Golf Tips - Archive

The Heart Beat of Your Golf Swing

Too often golfers overlook the basic fundamentals of the golf swing. We need to think of the fundamentals as a necessity in order to have a chance to make consistent center contact with the ball. There is a great misconception in golf to do with altering how one holds the club.

A basic element even the best players constantly keep an eye on is the grip. It is the heartbeat of your golf swing. I would prefer to call it "the hold" or "how you hold the club to give it life".

If we start out accurately preparing (addressing the ball) for the swing there will be a greater chance of it to be completed successfully. Two items included in this preparation to swing will be how you hold the club and the posture or set up position.

A grip improvement often is no more difficult than any other fundamental correction, such as aim, stance or ball position. For many it is easier to redo the grip than make a lasting correction for poor posture at address. I see at least 8 out of 10 grips during lessons that need correction. Even from pupils with a history of taking lessons.

Some instructors refuse to prescribe grip changes for many reasons.

     -  Students will not stick with the correction because there may have initial discomfort and shots seem

        worse for a time.

     -  Teachers don't want pupils telling others he was ruined by a grip change. A temporary uncomfortable

        feeling may take place because the pupil has already concocted some sort of compensation that

        helps minimize the damage a bad grip.

The role of the hands in the golf swing is to react to movements made by the arms and body… not initiate. A poor grip will let you initiate and control the swing with the tiny muscles in your hands. This will cause a lot of variation in clubface position leading to an inconsistent ball flight. By positioning your hands on the club
correctly use of the bigger muscles, the torso and arms will be free to work together with the role of the hands. This will build a repeating swing you can rely on to produce more consistently good golf shots.

If you really care about improving your game, I recommend taking a Professional teachers advice to check how your hands are on the club.