Getting the Right Stance

STANCE

"If you setup correctly, there’s a good chance you’ll hit a reasonable shot - even if you make a mediocre swing. If you setup to the ball poorly, you’ll hit a lousy shot even if you make the greatest swing in the world." --

Jack Nicklaus

GREAT TIP 1: Put the club head behind the ball and aim the clubface to where you want the ball to go – then align your body.

When you think you’ve lined it up properly look over your left shoulder because THAT’S where the ball will go.

When you place your feet, make sure the ball is not too far forward. For drives it should be level with the inside of your forward heel, or if you have a logo on your shirt line it up underneath the logo.

The shorter the club you play the nearer the ball should get to your back foot, so for middle clubs it will be in the middle of your feet, and for short clubs it will get progressively nearer the back.

GREAT TIP 2: Play the ball far enough away so that you get full extension of your arms, but without stretching. The longer the club the further away from your body the ball should be – but never so far you have to stretch for it.

GREAT TIP 3: At address, your hands should be about four inches from your thighs. Let your arms hang naturally with your elbows slightly bent.

Bend forward a little and put your weight slightly on your right or back foot.

GREAT TIP 4:  Keep right knee flexed and stable. Don’t let it slide or

straighten as you begin your swing.

GREAT TIP 5:  The longer the club, the more the left foot should be slightly

flared out – from perpendicular for short irons to 45 degrees for the driver.

Please Note:  As with all these tips they are for guidance only – the best way to make them work for you is to try them out at the driving range. Modify them, tweak them, adapt them for your particular game. Find out what works for you and start playing better golf – it’ll be worth it.

Great Golfing Tips: The Grip

GRIP

GREAT TIP 1:  Don't hold the club too tightly. If you hold it too tightly you’ll struggle to get the clubhead square at impact, the ball will keep low and hook to the left.

Note: These tips are described for right handed players – left handed players will be the same but opposite.

Some people give the analogy of gripping the club in the same way you would grip an egg, whilst others talk about not squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube – both are about right – but only YOU will know how firm to hold it to get the right result.

GREAT TIP 2: To find the ideal grip strength for you – go to your local driving range and do some experimenting. Try holding the club very tightly and see what happens. Then try holding it quite loosely and see what happens. After a while you’ll find the tightness of grip that suits your swing and style of play – one where the ball goes exactly where you want it to.

As a general rule if you grip too tightly the ball will go left and if you grip too loosely the ball will go to the right – try it out and see for yourself.

GREAT TIP 3:  Don’t be afraid to try different things. It doesn’t matter if you use the overlapping grip or the interlocking grip – if it feels uncomfortable or you don’t hit the ball very well – try the other one and see how you get on.

All the instruction books, videos and teachers will tell you how the club should be held – and there’s nothing wrong with that – but to get the best out of YOUR game you have to find out what works for YOU.

EXAMPLE :  A few years ago a top professional golfer – having just topped the Order of Merit and one of the youngest players to have been selected to play in the Ryder Cup at 21 – said his swing was not good enough and decided to change it completely. He changed his grip, his stance and his swing and everyone thought he was mad, but 18 months later he won his first major and then went on to win another 5 after that!

His name? Nick Faldo. Even at that level he wasn’t afraid to make changes and discover what worked for him.