There are so many golf swing mistakes it is hard to avoid them all.
Practice makes perfect.
If you don’t believe that, talk to golfers, such as Jack Nicklaus, who regularly practiced their swings and putts so they could perform miracles on the golf course.
That type of advice is no less true for anyone who wants to improve their weekend golf game.
One of the main areas that often need spractice is the golf swing. After all, you are making a number of movements during this activity. With all this type of motion going on, a thousand things may go wrong.
In fact, just look at the people practicing their swings on a driving range. You will see a lot of golf swing errors taking place. Most golf swings can be rectified by eliminating basic problems – problems that automatically create several follow-on mistakes.
Major golf swing errors
Following are some mistakes you may be making with your golf swing.
Not Taking the Time to Warm Up
If you want to mess up your golf swing, forget about warming up. Trying to hit the ball 300 yards off a first tee without warming up is a huge error – one that happens more often than you might believe.
Some golfers are too proud to take the time to warm up or they simply don’t know how to do it. If you want to maintain a powerful golf swing, your muscles should be flexible and warm. Flexible and warm equates to confidence when swinging.
Get fitted properly
Some golfers have bad swings because they view their clubs as all being the same. In fact, instead of reviewing the uniqueness of each club, they might just pick up a set on sale and set off for the course. In turn, they start to wonder what they are doing wrong with their swing.
If you are not fitted properly with the right clubs, you will experience far more swing mistakes than what your might want to see – mistakes that could have been easily avoided by taking the time to buy the right clubs.
Swinging the golf club too hard
While manufacturers of golf clubs often speak of distance and power, it has also led to golf swings that are exerted with too much force.
Moreover, surveys show that most golfers want to achieve more distance and power.
Therefore, it is not surprising that a golfer may swing too hard as well as too fast.
While a faster swing will indeed produce a longer shot, you also need to strike the ball in the center of the club face.
Most average golfers do not have the skill to hit a golf ball clean at a fast speed.
Therefore, you need to slow down so you can swing the club in the proper sequence. By using this technique, you will experience a cleaner golf shot, and experience more distance as well as more consistency.
Gripping the club too tightly
Some golfers who tend to swing the club too hard, also grip the club too tightly.
This gripping error happens often and therefore is quite common. In fact, some golfers grasp the club so tight, you would think that they are afraid of getting their club snatched and stolen by a thief.
If your veins pop out of your wrists and hands during your swing, you should take note.
You are gripping the club too tight.
You need to remember the following – A golf swing represents a loose and fluid movement – one that should flow for the best results. If you hold the club too tight, your swing will become stilted and you will lose the proper momentum to follow through.
That is because the muscles become stiff and therefore ineffective.
Grip the club like you are holding a tube of toothpaste.
Aligning Your Body Poorly
If you align your body poorly during a golf swing, you will also hit a bad shot. Some golfers line up their feet so they are aimed directly toward the target when the toes should be lined up parallel to the target line instead.
To align yourself correctly, think of the stance line and target line as 2 rails on a rail line. They may be going the same way. However, the left rail is directed slightly to the left of the other rail, not toward the same exact point.
Even the best golfer will check his or her alignment on a regular basis. You can do this more easily by putting golf clubs or alignment rods on the ground when you practice. Have a friend check behind you to make sure you are getting the right perspective.
Poor Golf Swing Timing
You also have to check your timing. For example, a swing becomes flawed if you take the club back, using a short backswing, then rush it forward at top speed. Or, the shot turns into a disaster if you take the club too far back and cut off the follow-through.
Therefore, timing is crucial if you want to improve your golf swing. With the proper timing, you will allow things to unfold naturally, which makes the swing look fluid and unhurried.
A properly timed swing is both slow and steady, going back to the top of the backswing and seems to pause while the lower part of body starts to turn toward the target. This builds up your power and releases it during the swing. To create this effect, you need to practice your swing and your timing – repeatedly.
Daily drills can enhance your efforts toward a well-timed swing – practice that always pays off whether you are playing a match or a casual game.
Gripping the Club Improperly
Your grip is the only contact you really have with the club. Therefore, it should be firm, but not too tight. Also, you do not want to hold the club too much in the palms of your hands. If you use this approach, you cannot freely operate your wrists. Instead, hold the club so it is more in your fingers.
While many golfers can place their rear hand, or right hand if you are right-handed, on the club, they frequently have trouble gripping with the leading hand.
Most errors with grip have to do with a too-weak grip, or a grip that is turned too much to the left on the top of the golf club.
Alternatively, some golfers have too strong of grip, or turn their hand too far to the right on the top of the golf club. If your grip is too strong, you are trying to hit the golf ball with too much force.
Instead, relax and allow your hands to take the club in hand naturally. The palms should face one another and should not be turned too far to either the left or right. The V you make between your thumb and finger should point at or be directed just outside the right shoulder.
Decelerating Golf Swing
Some beginning golfers tend to slow down on the forward swing versus smoothing the swing and building up speed. This may be a problem if it looks like you are scooping at the ball during the swing. Any interruption in the free-flow action of a swing can affect it adversely.
Taking Aim at the Flag
Try to hit the center of the green and putt from there. Learn from Jack Nicklaus. He credited his successful and lengthy career by playing to the center of the green and depending on his well-practiced putting skills.
Putting always gives you better golf score than sand play or chipping. Place the ball on the green to get a solid par.
No Full Shoulder Turn
You can also ruin your swing by not using leverage. This can happen if you fail to execute a full shoulder turn during a golf swing. A golfer loses leverage when he or she makes a fake shoulder turn, or bends the left arm to extend the backswing. By using this movement, you cut off the opportunity to use the torque that is stored in the wind-up of the shoulders.
Swinging “Over the Top”
A golf swing moves up and down and well as back and forth.
Some amateurs will start to turn their shoulder on the forward swing before they allow their arms to fall on an inside path. As a result, their club swings wide over the swing path. If you are right-handed, your swing turns into a dreaded slice.
Fine tune your golf game by understanding the reasons behind erroneous swings. Fluid and smooth should be your motto when perfecting this movement in your game.
