Whether you have been playing golf for years or have just started your journey in the sport, the swing is one of the most important elements in your game. Mastering this move will play a vital role in upping your level of play. Your speed, position and ability to identify errors in your stance are fundamental aspects if you are looking to improve. If you tend to keep falling into one or more of these traps, keep reading to discover how to stop doing so.
1. Weak grip
New players tend to keep their left hand (when right-handed) too “open”. Having an open grip means that the clubface will be open on impact, resulting in a slice that will see the ball move to the right of where you wanted to hit it. This tends to happen because you are holding the club between your palms. A good solution to this is to grip from your fingers, thus neutralising your hands and helping the clubface to be square at the moment of impact.
2. Poor stance
Keeping balance throughout your swing starts with a good stance. The better your stance, the better you will be able to handle the speed and the movement of the swing. A good stance involves flexing your knees, keeping your hands below the shoulders and shifting your weight to the centre or front of your feet, just before the toes.
3. Too much tension in your hands and arms
A mistake lots of players make is to grip the club too tightly. Remember that the weight and design of the club has been carefully considered to provide balance, advantages you will not benefit from if you grip too tightly. Holding the club with the right amount of tension will help with the accuracy, distance and rhythm of your swing in general.
4. Poor balance
Having a good stance is without doubt a great step towards finding perfect balance. Regardless of your level, all golfers should be able to keep balance. A great exercise to improve your balance is to practise hitting the ball with your feet relatively close together. This will help eliminate any excessive movement that makes it difficult to maintain the right balance.
5. Swinging in a straight line
A golf swing is a circular and curved movement. It is therefore incorrect to simply move the clubhead forwards and backwards in a straight line. If you swing the club too far back, moving your armpits far from your body, the club will draw an arch. You can easily correct this by keeping your armpits relatively close to your chest throughout the swing. This not only helps to generate a consistent circular movement, but also helps relax your hands and arms, increasing speed.
6. Over the top
Over the top refers to the club coming down very steeply from the outside to the inside. This common fault is often caused by the clubface being open due to the grip position. To fix the trajectory of the downswing, the first thing you need to do is check your grip and your clubface, and use props to help promote a more neutral swing trajectory. Another reason may be physical limitations or an inability to separate your core from your hips, which is known as ‘dissociation’.
7. Poor ball position
It might seem obvious, but when the ball is poorly positioned, it can cause problems in terms of impact and direction. When the ball is positioned too far forward, it will tend to move towards the left. When the ball is positioned too far back, the ball tends to be lower, move towards the right in the initial trajectory and also facilitate a draw.
8. Not having a routine to correct ball position
Incorrect ball position can cause problems due to an excess in (or poor) shoulder bend. A good way to avoid this is to start with your hands on the grip and then bend forward from the hips to position the club behind the ball. Position the club in the centre of your body with your feet touching. This will help you find the centre point of your body. Take a tiny step out with your front foot and then a bigger step with your back foot, pushing your shoulder down. This will help you find the right ball position and the correct amount of shoulder bend.
9. Closed clubface
Given that the clubface has a big impact on the trajectory of the golf ball, the two extremes of an open clubface and a closed clubface can cause problems with your golf swing. A closed clubface often results in a lower flight and the ball ending up left of where you wanted to hit it. The problem with a hook is that the ball will struggle to fly high enough. A closed clubface tends to stem from incorrect grip: either one or both hands grip too tightly and turn too far from the objective. This means the clubface is closed throughout the swing and on impact causes a low movement. Over the long term, this will end up corrupting many aspects of your swing.
If you are looking to improve your golf swing, the best thing to do is identify and then correct the mistakes you are making. The key is to practise, practise, practise. And the more, the better. A great way to work on your swing is to take some golf classes. In the Costa del Sol there is a wide variety of world-class golf academies that offer group or private classes for both children and adults. So what are you waiting for? Sign up now.
