Anyone lucky enough to watch The Masters on TV could only marvel at Jon Rahm’s quality of golf, the dynamically developing strokes, sharp iron strikes, and rock-solid strike. When we see golf play so well, it seems effortless and makes us think, “How hard can it be?” For those of us who have been playing for years, the quick and cynical answer is “Very hard!”
Another thing that catches your eye when watching top players is that no two golfers have exactly the same swing. Some have a very fast golf swing, others are more athletic. While the best swings have a rhythm that never changes from back swing to follow-through. This is one of the charms of this sport – getting the ball into the hole depends on how, not how much.
However, while some aesthetics may be slightly different, the principles are the same for everyone. This means making sure the club gets to the right address to send the ball in the direction we want.
First, by waving a Golf Club it can often feel like one of the strangest and most unusual sensations. At AMERICAN GOLF, our goal is to make the golf swing as natural as possible so that we can start golfing. We’re just looking for that early confidence boost that makes us feel like we’re headed in the right direction.
Rocking the club
The first thing we have to do is decide on a club. Well, the putter is no good because we don’t swing the putter. We use this along the floor. And for working on how to swing a stick, the driver isn’t the best place to start either. The ball can go farther with the driver but requires more speed and is less forgiving than some of our other clubs.
With this in mind, we should choose one of our seven, eight or nine irons. I remember when I started at seven. These sticks are not as long as woods, and due to the angle of the loft, they give us a good chance of hitting the ball into the air. And seeing this trajectory can give the novice golfer a boost of confidence in tackling the challenges of golf.
Aim, grip and stance
After selecting the short iron club, we now need to make sure that when we put it on the floor, we aim at our target, whether we are on the golf course or the driving range. We need to give ourselves this focus to know and understand what we are trying to accomplish with our golf swing. By aiming at a specific target, you have the best chance of hitting the ball straight.
After selecting our target, the next port of call is our handle. First, we take the gloved hand (left hand for right-handed golfers and right hand for left-handed golfers) and place the fingers around the back of the grip and the rest of the hand on top with the thumb pointing down the grip, but remember to leave a small gap between the palm and the top of the grip handle.
Next, we need to take our lower hand (right hand for right-handed golfers and left hand for left-handed golfers) and wrap the fingers under the club, then place the spongy part of the thumb to rest on the thumb of the lower hand. Simply put, it means that the right thumb is on the left (right-handed) or the left thumb is on the right (left-handed). It will probably feel very strange at first, but it becomes natural the longer we play the game.
Now that we have the stick in our hands, we need to get into the correct position in terms of posture. All we have to do is line up to the ball and stand with our feet shoulder-width apart. Then we need to slightly protrude the butt, but keep the back straight. This should provide us with the necessary balance during our golf swing. When our stick rests on the floor, there should be a reasonable space between it and our legs, so the way to do this is to let our arms hang freely from our shoulders. If we are too tight, with the club too close to the body, we will not be able to make a successful swing.
Back swing
The three things we expect from our golf swings are power, consistency, and straight hitting the ball. To do this, we have to use different parts of our body. A common mistake that can lull beginner golfers to sleep is that all we have to do is swing our arms. Evil! We have to use the core of our body. We want good rotation so that means balance but relaxed in our setup. Again, if we are too stiff, it will only hinder us. We want our stick to rotate around our body, which means rotating our hips, shoulders, and torso, and at the same time, we want our front arm straight but our back elbow bent.
Swing down
We have rotated our body into position, and now we need to expand this spring we have created. We turn our body (shoulders, hips, torso) in the direction we just came from, while simultaneously turning our body back towards the target we are aiming at. We don’t have to worry about kicking the ball into the air, because that’s the club’s job! What we do is generate the power we need to make a solid connection. If the club arrives with the objects spinning well and pointing at the target, the golf ball should fly into the air.
Swing practice
Now, if you’re new to golf or are returning to the sport after a break, it’s very likely that swinging your club will feel very foreign at first. Aim, grip, stance, twisting and turning the body in unusual positions. Gathering all the information at once can be scary.
One thing we can’t do is expect everything to work right away. Golf takes time and effort. So we have to practice. The first thing we can do is practice our swing. This is something we can do in our own backyards if there is enough space as we can try to replicate our swing without the ball. What we’re trying to do is get used to the swing motion of the stick. And we should be scraping the bottom of our stick on the ground, almost sweeping the grass with it. We don’t want to go down too steep and dig into the ground with our stick, we want to sweep it in the same position shot after shot.
turn it up
Once you feel confident enough in your golf swing to try to hit the ball, a little tip is to place the tee in the ground, about one inch above the floor. Then we can put our ball on it. We’ve been practicing how to swing a stick, and now we want to put it into practice.
The secret to this drill bit is not to swing too hard or try to use too much force. Movement and our technique will do the rest. Our goal is to almost knock the ball off the tee. With our follow-up and the way we rotate our body during the swing, the ball should naturally go airborne and hopefully follow a nice straight trajectory.
From the floor
The ball tee is a good method to work on at the driving range or on the practice field at our local golf course. When we feel we are hitting the ball straight off the tee, we can try off the tee. There is no need to change anything in the way we set up or run the club. We want to repeat the same technique of turning our body around and then unrolling it as we go back the other way before throwing the ball back. This time we’re trying to catch some ground in front of the ball – not too much – and if done correctly, the club won’t get stuck in the ground and continues to sweep the ball off the stick and up. air.
Here’s a little secret for beginners – when we first achieve this feat of hitting golf high in the air, there’s a real rush of excitement. A mixture of disbelief and wanting to do it again as soon as possible. Even now, those of us who have been playing the game for a long time still feel the same joy and excitement when pairing perfectly with one of our shots!
Now, the last thing to remember is to go back to what we said at the beginning of the article, that no two golf swings are the same. Some of us will not be able to rotate our body as energetically or athletically as others. But the basics apply to everyone. We all need to aim well, grab and take the right posture. If we do, hopefully we can find the golf swing that works best for us as we begin what we hope will be a long and enjoyable time playing this great game.
