Warming up

Many people fail to warm up properly. They rush from the car park after work, launch at the first ball with the driver and slice the ball into the trees. If you recognise this, then this exercise should help.

The 2 club drill is ideal if you haven’t had time for the range. Hold 2 clubs (3 if you feel energetic). The weight of the clubs together will create a momentum that will give you the feeling of a free moving swing allowing you to wind and unwind without a hurry. As you make the swing you want to feel that the hands arms and body work in harmony.

Full Swing

One of the positions many people struggle with is at halfway back in the swing when the left arm is parallel with the ground forming a 90 degree angle between arm and shaft. Once the body has moved the club away from the ball it is important that the wrists hinge the club up to this position.

The windmill exercise will help to give you the feeling for this position. Take the set up position but take 2 clubs so that one is extending from the club on the ground outside the left side of the body. When you make the swing you should see that at halfway back the line through both clubs should point at the ball or just inside of it. This is a good checkpoint to see that the swing is on a good path and plane. If you have a good grip and posture and can find this position consistently the rest of the backswing is a relatively simple move to the top of the backswing.

Putting

In the golf swing we want to rely on the larger muscles in the body. If the hands and arms work independently it is very difficult to create any sort of repetition. “Connection” is a word that crops up in the golf swing time and time again. When you putt you want to feel the connection between the top part of the body and the upper arm.

Allow the arms to hang from the shoulders and then turn the palms inwards. You should now feel the connection between upper arms and body. Allow the palms to face one another and you will find that the arms are nicely connected, as a result you can make a stroke that is far more consistent and reliable.