GOLF TIPS FOR BEGINNERS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR GAME

One of the more common mistakes in a golf swing occurs when golfers take the club too far inside the target line on the backswing. Usually, this move is caused by a backswing that is controlled by the hips and the dipping of the shoulders away from the ball. This move leads to a handful of bad shots, including pushes, topped shots, slices and duck hooks.

To fix this problem, situate yourself with a wall behind you and take your address position with your backside barely touching the wall. Now, in slow motion, simulate your backswing until your arms reach waist high. (If you think you might hit the wall with your club, try this exercise with the headcover on so you don't damage your club.) If you find your clubhead touching the wall, you're moving too far to the inside!

With a correct backswing path, eventually you'll hit the wall with your clubhead, but in this first part of your backswing, the club should run along the target line for as long as possible. Practicing with a wall behind you will help you do just that. This exercise is also helpful for players who struggle with what's called "laying off"-aka, dropping the clubhead behind the body during the backswing because of a weak pair of wrists. Once the hands reach waist high, the toe of the clubhead should point straight up and be away from the wall. If the clubhead touches the wall, then you know you need to practice your takeaway by first leading the backswing with the upper body along the target line. Once the upper body can't turn comfortably anymore, the lower body then kicks in to round out a complete backswing.

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Your grip should be in the fingers of both hands,
not the palms.

Most of the grip pressure should be felt in the last
three fingers of your left hand. There is much less
pressure in the right hand. There should be no
pressure at all in the thumb and forefinger of the
right hand.

Keep your overall grip pressure light. Don't
squeeze the putter to hard!

Make sure your grip is strong enough, with both V's
pointing over your right shoulder.

A strong left hand grip produces solid shots.

Keep hands close together.

For low ball flight, keep grip pressure firm
throughout swing.

To promote a fade, keep left grip firm and right grip
light.

When putting, keep palms facing each other.

For better accuracy when putting, make both V's in
your grip point to your chin.

To avoid trouble on the right, strengthen your grip.

To avoid trouble on the left, weaken your grip.

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A slice can start anywhere but then curves back to the right - for a right-handed player. The amount of this curvature can be small or great depending on the clubface angle when the ball leaves the clubface.

If you are slicing here's a quick check list to figure out why.

A. Ball location - having the ball too far back in the stance will not allow the clubface to close properly. A player's hand speed also affects ball location. Fast hands need to play the ball back and slow hands more forward.
B. Hinge action (the control of the clubface transmitted through the left hand) - Faulty hinge action can lead to slices, hooks, pushes, and fades. But properly educated hands can even compensate for off plane motions.
C. Right arm action - Not straightening the right arm through impact allows the clubface to remain open. These three are the basic reasons for slices, but there could be more depending on the player.

Bad advice about slicing the ball

A. Clubhead path controls initial ball direction.
This is one of the worst pieces of advice ever given. Why? The ball will always leave the clubface, at a right angle to the clubface, regardless of the path the club is swung on unless there is enough time and force to alter what's known as the Venturi Effect.
B. A strong grip eliminates a slice.
Yeah right. We've all heard this and I bet you've even tried it. You probably took a lesson - or two - from the local pro and have spent a few dollars (or even a few hundred) to get rid of that nasty slice.
Heck, you might have even tried to fix that nasty thing yourself! But you quickly realized after hundreds of golf balls...it did not work. You heard me. It didn't work, never has, and never will.
If you want to eliminate a slice, or a hook, you MUST learn how to control the clubface through the proper use of the left wrist. That's all there is to it.

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While putting, some golfers compare the golf swing to that of a pendulum. And when you strike the ball, do it with the sweet spot only. Do you know where the sweet spot is? Dangle you putter with your forefinger and your thumb and let it swing. With your other fore finger tap the putter blade until the head rebounds straight back in perfect alignment. Many golfers like to mark that spot. That is the sweet spot for that particular putter.

Want to determine the best distance the backswing should be for the putt? Using your right big toe as an anchor, take the putter back to this toe. Then accelerate the club head through the ball. Observe how far the ball rolls. From there you should be able to gauge how long the backswing should be for the next putt.

Some golfers invest in putting mats and a cup. This will also be a good idea for you to practise your putt. Or you can try practising on the greens with a friend. Put some pressure on yourself when you are practising your putts because you want to practise in the same conditions as you would during a regular game.

While long distance shots are believed to be harder to make and thus are practiced more often, your putting style should also be given proper attention. The key to improving your golf club swing is to develop your whole game and not just one aspect of it.

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What's important to note with head movement, just as in the weight shift, is that it's not something you should think of. It is simply just a reaction to what you do with the golf club. When a golfer starts thinking of shifting their head a little bit here, and a little bit there, there is big time trouble awaiting.

Here is the proper head sequence?
On the back swing you have a little natural weight shift. Consequently, you have a little natural head move. This is perfectly O.K. This is the same move that you would make if you were to throw a rock into a lake. You would never think of anything other than the rock and the lake, but your weight and head would shift automatically. If you throw it 2 feet, you don't have any movement. But if you throw it 200 feet, there will be a more noticeable move.

On the downswing is where the key is. YOUR HEAD MUST REMAIN BEHIND THE BALL AT IMPACT. If you look at a face-on picture of any good player in the history of the game, they all have their head behind the ball at impact. You can even see in players like Nick Faldo and Greg Norman, that they actually move their head to the right to start the downswing. This just creates a more powerful, underneath, impact position. If you get your head moving laterally left BEFORE you strike the ball, you basically have no chance. You will be way steep, way over the top, and way far from hitting a good shot!

Post impact, your head will follow the rest of your weight to the left side. You don't want to hang back through the entire shot and snap your spine in half, or at least finish in a reverse-C.

Just remember that a good impact position will make it easier for this natural head movement to happen.
The Bottom Line? With regards to head movement, the idea is to hardly ever think about it (maybe to hold it still to start your downswing is okay). Just try to let it take its natural course.

Also, keep in mind to not freak out if you see it move slightly on the back swing, because Tiger Woods does it also. As I've said, if it's good enough for Tiger, chances are that it will be good enough for you, too.

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Well, those are just a few tips that I hope you found useful.

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Thomas Golf
Golf Research In Play

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