Learn the golf swing as a beginner with these 11 tips
For many beginners, hitting the ball at all is already a sense of achievement. By the time you've taken your first taster course, you'll have realised that the golf swing is more complicated than it looks.
If you want to learn something new, I recommend starting as simple as possible and not increasing the difficulty too quickly.
What's the best way to get started in golf? The following 11 tips will make it easier for you to learn the golf swing.
1) Don't make it harder than it needs to be
Start with the sand wedge because it's the easiest way to get the ball in the air.
I see a lot of beginners going for the 7 iron. Of course, you can do that too - but if you were to start jogging, you wouldn't start with a 10-kilometre run.
With a 7 iron, it is much more difficult to hit the ball and get it in the air. Especially as a beginner, success is important. Even better if you can reproduce them.
2) Use a tee
A golf shot from the ground is more difficult than a tee shot. Hit off the tee: This gives you and your club more leeway to hit the ball so that it rises into the air.
3) Start with half, slow swings.
A full swing at high speed is much more demanding than a half, slow swing. So do half, slow swings at the beginning.
4) Set a goal for the next level
What is success for beginners? When 50 per cent of your balls fly reasonably straight. I would describe "reasonably straight" as anything that lands within a corridor of 20 metres to the left and right of the target.
So if you hit ten pitched balls halfway straight with a sand wedge and half a slow swing, you can increase the difficulty. You will learn how to do this in tip number five.
5) Step up
The training should never be too demanding. At the same time, you should not get bored.
6) Control your grip
In order for the ball to fly reasonably straight, the clubhead needs to come to the ball reasonably straight.
A common mistake I see beginners make is to grip the club with their left hand while the club is directly in front of their body. This makes it more difficult to grip the club correctly.
If you grip the club (as a right-handed player) to the left of the body, this will almost automatically lead to a correct grip.
Keep the grooves on the blade parallel to the ground, then grip the club with your left hand to the left of your body.
You can check whether you have gripped the club correctly with your left hand as follows: If you can lift the club 90 degrees with almost no effort, it is correct.
If you can lift the club without any effort, your club lies well in your left hand.
Another checkpoint: If you can only hold the club with your index finger and the ball of your hand, it is probably correctly positioned in your hand.
As it is easier to swing with both hands on the club, you must now bring the right hand into play. Bring the middle and ring finger to the index finger of your left hand ...
Ring and middle finger to the index finger of your left hand.
... when closing the hand, the two fingertips should be as close as possible to the left thumb.
The two fingers almost touch the left thumb.
Place the right little finger over the left hand so that it overlaps (overlap grip). If you prefer another type of grip (10-finger or interlock), this is also fine.
The overlap grip
7) Check your address position
If you have gripped the club correctly, get into the address position. Your knees should be slightly bent (#1, see picture), your upper body bent forward and your back - your spine - as straight as possible (#2, see picture).
The response position
It is perfectly ok if your back is not perfectly straight at the top.
Warm-up properly
In the free e-book "Better Start to the Round" you will find a warm-up programme with exercises to stretch your chest muscles, among other things, so that you can stand straighter and swing better.
There should be enough space between the end of the grip of your club and your thighs so that your fist fits between them (#3, see picture).
The ball is centred and your stance is shoulder width.
8) Control your moment of impact
The ball flies best when you hit it in the sweet spot of the golf club. With two extra golf balls, you can easily check if this is the case.
Place your club in the middle of the ball. Now place one ball to the left and one ball to the right of the club head - about a finger's width away.
One ball on the left, one on the right - each one a finger's width away from the clubhead.
If you hit the ball in the middle without touching the other two balls, you have reached the ball in the middle.
9) Watch your swing plane
You have followed tip number 8 and after your swing, there is almost always only one ball on the mat?
Then there is a good chance that you are making one of the following mistakes.
The swing plane
If you swing too steeply, you tend to hit with the toe of the club (right ball), if you swing too flat, you tend to hit with the heel of the club (left ball).
Possibility 1: You swing too steeply
If you only use your arms in the swing and do not turn your shoulders, you are swinging too steeply. Try to turn your shoulders actively.
Possibility 2: Your swing is too flat
Your swing is too flat if your arms follow the shoulder rotation. Try to move your arms upwards when you turn your shoulders.
10) Have a clear swing thought
In the beginning, you should have a very clear swing thought. In the upswing this is:
Rotate your shoulders while swinging the club upwards with your arms.
In the downswing, you should then swing the club down on the same plane as you swung out.
11) Be iron
Even if your fingers are itching. Leave the driver aside for now. At least if your goal is to learn.
If you follow my tips, you can gradually get to grips with the slightly longer irons, hybrids or fairway woods. But always remember to increase the difficulty level only when you have reached the goal of the respective level.
Good luck and have fun practising!
