Golf swing tip 2

A great swing comes from a good grip, stance and shot. You can get a lot of tips on each of these and then you practice your shots to get that perfect swing. Here are a few tips on getting that swing right.

You know the general lowdown by now – the basics of where to place your feet, how to take the arms behind and up and the motions involved in bringing the golf club down in the perfect swing. Now let’s look at a few points that you would do well to keep in mind.

Remember the backswing is just a preparation for the downswing. You need the speed when you’re bringing the club down not while going up. So take the club up in a slower motion than while bringing it down. Let the body coil at the shoulders first and then at the hips. Don’t concentrate on your arms, but rather think of the backswing as turning your back to the target. At the completion of the backswing your weight should be placed on the center of your right foot. Transfer your weight to the left foot when you start the downswing. These are for a right-handed player. If you are left-handed they would be exactly opposite.

The basic aim of your swing is to get at the ball at the right spot. If your swing hits the ground before the ball or hits too high on the ball, your shot isn’t going to be good. Practice your swings first. Keep your feet together and make light swings to get a feel of the right stretch. After you have a proper feel, practice proper swings without the ball. Keep the weight of your right foot on the inside and transfer the weight to the left foot as the downswing progresses.

A few tips about the grip. You should always grip the club such that the pressure is on the three fingers of your hands excluding the thumb and the forefinger. The grip should be strong and not tight.

Your stance is also important. Bend forward slightly at the hips. The elbows should be bent slightly inwards.

There is no one perfect swing. If you look at the way great players handle their swing, you’ll notice that there is a lot of variation, but you’ll find one thing in common –they are consistent in their styles and their swings are repeatable. You can well say that success starts from being consistent. Proper balance and rhythm is also important. Start by standing with your weight evenly balanced between the two legs even while leaning forward with the weight coming roughly in the center of each foot. Next when you take the backswing, more of your weight will come on the back foot. During the downswing the weight would shift to the front foot. Your rear leg is flexed and your hips move forward slightly. Let the downswing simply happen. Don’t force your pace, but allow your arms to just smoothly execute the motion. A shorter swing can help you in getting a greater degree of accuracy, so it’s not a bad idea to start with a short swing, practice and then gradually increase your swing to get the necessary force.

Finally, avoid rigidity. When someone says that your head shouldn’t move, or that your body turns around a fixed axis, what he means is that you should approximate these. In any case listen to your own body and find out what’s working well for you. Your head, body, knees and arms/wrists are all moving and changing position when you swing. Let them be flexible, but take care to see that this does not result in loss of momentum or direction. That’s what the tips are about. They help you maintain these, so you have to focus on getting the speed and direction rather than on concentrating too much on the positions.