Don’t worry- swinging a golf club is not as difficult as some pundits make it look. You can easily and quickly master the tricks.
All you need is a simplified explanation on how your hands control your golf swing.
With a few tips, you’d be on your way to great playing.
So, how are your hands supposed to function during a golf swing?
How you grip the golf club is very important. The grip can be weak, overlap, Vardon, or strong. But that isn’t all there is to an amazing golf swing. You need to know what hand needs to do what and how it should do it. For example, one hand should be holding the clubface while the other is controlling the shaft angle as well as the release of the ball. If you do otherwise, you might hook or slice the ball.
Ideally, if you want to avoid slicing or hooking the ball, then you should let the left hand control the clubface.
Controlling the Clubface
The left hand (or right hand for the left-handers) should control the rotational movement of the golf club to determine the direction of the clubface. To get the hang of this, take a club with your left hand and try rotating your hand to make the clubface open or close.
The left hand is preferred to control the rotational movement of the golf club because the left hand rotates better from closed to open as opposed to open to closed. Therefore, making the left hand in charge of the rotational movement makes controlling the direction of the clubface easier while relieving undue stress from the right hand.
New players often have a problem of always hitting shots either fat or thin. That is often an indication that they are not properly controlling the shaft angle. The best way to go about this is to permit the right hand to control the club’s hinge while the left hand deals with the rotation of the golf club such that at impact the shaft leans slightly towards the target. This is a delicate affair as exceeding the angle, you’ll hit the ball rather too thin, and any less, and you risk hitting the ball too fat.
How to Control the Shaft Angle
The operation of the right hand impacts the shaft angle. (The operation of the left hand impacts the shaft angle for southpaws). That is because it is the right hand that determines the hinging effect of the player’s hands, thus, affecting the shaft angle. It is so much easier to control the shaft angle with the right hand than with the left. At impact, the shaft should lean a bit towards the target, and that requires you maintain the right hand below the left hand until after the impact.
To get the hang of this, take the club in your right hand and practice hinging. You can check in the mirror to ensure the right hand is on the left.
Turn the Body
You by now know how the hands ought to work. Now is the time to learn how to turn the body for a great hit. Remember that the body is the true source of power and consistency, and without it, the hands can do nothing.
So, here is what you need to do: Shift the body’s weight to the forward foot, which is invariably the left foot, as you start the downswing, otherwise the hands will go into overdrive. Another thing you should remember to do is to keep the hips rotating as you shift the weight forward. The reason for this is to open the torso, thus, permitting the fore limbs to have as much room as necessary to perform their respective jobs.
Keep in mind that you should keep rotating even after making impact with the ball. That is if you want a healthier lower back. It is also good for the hands. If you stop shifting and rotating after making impact with the golf ball, the hands can get flappy and get into overdrive so as to remedy the lack of energy emanating from the body. This will make it difficult to hit solid and straight iron shots because the right hands will be retiming their movements in a more hurried fashion.
So, what do you need to do to synchronize the body and hands?
The following exercises will ensure that your hands and body work in sync for greater and better hits:
Exercise One: Impact Bag
Acquire an impact bag for purposes of practicing both clubface and shaft angle rotation. Once there, raise the golf club to the height of your hips on the backswing then swing into the bag. Try clipping the bag at its base, slipping the club a few inches under it, such that you’ll make a square-like angle. Doing this repeatedly will help you master how best to control the clubface rotation as well as helping you to groove in the right shaft angle at impact.
How do you positon the impact bag? Place the impact bag in front of the desired ball position and adjust as you continue to practice this trick with various irons. You only need a few sessions and your hands and body will be better synchronized for better distance, accuracy and control.
Exercise Two: Practice With a 2 by 4 straight and heavy wood or metal chip
Position the chip in front of the usual iron ball position. Simulate the impact position and then shove the chip toward the target without resorting to the use of your arms.
Conclusion
If you employ your hands the right way and manipulate your body accordingly, you’ll soon be making very fantastic shots. It is not hard- if you accurately implement the tricks shared herein, then there is absolutely nothing that can stand on your way to becoming a virtuoso in golf.
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