How to Improve Your Golf Swing

Golf has been enjoyed for more than five hundred years, by those seeking both leisure and exercise. The art of mastering the technique of sending a very tiny ball across a great distance, to land in a very small hole, has captivated many. The greens sparkle invitingly, the banners snap in the breeze in anticipation, and somewhere on a beautiful golf course a man throws his club across the green in abject frustration.

Your golf game starts with one basic element: your golf swing. Improve your swing, improve your game – it’s just that simple. Even golfers that understand this basic principle still find themselves struggling to perfect their swing. A full golf swing is a complicated, rather unnatural motion that requires twisting, pivoting, and coordinating your entire body in one smooth, swift motion.

Back injuries have certainly occurred from far less exertion. Not only can a bad golf swing seriously affect your game, but it can injure you. A bad swing can cause you to rip or tear muscles, over-extend your range of motion, and even cause you to throw out your back. Even highly skilled golfers might continue to take lessons on improving their golf swing.

Everyone has a different range of motion, their own natural sense of grace and movement. There is no one perfect swing that anyone can or should use. There is only one perfect swing for each golfer. The club must move in one graceful, fluid, arcing motion. It’s important to master the mechanics of the golf swing before other factors, such as aiming the ball, come into play. If you can’t swing a club successfully, you’ve got no business on the course.

I have a tip that can take 5 strokes off anyone’s golf game. It’s called an eraser.
– Arnold Palmer

One common mistake is a snapping motion of the wrists, which many people use at the bottom of their swing when trying to hit the ball harder. This action may feel nice and powerful, but it actually slows the head of the club down and decreases the distance of your ball. A bad golf swing can exaggerate poor shots that are improperly aligned, aimed in the wrong direction, or hit off-center. An existing poor swing will only make these common troubles that much worse, affecting the whole of your golf game.

Your golf swing should feel as smooth and natural as possible, which means you have to practice the motion of your swing – a lot. The more comfortable with swinging the clubs you are, the more confident you will feel when you’re really out on the links. A good golf swing is the foundation of any good game of golf, so be sure to practice, practice, practice.

I know I’m getting better at golf because I’m hitting fewer spectators.
– Gerald R. Ford

Muscles don’t matter when it comes to your golf swing. A very powerful man can still have a very weak swing, and vice versa. Tiger Woods, one of the biggest and most-known names in golf, is not a large, muscle-bound man. He has one of the most powerful drives on the links, and it has nothing to do with his physical strength. He has a great golf swing, which translates into a great golf game.

It’s important to get used to the motion of the golf swing, and many beginners practice their swing many times before ever attempting to play an actual game of golf. The golf swing stance is very basic. You just have to find the right motion for you.

Place your feet shoulder width apart when you line up to address your ball, firmly gripping your club. You must twist your body to bring the club to the ball, in one fluid movement. The good golf swing is very dependent on the follow through. Even if you don’t hit the ball, continue with your swinging motion and follow through completely. An incomplete swing will send the ball into many directions and places – none of them very good.

The reason they call if ‘golf’ is that all the other 4 letter words were used up.
– Leslie Nielsen

“Practice makes perfect” definitely applies to the golf swing. Everyone’s swing is going to be different, and what works best for someone else (like Tiger) may not work best for you. The only way to improve your swing is to practice it, to get the motion down, to line your body up and feel the movement of your swing. Get out your clubs and swing, even when you aren’t playing. You can practice your swing in your office, your living room, or out on the lawn. Try to get used to the feel and the motion of your swing, and you’ll find your game improving.

Your swing is the most important element of your golf game, and the swing should be practiced much more than your putting skills. If you spend some time working on your swing, you’ll find yourself scoring better on the links.

The uglier a man’s legs are, the better he plays golf – it’s almost a law.
– H. G. Wells (Bealby, 1915)