Golf Swing 101

Throughout my years of playing golf, I've received all kinds of advice. Most of said advice has been completely unsolicited. You will find that most golfers are more than happy to share what works for them, or what they think works for them. My best recommendation however, is to employ the services of a PGA pro for lessons during the beginning of your golfing career.

I suggest doing this in the beginning for two reasons. First of all, it will save you a great amount of frustration. Second, by doing so in the beginning, you will not need to unlearn bad habits. I'm not saying you shouldn't play a few rounds to decide whether or not you even find the game interesting. Pros aren't the cheapest route to learning golf, they are simply put, the best. But you may at least want to see how much one would charge before deciding against it all together. You might be surprised by how affordable it is.

If you can't afford a pro or are testing the waters before committing to this sport as a pastime in your life, the following tips may help you find your way off to a good start, at least as far as your swing is concerned:

1) Keep your clubface square throughout the entire swing. By doing this you are lessening your chances of hooking or slicing the ball and increasing the odds of the ball going in a straight line. Later in your golfing career you will learn about pushes and fades, which are basically controlled, mild hooks and slices but as a beginner you should work hard at hitting the ball in a straight line.

2) The best advice I ever received about playing golf is to swing through the ball rather than simply hitting the ball. If you swing through the ball you are in essences continuing the motion of your swing. The game of golf is a game of balance and stopping at the ball means you haven't completed the swing. You want to swing forward as much as your draw back.

3) When setting up for your swing, concentrate on where you want the ball to be, not where the ball currently resides. This is something that many players overlook but this simple act consistently nets better shots. Even when you're hitting from a less than desirable lie or location.

4) Golf generously uses the laws of physics, especially the ones that work against you in the course of a round; learn to use those to your best advantage. Some of it is visual and some of it can be based on feel. Learn what feels right and you will be surprised at how quickly you learn to locate your ball's general direction by how your swing felt.

These are very general and basic steps to a better golf swing. For the best experience, I do recommend consulting a PGA pro for lessons. These are your best line of accurate and personal information. Every golf swing is different and they can best help you identify what your strengths and weaknesses are and how best to build your game around them.