As a beginner, there are several things you have to learn about golf. No matter where you play, these basics remain the same. Once you get a hang of these basic tips you will be able to play better and score lower in no time. One of the most important steps for improving your golf game is to have a smooth effortless golf swing.
The most important part of playing golf is to have fun and having a steady and reliable golf swing will help you enjoy the game more.
Here are some of the most important golf swing basics for beginners:
1. What you should be focusing on
Before learning about strike and shot shapes or even concentrating on your position, you need to know what to focus on. This is an easy question with an easy answer. You have to focus on the ball at all times. The ball is your main focus here and when you keep your eyes on it, you will be able to balance everything out perfectly. Some beginners do not do this and move their eyes to the path the ball going too soon. This will cause you to move at the time of impact which will cause you to miss-strike the ball.
While you cannot stop your eyes from moving around you need to keep your eyes in the peripheral of the ball. After you have made your swing, you can move your eyes and follow the ball to where it is going. Another thing that you have to focus on is your body position. This will be discussed later on as well but for now, keep in mind that your body position is a must when it comes to hitting the ball in the right direction.
Keep your position constant and powerful throughout until you have made the full swing and only then stand up straight. If you are patient enough, you can understand the techniques required to keep the correct body shape throughout the complete swing.
2. Look at your body position
This is the one point that matters most when you are talking about women’s golf swings for beginners. Even after people reach a certain level of play, they still do not understand that bending at the hips is the right position. You cannot bend at the knees. The basic idea is to tilt the body at the hips making a curve rather than getting down from your knees.
If you do not use the correct posture, the power of your swing will falter. Hence the final result will not be good enough. Your hand movements and arm movements might be correct but unless your body is in the right angle, nothing works the way it should. Keeping this in mind, it is okay to feel uncomfortable in the beginning as all this is new for you. The body takes time to adjust to any unusual thing, after time you will start to form a powerful stance at address without even thinking about it. It will just become natural to you.
Another problem that arises when you bend at the knees is that your club moves in a more up and down action. The idea is to make the club move in a circular motion around the body. One other thing that new players tend to do wrong is bend at the waist. Differentiating between the hips and waist is difficult but once you know the difference, you can achieve the proper posture in no time.
3. Club Movement
After you have figured out how to move your body and which position is the correct one, you need to learn the club movement. The overall swing consists of all these small points which together add up to the final swing. Although power is an important aspect of club movement, it is not everything. Smooth swings often outdistance fast swings.
Most golfers tend to confuse power and movement because they think the more power they apply, the further the ball can go and will land in a hole. This is a completely wrong concept. The first step is to move your club back to a 45-degree angle. Do not go all the way back as most beginners do. You are not hitting a wall.
When you reach the 45-degree angle, you are the right spot in terms of power, accuracy, and form. It may feel like you’re only swinging back halfway, trust me you won’t it will be better for your downswing as a beginner. This angle also brings out more power from your hips making your swing one of the best anyone has ever seen.
You must always keep in mind that your accuracy is the key to success. Power is only secondary and power can even be made right if your body position, club movement, and your form are accurate.
4. Check your grip
One of the points that is not paid too much attention is the grip. This is the only contact you have with your club and you need to make it right. A strong grip is important because if your hands are not holding the club in the right way, the swing will be all wrong and eventually only get worse.
Before you hold your club, you must take a deep breath and shake your hands. Get rid of any knots in your fingers, arms, or the shoulders. Do some of the basic warm-up exercises. Stretch your upper body until your mind and body are in sync with each other and you feel fresh. Now, hold the club in your fingers. Many people think that the club is held in the palm of the hands but this is not correct.
The fingers have the most flexible movement so if you use your fingers, you can get the perfect swing. Always hold the club in your left hand and then bring the right one for gripping. Do not go the other way around because the right adds the protective layer you need to add more control to your swing.
5. Maintain your body position
When you understand the body position and the club movement, another thing that should concern the beginners is the maintenance of this position. It is easy to get these things right in the first try. The main problem comes when you have to do it again and again. There is no option of doing it wrong because the wrong one feels easier. And then you won’t try to go back to the right position. Stick with it even if it feels strange, it will eventually feel natural.
There are some tips you can follow to maintain the right position. Take a picture of yourself, or rather ask someone else to take a picture while you are in the right position. This picture should capture your leg placement, your hips bending, and your arm gripping the club. When you go home, analyze this picture properly and evaluate what you think is right and what is wrong.
Once you start to understand the dynamics of your position, you will not get it wrong. Another point to note is that when you are swinging the club, your position should not change. Your hips should not move with the club. The turning of your arms and shoulders must not result in the turning of your hips.
