A Bad Golf Swing-Common Among Bad Golfers

Learning the mechanics of the golf swing… No. Let me rephrase.

Teaching the mechanics of a good golf swing to someone with a bad golf swing is a challenging task. Of course, we know that a bad golf swing will result in a bad golfer, but how do you get to a better golf swing?

This is a question that I would ask myself as I would take an initial look at someone who had come to me for help. After a while, and witnessing many bad golf swings, I began to realize that these golf swings (or lack thereof) did have some things in common.

Basically almost all bad golfers and their subsequent swings have some basic similarities. These are deficiencies in their grip – their stance or set up – their posture – and their weight shift during the swing.

If you want to improve your golf game, you have to improve your golf swing. And to improve your golf swing your have understand the aforementioned areas.

The interesting thing that we as teachers often times do is to go over the grip, stance, posture, and the weight shift. Then we have the golfer take a couple practice swings with all this new information, and drop a golf ball down and look for the results. This is fascinating.

The game of golf is so focused on end results.

Where did the golf ball go after I hit it? I’ve done this when working with someone… I would venture that we as instructors all have. A curious technique to be sure. We see the practice swing knowing that it’s … well not too good, but yet we still want to hit the golf ball (I guess only to verify that it is indeed a bad golf swing).

The point here is that once you initially get with someone to help you understand the various parts and aspects of the golf swing, then take a step back (from the golf ball) and work on the swing. Work on the muscles that execute the parts of the swing. Get comfortable with gripping the club, your stance, your posture. Swing the clubs over, and over, and over, without the hitting the ball.

Work to where you can just sweep the top of the grass or the practice mat over and over with a consistently executed golf swing. Once the grip, stance, posture, and weigh shifting through the swing become second nature, only then introduce the striking of the golf ball. Then get back with your instructor and have them evaluate your progress on the golf swing, not the results at this point.

A bad golf swing is going to produce bad golf shots. Work on your swing first and the shots will follow.

Golf Swing Help-The Footwork

One of the more overlooked aspects when it comes to learning about the golf swing when discussing various tips for golf is the importance of the role of the feet, legs, and hips in the golf swing.

Many professional and teaching professional would argue that a good reliable and consistent golf swing is built from the ground up.

Jack Nicklaus being one.

An interesting mind set that we humans have when it comes to achieving longer golf drives is that we must accelerate our hands faster or have our hand and forearms accelerate the golf club faster in order to gain more club head speed and distance.

With the golf swing, nothing could be further from the truth.

So without, gaining greater acceleration on the club head, how does one gain greater distance on their golf drives you ask? Well, it’s not that you don’t have to increase your club head speed; it’s that you don’t accomplish this by ‘firing’ the club head at the golf ball with your hands. Yet, this is probably the one biggest peccadillo of average golfers.

Your legs are unquestionably stronger than your hands and arms. And if you will learn to properly use the strength of your legs in unison with the proper turn of your hips and shoulders to propel your golf shot you’ll see distance and accuracy that you never thought you had.

And did I mention consistency.

Proper footwork and the use of your legs creating a grounded foundation for the hip and shoulder rotation results in torque or stored energy, that when simply released at the proper time will create more club head speed naturally and a more repeatable golf swing for more consistent golf shots.

If you’ll notice, to this point, nowhere in our discussion on this tip for golf have I even alluded to doing anything with your hand or arm speed to generate more club head speed.

This is not by accident.

Creating stored energy and releasing it at the proper moment just before impact is a result of proper footwork and body turn. The resulting paths and actions that the arms and hands take during the golf swing are a result not an action.

Glad you’re still with me!

Up next let’s take a look at some detail as to how the lower body works in the golf swing with Tips For Golf – The Backswing!

Golf Tips: Swing Timing

Once you begin to understand proper golf swing mechanics, you’ll soon realize that the key to consistency in managing your distances and as such dropping your handicap is to improve your golf swing timing.

I am often asked how to achieve consistent timing in the golf swing.

Quite frankly, if you are consciously thinking about your golf swing timing you probably aren’t going have it for that outing.

