For many beginners, it is already a feeling of success when they hit the ball at all. When you have completed your first taster course, you will have already noticed that the golf swing is more complicated than it looks.
If you want to learn the golf swing basics, I recommend starting as easy as possible and not increasing the difficulty too quickly.
What is the best way to approach golf? The following 11 tips will make it easier for you to learn the golf swing basics.
1) Do not make it more difficult than necessary
Start with the sand-wedge, because this is the easiest way to get the ball in the air
I see a lot of rookies reaching for the 7-iron. Of course, you can do that too – but if you would start jogging, you would not start with a 10-kilometer run.
With a 7 iron, it is much harder to hit the ball and get it in the air. Especially as a beginner, success is important. Even better if you can reproduce them.
2) Use a tee
A golf shot from the ground is more difficult than a tee shot. Hit off the tee: It gives you and your club more room to hit the ball so it rises into the air.
3) Start with half slow swings
A full swing at high speed is much more demanding than a half swing at slow speed. So make half slow swings at the beginning.
4) Set yourself a goal for the next level
What is a success for beginners? When 50 percent of your balls fly halfway straight. “Halfway straight” is what I would call anything that lands in a 20-meter corridor to the left and right of the target.
So, if you hit ten teed up balls halfway straight with a sand wedge and a half slow swing, you can increase the difficulty level. You can find out how to do this in tip number five.
5) Increase the difficulty
The training should never be too demanding. At the same time, you should not get bored.
Here is an example of how you could improve from task to task:
Step 1: Hit 10 balls from the tee with the sand wedge and a half slow swing halfway straight
Step 2: Hit 10 balls from the tee with a sand wedge and a half, faster swing halfway straight
Step 3: Hit 10 balls from the tee with a sand wedge halfway straight (from now on always full swing)
Step 4: Hit 10 balls from the tee with a 9 iron halfway straight
Step 5: Hit 10 balls from the tee with a 7 iron halfway straight
Step 6: Hit 10 balls from the ground with a sand wedge halfway straight
Step 7: Hit 10 balls from the ground with a 9 iron halfway straight
Step 8: Hit 10 balls from the ground with a 7 iron halfway straight
Please note that you always go to the next level only when you have reached a success rate of 50%.
How you can help yourself to a certain extent if you have problems with your swing, I will explain in the following swing tips.
6) Check your grip
In order for the ball to fly halfway straight, the clubhead must come to the ball halfway straight.
For beginners, I see a common cause of error in gripping the club with the left hand while it is directly in front of the body. This makes it more difficult to grip the club correctly.
If you grip the club (as a right-handed person) on the left side of the body, this will almost automatically lead to a correct grip.
You can check whether you have correctly gripped the club with your left hand as follows: If you can lift the club 90 degrees with almost no effort, it will fit.
Another checkpoint: If you can only hold the racket with your index finger and the ball of your hand, the racket is probably correctly in your hand.
Since it is easier to swing with both hands on the club, you will now need to use your right hand. Place the middle and ring finger on the index finger of your left hand …
… when closing the hand, the two fingertips should be as close as possible to the left thumb.
Place the right little finger over the left hand so that it overlaps (overlap grip). If you prefer a different grip (10-finger or interlock), this is also good.
7) Check your address position
When you have gripped the club correctly, you go into the address position. Your knees should be slightly bent, your upper body should be bent forward and your back – i.e. your spine – should be as straight as possible.
It is perfectly ok if your back is not perfectly straight in the upper part.
8) Control your hitting moment
The ball flies best when you hit it in the sweet spot of the golf club. With two additional golf balls, you can easily check whether you are hitting the ball in the sweet spot.
Place your club in the middle of the ball. Now place one ball to the left and one ball to the right of the club head – about a finger’s breadth away.
If you hit the ball in the middle without touching the other two balls, you have reached the middle of the ball
9) Pay attention to your swing plane
You followed tip number 8 and after your stroke, there is almost always only one ball on the mat?
Then it is probably quite big that you make one of the following mistakes.
If your swing is too steep, you are more likely to hit with the tip of your club (right ball), if it is too flat, you are more likely to hit with the heel of your club (left ball).
Option 1: You swing too steep
If you only work with your arms in the swing and do not make a shoulder turn, swing too steeply. Try to rotate your shoulders actively.
Option 2: You swing too flat
Your swing is too flat when your arms follow the shoulder rotation. Try to move your arms up when you turn with your shoulders.
10) Have a clear swing thought
For the beginning, you should have a very clear swing thought. In the upswing is this:
Turn your shoulders while swinging the club with your arms up.
In the downswing, you should then let the club swing down on the same level as you swing back.
11) Be Iron
Even if it makes your fingers itch. Leave the driver aside for now. In any case, if your goal is to achieve learning success.
If you follow my tips, you can approach the slightly longer irons, hybrids or fairway woods step by step. But always remember not to increase the level of difficulty until you have reached the goal of the respective level.
Golf Swing Basics – Keep Practicing
Learning the perfect swing isn’t an overnight thing; it takes time. But, it’s a key part of your overall game and something you should be working on right away. I hope the golf swing basics we’ve mentioned above help you.
Good luck and have fun practicing!
