How to

How to Swing a Golf Club

Golf is a game of ecstasy and agony. So much

depends on consistently mastering the tiniest detail,

and repeating good form for nine or 18 holes. And it

all starts with your swing. If you're slicing or hooking

your ball, if you're just not getting the right yardage

out of your shot, or if you've never hit a golf ball in

your life, here's the skinny on how to get the best out

of your golf swing.

Mastering the Stance

1 Start with your front foot slightly ahead of the

ball. Place your feet so that your front foot is slightly

ahead of the ball; this way your club will be resting

near the middle of your body. Your feet should be a

little wider than shoulder width apart.

If you're a right-handed player, your left foot will be

about one foot — often less — closer to the hole

than the ball is.

If you're a left-handed player, your right foot will be

closer to the hole than the ball is.

2

Get close enough to the ball so that the middle

of the club face reaches the ball with your arms

out straight but still relaxed. Don't stand so close

to the ball that you have to bend your elbows to

accommodate the club positioning. At the same

time, don't stand so far away that your arms are fully

outstretched. You want your upper body to be

slightly bent toward the ground, but not dramatically

so.[1]

3 Check your alignment. Alignment is the direction

your feet and shoulders are pointed in. You want to

align your feet and shoulders so that an imaginary

line passing from your back shoulder to front

shoulder — and back foot to front foot — is pointed

directly at your target. This is called keeping your

alignment "square."[2]

To check your alignment, get into your stance and

place a golf club on the teeing area along the tips of

your toes. Step back from the golf club and look at

the direction it's pointing in. It should be pointed

either at your target, or at the hole itself.

4 Bend your knees slightly. Instead of being a stiff

mannequin, try to adopt an "athletic stance" by

bending your knees slightly. Try a practice swing

with your knees totally straight to see how hard it is

— and how unnatural it feels — to swing a golf club

without slightly bent knees.

Balance your weight on the balls of your

feet.[3] Although this is more difficult than balancing

your weight on your heels, it is easier to shift your

weight forward, and then backward, as you perform

your swinging motion.

Distribute your weight evenly on both your feet.

Move the heels of your feet off the ground slightly in

quick succession to get a feel for an even stance.

Although you'll shift your weight during your

backswing, and then your downswing, you'll want to

start off with an even weight distribution.

Getting a Grip

1 Whichever grip you choose to use, hold the club

with a relaxed grip. A relaxed grip will allow the

club head to turn over when you swing, giving you

better accuracy and usually better distance. As with

most things in golf, the harder you try, the worse

things get. Try to keep it natural.

2

Try the baseball grip. This is a very basic grip

similar to how baseball players hold a baseball bat,

hence the name. Note: For all three of the following

grips, the left hand (on a right-handed golfer) will be

in the same position.

Place your left hand underneath the golf club,

curving your fingers over the club so that they grip it

securely. The golf club should be resting right where

your palm meets your fingers; your left thumb should

be pointed straight down the club to the club head.

Bring your right hand underneath the golf club so

that your right pinky finger is comfortably touching

your left index finger.

Tighten your grip on the top of the club so that the

right portion of your palm rests on top of the left

thumb. Your right thumb should be pointing slightly

left-of-center, while your left thumb should be

pointing slightly right-of-center.

3 Try the overlap grip. While there's nothing wrong

with the baseball grip, the fingers are essentially

disconnected from one another. The overlap grip

connects the fingers by overlapping them. This grip

offers somewhat more stability.

Start off with your hands in the baseball grip. Instead

of keeping your right pinky and your left index finger

side-by-side, move your right pinky up and rest it

either on the joint between the left index and the left

middle, or on top of the index finger itself.

4

Try the interlocking grip. This grip offers probably

the most stability of the three by interlocking the left

and right hands on the underside of the club. This

grip is used by golf greats Jack Nicklaus and Tiger

Woods.[4]

To achieve the interlocking grip, start off with the

baseball grip. Next, fit the left index finger between

the joint of the right pinky and ring fingers while

taking the right pinky and fitting it between the left

index and middle fingers. Your right pinky and left

index are essentially holding each other in an

interlocking "x."

5 Choose whichever grip feels the most

comfortable. Every grip has its distinct advantages

and disadvantages, and there are many more grips

that we haven't mentioned — weak or strong grips,

etc. Experiment with golf grips until your swing feels

most comfortable and you fix some of your worst

tendencies.

