Golf For Beginners : How To Hit The Ball ?

Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Paul Foston shares his knowledge to create a beginners guide to driving offering some simple advice on how to hit the fairway .

 

If you haven’t played for very long, the golf swing can seem like an impossibly complicated motion. There’s definitely a learning curve, but you can give yourself a much better chance at success by following a few simple concepts. Instead of trying to remember five or six different mechanical tips—keep your head down!—relax and try to let the club do the work.

What You Need To Know

• Trace a consistent path back and forth with the club with relaxed hands and arms and let the loft built into the club make the ball go airborne.

• When you add tension to your body—either out of stress or because you’re trying to hit it really hard—you throw off the natural rhythm of the swing.

• Solid contact in the middle of the face is better than off-center contact with a faster swing.

 

1. Body Coil

Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, and other greats generate tremendous power by coiling the upper body with a big shoulder turn. The hips, however, don’t turn nearly as much. This creates tension and torque, not unlike a rubber band being stretched before it’s let go. How do you accomplish it? Try to keep the right leg and knee bent but solid as you take the club away and fully rotate your shoulders. On the downswing, unwind and rotate through the ball with your hips. Make sure your navel is facing the target at the end of the swing to ensure a full turn.

2. Developing a “Lag”

Successful drivers all have a “lag” in their swing. On the downswing, the wrists must release their energy at some point. When this happens is key. The closer to impact with the ball, the more stored power there will be. Many golfers deliver this source of power near the top of the swing or early on the way down, and end up swinging with just arms at contact. This is commonly called “casting” – the opposite of lag. One drill to improve this is to cock your wrists at the top of the backswing so that there’s a right angle between your arm and club. Pull the club down in slow motion, while doing your best to retain this angle. Try to incorporate this into your full swings, and remember to release those wrists through the ball!

3. Swinging with the Whole Body

Some of the biggest muscles in your body are the upper legs and trunk, and you should use them to put power in your swing. On the downswing, your legs should begin the drive and the trunk begins the turn. Also, the bigger muscles have much less chance to twitch under pressure than do the smaller ones. This is why good swingers seem to move effortlessly – the small muscles are being led by the larger ones. I call this “swinging with the whole body.” Try it!

4. Left Arm Straight at the Top

Make sure your left arm is kept relatively straight on the backswing to ensure a wide swing arc. Keep some distance between the hands at the top of the swing and your shoulders and head. This produces more clubhead speed without swinging any harder. Davis Love III and Vijay Singh are great examples of this. Watch them, and internalize what you see.