Golf is a fantastic sport for mind, body, and spirit. Although the sport is difficult to master, improvement will happen with a lot of practice and a lot of patience. With so many moving parts in a golf swing, there are countless opportunities to form bad habits.
If you want to become a better golfer, the first step is to identify and correct the flaws in your swing. Trust us, we get it – golf is a challenging sport and mistakes will happen.
We’re here to help perfect your form and to make practicing easy as you swing through our indoor golf bays which use TrackMan performance technology.
Here are some of the most common golf swing mistakes we see – so you can avoid them in the future and improve your swing.
Let’s dive into the six biggest golf swing mistakes:
Wrong Clubs
Choosing the right golf club can be challenging because there are so many options available. There are five different types of clubs used today: woods (including the driver), irons, hybrids, wedges, and putters. Many golfers are under the impression that they can play with any size of these clubs.
However, some of the most common golf swing mistakes are caused by using improperly sized golf clubs. If your club is too short, you might hit a thin shot, and if it’s too long, your posture might suffer. Golf clubs that are fitted correctly are less likely to contribute to swing mistakes and help improve your game faster.
Bad Posture
Be a ballerina. No really, a great swing requires great posture.
Posture is the foundation of your swing and is composed of a variety of elements, such as foot position, shoulder position, knee flexion, and much more. If you have good posture, it will help bring your club face into position to hit the ball correctly and help it travel in the direction you want it to. Here are some tips to help you adopt the proper posture for golf:
- Stand up tall and pull your shoulder back.
- Relax your arms and keep them straight.
- Keep the club waist high.
- While keeping your back straight, Tilt forwards making sure you tilt at the hips only.
- As you lower the club to touch the ground behind the ball, slightly bend the knees.
With the correct posture to start your golf swing, you can shave more strokes off your scorecard.
Poor Grip
We don’t just want to shout “WRONG” here, but we’ve seen some crazy grips at Swing Loose. This can be a major golf swing flaw, and one that you would think would be easy to fix, but a wrong grip on the golf club can be deeply ingrained. When you have an incorrect grip, you are setting yourself up for a poor results on your golf swing.
Many beginner golfers grip the club too tightly, which contributes to significantly lower ball speed and distance. The club should be held firmly, but not too tightly, and in your fingers as opposed to your palms.
According to Keiser University College of Golf and Sport Management, you should let your hands naturally grasp the golf club so that your palms are facing each other and your grip isn’t turned too far to the left or right.
Bad Ball Position
This seems like the start to a bad joke, but it’s not. One of the most common golf mistakes is failing to recognize the proper ball position as it relates to your stance and assuming the ball should be in the same position for all shots. It is crucial to keep this in mind as different types of shots require different ball positions in your stance. If you don’t have the proper ball position, it can negatively impact contact and direction.
When driving, the ball should be slightly in front of your stance or off your front foot. When using an iron, the ball should be closer to the center of your swing, depending on which iron you are using. For many of your shots, the ball is closer to the center of your feet. If the ball is positioned too far forward, it may cause your shoulders to roll and lead to numerous swing errors.
Not Aiming
While it may seem silly, not aiming at a target is a very common golf swing error. Many beginner golfers simply try to hit the ball and hope that it lands where they want it to go, but this bad habit will hurt your score. In golf, the goal is accuracy. So take a moment to check that your feet are set properly and that you know where to aim to hit your target.
Trying to Lift the Ball
If you’re constantly topping or hitting the golf ball thin, there’s a good chance you’re trying to lift the ball. Although it might seem like the right thing to do, this is one of the most common golf swing mistakes. After all, shouldn’t you throw the ball up in the air if you want to get it there? No – the ball is actually sent into the air when you strike down on it.
If you want to hit the ball correctly, improve consistency, and add more distance, try adding lag (having your hands lead the golf club head) to your golf swing!
If you’re interested in addressing your most common golf swing mistakes, we’re here to help you make time to practice and address them. At Swing Loose Golf, you can practice your swing indoors or outdoors. We have our indoor golf simulator available year-round, you can book a bay anytime. You can have targeted practice with pinpoint accuracy to correct these golf swing flaws by using our TrackMan-equipped golf simulators. If you are looking for more of a hands-on approach, you can always book a one-on-one session with our Golf instructors. In the warmer months we have our outdoor driving range, check for the latest date updates!
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