The interlocking grip, for example, is commonly

prescribed for golfers with small hands (think

Nicklaus), while the overlapping grip is hard for

people with smaller hands to use.

If you're having problems with a slice (ball moves left

and then dramatically right for right-handed golfers),

consider switching away from the "weak" grip if

you're using it.[5]

If you're having problems with a hook (ball moves

right and then dramatically left for right-handed

golfers), consider switching away from the "strong"

grip if you're using it.[6

Swinging the Club

1 Start your backswing. The backswing is where you

lift the club from its starting position and bring it

above your head. Try to rotate the torso on the

backswing by shifting weight from the ball of your

front foot to the ball of your back foot. Pay attention

to the three distinct phases of the backswing:

Phase one: Move the hands straight back while

keeping them close to your back leg. Try to keep

your front arm straight while you do this. As the club

head hinges backward, the shaft of the club

becomes almost parallel to the ground.

Phase two: Continue a slight wrist break as you

move your arm parallel to the ground. The club

should be roughly perpendicular to your left arm (for

right-handed golfers). The end of the club should be

pointing slightly outside the golf ball.

Phase three: Rotate your torso back even further so

that the club head travels slightly behind your hands

at the top of the backswing. Your front arm should

bend slightly during the last phase of the backswing.

2 Follow through with your downswing. When

swinging down, "haul" the head of the club so that it

lags behind everything else, and allow the 90 degree

forearm/shaft angle to increase, then unwind rapidly

through the impact area. This creates tremendous

club head speed while allowing the body to move

relatively slowly and maintain control.

Right before impact, try to lock your front arm again

so that it's completely straight again, just how it was

when you started your backswing.

Shift your weight from the ball of your back foot to

the ball of your front foot. Allow your knees to move

toward your target. Try to keep your front knee

flexed, especially if you're hitting a driver.

3 Make sure to have the shaft leaning forward

toward the target at the moment of impact. This

will help to have the face of the club face square at

impact, an important factor in directional control.

Don't forget to use your hips to swing energy into

your shot; don't just rely on your hands to produce

the power.

4 Remember to follow through. It isn't critical how

far back you take the club, but if you release the club

correctly, you should follow through completely.

Your belt buckle will be facing the target, the club

will be behind you, and you will be balanced on your

lead foot with the back foot balanced on its toe. You

should be able to comfortably hold this finish as you

watch the ball fly off into the distance.

Keep your eyes on the ball during the backswing,

downswing, and follow through. Don't lift your head

as soon as you hit the ball to see where it's going;

this will only cause you to mis-hit the ball. Keep your

eyes on the ball until you've finished your follow

through.

5 Don't try to pummel the ball with all your

strength — easy does it! Just as you shouldn't try

to strangle your golf club in your grip, you shouldn't

try to pound the golf ball with all your strength. The

most important factor in achieving distance and

direction is form, and good form is usually sacrificed

when you try to go caveman on the golf ball.

Correcting Common Problems

1 Correct the slice. If your ball is traveling to slightly

the left (for a right-handed golfer) and then

dramatically to the right, try to keep your knees bent

and flexed during the backswing.[7] It's natural to

want to straighten out your back knee during the

backswing, but try to avoid the impulse. Don't let

your knee travel backward either; keep it flexed in

position and underneath the hip.

2 Correct the hook. A hook is a ball that travels

slightly to the right (for a right-handed golfer) and

then dramatically to the left. This happens when the

ball has a counterclockwise spin, meaning that it's

being hit from right to left instead of from back to

front.

Try looking at your grip. If more than two knuckles

on your left hand are visible when you hold the club,

turn to a "weaker" grip and make sure only two

knuckles are visible.

Make sure your stance isn't aiming too far to the left.

You can try to overcompensate a little to the right,

but this can also make the hooking motion worse if

you overcompensate too much. Place a golf club

down on the ground to make sure you're aiming

straight at your target.

3 Correct swings that don't hit the ball

"squarely." Sometimes your swing is "fat," others

it's "thin," and your drive doesn't get as much

distance as you'd like. The most common remedy for

this problem is keeping your head down and your

eye on the ball throughout the backswing.

When you move your head back in the backswing,

you're actually increasing the distance between the

base of the neck and the bottom of the ball.[8] This

makes it much tougher to hit the ball right in your

wheelhouse. Keep your eye on the ball and you

should be driving longer and more consistently.

The Stress Free Golf Swing -

Ben Hogans Secret

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