The Perfect Golf Swing

The Perfect Golf Swing

If you've taken the time to get the right grip, the correct set-up, and the correct posture, you're ready to swing a club with more power and accuracy than you have ever swung a club before. If you feel more athletic and confident as you address the ball, that's a sign that you're well on the way to mastering the pre-swing elements. You're about to discover what a big difference that will make in your golf swing.

Before we start swinging away, we need to take a moment to consider which club to use as you learn-or relearn-the elements of a good golf swing.

Whichever club you decide to swing first, be sure to use a golf glove on your control hand. (Your control hand is the hand that grips the club first-the left hand for right-handed players, and the right hand for left-handed players). If you don't use a glove, you'll get calluses on the palm of your control hand. Always use a glove, even if you're only planning a 15 to 20-minute practice session.

The ideal club for learning the perfect golf swing

There are two different schools of thought concerning the ideal club to use for learning the correct swing. Some instructors think it matters very much; others think it doesn't matter much at all.

The driver is the most difficult club for golfers to master. It has the least loft and the longest shaft of all the clubs in your bag. The straight clubface of a driver puts maximum sidespin on the ball; the longer shaft means that your mechanics must be flawless in order to return the clubface square to the ball. If the clubface is open or closed at impact, the ball will slice or hook away from the ball-to-target line.

That's not a noticeable problem on driving ranges, which are wide enough to forgive fairly severe mishits. But a hook or slice of 20 yards or more on a fairway can send the ball into the rough on most holes. Since your mechanics must be nearly flawless to drive the ball fairly straight, many instructors prefer to use one of the short irons or wedges to teach beginners how to swing the golf club correctly.

The short irons and wedges have higher lofts and shorter shafts, which means that it's much easier for new players to control shots made with these golf clubs. The greater the loft of the club, the more backspin will be applied to the flight of the ball.

Backspin counteracts the tendency of the ball to travel right or left of target, which means that shots made with the short irons and wedges tend to travel straighter than shots made with a driver, even when the clubface is not completely square to the ball at impact.

Some instructors insist that your choice of club for learning purposes doesn't make a lot of difference. Ben Hogan taught beginners to learn the fundamentals of the golf swing using a driver. He wrote a popular series of instructional articles for Sports Illustrated in the early Fifties that were later published in book form. Hogan argued that a sound, repeating golf swing is the same with every club, so if you learn to control your shots off the tee with a driver, you'll have good control of all the other clubs.

I can't tell you what method is best for your learning process. Every individual player is different. Only a coach who has the opportunity to watch you hit a few balls is in a position to judge which club is the best one for you to start swinging with. So please keep in mind that what follows is the best general advice I can give you.

I can appreciate the logic of both arguments. In defense of Hogan, whose method is the one that is used less today, it can be argued that learning the swing with a pitching wedge, for instance, can cause problems that may be hard to correct when a player begins to swing a driver.

The beginner has a much larger margin for error with the wedge, so it's easy for undetected flaws to creep into a swing, even when the learner thinks that he or she is making progress. This is a constant danger for players who don't have the opportunity to work with a coach. They won't really know how mechanically sound their swing is until they start using the longer clubs.

If you have an opportunity to take lessons with a golf club pro, or at least to have a low-handicap golfer check your golf mechanics from time to time, then by all means start swinging with a wedge. Learning to control the wedge before you take another club out of your bag is the fastest way to build your confidence.

The fact that you're making fairly straight shots from the first day is a tremendous morale booster. If you start swinging with a driver, searching in the rough for all the balls you hook or slice is a frustrating experience that can make it hard for any beginner to want to go on learning.

As you gain confidence and control with the wedge, move through the bag one club at a time, from the short irons to the medium irons, then on down to the long irons and woods. The driver can be the last club you learn to swing. You can use this method and be confident that it will serve you well, as long as you have the opportunity to check your mechanics from time to time with a good teacher.

Earl Woods recommended that beginners should learn to control the putter, wedge, and short irons before picking up the long irons and woods. So which club did Tiger swing first? You guessed it-a driver. He simply picked up his father's club one day and started swinging.

Seve Ballesteros, one of the most successful players over the last 30 years, learned to play the game with a 3 iron that his older brother gave him. Seve learned the fundamentals of the golf swing by hitting every shot in a round with his 3 iron. Seve credits his early learning experience as the source of his unequaled versatility; he is generally regarded as the greatest shot-maker of his era. As Ben Crenshaw once said, "Seve plays shots I don't even see in my dreams."

When I was a teenager, I loved playing a round of golf at a local 9-hole par 3 course with my 3 iron and a putter. Whichever club you use in the beginning, the mechanics of the swing are the same. And remember: You don't have to hit a tee shot with a driver, even if you're playing a 500-yard hole. Even the pros tee off with a 3 wood or long iron on a medium or long hole when fairway hazards demand utmost accuracy off the tee.

Complete beginners will enjoy the game more and run into less frustration by teeing off with a 3 wood-or, like Seve Ballesteros, with a 3 iron-during their first six to twelve months. When you're learning the game from scratch, you certainly don't need to carry a complete set of clubs with you on a round of golf. A 3 wood, 3 iron, 5 iron, 7 iron, 9 iron, sand wedge, and putter-less than half the clubs in a complete set-are all you need to play a satisfying round of golf once you've mastered the fundamentals of the perfect golf swing.

You can learn a great deal about shot-making by playing a round of golf with nothing but a 3 iron. Go ahead and take your putter along with you, too-Seve putted with his 3 iron! If you want to have an adventure-or if you feel destined for greatness-leave the putter at home and get a taste of what it feels like to be Seve Ballesteros. Seriously, if you're adventurous enough to do it, you'll gain a whole new understanding of the meaning of versatility.

