Most weekend golfers aren't as strong or as supple as professional golfers. After all, the pros work hard on their bodies every day. They should be strong and supple. That being the case, weekend golfers must be careful which pro golfers they model their swings after. Some pro's swings are just too complex to model. One golfer whose swing you can easily model is the late Sam Snead's. Among the game's best golfers, Sam had a swing that was graceful, powerful, and most importantly, simple.
Simple swings seem to work best for weekend golfers. They don't play as often as the pros do. They don't practice as much as the pros do. And they don’t have as many technical aids as the pros do. On the plus side, simple swings are easier to learn and ingrain. You don't have to take endless golf lessons to learn them. And you don't have to study countless golf tips to pick up their finer points. More importantly, simple swings are easier to duplicate under pressure. When striving to shave strokes off your golf handicap, simple swings are best because they breed consistency.
Below are five keys to help you build your own simple swing:
Key 1: Stand tall at the ball
Some golfers scrunch up at address. Control is the issue here. The player feels that getting close to the ball provides more control. It doesn't. Scrunching inhibits the body's natural flow and the player's downswing arm extension, sapping power. Depending on how much the golfer scrunches, it also encourages her to vary her hand position from swing to swing. Standing tall lets you swing your hands and arms freely and provides a guide to set your hands the same way time after time. In other words, it encourages consistency.
Key 2: Start your swing
Since the golf swing is one of the few active motions in sports, you need a simple consistent way to start your swing. The forward press is a good way to do this. You can initiate a forward press by sliding your back knee slightly forward, then moving your hands slightly toward the target. You can use other things to ignite your swing, like pushing in your front knee. But you should have one. All good golfers do. And you should ingrain it.
Key 3: Left shoulder under chin
The best way to store power in a swing, as I've said often in my golf tips and golf lessons, is by making a full shoulder turn. This coiling motion winds up the swing and helps store the energy you unleash at impact. A good key to ensure that you turn fully is to try and get your front shoulder under your chin at the top of the back swing. Go as far as you possibly can. And, don't "cheat" as you take the club back. Swinging back and then lunging forward is less efficient and increases the chance for errors.
Key 4: Swing with grace
When you watch professional golfers, like Fred Couples and Ernie Els, their swing looks natural and spontaneous. But in many cases every move in the swing is planned and practiced. The beauty of the swing hides the power embed in it. The key to creating a swing like that is to think of hitting through the ball, rather than at it, making a nice high finish. Swinging through the ball doesn't mean don't focus on it. It just means concentrating on executing the swing effortlessly and smoothly.
Key 5: Swing to the target
Sometimes telling people to swing "inside out" or "outside in "confuses them. Perhaps the best way to create a powerful swing is to focus on driving your legs—and clubface—directly at the target through the impact area. If you ever get a chance to see slow motion tapes of Lee Trevino, or see photos of him at impact, you'll see exactly what we're talking about. He mastered this key. If you can learn it, you'll see yourself hitting longer, straighter drives without swinging much harder.
These five keys form the foundation of a simple swing. Simple swings provide numerous advantages, including the ability to duplicate the swing's mechanics again and again and again, and to do it right when you're under pressure. This characteristic breeds consistency. And consistency is what you need to chop your golf handicap to size.
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.
