Tip From a Pro - Knowing your club
by Nedika Timoh
For Hitting the Driver:
A good golf driving tip for beginners is to try and take the club and arms away from the ball with a "one-piece takeaway". What this means is that the initial movement of the driver away from the ball is made with no wrist movement, but instead by overturning of the shoulders. This means that the club is taken away on the correct swing path meaning it is much more likely to return on the correct path also. If, however, the club is snatched away with a “wristy” takeaway then the club will invariably come back inside the perfect swing path leading to a common fault amongst beginners called an "over the top" swing.
Ball position - again one of the most basic golf driving tips for beginners is that the golf ball should be teed up with half of the circumference of the ball showing up both the top of the driver face. And the ball should be teed up opposite the left heel for right-handed players. This will promote the correct swing plane and slightly upward blow required when driving the golf ball.Consistent Iron Play:
- 1. Keep the shoulders
- Maintain good posture is the subject of many a session of golf lessons. Whether your hitting with an iron or a wood, good posture is a necessity. Striking driver, front shoulder generally higher than your shoulders back. With iron, however, should be quite level shoulders at address. An easy way to do is to put club in front of you and push down with both palms on the back. Now remain as you assume the leadership position.
- 2. Reduce your backswing
- Backswing is generally the longest to hit the driver. This is mainly due to the length of the club. But with an iron you want to compact your swing. The most compact the swing, the easier it is to hit solid iron. To eliminate wasted motion, the practice of pre-configuration of the wrist joint, then rotating the top. Work on this until the feeling is ingrained. Then, try to get that feeling when playing on the course.
- 3. Keep your spine angle
- Maintaining a constant angle across the spine of oscillation is essential to hit irons crisp. The angle of the right column allows you to hit down on the ball and make a good impact, creating a hole in front of the ball. This is where it belongs. Unfortunately, many amateur golfers are rising just before landfall in order to help the ball into the air. Altitude leads to poor contact, which in turn leads to fat or thin shots.
For Putting
- Good Body Alignment
- Steady Head
- Comfortable Putting Grip
- Swing smoothly.