There's nothing more frustrating for golf enthusiasts than playing what they think is the same as they've played before, only for the ball to end up nowhere near their intended target. Certainly, I know that's the case for me, anyway.
This is where some proper advice from a real professional can help. Over the past 3 years I've taken many lessons from my golf coach, and I'm putting down some of the best bits of the advice I've been given in a series of coaching articles. I'll start off with the most important of the lot - keep the ball moving forwards.
My golf coach impressed on me from the start of my lessons that almost nobody ever achieves the perfect swing, perfect grip, perfect stance etc. He assured me that most amateur golfers will waste 90% of their time trying to perfect what they see as a problem. And indeed most golfers have plenty of issues to be concerned about, such as keeping their arm straight or their head still.
More important than any of this, though, is hitting the ball so it heads in the right direction. That is, keep the ball moving towards the green. To demonstrate the importance of this 1 factor above all others, my coach showed me exactly what he meant.
Taking an outrageously off-centre backswing, and letting go of the club with one hand, he proceeded to bring the club down in such a manner as to send the ball flying straight from the tee. There wasn't a huge amount of power in the shot, but it was certainly in the right direction.
I realised from this that the key element of the whole shot was the club face hitting the ball. So long as you have this under control, you can send the ball towards the hole. Which is where I started to focus my efforts in practice.
Obviously, the more control you have over the backswing and other elements, the more power you'll be able to get into the shot and thus hit the ball further. And your club selection is going to be important here, too, for getting more distance on the ball.
Fundamentally, though, the aim of the game is to get a little white ball from a little wooden / plastic tee, all the way to a little hole which may be several hundred yards away from where you start. If you can keep that ball heading in the right direction, like me, you'll find your game improving and can start working on the other aspects over time.
This is where some proper advice from a real professional can help. Over the past 3 years I've taken many lessons from my golf coach, and I'm putting down some of the best bits of the advice I've been given in a series of coaching articles. I'll start off with the most important of the lot - keep the ball moving forwards.
My golf coach impressed on me from the start of my lessons that almost nobody ever achieves the perfect swing, perfect grip, perfect stance etc. He assured me that most amateur golfers will waste 90% of their time trying to perfect what they see as a problem. And indeed most golfers have plenty of issues to be concerned about, such as keeping their arm straight or their head still.
More important than any of this, though, is hitting the ball so it heads in the right direction. That is, keep the ball moving towards the green. To demonstrate the importance of this 1 factor above all others, my coach showed me exactly what he meant.
Taking an outrageously off-centre backswing, and letting go of the club with one hand, he proceeded to bring the club down in such a manner as to send the ball flying straight from the tee. There wasn't a huge amount of power in the shot, but it was certainly in the right direction.
I realised from this that the key element of the whole shot was the club face hitting the ball. So long as you have this under control, you can send the ball towards the hole. Which is where I started to focus my efforts in practice.
Obviously, the more control you have over the backswing and other elements, the more power you'll be able to get into the shot and thus hit the ball further. And your club selection is going to be important here, too, for getting more distance on the ball.
Fundamentally, though, the aim of the game is to get a little white ball from a little wooden / plastic tee, all the way to a little hole which may be several hundred yards away from where you start. If you can keep that ball heading in the right direction, like me, you'll find your game improving and can start working on the other aspects over time.
About the Author:
Mike Jackson runs an online golf equipment store, where you can buy golf clubs, golf balls, golf gifts, golf bags etc.
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