7 Top Steps to Better Golf Swings
By Jack Moorehouse
If you want to impress your buddies, and hit
reasonably close to par, there’s two obvious key points you need for an
awesome golf drive.
The first element of your golf drive you’ll want to
master is distance. The second aspect for enhancing your drive is accuracy.
Here’s seven top tips for driving that golf ball more
accurately and farther down the fairway.
Tip one: Let the driver work for you. Golf clubs are
designed to help you hit the ball with precision and force. Why wouldn’t
you take advantage of that. Yet, most new golfers believe they’ll hit the
drive farther by hitting the ball as hard as they can. A key point for
experienced and beginning golfers is to not worry about the power of your
swing. Aim your attention on striking the center of the ball with a fluid
swing. This allows the body to perform a more natural swing, which will
allow your driver to do its thing.
Tip two: Visualize the swing. Gain confidence in
executing the shot by visualizing the ball heading straight as an arrow
down the course as you make a couple of practice swings. Focus on achieving
a steady, smooth swing. Play the shot over in your head first You’ll gain
confidence before actually striking the ball.
Tip three: Shorten your backswing. You should get
better results from shortening your backswing, than going for the big hit.
A good rule of measure is about a three-quarter length backswing; turning
your body and bending your wrists naturally. Taking your backswing too far
back actually gives you less control, which ends up with more missed shots.
Tip four: Keep your swing foot on the ground. Many
golfers haven’t been taught the correct positioning of their anchor foot.
For right-handed golfers, your anchor foot is your right foot, and for
left-handed golfers, your left foot acts as your anchor foot. When driving
the ball, you want to be sure to not lift that foot too early during your
golf swing. By keeping this foot down longer, it allows more power to flow
through your swing, and keeps your body behind the ball. The next time you
watch a pro like Tiger Woods hit the ball, notice how long he keeps his
anchor foot on the ground.
Tip five: Don’t forget about your arms. A lot of
times, most of the emphasis is placed on your feet position, or trunk
stability. We forget about the role the arms play in your swing. To improve
consistency in your drive, try this tip. Swing the club as you normally
would by going into your backswing, and then following through with the
forward swing. Don’t stop there though. Go into your backswing, and forward
again with the club. Swing the club like this; back-and-forth about 10
times. Practicing this exercise will consistently increase your accuracy.
Tip six: Swing with a shirt on your club. This is a
special technique taught by numerous golf instructors. Hanging a shirt on
your club helps you slow down your swing. Swinging the driver too fast is
probably the number one cause for slicing or hooking the ball. Swing as you
normally would with a natural fluid motion. Combine this with Tip number
one, and you should notice a difference in the distance you hit after only
a few weeks.
Tip seven: Lower your swing gradually. Trying to hit
the golf ball the same way you swing a baseball bat won’t work, but
gradually lowering your swing will help increase distance. Take your driver
and start by practicing some slow baseball type swings. The swing of the
club should be just above the waist as if you were hitting a baseball.
Gradually increase the force of the swing as if you’re going to hit that
baseball into outer centerfield. Then slowly lower the height of that swing
until the head of the club is just touching the ground. Practice this
technique, and you’ll be sure see improvement quickly.
And remember the most important thing about these
golf driving tips. None of them will work if you don’t practice, and then
practice some more. Golfing is relaxing and helps keep you healthy. Have
fun impressing your golf buddies as you whack that ball farther and more
accurately on your next trip to the links.