6. It’s all in your head
While physical power is important when you are making a swing, you also need to make sure your mind is ready to make that swing as well. Mental power is a very important aspect for beginners. They need to keep their minds open to the possibility of doing it right or even of going wrong.
You cannot determine anything and once you feel like your mind is relaxed this will become okay. Focusing too much on hitting the ball can result in the wrong body movement. One way to ensure that your mind is relaxed is when you think of the hit in a practicing way. This is nothing more than what you have been doing for the past several months. You can do it.
Focus on where you want the ball to go rather than where the ball is.
The can-do attitude makes all the difference between the right throw and the wrong hit. If you know you will be able to make the hit, the velocity and the accuracy automatically come into sync. The mental shift makes a huge difference. This is especially seen in women golfers because when they begin, they usually are not relaxed and are afraid that their hit will miss.
Even wearing golf clothes that you are not comfortable in can put you off your game. People often think of golf as an elite sport where people will look down on you if you have old golf equipment or the wrong golf clothes on, this is totally wrong. Yes, there are rules to be followed on what you can and can’t wear on the golf course but as long as you feel happy and comfortable in the way you look that shouldn’t affect your game.
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7. Increase Resistance
In the beginning, when you don’t have a smooth and reliable golf swing, one of the easier ways to get it right is by increasing resistance. Power in your golf swing will come only after you have reached a certain level of tension between your upper body and your lower body. You also have to hold this tension in and release it very smoothly and evenly.
We understand that this is a difficult concept to grasp and in the beginning, you will not understand it but you have to allow your body to work in a natural way. The gradual unwinding of the tension works like magic on your swing.
For hitting golf balls far, you have to know how much yardage you need to gain and then work with the resistance accordingly. This requires practice and your body and mind have to be on the same page but eventually, when you get this right, your swings will become so much better and your yardage will increase and you’ll start to learn which clubs go which distances.
8. Go for a Dynamic Motion
As a woman who has just started playing golf, you need to go for dynamic motion. Although you want to hit hard and get the ball into the hole, this should not be your aim in the first few months of playing. You should allow yourself to think beyond getting the best shot that you’ve ever hit. Relax and just concentrate on the basics and start by trying to hit the ball in the middle of the fairway. Distance, in the beginning, isn’t really important.
It is a slow process and takes time to get right. You must let it all flow together and eventually each component will benefit the next and your whole cycle falls into place. Numerous professionals also give this tip because a relaxed swing always helps the ball and club to unwind properly and much more powerfully than when you are actually trying to hit a powerful shot.
One way to understand if your swing is relaxed is by listening to the sound of the club. If you get a whoosh sound this means that your swing was smooth and tension free. If you are getting more jerky sounds, you are not doing it right. Stay as relaxed as you can and do not worry about what people are saying about your game.
9. Be smooth
One of the funniest things about golf and the people who begin to play it is that if they try too hard, the swing becomes even more difficult to execute and it becomes harder to play right. This is true in almost all the cases we have seen. While your zest and zeal is appreciated, you need to make the game easier for yourself. Do not be so hard on yourself, on your club, or on the ball.
You will notice the harder you hit the ball, the worst your shot is. There is no science behind this. It is just how golf is. You have to learn to let go of everything and just allow the club to take the lead. Once the club is in command, your swings and everything else will fall into place automatically. You are actually the person who is just providing the resources and the rest is taken care of by your club. When you enter the game with such a mindset, you feel more confident and this will resonate in your swings.
Focus on smooth accurate shots even if they don’t go far. You’ll enjoy the game more if you’re hitting the golf ball from the middle of the fairway rather than the trees.
Read our article The best women’s golf club review here!
10. Be confident
Last but not least, women’s golf swing basics for beginners would not complete without confidence. Like all other sports, golf is also a game. You will win some matches, you may lose some matches as well. There is no determining when things go your way and when you have to let them take a turn.
The one thing you can do is to be confident throughout the game. You have practiced so much and you know your moves. You can get it right. Swings work well if the person doing them has complete self-reliance. In golf, the pressure on a beginner is a lot because the people around you are mostly lower handicap players and pros and they have been playing this game for years. However, do not let this thing intimidate you.
Remember this one tip: Hit the shot you can, not the shot you want to be able to hit.
The course is for playing the shot and skill level you have not for experimenting. Leave that for the driving range.
You are better than so many people and with all the tips and basic things mentioned above, you will definitely get it right. Just follow these points and eventually your body can adjust to the new movements. Soon, your mind will take control of the situation easily.
We wish you luck and if you want to improve then practice and get lessons with a fully qualified golf pro!
If you’re still not sure if golf is for you then read our article entitles: Is golf for you or me. It might make your mind up for you.
Play well
