In the golfing world, everything comes down to your swing. Whether you are new to the game or an avid golfer looking to lower your score, we have created 5 top tips to help you improve your game… Save money on a new set of clubs and let us help you focus on the fundamentals of your golf game!
1. Grip Pressure
Always remember to lightly grip the club throughout your round of golf, on a scale of 1 to 10 think of being a 3. The famous saying from Sam Snead; “Hold the club as if you had a little baby bird in your hand” is always one to keep in the back of your mind when walking up to take your shot.
Does the dreaded slice haunt you on the golf course? Well, a lighter grip pressure increases the amount of clubface rotation, therefore improving your chance of squaring the club at impact.
Top golf instructor Jim Flick once said; “Quiet hands respond on their own to the weight of the clubhead. Tight hands have to be told what to do.”
When you arrive at Flamborough Hills for your next golf outing, focus on relieving all tension and having a relaxed feeling in your hands and forearms… Remember don’t crush the baby bird!
2. Bump n Run
To avoid those deadly shots that fire straight over the green try and keep the golf ball on the ground. Make the bump and run your best friend and use it when you find yourself with a lot of green to work with, tight lies and when you end up in the trees – we all know that feeling too well, right?
To hit the perfect bump and run shot your setup should be very similar to a putt, keep your feet together, don’t break or bend your wrists and use a lower lofted club. Keep your swing natural and relaxed to enable a free back and forth motion. Basically, imagine your arms are a pendulum.
Use our short-game practice facilities before your round to perfect this shot and it will dramatically improve your game creativity!
3. Ball Position
Jack Nicklaus once said, “If you set up correctly, there’s a good chance you’ll hit a reasonable shot, even with a mediocre swing.” One of the most important fundamentals of a good golf swing is ball position as it allows you to make perfect contact with the ball at the right angle.
Always be aware of where you are playing the ball in your stance as each club length is different.
So where exactly should you play the ball for each club? Play your shortest clubs from the middle of your stance, for example; wedges and short irons. This will help you to hit down on the ball and create more backspin. As the club lengthens the ball position should move half an inch towards your front foot. As the driver is the longest club in your bag the ball should be positioned slightly inside the front foot in order to sweep the ball away.
Check out the diagram below to get a better understanding;

4. Weight Transfer
Do you want to increase your power? The good news is that you can skip the gym session and focus on your weight transfer. Now, let’s talk about how to correctly achieve this;
Firstly, you will want to start with an even distribution of 50/50 between both feet.
Once you begin your swing, you then start shifting your weight to your back foot which should happen naturally due to the motion. You want to aim to have 75% of your weight on your back foot at the top of your swing.
Now we move to the downswing, focus on having 75% of your weight on your front foot at impact.
Lastly, in that final position where you hold that striking pose with your chest facing the target and your back heel to the sky you want to have 90% of your weight on your front foot, if you achieve this easily it means you have perfect your weight transfer, sounds simple right?
5. Practice what you Preach
Do you want to be better on the golf course? I am sure the answer is yes that is why you are here, and the easiest way you can do this is by practicing.
Let’s get psychological, we all know that golf is a huge mental game and if you are not in the right headspace you can be your own worst enemy on the golf course. We have all stepped up to that little white ball on the tee deck and the last thing we have thought of is something negative. ‘Don’t slice it, don’t duff this, don’t go right, don’t screw this up’ now I am not saying that your next shot will end up like one of those, but you are significantly increasing your chances if this kind of negativity is the last thing your mind is focussed on before hitting the ball. Confidence is key when you are standing over that ball, as well as managing your thoughts and decisions.
Make sure you always have a game plan in mind when you hit the driving range and practice green. Yes, you may hit the range but hitting 100 balls is not going to improve your game. You need to focus on technique; factoring in pressure practice, process practice, creative practice and on-course practice if you want to knock off some numbers on your scorecard.
Practice may not make perfect, because that is almost impossible in this game we all love… But, perfect practice can improve the number of good shots you have on the course which is what keeps us coming back.
There is so much to learn as golf is one of the most complex sports and we understand it can be a very frustrating game so if you are looking to have a golf lesson with a CPGA professional in the Hamilton area we have got you covered. Get in touch with one of our pros to book your private lesson or group lesson today, they are guaranteed to improve your game!