When beginning golfers see a pro swing the club, it is easy for them to assume that the swing they are watching is as easy to attain as the pro makes it look. Nothing could be further from the truth. What we are looking at in a pro golfer’s swing is the result of their mastery of a number of skills, highly focused concentration and a fair amount of practiced grace - all which allows him or her to attain the accuracy and distance you see in their performance.
A Touch of Grace
After you begin your swing, you should allow the club to descend on the ball with as little force as possible, employing as much grace as you can. Newcomers to the sport of golf, unless they are keenly observant, will not notice the emphasis on grace and focused effort during the downswing. Instead they will take a cut at the ball with all their might. This approach leads to a golf swing that is as difficult to watch as it is ineffective. Which is to say, the swing is (1) anything but graceful, (2) less energy is transferred to the ball and (3) the overall effect is that there is no balance between the accuracy of the stroke and the power behind it. Learning the balance between force, and carefully honed skills are what lend your swing the grace I am referring to, not just learning to hit the ball with maximum force.
How to Attain The Correct Balance
Balance is important for all sports but never so much as in golf. In order to be effective in this game, golfers need to carefully maintain a strict balance of strength and control. No where is this more the case during high-stakes or high stress times during a game. Being absolutely focused on maintaining this balance is crucial to success.
A balanced physical posture is also required. A player whose posture is not balanced will shift their weight from one foot to another during the swing, making it very difficult to control how the club head hits the ball. This problem usually causes the club head to meet the ball at an undesirable angle, destroying the shot.
Try this observation the next time you go to the golf course or driving range. Take note of some of the other players’ swing. Do they tend to fall sideways after taking their shot? If they do, then they are exhibiting a problem with their control. In order to overcome the bad habit of weight-shifting during the swing, you must concentrate on rotating you body around an imaginary axis. Which is to say, you must make your golf swing a rotational movement around your torso rather than a lateral movement. Keeping this in mind will go a long way toward maintaining both control and balance during your swing, and it may even allow you to boost the power of your shot.
You First Step To a Perfect Swing
A strong and graceful golf swing is attainable even by novice golfers with a little practice and attaining control over a few variables of the game. This includes keeping a steady tempo, body control, grace and most importantly retaining your balance. If you are just starting the game, don’t try and fix things all at once.
It is not even remotely possible for you to fix all your problems at once when it comes to anything. Golf is no different in this regard.
If you attempt to correct all your golf swing issues at once, you will not improve on any of them and doing so will only lead to frustration with little ot noyhinh to show for your effort. To make progess, simply concentrate on one problem at a time, taking your time and practicing the correction until you master it. Then move on to the next issue and continue the process. Your swing will begin to show some of the strength and grace of a pro.
Above all, be patient with yourself and your progress. Retaining focus on each individual issue in turn will allow you to show significant improvement with time.
For a free 45 minute audio report on how to improve your game go to Beating Par Golf and sign up for our free newsletter. Beating Par is a complete resource to help you improve your golf game. Beating Par features a growing body of high-quality golf articles, links to free instructional videos, current auctions of golf equipment, DVD resources, and the latest golf related books.
- Perry Rightmond