What is the proper way to swing a golf club? It all starts with having the correct golf swing fundamentals in place, and if your not sure then continue learning and practicing on your own until you feel comfortable enough to move onto more advanced techniques. The golf swing is a combination of balance, strength and fluidity, and they must be in that combined mix to produce the kinds of golf shots that are on target.
One of the most frequent errors to a golf swing is the consistent over-swinging of the golf clubs. Relax as much as you can,you do have some power, however accuracy is the name of any golf game. Set your goals to expend as little effort when swinging the golf club. Hitting the golf ball the right way will feel easy and smooth.
Swinging hard will only reduce your power. Distance can only come from being fluid and accurate, and not from the amount of extra strength that you can put into it. Keep the idea of strength out of your head. You want to just use the amount of power that you will be able to control and manage. The purpose of the golf game is accuracy, not power. You want to have the ability to manage each part of your golf swing so that you just hit the ball cleanly and it goes wherever you need it to travel to your intended target.
I noticed for myself yesterday that for most of the golf round, I was hitting the golf ball consistent and solid. However, I could start feeling by the sixteenth hole that my energy was draining fast. I have a fast back swing to begin with, but in order to get that extra distance I had to swing even harder. This completely threw my timing off, and the end result was I started to hit a push slice. As we all know slicing the golf ball can put you into all kinds of trouble. The best thing I could have done was slow my timing down even more, and make sure my hips were rotating out of the way before my hands were going through the impact area.
Golf swing speed is usually referred to as timing. It’s one of the most misunderstood part of any golf game being discussed over the internet. So let’s talk about what timing really means. Timing is when you start the entire golf swing process back into a coiled position on top of your back swing. The speed of your golf swing happens from this point forward, when you begin releasing out of this set position. The downward motion needs to be in sync with every part of your arms, body, feet, hands, hips rotating, neck and shoulders. As the golf club moves back into the golf ball, your hips must rotate or turn to clear out of the way. The reason your hips have to clear out of the way is to allow the club head to return back to the golf ball squarely at impact, and then follow through with a wrap around picture finish. It’s the energy behind the pendulum golf swing that must be mastered by everyone who intends to improve upon their golf mechanics. This is the key element of learning the proper way to swinging a golf club. It’s equivalent to anything you do in life, you must first be able to learn the basic skills before you can apply the fundamentals.
How do you correct your golf swing speed issues and get your timing back on track? This is a difficult question to answer and one of the most sought after in the game of golf. There are times when you might have felt like you were swinging beautifully, everything was in sync, but the golf ball traveled to the left of your target. To correct this you need to slow down the turning of your hips to allow the golf club more time to return back to the golf ball at impact before clearing out completely. In order to fix the problem of slicing, you need to pay closer attention to how centered your body is balanced, and you must keep your head still over the golf ball during the entire process. You can’t produce a swaying motion of your body, because your head is moving out away from the hitting area due to shifting of your shoulders. Think of your head as being the apex and your feet as the base. At all times you must remain in this triangle, and not sway to far too the left or to the right with your body motion. You also need to pay closer attention to your arms, hands and shoulders. Are they flaring out wide open to the intended target, or are you maintaining your parallel line from your golf ball to the intended target.
Learning the correct golf mechanics must be one of the most frustrating challenges to any golfer. Modifying your golf swing in order to get more distance or to correct a slice is virtually an every day work in process for most golfers.It is just a matter of mechanics and putting the correct body motions together in the right way to become more consistent. Keeping yourself under control to ensure that you can be more precise, is what counts the most. This doesn’t happen over night, it takes practicing the correct way. Here are a few golf tips:
1. Keep Working on the Golf Grip. Stay focused on making sure you have the right golf grip for yourself. It is important that your hands do not move when swinging a golf club. Too much movement is a primary cause of wayward shots.
2. Keep Good Posture. Practice good posture by swinging the golf club with your toes slightly pointing outward and your feet being approximately shoulder-width apart. Don’t lock your knees and bend them just a little bit. In addition to bending at the knees, you also need to bend at the hips. Keep your back spine straight and tilted slightly forward to promote a healthier back.
3. Maintain Good Balance. For most of your golf swings a wider base will produce more balance, and prevent you from falling wayward from the golf ball during the full pendulum swing. As in any sports, the key to playing well is having good consistent balance. Attempt to not tense up while making contact with the golf ball. You will loose your balance if you tense up.
4. Weight Shifting. As you begin moving into your back swing, your weight naturally will shift to your back foot. You want to keep your shoulders on a single plane and allow the momentum to swing naturally. For a firm base, keep your feet planted into the ground. Don’t allow your front foot to come off the ground. As you start the downward golf swing, you now move your weight onto your front foot and move your hips forward. Do not dip your hips. Try to keep them on the same lateral plane as your golf swing. As your bringing the golf club around to the finish position, the weight that was on your back foot should now be on your front foot. This is called the three step golf swing, or natural golf swing that Moe Norman helped developed.
5. Tempo or Timing. Having good timing is the key element of producing maximum power. It’s the fuel that will allow you to gain that extra distance off the golf tee or fairway. When you swing a golf club, the swing speed is determined by how much energy your body produces into the rotational movement of the golf swing itself. This energy is transferred to the golf club, then to the club head, then to the golf ball on impact. The end result it produces isn’t only distance, but accuracy and control.
Distance is not just about club head speed and power, it’s also about correct choice of club face and driver shaft. If you want to improve beyond your foursome buddies, you must keep this in mind. Your club head swing speed is not the be all and end all of distance. You also have a choice of flexibility of your driver shaft. Did you know that a stiff shaft is needed for faster golf swings, and more flexibility is needed for slower golf swings. If your driver shaft is too stiff or too flexible for your average swing speed, your timing won’t be correct. You will hit the golf ball too soon or too late. That will also affect your distance overall. Another factor to consider besides golf shafts is degrees of your loft. The loft of your driver face should suit your average golf club swing speed. The lower the swing speed the higher degrees in the the loft. If you need to get the golf ball up into the air quicker so that it can travel farther, then a 10.5 – 13 degree loft is recommended.