Alpha Golf

The proper golf swing (not to be confused with the perfect golf swing) can be achieved by any golfer.  There are some underground training tricks that well-known golf pros use to teach their beginner students. 

 

1) Put a tee in front of the ball

 

Place a tee 5-6 inches in front of the golf ball.  When you swing, hit not just the ball but the tee as well.  This focuses you on swinging through the ball, and not at it.  Your follow-through after impact will also be improved with this technique.
 

 

 

2) Close your eyes on a practice swing

 

Take a full practice swing with your eyes closed.  This heightens your awareness of posture and balance.  Try to determine if your club head is opened or closed while you swing with your eyes closed.  You’ll be a lot more sensitive to keeping balance throughout the swing after a few blind practice shots!

 

 

3) Use your club to correct your posture at set-up

 

Hold your club shaft against your lower back.  Bend over while keeping your lower back straight and parallel against the club.  Maintain this posture, then drop your arms to let them hang naturally before gripping the club.
 

 

 

 

 

4) Use 2 parallel clubs to set your alignment

 

Put one club down along your intended target line.  Put another club down along your feet.  Both clubs should now be parallel to one another, forcing you to have your shoulders parallel to the target line.  Parallel shoulders means parallel arm movement during the swing.
 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Put a penny on your shoe

 

Put a penny towards the front of your left shoe.  Try to keep the coin on your shoe during your swing.  If the penny falls to the right of your shoe, you’re putting too much weight on the back foot during the backswing.  If it falls to the left of your shoe, you’re shifting too much weight during the finish.

 

6) On a scale of 1-5, grip a 2

 

Too many beginner golfers grip the club too tightly.  Grip your club on a scale of 1 to 5, one being the weakest and five being the strongest. Go through each number slightly gripping harder as you near five.  Then go back to 2. This grip level should let you swing the club freely while still maintaining control.

 

 

7) Watch your swing in the mirror

 

In front of a mirror, first check out your grip - a “V” between the thumb and forefinger should point at your right shoulder.  Then check your posture, alignment, and stance.  Finally, see if you look balanced while taking a swing. 

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 10:44 pm and is filed under Swing Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.