The backswing

A golf swing is a chain reaction: Whatever happens in the beginning of the swing will magnify the effect of what happens with the ball after impact. A problem at any point in the swing will cause a poor shot.

The swing begins with the golfer in the address position. The backswing is the first part of the swing. Let's take a look at how the pros do it:

1. In the address position, you should only be thinking about the next action: to swing the club smoothly away from the ball.

2. Keep the club low to the ground as you sweep it away from the ball. Keep your left arm straight.

3. As your left arm moves away from the ball, the clubhead will begin to arc upward.

4. As your arms swing back, your body rotates. The wrists also "hinge" in sync with the motion of the clubhead. Your arms must work together with your body as a unit.

5. At the top of the backswing, the shaft of the club should be parallel to the imaginary rail running from the ball to the target.

6. Make sure the club isn't pointing left or right of target when you reach the top of the backswing. (Both of these club positions are a clear indication that you haven't brought the club back correctly. In either case, the clubface will be returned to the ball incorrectly, causing a hook or a slice.)

Ask a friend or your coach to let you know if your club is parallel to the ball-to-target line when you reach the top of your backswing. It's easier for another person to see where your club really is.

Your eyes must be on the ball all the way through the backswing, and they must stay on the ball until impact on the downswing. The most common advice that golfers hear is to keep their head steady. It's important to understand that steady doesn't mean motionless.

It would be impossible to hit a smooth shot if your head stayed completely rigid during the swing. The correct rotation of your upper body obligates your head to move just enough to let the rest of your body move fluidly through the swing.

Friends who tell you not to move your head probably mean well, but they haven't studied the mechanics of the swing in depth. Just think about keeping your eyes on the ball, and any slight movement of your head will be perfectly in sync with the correct rotation of your body.

The downswing

The downswing is the second part of the swing. Many beginners lose control of their swing when they start the transition from the top of the backswing to the start of the downswing. The key is to keep it smooth, and to step into the swing with your left knee.

1. Start your downswing by gently moving your left knee toward the target. At the top of your backswing, most of your weight is on your right foot.

2. At the same time that you move your left knee toward the target, start to shift your weight to your left foot. This weight shift is what golfers refer to when they talk about "leg separation."

3. At the top of the backswing, your upper body and hips are in a cocked position, like a revolver that has been cocked in preparation for a shot. Leg separation triggers the correct downswing by encouraging your hips and upper body to unwind naturally. As your hips and upper body unwind, your hands and arms move down into the correct position to attack the ball.

4. If everything has gone right so far, your arms and hands are moving on a track that will return the clubface square to the ball.

5. Swing through impact. Be sure to follow through, finishing the swing in a perfectly balanced position. The right heel lifts up off the ground and your club wheels around.

At the end of the swing, the shaft of your club should be parallel to your left biceps, just behind the back of your head. At the end of the swing, your head faces the target. With your navel pointed straight at the target, your eyes can easily follow the flight of the ball.

Rhythm

Rhythm describes how fast or how slow the player swings the club. This is one of the elements of the game that's entirely up to the individual player. It doesn't matter how fast or how slow you swing the club, as long as the tempo of your swing stays the same from start to finish.

The best tempo is one that allows you to stay in control of your movements throughout the swing. Beginners usually have trouble maintaining a consistent tempo. When you watch professional golfers tee off-even if you're watching on TV-you'll notice that the pros maintain a steady tempo from the start of the swing to the finish, and they do it every time.

How to stay on the right track

Remember these four tips to keep your swing on the right track:

1. There is only one basic swing in the game of golf.

2. Beginners and high-handicap golfers only need to worry about two elements of the swing: the correct rotation of your upper body and the correct motion of your arms. Your swing will be perfect when your upper body and arms work together as a unit.

3. Most of the average golfer's practice time is wasted. Without an experienced eye to detect errors and make suggestions, weekend golfers only establish their faults.

4. The best way to practice is to keep it fun, focused, and competitive. Practice that isn't consciously designed to improve some aspect of your game is just wasted time.

Perfect swing checklist

The key to building a sound golf swing is to work bit by bit on all the elements of the swing, put them together, and see what happens. No matter how much natural talent you possess-and no matter how long you've been swinging a golf club-the way to become a better player is to keep coming back to the basics to make sure flaws haven't crept into your swing.

Pay special attention to these three essentials of a good swing:

• Footwork-shifting your weight.

• Turning your body-this provides the power.

• Hand action-this transfers the power to the ball.

Whether you're a complete beginner or an established player, you'll go on fine-tuning your swing as you gain a better understanding of the fundamentals. Tiger Woods has gone through two swing changes since he joined the PGA Tour.

If you're a beginning player, the best advice is not to worry about it too much right now. Just start swinging and try to do the best you can. You have to swing the club a lot before you can begin to get a feel for a mechanically sound golf swing.

In the meantime, keep this checklist handy as a reminder of what you need to be thinking about as you train your muscles and your mind to swing a club correctly:

• Grip the club correctly.

• Take the correct stance.

• Keep your eyes on the ball.

• As you begin the backswing, make sure your left knee points behind the ball.

• At the top of the backswing, your left hand grips the club tightly. Your right hand grip is firm, but not tight.

• As you pause at the top of the backswing, your club is parallel to the ground.

• As you begin the downswing, your right knee moves in toward the ball.

• Keep your eyes on the ball.

• Keep your hands cocked to make sure they stay ahead of the clubface on the downswing. Just before impact, let the full force of your right hand explode into the shot.

• Keep your eyes on the ball.

• Swing through impact. Finish with your navel pointing toward the target.