Tag: Novice

The Ultimate 101 Guide To Beginner Golf

If you are a complete beginner or novice to golf, this article will definitely lead you to a place where starting and taking the first step becomes easy. Many golfers who have great potential fail to progress and for some that entails even making the greens. They key to having a fantastic golf career either professional or leisure is to overcome the inertia to transcend to the next level from the previous. With some expert, informative and useful advice, that step becomes all the easier.

The foundational steps of golf involves balance, power and driving, addressing the ball, grip, and finally putting (shot techniques will be covered in a different article). Below are these steps elucidated in more detail: 

Balance:

 For a golf swing that maintains consistency and power, balance is the primary underlying element which must be maintained throughout the entire swinging motion. The first step is to position one’s posture such that the centre of gravity is centred over the ball. Subsequently, one’s feet should be apart as far as the shoulder’s width with a slight bend at the hip area (hip tilt of about 30 degrees or one “o’clock” upper torso position) with rear protruding a little; knees at this point should be mildly locked. Next, both hands should grip the club in such a way that they are in line with one’s chin and this should all culminate in natural distribution of weight over the golf ball. The bend is one of the most crucial components of the balance position. One should not feel as though he/she is “sitting” comfortably which would imply the shifting of bodyweight towards the heels of the feet. The latter would stiffen one’s body rendering flexibility impossible with the subsequent swing inevitably be wayward.       

At the time of impact, approximately seventy five percent of one’s weight should be transferred onto the leading foot (ie left foot for right handers and vice versa). One’s head must be behind the ball and hips should be c 10cm forward vis-a-vis the initial position. Consequently, the spine is tilted to double that of the starting stance. Post impact, following the gradual motion of the body, weight shift should naturally flow back towards the heel.

Power and Driving:

The greatest problem faced by beginner golfers in driving the golf ball is that of power. Below are some pointers and steps to follow and check to ensure a great dynamic drive-through:

– Making sure the ball is not teed-up to low. This has become more of a problem of late because the contact surface of drivers (especially iron 1) have pronouncedly increased. This results in greater difficulty in locating the sweet-spot which in relative terms have shrunk. As an approximation, the ball should be teed such that the top half of the golf ball is above the club face when the club is in a stationary position on the ground. This would ensure that the contact point is on the centre of the club head. Evidently the larger club head, the higher the tee.

– Making sure one’s hands are not position too closely to the body in the starting position. This mistake would invariantly produce a smaller arc in terms of backswing and follow-through. The key is not reach-in slightly and not to overdo it; this is easier said than done and requires practice because the natural tendency for beginners is too hang one’s hangs inward for security and comfort. Following the circumference of the semi-circle driving motion will generate quicker and more powerful drives then a path trending across the diameter of the motion-arc.   

– Many beginners lift their front foot on the backswing. This inadvertently leads to a counter-productive weight shift to the front of the backswing resulting in a hook or shank nine times out of ten instead of a drive. One’s front foot should be firmly anchored to the ground on backswing forcing the hip and shoulder to turn in s spring-like fashion releasing great power. One’s weight should be shifted to the backside post impact.

– Accompanying the tee is the ball position. Setting the ball too far back or front would lead to premature contact on the down swing or delayed impact of the golf club after traversing the mid point below the golfer’s chin. It will be near an impossible task to hit a good drive if the above occurs. A perfect position would be the ball equidistance from both feet.

– Lastly, confidence and mental approach to a drive is vital for beginners. Every single shot should be hit with full believe that the drive would go the distance and not stop short of its intended target.

 Addressing the golf ball

– Ball addressing entails contacting the ball so the square of one’s club head is exactly perpendicular to the ball on impact. The same swing applies regardless of whether one is on the driving range, tee or fairway; this applies for all woods and irons from 2 through to 9.

The tip post following the steps above is to keep one’s head down and one’s eye on the spot where the ball sits. One’s head should be in this position throughout the swing. Head lifting and movements during the swing or looking up as the club hits the ball would pull one’s body out of alignment making it almost impossible to hit the ball squarely.

The Golf Grip

is one’s only means of connecting with the club. A sound grip is half the battle won in regards to generating power and accuracy. Wrist swerve is then the main power source and a common mistake by beginners is to grip the club more in the palm than through the fingers. Using our sensitive fingers increases wrist hinging and this produces better tee shots and puts.

One other common error amongst even the most experienced golfers is a flimsy lead-hand (left for right-handers) grip concentrated in the palm. Consequently, the golf ball is sliced rather than hit. Here are some check points:

– the club should be held alot more by the fingers than the palm.

– the golf club should be resting on the base of the little finger and contact the index finger just above the first joint.

– Post positioning the club on the fingers, one’s thumb should be parallel (in touch and pointing outwards toward the club face) to the shaft of the club.

– Finally, the knuckles of the index and middle fingers should be visible when looking from the top onto the lead hand. There should also be a “V” shape created by the thumb and index forefinger of the lead hand with its tip directing toward the other hand and shoulder.

Putting

This is the finest and most intricate part about golf play and involves finally coaxing the ball into the golf hole. In a sentence, putting is all about feel and touch. That said, putting is also a little more innovative in respect to the golfer compared with any other shot. There are innumerable styles of putting because whatever consistently puts is whatever works for the individual. The process is much less important in this part of the game.

By and large though, general principles are as follows:

– Putters should be ultra comfortable in terms of length and lie angle

– Gripping during putting should be slightly different compared to driving, chipping, slicing or teeing. The golf club should usually sit in the hollow of the palm of the lead hand with the thumb of the other resting across (as opposed to straight) the shaft.

– Ball position should be towards the forward heel with toes parallel to the target hole. One’s eyes should be over the ball in order to aim and ascertain accurately the line of sight in alignment with the putt.

– Judging the putter path is something which is very hard to teach and narrate. However, one that travels a little inside on the back stroke and then down the line on the forward motion usually works wonder. On the backstroke, one has to ensure that the putter face remains square and does not fray wide open.

– Post putting with the non-lead hand, revert to putting practice using both hands however making strokes with grip pressure mainly on the non-lead palm.  

The preliminary steps above should be able to get any rookie up and running at least onto the range and short games…the rest comes with heaps and heaps of club time always keeping the fundamental rules in mind.