Golf, it is probably one of the most difficult sport to master, and there are more people trying to push quick fixes for your problems than you can shake a stick at. If you don’t trust me go to the golf channel for an hour and see how many ads you find for the next best training aid. Some of these training tools work, I can’t deny that. However I’ve often wondered if we need to have this perfect swing in order to play the game and have a half way decent score.
Golf Swing Truths: While we all want to critique everyones golf swing, or at least I do, the truth is all the little things we talk about in not lifting the head, rotating our hips, holding your arms straight are all to ensure one thing happens. When our golf club comes through the down swing to make impact with the ball, that the club face is perfectly square so that the ball goes straight.
Now I’m not saying that you don’t need to pay attention to keeping your head down, feet straight and all of those other finer points of the golf swing. However, what I am telling you is that you don’t always have to have a perfect swing to play a half way decent round of golf. So with that being said what does it take to have a good swing?
Facts about the Swing: Okay, so it is not so much facts plural as it is a fact. While your buds on the course will be very quick to advise you that you raised your head or you’re not aimed correctly, there is really only one key thing that has to happen to make sure that the ball goes straight. You must have the face of the club square to the ball at the time of impact.
Sure, all those other points your friends continually tell you about are important but they are all spin offs of that one key point. We must be sure the club face is connecting with the ball “square on” to make sure it goes straight, and as far as possible. So if all of those points we scrutinize over about the golf swing aren’t as important as we thought, what does it take to develop a good swing?
The Bare Essentials to make it go Straight: There are five points I am going to mention that I think are the lazy way to hitting the ball straight.
Knees: This might not seem all that important but when you’re addressing the ball you should have your knees slightly bent. Not so much that your knees are interfering with your swing, but ever so slightly to give you perfect balance.
Back: I see lots of golfers, when I’m out on the course, hunched over the ball and trying to swing away at it with little success. With your knees being slightly bent, as mentioned in the previous point, bind at the hips and keep your back straight. The pivot point should be your hips and you should maintain approximately the same height through your back swing, and down swing until you’ve completed your follow through.
Arms: This is another hard one. Most golfers want to swing the club like a base ball bat or a hockey stick, depending on the other sports we play. Golf is a game of finesse, no powering through the ball. As you take your club back in the back swing try to think about keeping your front arm (left for right handed golfers) straight. This will help keep the club head on the same plane as it comes through the down swing to impact.
Head: We already discussed this, but keeping an eye on the ball is very important. One point to note here is that you shouldn’t have your head turned down so much that your face is parallel to the ground. Tilt the head forwards and look down at the ball, but keep your chin up enough so that your arms and shoulders can come through as you swing.
Hips: This is where you’re going to generate the power for your swing. You don’t want to lean forward during the swing, you can to try and maintain no movement below the waist until you’re making contact with the ball. At this point you should make a twisting motion at the hips so that your trailing hip turns through the swing and once completed your belt buckle is pointing at your target.
So, these are the finer points I’ll tell you about helping to achieve a consistent golf swing. You are not going to be swinging the club like Tiger anytime soon, but as this article has tried to get across do you really have to? As you improve your swing, you’ll enjoy it more.
Before you go changing your golf swing, make sure you go to Jim Gartrell’s excellent website for the golf swing technique for you. For more info and new articles on anything related to the game of golf be sure to visit GolfClubsGolf.net/blog.. Also published at Golf Swing Technique: Does It Have To Be Perfect?.
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