a kind of lock that will secure the club to your hands.
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Interlocking Grip
Considered as the most stable of the three types of golf grips, the Interlocking grip makes sure both of your hands are tightly joined at the bottom. You grasp the club and then “hug” your index finger with the opposite pinky forming an “X”.
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2. Position Yourself in the Right Posture
The ideal posture when you’re about to make a golf swing is to bend your knees and your hips slightly to find your balance. Once you gently bend over you’ll naturally place the weight of your body on the balls of your feet. This is a great posture especially considering the fact that you’ll be swinging your whole body from side to side.
3. Keep Your Elbows Connected to Your Chest
When you keep your elbows firmly connected or close to your chest, you’re assuring small and gentle swings that’ll probably better reach your target. This way, you’re also teaching your body to move completely along with the golf ball, instead of making your arms swing independently to hit the ball.
4. Maintain Your Hands Low
As with any other sport that involves precision, keep in mind that the shorter the distance between you and the golf ball, the better chances are of hitting it correctly. Keeping your hands as low as possible will make your shot reach a lower height, thus controlling it better. Select a golf club that allows you to keep your arms stretched out and your hands low, allowing you to make a smooth golf swing that’ll be more precise.
5. Keep Your Head Down
Learning to keep your head down is one of the key ways to make a great swing. This is because, when hitting the ball too hard, physics defines that your head will follow the path of the rest of your body, and it may alter the trajectory of the ball. As a beginner, remember that you don’t need to keep track of the ball once you’ve hit it, instead you’ll want to pay attention to it before the hit, and for that you need to keep your head down.
6. Address the Golf Ball
Addressing the ball is a term commonly used to describe the moment before you start the actual swing. Addressing the ball might seem like a small movement but it’s actually critical in the result of your golf swing. To address the ball the most important thing is to have a good position, with the ball placed exactly in the middle of your body and making sure it’s not too far away from the golf club.
7. Backswing Properly
The backswing is considered to be the first part of the movement that produces the hit of the ball. Followed by the transition, the backswing is when you lift your arms and twist your shoulders to bring the golf club all the way up. A good backswing needs to be smooth instead of stiff, keeping a good balance with your feet on the ground and distributing your weight so you don’t lose frame when starting to lower the club.
8. Prepare for the Downswing
Downswing is the position where the golf club and your arms start to descend and get closer to the ball until you make the hit. Even though it’s the golf club that’s going to be in contact with the ball, you need to synchronize your whole body towards it. Keep your arms firm but not stiff enough that the hit ends up being too hard.
Ultimately, learning how to play golf is all about finding the right position and grasping your golf club firmly but with enough flexibility to let it swing around freely and hit the ball better. Remember that the most common mistakes made when playing golf involve an inappropriate posture and this can easily be corrected by small golf tips like avoiding pushing your weight with your legs, checking the angle at which you hit the ball (back to front instead of right to left) and following the ball closely with your eyes as you hit it.
Regularly practice your swings outdoors or with the help of home golf simulators that will master your swing and become a better beginner golf player.
