Tips: The Swing
1. Grip - first, you need to find the grip that works for you(overlapping or Interlocked). Once you do that you can check your grip by placing the club in your left hand and holding it straight out in front of you. If your pressure is strong enough, you should be able to do this with ease. Now, place your other hand on top and let the club fall freely to the ground. When you are standing over the club the face should be aimed at your target line and you should see two knuckles on your left hand(by now you should realize that this is written for a right handed golfer - for left handed, Just reverse). The right hand should have a v between the thumb and the index finger pointing straight up the line of your right arm to your shoulder...you now have the proper grip.
2. Stance - When you line up to the ball your feet, hips, and shoulders should be parallel to the target line. If anything is out of place, you will be likely to slice or hook the ball...so make sure you keep your shoulders straight. You should have a very slight bend in your knees and your left foot should be open about 10 degrees. Arch your back slightly forward and allow your arms to fall straight down. Check these and you should have the proper stance.
3. Backswing - Take the club back by moving your chest and arms at the same time. Your hips will follow naturally. Cock your wrists just slightly to keep the club parallel the entire time. Most importantly, keep your left arm straight and your left wrist relitively straight. When you reach the top, your back should be pointed at the target and the club should remain parallel to the target line. Now your backswing is complete.
4. Downswing - Start the club forward by moving your hips first...your midsection should follow, then your chest, and your arms. Keep your wrists cocked and your left arm straight. You are basically trying to "pinch" the ball between the club face and the turf. To do so, you want to keep your head behind the ball(no movement) and keep the tension in your right knee as your weight begins to move to the left side. Also, you want to keep your wrists cocked until just before impact.
5. Follow Through - Just before impact, you will want to release your hands. Basically, you are trying to keep your left hand pointed at the intended target until impact and you "let them go" as if you were trying to show your watch-face to the person behind you. This whole time you want to keep your left arm straight. After you impact the ball you need a full rotation of your body(hips first, torso, and arms) and you should be facing directly at your target. Your arms should be maintaining the same angle all the way through the swing and the club should finish on a parallel line. Make sure you check your divot. If you are impacting the ball properly, the divot should be in front of the ball. To check this, place a tee next to your ball while practicing and check the divot after each shot. Practice this until you have it down.
Practice:
6. I always start with putting. Arrive 1 hour before your round... you will want to check the speed of your putts first. To do so, place 3 balls in a line at 10, 20, and 30 feet from the edge of the green. Try to make each one to the fringe without going past or stopping short. This will be your best success in stopping those 3 putts.
7. Reading the greens - You always want to walk off your putts 360 degrees. Start from the back of the hole and move forward. You will want to look aroud at the environmen and check for slope, color, and shape. Don't just look on the green, but look around to see if there are any hills and which way they are angled. Another good tip is to look for water around the green - your ball will usually follow towards water. The color - if the grass is shiny, it is fast and will move with it - if the grass is dull, it is slow and will move against it.
8. Chipping - Place your ball in some bad lies around the chipping green. Some in the rough, some above your feet, and some below your feet. These are usually the lies that you will have on the course. If your ball is in deep grass you will want to open the club face so you can use some of the bounce on the club. This basically means that it will glide through the grass easier and not get stuck. You will want to come down at a fairly steep angle and follow through, rotating your body towards the target. With chipping, you always want to have most of your weight on your left foot and open your stance a little to get the ball higher in the air. When you strike the ball, follow through and point the club directly where you are aiming. Make sure you read the green also, to allow for the slope.
9. Course management - This is where you can shave alot of strokes. Just use the shots you are comfortable with. If you can't drive the ball straight today, use a club you are comfortable with. If you have a 90 yard shot - find what works best for you. Hit it high with a 56 degree wedge and possibly hit it long or offline, or do you use a 9 iron and punch it down there....find out what shots you can perform consistantly. Don't go for it out of the rough, over water, with 190 yard to the flag. If you can perform that shot then great!! go for it, but most amateurs don't have it, so play the shots you can pull off 90%of the time.
10. Just have fun with it. I've always heard "A bad day of golf is better than any day in the office"...We are all out here to enjoy ourselves, so if you have a bad shot, Get over it!! Just move on and put it behind you. Good luck and I hope you've enjoyed my insight.
