As a dedicated golfer, whether you are a professional or a weekend driver, you are an athlete. Like any athlete, you push yourself to do better, go farther, and to perfect your game. You strive to improve your focus, to channel your competitive drive and to hone in your patience. You study books, magazines and YouTube videos, and you try out new products that relate to your sport. You want do whatever it takes to the best golfer you can be – and what better place to start than improving your golf swing?
Grip
One of the most fundamental and most crucial parts of improving your golf swing, your grip is one of the first things to assess and improve. You can’t hit the ball if you aren’t holding the club, right? Many golfers have a tendency to grip their club much too tightly, and this can have negative effects. Gripping too tightly leads to stiffness in the joints of the hands and shoulders, and also muscle fatigue. How can you break the cycle of tightening your grip?
Dan Davis, a PGA Professional employed by Thousand Hills Hotel and Golf Resort in Branson, Missouri, suggests using a tube of toothpaste as a training aid in perfecting consistent grip pressure. Take a brand new tube of toothpaste, remove the cap, and hold the toothpaste as if it were a golf club, with the opening of the tube pointed downwards.
Now, practice your golf swing while holding the tube. The goal is to make full swings without losing any of the toothpaste. Once you’ve swung your toothpaste club a few times, you will be able to feel and maintain that sought after grip consistency.
Posture
As children, most people were constantly reminded by their mothers to stand up straight. Good posture was, and is, an important thing to teach a child, and also a key component of improving your golf swing. Good posture is necessary to getting that power into your movements.
Once a target line has been established for your shot, it is easy to make the mistake of placing your club on that line by bending at the waist. This is incorrect. Correct posture entails bending at the hip socket, with no curvature in the spine. This frees up any strain on the lower back and allows for freer movement when swinging.
The neck should line up with the spine and it should appear that you are leaning slightly towards the ball. Let your arms naturally hang from your shoulders and let the majority of your weight rest upon the balls of your feet. Don’t forget a slight bend in the knees! Practicing in front of a mirror or other reflective surface can help you ensure that you are maintaining proper posture.
Angle
When hitting the golf ball, the majority of the time you want to strike it with the most power possible. This can be achieved by maintaining the proper angle with your arms as you swing. Set your club on the target line for your shot. When you pull back to swing, look for a ninety degree angle between the shaft of the driver and your left arm.
As you swing downwards to make contact with the ball, maintain this ninety degree angle until the very last second before your club hits the ball. This will provide you with maximum power to send the ball flying. If you let your arm drift from this angle too soon, you lose most of the power in your movement. Learning to perfect this angle is critical for improving your swing.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
As with any task, you must practice in order to improve your game! Combining these and other tips with a healthy dose of repetition, you will be well on your way to a perfect golf swing.