Timing in the golf swing is really a product, an end result. Not a conscious action that your brain fires to your muscles at just the precise moment. Not at all.

With all the physics involved in the golf swing and propelling the golf ball down the course with maximum efficiency, it would be impossible for us humanoids to consistently ‘pull the trigger’ on the golf club at precise moment in the swing to achieve the best results.

Not only impossible to do so consistently, but toss in all the various distances and it now becomes even more than impossible.

So, proper golf swing timing; how does it happen?

Remember, I started out with the premise that you have begun to understand proper golf swing mechanics and you have and are applying them through practice.

If so, you are becoming aware of timing’s closest friend and ally… rhythm. Just like the pendulum is to an old reliable grandfather clock, so is rhythm to your golf swing. Tick – tock.  The proper timing of your golf swing won’t show up with out his good friend rhythm.

Your golf swing should be executed with your shoulders and your upper arms taking the club back on your target line with your forearms and hands remaining quiet and enjoying the ride. Your legs control your weight shift and distribution and they anchor your full turn inside your body line.

As your legs begin to transfer your weight from your back foot to the front your hands must

remain quiet and calm. It is at this critical juncture, that you must resist the urge to ‘fire’ the hands and club head at the golf ball. Be patient. Your hands and club head will catch up; and catch up in a big way.

Remember, your rhythm will bring your timing in your golf swing and as a result evoke the immutable laws of physics. This will bring everything together and release a vast amount of stored energy at the precise moment with very little conscious effort on your part.

Its tick-tock, back foot-front foot; Tick-tock, back foot-front foot. It’s the comfort of a metronome like swing that your golf swing timing will consistently flourish in.

Work to establish a consistent rhythm in your golf swing. Learn to trust your swing timing as a product of your mechanics and rhythm.

Golf Swing Help

All golfers agree that working on and refining your golf swing fundamentals so that they can be consistently repeated over and over, and that will hold up under the pressure of those nerve racking $5 Nassau’s is the key to long term improvement in your golf game and your wallet.

The fundamentals of the golf swing itself are the takeaway and backswing, the transition to and the downswing, and the impact and the follow through.

Within each of these segments are sub actions and categories but let’s take high level look at these basic foundations of golf swing fundamentals.

The takeaway and the resulting backswing is where it all begins. This is what sets up the rest of your golf swing and the results that your swing will produce. Tempo, body rotation, and arm extension are three very important aspects of this part of the golf swing.

Tempo is established at this point. The tone of your swing is tempo. Even with all other physical aspects in reasonably good shape, bad or inconsistent tempo will only allow for spotty results at best. Work on a smooth rhythmic tempo.

Probably the most difficult part of golf swing fundamentals (from a physical aspect) for every golfer is making the transition from the backswing into the downswing.

At the top of the backswing, and poised for striking the ball, the biggest mistake made (especially by higher handicap golfers) is to initiate the downswing by accelerating the hands and forearms toward the golf ball. This is wrong end of the body and nothing much good can happen when you do this.

The backswing to downswing transition is always… always initiated from the ground up with

your weight beginning to transfer from you back foot to your front. This is followed by your hips beginning to rotate with the occurring weigh shift. In fact, your upper body and ultimately your hands and arms should feel a slight delay behind the actions of your feet, legs, and hips.

Although certainly an important part of the golf swing fundamentals, the impact and follow

through are a result of the backswing – transition – downswing.

If you haven’t completed the first actions in good fashion, your impact and follow through have little chance.

If however, you’re still on track, at impact your weight should be just on the outside of your front heel and on the inside of your back foot with your left hip rotated and clearing the path for your right hip, arms, and hands to track down the target line.

The physics and fundamentals of the entire golf swing is an exercise in creating resistance and tension in the body then transitioning it and releasing it at the most precise time; all the while being effortless, smooth, and with good tempo.

By definition this is an awkward movement for your body to create with great consistency. But with great consistency and dedication to your practice routine, your golf swing fundamentals and your score will improve over time.

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