It comes as no surprise that golf is a very rewarding sport considering that 2.2 million individuals took it up in 2015 alone. While many people insist that golf is a mere game, it is a legitimate sport, as it demands great mental capacity, is highly competitive, and requires muscular and physical exertion. It offers a great means of exercise; besides working on perfecting their posture, golfers spend much time on their feet, walking around. You can end up exceeding 10,000 steps after completing a typical round of golf. Golfers also spend a lot of time outside and around greenery, which promotes creative thinking, better sleep, reduced risk of depression and anxiety, and lower blood pressure. Golfing makes an awesome whole family activity and serves as a temporary escape from all your worries. It’s a sport that allows you to challenge yourself, learn from your mistakes, and urges you to set personalized goals. If you want to improve your golfing skills, read through our article for 6 golfing tips you’ll want to hear before your next game.
- Perfect Your Posture
When you are playing any sport that demands correct posture and a great deal of concentration, it can be very easy to fall out of sync with your body every now and then. Knowing the right position is one thing, and maintaining it is another. When you start paying more attention to your body’s movement, you may notice that your initial posture, up to the moment where you start swinging, is perfect. However, you may then begin to struggle with posture loss at some point during your swing. When you lose your posture, all the responsibility will be passed onto the timing of your hand action so you can square the clubface at impact. This is problematic because it creates a timing-driven swing that can become highly inconsistent in the frame of one second.
Since it can be hard to determine whether you have this issue yourself, you can ask for professional feedback. You can also ask someone to record you in action so you can identify all your weak points. If you have a loss of posture, this may be due to a lack of flexibility, stiff muscles, working your body as one block, or failing to stabilize your core. Poor flexibility and stiff muscles can alter your spine angle during your shot. If you work your body as one block without separating the upper body from the lower one, you won’t be able to rotate your shoulders without changing your initial position. You also need to strengthen your core muscles to stabilize your spine’s angle as you swing.
- Find Your Grip
If you’re right-handed, you may have learned that the standard grip is keeping your right hand below the left one. However, if this feels odd, you should experiment with what feels best to you. As long as you keep your club straight and maintain a proper golf stance, find a placement that allows you to gain the most control, you’re good to go. While many people find that the common golf club grip serves them best, others have more power when they interlock their right pinky with their left index finger. Some people find that the different feel that different hand placements donate allows for better club contact. There are endless grip variations that golfers stick by.
The positioning of your hands on the club is ultimately what gives you the most control out on the golf course. When you have the best grip, you have the best control over the closed, square on, or open moment of impact. The grip that makes you feel the most comfortable is the one that gives you more fluid movement on your wrists, allowing for more strength when you are moving the club. Because a grip is not something that you need to learn or understand, you will eventually find one that feels natural and right with practice, clear instruction, and trial and error.
- Focus on Swing Tempo
If you search for tips for achieving a better swing tempo, you will find that the majority of the advice that you come across is based on the comparison between the downswing and the backswing. In 2004, the book Tour Tempo, revolving around John Novosel’s research, revealed that you need a 3-to-1 ratio to achieve a good golf swing. This means that your backswing needs to be around 3 times shorter than your downswing, allowing you to obtain the best timing and acceleration combo. You can tell whether your tempo is off if you notice that you’re taking the golf club back way too fast. When you do that, you are generating a lot of power very early during the swing. Don’t confuse a good tempo with a slow swing; you only need a smooth swing to create a good tempo.
Think of tempo as one of the basics of golf; without it, everything else blows out of proportion. It is what collects every other element of a swing to create a consistent and desirable golf shot. A smooth golf swing with tempo taken into account during takeaway and moment of impact is vital, especially when you are opting for center-faced strikes. The less someone is confident in their abilities in striking the ball, the more important the role of tempo becomes. This just shows how crucial of an element it is to the game.
- Practice the Short Shots
If you are relatively new to golf, it’s only normal that not every one of your approach shots will make its way to the green each time. Practicing chipping, as well as other shots surrounding the green, can help you improve. Practice from different areas from the putting green, even if they are bad lies. Practicing both the good and bad lies will ensure that you are prepared for any type of shot that you may have to deal with on the golf course. If you lose your tempo, you can find your way back through chipping. Aside from putting, chipping is the shortest shot that you can take; it encompasses all the golf swing basics. If you are struggling with a full-swing rhythm, take some time off and make your way to the chipping green for a bit.
Professional golfers spend more time on the range when they go for short shots anyway. If you head over to a PGA tour event, you will come to see that the most renowned golfers spend a lot of time practicing with these scoring clubs. If you can hit your approach shots close to the hole, you will most likely become a good putter.
- Make a Range Routine
Almost all the tips that you stumble across will revolve around your swing. While it is undoubtedly among the most important bases to cover, there are several factors that can affect your performance too. If you want to sharpen your skills, considering having a range or practice routine that you can stick to. It doesn’t matter if you want to practice once every four weeks or every other day; if you want to go pro, consistency on the driving range is key. You may feel compelled to grab the driver right away; though, it’s best to start by hitting some irons or wedges first. Once you feel confident with your grip and swing, go over the longer irons, then the woods, and at last, reach out to your driver. As you practice your rage, keep in mind to notice how far your ball goes with every club you use. In time, you will know which club to hit from different distances and points on the course.
- You Can Play the Forward Tees
Keep in mind that you can, and in fact, should play the forward tees. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing so, especially if you are new to the sport. It doesn’t matter which golf course you choose to play; doing that at shorter yardage can make everything more manageable. Not only will this be more fun and enjoyable for you, but it will also allow you to master the basics and grow your skills. This is because you get to hit your wedges and short irons a lot more than you do on the range.
Golf is a sport that can be enjoyed by almost everyone. It is a relaxing activity that serves great as a low-intensity exercise session. Golfing is also a great opportunity to make friends who share the same interests; you can easily expand your network at the clubhouse. Since many businessmen enjoy this sport, this can be an amazing chance to improve your business relationships and strike new deals. When you’re golfing, there’s always a choice that needs to be made; the plentiful decision-making opportunities are a great incentive to build and strengthen your character. If you are new to the world of golf, you may feel the need to up your skills fast. However, you should always remember to work at your own pace and enjoy every part of the process. If you follow these tips, it’s guaranteed that you will improve your skills in no time.
