Golf Myths

I decided to begin this series of free online golf tips & instructions with the lessons and methods my grandfather taught. My grandfather was a Golf Professional for nearly 50 years and competed in many tournaments. His career highlights include qualifying for two U.S. Opens and being invited to play in the British Open. Although my grandfather was an accomplished golfer, he felt most rewarded when teaching others how to play and enjoy the game. Although golf instruction has come a long way since my grandfather’s time, these golf lessons still include very important fundamentals to be learned and remembered. Sometimes the best golf lessons come in the simplest form and are made easier to understand and execute. The following instructions have been taken from my grandfather’s notes entitled, “Improve Your Golf”, and I am very happy to share these with anyone wanting to learn how to play golf, or revisit the basic fundamentals of the game.

Improve Your Golf – Swing Is The Thing

The swing begins with your setup at the ball with the proper grip, stance, ball position, proper distance from the ball, weight and head position as we discussed previously. When you are ready to swing the club, it is encouraged that you waggle the club first. This will help with rhythm and grip pressure as your grip should be secured, but not too firm. The majority of your grip pressure should be with the last 3 fingers of the left hand (middle, ring, small). These 3 fingers are where you should feel most of your control from when pushing the club back and pulling the club through the shot.

Your head is the hub of your swing and you must swing with your arms and body moving together under your head with a one piece motion back and through the shot; maintaining a easy, controlled rhythm & balance. This is done by turning your left shoulder down towards the ball with the club head’s path going back inside slightly, and with your hips coiling in unison with your shoulders as you turn and bring the club up to the top of your swing. Your wrists should feel firm at the top of your swing and your left arm should be fairly straight. Once you have completed your backswing, your first move should be with your legs and hips with your weight shifting towards your left side and pulling your arms back down though the downswing. Arms and body still moving together following the same inside-out path you began your swing with.

As you continue to pull through your shot, you should feel your wrists release (roll back over) as you make contact with the ball, keeping your head still and feeling the clubhead continue out towards your target. As you finish your swing, your body continues to turn and face your target as you bring the club up at your target and then around the backside of your neck. As you are shifting your weight from your right to left side, your right foot continues to turn up up onto the toe as you finish. It is very important to finish up on your right toe, otherwise you cannot rotate your hips out of the way of your swing, causing you to lose proper form and power.

By: Scott Powers

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