Golf should be fun. But when you're not playing well, it can be a nightmare. To keep the game from becoming a nightmare, savvy players read golf tips and take golf lessons to perfect their swings. But you can't consult your teaching pro when on the course. Instead, you have to learn to adjust to how you're playing that day, if you want to get most from your swing and maintain a low golf handicap. Making adjustments is what every solid player does.
Below are five golf tips designed to help to help take five strokes of your golf handicap—one stroke of each tip.
1. Get A Grip
Players with high golf handicaps often have difficulty controlling their shots. If that's you, check your grip. It could be the source of your problems. The ideal grip puts the clubface in a square or neutral position at the top. But you might find that you need a different grip for your swing. Next time you're at the range have a friend stand behind you. When you get to the top of your backswing, stop and have your friend check your clubface position. If it's closed at the top, weaken your grip. If it's open at the top, strengthen your grip. Keep adjusting your grip until your clubface is square at the top.
2. Rock And Roll
Keeping your front heel down isn't a swing fundamental. You can lift it up and then put it down. But many players fear doing so because they think they'll lose their balance. That doesn't happen if you lift your heal correctly. The key is to roll your front foot in while you lift your heel. This allows you to properly release your front knee, freeing up your hips and shoulders to turn fully on the way to the top. In other words, rolling and lifting your front heel allows your left knee, hips, and shoulders to make a full turn and load up for power.
3. Slice-Proof Your Swing
Every golfer struggles at some point to find the correct swing plane. To rid yourself of this fault, you must set the club at the top correctly. This allows you to deliver the clubhead to the ball on plane. Here's a way to check your position at the top: Place the shaft of any club directly over your front shoulder. Next, move your front arm to the underside of your other forearm so that it rests on the shaft. That's your correct swing plane. Ask a friend to check your swing plane at the top and the three-quarter follow through position to make sure it matches your checkpoint. They should be identical.
4. Maintain Your Spine Angle
Finding and keeping your spine angle is critical to your swing. It's the point around which everything turns. But it's difficult to check your own spine angle. One way to do it is to get a long piece of PVC pipe. Put a screw in the bottom of one side, then stick that side in the ground. Next, get into your address position and rest the pipe on the brim of your cap, so it lays parallel to your shaft at address. Then, start hitting balls while keeping the pipe along the brim of your cap. This drill keeps your head level and your shoulder plane consistent while swinging, which in turn keeps your spine angle consistent.
5. Find the Right Distance
Standing too far from the ball is asking for trouble. It causes you to bend over too much at address. This in turn throws off your balance, sapping power. To plug the leak, you need to find the correct distance from the ball at address. First, check your balance. You want to stand so that if someone pushed you in the middle of your back or in the front of your chest, you wouldn't fall over. Then let your arms hand down naturally and grip the club. This is your ideal distance from the ball with the club. Do this with all your clubs to find the right distance.
Failing to perfect your address position hampers consistency. It also creates holes in your swing, which sap power from your shots. Use these golf tips to help you set up for power. Practice them faithfully until they’re ingrained and you'll chop five strokes off you golf handicap and have more fun playing.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.
