Tips from a Golf Pro: Grip & Swinging Basics
By Paul Williams and TopGolfBlog.com
The game of golf has always been a difficult one to play consistently well. Only a handful of people hit the big time, but with our amazing interactive targets for feedback on your game, there is no better way to start playing! With the help of our amazing TopGolf Coaching team, we can get you started in the right way and help you develop your game to reduce your TopGolf handicap.
For the player just starting, the set-up position and the general swing shape are the most important things to understand.
Below are two sequences that will show you step by step how to take the perfect grip and then how to stand as well as some key positions that will positively impact your game.
For the purposes of this article, we will go through the steps for a right-handed golfer. For left-handed golfers, the information is the same – just do the opposite in each step.\
Picture 1: First step is to secure the club in your right hand. Position the club so that the grip is running through the fingers from the base of the little finger through to the middle of the first finger.
Picture 2: Gently close the left hand around the grip so that the left thumb sits not quite directly on top of the grip but slightly to the right. It should not be pressed down; it should be placed lightly to encourage good wrist action in the swing, promoting more distance!
Picture 3: When the left hand is in position, the right hand is placed on in the same way, club running through the fingers from the base of the little to the middle of the first finger.
Picture 4: As in slide 2, position the thumb on top but slightly to the left this time and placed gently to encourage a light pressure and relation through the hands, wrists and forearms.
Picture 5: Move the right hand up toward the left so that the hands touch as shown in Picture 6.
There are variations of how to connect the hands together, but to keep things simple and for maximum distance, we like to go for what is called the baseball grip.
These steps will really help you feel the swing more effectively and help you to hit the farther targets with ease!
Sequence 2 shows some nice images of the perfect set up and swing positions:
Picture 1: In order to maintain good balance and produce a full turn of the body, the key positions here are slightly flexed knees, spine relatively straight and bent over from the hips at an angle of approx. 35 degrees. This will allow the arms to hang down from the shoulders and give the appropriate space between the hands and the body. To produce good elevation from a driver, as shown the ball position should be opposite a point 2 inches inside the left heel, which will tilt the shoulders slightly. Note the left shoulder is slightly higher than the right. If you are using an iron such as a 7 or 5 iron, the ball should be slightly closer to the middle of the stance (so opposite a point 4 inches or so inside the left heel).
Picture 2: The top of the backswing position shows the shoulders have rotated 90 degrees from the starting position but the hips only turning 40 degrees. This is important as it creates a nice coil through the body, which is the storing up of power to produce good swing speed on the downswing. Notice also how the feet are both planted securely on the floor. This will provide good balance and prevent you falling over – quite useful if you are playing on the second or third tier.
Picture 3: The impact position is something that is impossible to copy directly as the swing is in motion. This image is to give you an idea that the hips should really ‘lead’ the downswing effectively pulling the rest of the body through the ball. We can see this has the effect of the right foot moving up on to the toes and the body weight shifting from the right foot over to the left. This also adds more power to the swing and should really help hit those further targets.
Picture 4: This really tells the story of what just happened. If you can get to a point where you are balanced, weight predominantly on the left leg and with your sternum pointing at the target, you have more than likely done a pretty good job of the whole swing. A great practice drill is to simply copy this final position swing all the way back to the top of the backswing then swing all the way through to this finish position once again and make sure its back where you started.
We hope these tips have been helpful.
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