12 Best Golf Tips To Improve Your Swing And Your Game

Now that we’ve got our first Jack Nicklaus euphemism out of the way, let’s get started.

1.  Develop A Takeaway That Encourages You To Start On The Correct Plane

Golf is difficult and swinging off plane is a very common problem. It affects some 90% of amateur golfers. But, if you talk to any golfer who is committed to improving their swing, invariably they will admit to working on their swing plane.

Obviously, the first thing that affects your swing plane is how you take the club away. If you have an overly flat swing plane (taking the club away too far inside the intended plane), you will fall victim to a myriad of problems. Sweeping hooks, pushing to the right and even catching the ball thin with your irons. If you are too steep, there are a number of things that will show up as evidence of this problem. Deep divots, toe first contact with the ball and an open clubface at contact are a few of these things.

Click here for an in-depth explanation of a Golf Slice vs Hook, what the causes are and how to fix each one.

Drill

Use a bench to encourage a consistent takeaway. Point the bench to your target. Take your stance so that your club shaft rests on the bench. When I do this drill, I find it best to use a longer club. I find I get better feedback as the drill unfolds. Slowly begin your backswing, stopping when the shaft is parallel to the ground just short of mid backswing. Let the shaft ride on the edge of the bench as you do this.

Do this drill enough times and it will help simulate what your correct swing plane should start as. The nice part about this drill is that most tee boxes have a bench there to sit on. You can actually do this drill on every hole before you actually take your tee shot. The ability to get immediate feedback is a wonderful thing

2. Eliminate The Fault Of Coming Inside Out Or Outside In On Your Downswing

More often than not this problem arises early in the golf swing, but it doesn’t manifest itself until you are on your downswing. Most professional golfers have a swing that is considered inside out. The reason for this is that it is almost impossible to draw the ball with a swing that is outside in. Some of you might argue that I am wrong, that your swing is outside in and the ball always goes to the left. If it goes to the left with an outside in plane, it means that you have pulled the ball, not drawn it. There is a huge difference between the two.

Drill

You can develop a correct swing plane at impact with a drill that I call “The 3 Ball Drill”. At address position, put the target ball in position, then put another ball 2-3 inches back and 2-3 inches toward you. Then put another ball 2-3 inches forward and 2-3 inches away from you. The balls should line up in a straight line that is 45 degrees from bottom right to top left. Now just make some golf swings and hit the ball.

If you contact only your target ball, then your horizontal swing plane is correct. If you strike either the back ball or the forward ball, then your horizontal swing plane is incorrect. At first, this drill should be done only with ¾ swings. This drill typically helps a golfer who is struggling with hooking the ball. If the opposite is true, and you struggle with a slice, then move the balls to the opposite diagonal, with the back ball being 2-3 inches away from you and the forward ball being 2-3 inches closer to you.

Try to get a spot on the driving range where the stalls next to you are vacant. If you have a wonky swing plane, there may be some errant balls flying to your left or right from time to time.

3. Get Rid Of The Dreaded Chicken Wing

Anyone who has suffered from this knows what I mean. More often than not, a chicken wing produces a slice that is also very weak in relation to ball flight and distance, or it could even result in topping the ball. Eliminating the chicken wing may the way that you finally break 90.

Drill

This is a two part drill and should be done together to produce the best results.

The first part is done without actually striking the ball. Take the club firmly in your left hand only. Hold the club up in front of you parallel to the ground. Ball up your right hand into a fist and put it under your left armpit. Lower the club into your address position. Now take, what is in essence, a one handed swing, keeping your right hand under your left armpit. As you are doing this, it should be impossible for your left elbow to fold into the “chicken wing” position.

Part two will also help with your chicken wing issue. Take a head cover and put it under your left arm. Make a regular golf swing trying to hold the head cover there through impact and follow-through.

Both of these drills are best done with a 6 or 7 iron for best results.

4. Work On Your Timing With Your First Move Away From The Ball At Address

Your swing must have the proper tempo to make it perform to it’s utmost. My initial swing thought when trying to get this done is to “Go Low and Slow.” It sounds easy but in actuality, it is difficult to get the feeling naturally.

Drill

The trick here is to swing something that creates a small amount of resistance when you begin your backswing. The best swing aid to use here is a mop, a heavy headed mop. All you do is hold it like a golf club, then practice your takeaway with this heavy headed club substitute. There is no need to actually swing the mop. Just use it to get the feeling of a “Low and Slow” takeaway. The result being that it will be very difficult to make a hurried takeaway and, because of the extra weight, it will remain low as well.

In the absence of a mop, a golf towel can be tied around the head of a golf club to create a similar feeling.

5. Don’t Rush Your Backswing.

What do you think your swing speed is?  Most golfers overestimate their swing speed. They often wonder why they cannot generate more swing speed. One of the reasons is that they get out of rhythm right out of the chute by rushing their backswing. When you rush your backswing the whole concept of timing is thrown off.

Drill

There are actually two drills to help you with your timing. They are both easy to do, and of equal benefit to beginners or advanced players.

The first is a simple counting drill. I call it the Lawrence Welk drill. Lawrence Welk was a band leader from the 50’s and 60’s. His trademark saying was, “And a one and a two and go”. I have modified it a bit but I’m sure he won’t mind. As you swing, start counting, “One and a two and go”. By the time you get to two, you should be at the top of your backswing, getting ready to transition downward. “And go” should be your command to swing away. Ideally, it should take half as long to downswing as it did to backswing.

The next drill is also very simple. Place two golf balls on the teeing ground, one directly behind the other. With a six or seven iron, gently slip the club between the two balls. Start your backswing. If the back ball goes hurtling off into the next county, you are rushing your takeaway. Keep practicing until you can keep the distance it rolls back to two or three feet.

6.  How To Hit The Stinger Shot And Practice Hitting Low Shots For Control With Less Spin.

The stinger shot is one that is hit even lower than a traditional knock down shot. It is especially useful when hitting a long shot into the wind. The shot not only stays low, boring into the wind, but also runs out much farther than any other shot. Practicing this shot will improve your swing once you master it and you will have more options to choose from when you are out on the golf course, especially in windy conditions.

Drill (technique)

This is how Tiger hits this shot. He sets up with his shoulders a bit narrower than usual. When using 3 wood or driver, his ball is just inside his left heel. His hands lead the club well past impact. This requires firm hands and soft elbows. He takes a small divot, even with his driver.

Here is an easier way to hit this shot. Align your feet and shoulders to the right of target. This shot has a tendency to want to hook, so let’s work with that. Aim your clubface to the target. Set your body to the aim line, not the target. Close the clubface and regrip the club. Take a ¾ swing only, this will help you make solid contact. This will produce a punch type shot with little backspin. Do not rush the swing. Keep your follow through short with your club close to the ground after impact. This is a difficult shot to master, but if you can, it is a tremendous weapon to have in your arsenal.

7. Make A Bigger Turn In Your Backswing

It is very important to maintain your spine angle to maximize distance, especially with your driver. If you are having trouble losing distance, it may be because you have a rounded back at address. If this is a physical limitation, then such is life. If not, do everything you can to develop a spine angle that can maximize your shoulder turn vs. hips.

There is no drill for this, however, if you have access to a video camera, you can have some feedback as to your progress with this fix. Another way to get feedback is to position yourself so that your shadow tells you what is going on to some degree while you are practicing.

8. Use Your hips Correctly To Maximize Performance, Especially Distance

This is a tough one. I guarantee you that most players that slide their hips back on their backswing will not believe that they have fallen victim to this swing fault. The best way to catch this is on video.

Drill