Golf Swings: A Comprehensive Guide
From the first stroke to the last, mastering your golf swing technique is essential to achieving accuracy and consistency in your game. But learning how to swing a golf club can be a little trickier than the pros make it look.
Our comprehensive guide to golf swings is packed with golf swing tips and tricks to enhance your game. For beginners, we recommend also taking a class to familiarise yourself with the golf swing basics.
If you want to know more about the sport, be sure to check out our Golf Guide for Beginners.
Golf Swing Basics: The Setup
Proper setup is key to perfecting your golf swing technique. It can be broken down into three core components.
Stance
A balanced golf posture starts with your feet at roughly shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and bodyweight centred between your feet. Square your feet, keep your hips back, and tilt down at the waist so you’re better positioned to strike the centre of the ball.
Grip
Your golf grip can have a huge impact on the accuracy of your shots. Below, we’ll be introducing you to the three main types of golf swings – and who they typically work best for.
Please note: right handers should have their left hand on top while left handers should have their right hand on top.
Baseball Grip
Similar to the way you would hold a baseball bat, place your non-dominant hand on top of the club and your dominant hand immediately below it. The index finger of your top hand should be touching the little finger of your bottom hand. Position your top thumb on top of the grip and cover it with your bottom hand.
The baseball grip is an excellent option for beginners first learning how to swing a golf club.
Overlap Grip
Start with a baseball grip and then lift the little finger of your bottom hand to rest in the groove between the index and middle finger of your top hand. Offering excellent control, this is a popular grip amongst professionals, and a comfortable option for people with long fingers and bigger hands.
Interlock Grip
This grip requires you to interlock the little finger of your bottom hand with the index finger of your top hand. The interlock grip locks the hands and wrists together for greater control, and is a comfortable option for players with smaller hands.
Aim
To aim, stand behind the ball and select a secondary target that’s in-line with your primary target. This should be six inches to two feet in front of your ball. Step up to the ball and set the face of your club to point at this secondary target. Position your body as though an imaginary line were running from your feet all the way to your target.
How to Swing a Golf Club: Step-by-Step Breakdown
Now that you’ve nailed your setup, it’s time to learn how to swing your golf club. This process can be broken down into four distinct steps. We recommend hiring some equipment and spending some time at the driving range to practise this sequence.
The Takeaway
The takeaway begins the moment your club starts moving back, and ends when the shaft is parallel to the ground.
For a smooth motion, move both your chest and arms away from the golf ball, keeping your wrists straight and maintaining a triangle shape until the club is at waist height. At this point, the club should be parallel to your target line.
The Backswing
After the takeaway comes the backswing, which takes you to the top of your swing.
Keep your head down, your lead arm straight, and turn your shoulders to position the club behind you – though not so far that your club ends up pointing towards the ground. Rotate your hips away from the ball with your weight flowing to your back foot.
The Downswing
At the top of your backswing, shoot your hips towards the golf ball, smoothly transitioning your weight to your front foot. Your shoulders should uncoil as one, keeping your lead shoulder and chest facing the ball.
As you bring your hands and club around and down, tuck the elbow of your trailing arm into your back hip to prevent the club from coming over the top to produce a slice.
The Follow-Through
It’s important to maintain momentum throughout the rest of your swing and not decelerate into the golf ball. Your momentum should pull you around and up with the club high and your hips facing your target for a balanced finish. Roughly 95% of your weight should be on your lead foot while only the toes of your back foot should be touching the ground.
Different Types of Golf Swings
Different types of golf swings suit different people and play styles. Each golf swing comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s best to experiment to see which is right for you.
Here are the five main types of golf swing.
Rotational-Based Swing
The rotational-based swing uses the body’s rotation to generate a lot of power. It’s best reserved for stronger and more athletic players as it can be exhausting and extremely demanding on the body.
Hands and Arms-Based Swing
This swing utilises the arms and hands to guide the direction of the ball. It can help hinge the golf club and optimise speed, but can leave you open to inaccurate shots.
Separation-Based Swing
Turning the shoulders while freezing your hips in place, this swing can generate a lot of speed but requires a lot of flexibility to get right. Due to the risk of injury, it’s not recommended for beginners, non-athletes, or players with mobility issues.
Directing the Momentum Swing
Using the body, arms, and hands to direct momentum, this style of golf swing can feel very natural and is a great option for beginners just learning to swing a golf club.
Single Plane Swing
This swing requires players to keep their arms on the same plane as their shoulders. It can generate extreme speed and power in a smooth and free-flowing rhythm. This can be a great swing for beginners due to its consistency, though first-timers may struggle to keep their arms and shoulders on the same plane.
Perfect Your Golf Swing Technique with the Pros
Learning how to swing a golf club can be challenging. The wrong technique can impact your precision and really throw off your game. That’s why it’s best to learn the right golf swing technique from the beginning rather than having to unlearn bad habits later on.
At Eynesbury, we’re always happy to provide the golf swing tips and instructions you need to master your swing. Join us in a golf lesson today!