COVID-19 is forcing many people to explore new hobbies and ways to stay in shape. One of the most popular social distancing friendly sports is playing golf. Golf is a great activity to stay in shape and get outdoors, which is paramount right now.
While golf is fun, just starting out can be very frustrating. Swinging a golf club and hitting good shots takes practice. Even some of the most experienced players get frustrated and have a tough time making good contact.
If you’re just starting out in golf, here are a few tips that can put you on your way to having a great time on the golf course.
Tip 1: Use Your Hips
When you break down what goes into a golf swing, the key movement is rotating your hips back to coil up and create power, and then rotating back forward through the ball. Many beginners think the swing is mostly created by swinging your arms, but the bulk of the power comes from a good body turn. Swinging with your arms too quickly without engaging your body will ruin your shot. Start your downswing by rotating your hips toward the target first, and you’ll start to come through the ball cleaner and with more power. The downswing should always start with your hips, and create power that stems from your lower body. Start your golf swing like this and you’ll hit longer straighter shots.
Tip 2: Use Clubs Made for Beginners
There are tons of golf club options on the market, ranging from beginner sets to clubs made for the elite golfer. Do yourself a huge favor and use the clubs that are actually made for beginners.
The beginner clubs don’t look as nice, and seem a bit clunky, but they help beginners hit better shots with more consistency. Beginner club sets will come with a few hybrid golf clubs, which are a lot easier to hit than a standard golf iron. The irons in these sets are also made with performance in mind, and usually have a much wider sole to help you get the ball off the ground.
Beginner clubs will make golf more enjoyable for the average beginner and will help you nail some of the basics.
Tip 3: Practice Your Short Shots
The shots that are the closest to the green require the most delicacy and accuracy, and are what separates bad players from good players. If you want to get good at playing golf, practice your short game. Luckily, if you have a backyard it’s pretty easy to practice these shots. Take a pitching wedge outside and play around with it, and get used to hitting a shorter shot.
Putting is also a huge learning curve for the beginner golfer, and it can be tough to nail down how hard to hit a putt. Before you play any round of golf, spending 10 minutes on the practice putting green can help you figure out the speed of the green and give you a better shot of hitting some awesome putts.
Final Thoughts
Golf is definitely a hard sport. There are many things to think about when you’re playing. If you take these few tips into consideration, you’re definitely going to play a better round of golf. It pays off to keep practicing and getting better at the game. Golf is the ultimate sport that you can play for the rest of your life.
Try these tips and let us know how it goes!
Brandon DiCroce runs the golf website called Fairway Approach, which focused on helping golfers take a smarter approach to golf by offering game improvement guides and equipment reviews. He’s been playing amateur golf for over 15 years, and is originally from Syracuse, NY. During the day he’s a technical recruiter within the financial industry, helping software engineers land jobs.
Instagram: @fairwayapproach