Golf is a game where many hand out tips left and right. When you are first starting the game you will often hear advice like…
- Keep your head down
- Swing easy
- Have a neutral grip
- Hit down on the ball
- Keep your eye on it
- Roll your hand over
- Keep your left arm straight
- Don’t swing past parallel
- Keep your left foot on the ground
The more I played the game and the more I experimented with different swings, I realized that these tips that beginner golfers often received aren’t very good.
In fact, some can even be detrimental to the golfer having any success.
As I worked my way through the game, mostly self taught from a traditional golf lesson standpoint, there are 5 tips or swing thoughts that really became the basis of a solid golf swing.
Several years ago, I built a golf simulator setup in my garage and got to work.
How to build a golf simulator (complete overview)
The difference in today’s golf era is the access to the world’s top golf instructors through online resources like youtube or other video services. This was a game changer.
Now for the first time ever, I could watch a top teacher give a lesson or hear his or her thoughts on the golf swing.
Many of the traditional teachings of the past were being questioned and better options were being presented.
Pair this up with the personal launch monitor that amateurs can afford as well as the top instructors having access to Trackman or other expensive devices and we soon had ball flight laws and more clarity on the golf swing.
So today, I dive into the best golf tips ever received. With my own sons and my daughter starting the game, I really wanted to question what tips are best for the beginner golfer and tips that carry over even as someone approaches scratch.
Top 5 Best Golf Tips Ever Received
- Setup with good balance
- Make a complete turn on the backswing
- Squat and turn
- Stay behind the ball
- Understand the ball flight laws
Tip #1: Setup with good balance
For many years, the traditional teaching coming out of golf publications was to have a straight back with your butt pointed out a bit. Think of Adam Scott early in his career. What this led to was golfers early extending in the downswing.
Their hips would move towards the ball and cause a difficult move to time up in the golf swing. This early extension move is a terrible move and is often caused by a poor setup where the golfer’s head is too far out over the toe and the butt is too far back.
Instead, setup with your head over the balls of your fee and your butt more underneath you. As you swing and load up on the backswing, you have room to use the ground by squating and turning. The backside will be able to stay on the back line and you will not early extended.
A good way to measure this is to take a video of your swing from down the line behind you. At setup draw a vertical line down your backside. Go ahead and make a swing and see if you maintain the “tush line.”
If you don’t chances are your setup is too bent over, too rigid or you don’t turn enough on the downswing.
Tip #2: Make a complete turn on the backswing
For years, the golfing world promoted the X factor. This is where you would try to keep your hips quiet and move your front shoulder back over your back-leg.
This would create an X like motion on video from face on. The thought was that you were building up resistance in the golf swing. On top of this, the golfer would also be encouraged to keep the back leg flexed.
As I type this, I can remember Jim Mclean on the golf shows promoting this. There I was as a junior trying to replicate a swing movement that isn’t very good unless you have some great flexibility and strength. Don’t use this method!
The teaching now has turned to getting a great turn. Think of Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Champ or many of the up and coming golfers on the PGA Tour. Golf instructors like George Gankas, Shawn Clement, and Lucas Wald are making an impact on the swing and teaching the full turn.
A part of this full turn is to straighten the back leg in the backswing. The back leg goes from slightly flexed to extended back to flexed and then extended once again in the follow through. This allows the golfer to make a complete turn and also utilize the ground forces to maximize speed.
The full turn in the backswing will consist of both the hips and the shoulders making a complete turn. The shoulders will turn at least 90 degrees with the hips turning at least 45 degrees. This puts you in a great position to use the ground and turn for maximum speed.
Tip #3: Squat and Turn
For year’s golfers might have heard to keep the lower body quiet. The golf swing was more about consistency and hitting the ball straight vs maximizing speed, while maintaining decent consistency.
We now better understand the importance of speed and distance in the game. The best swings are able to utilize the ground through a slight squat and then turning hard to the left.
The end result is club head stability through the swing. In the past, golfers would often stall their turn and throw their hands. While there is some speed found here it can lead to snap hooks and overall inconsistency.
One day, you time everything up perfectly and shoot a great round, the next day your timing is a bit off and you are a handful of shots worse and might be battling a snap hook or another wild shot.
Now with the turn and rotating method, the clubhead is able to stay more stable as the swing isn’t relying on a perfect timing of a release through the shot.
The two instructors that come to mind who teach this movement is George Gankas and Shawn Clement. While different approaches and thoughts to this method, the end result is similar. The golfer makes a complete turn on the backswing and a complete turn thru. The release becomes more consistent and the golfer his better golf shots!
Tip #4: Stay behind the ball
If a golfer is sliding forward and the ball ends up ahead of the ball, often times the golfer will cast the club from the top as the ball becomes their target.
If you are able to follow the tips above where you make a complete turn back and then a slight squat to start the swing, the golfer will be able to keep their head behind the ball.
One of the misteachings of the past included trying to load the weight onto your back leg. This gave the golfer the feeling that they needed to shift their weight from back leg to front leg. This led to sliding as the golfer felt like he or she needed to move forward.
This pushes the head in front of the ball and leads to an early casting. When the golfer is able to squat, turn and stay behind the ball the golfer is able to maintain a better lag. Many golfers will try to artificially create and maintain lag and it can lead to disaster. Instead, if the proper movements in hips and the head occur, the lag will naturally increase.
One of my favorite instructors when it comes to staying behind the ball is Bobby Lopez. He has some excellent videos on staying onside. He likes to laugh and point out when someone goes “offsides” (crossing the line of scrimmage before impact), which can cause a bunch of issues.
Tip #5: Understand the ball flight laws
As I dove into the Stack and Tilt method over 10 years ago, my revelation with ball flight laws came to life and it made complete sense!
The ball flight laws are a set of basic physics principles that tell us what direction a ball will curve for the most part based on the clubface angle at impact as well as the direction of the swing path. Angle of attack can impact the path, but for the most part there are some basic laws to understand that will allow you to read your ball flight and start making some adjustments.
The basic idea is that the ball will start in the direction that the club face is pointing at impact. From there it will curve based on the swing path relative to the club face. For example, if your club face is 2 degrees right and your path is 4 degrees right. The ball will start right and curve left towards the target, which is away from the swing path direction.
The wonderful part about understanding ball flight laws is that you can become a bit of your own coach. You can read your ball flight and understand what is taking place.
Below are some basic scenarios to check your knowledge and see if you get the main point.
Ball Flight Laws: Scenario 1
Clubface: 3 degrees right
Swing Path: 5 degree right
The ball will start right of the target line (club face is 3 degree open or right) and curve away from the swing ptch, which means it will curve left.
The end result is a draw shot. The ball will curve a decent amount with these numbers.
This shot would be considered a push draw.
Ball Flight Laws: Scenario 2
Clubface: 3 degrees left
Swing Path: 5 degree left
The ball will start left of the target line (club face is 3 degree closed or left) and curve away from the swing path, which means it will curve right.
The end result is a fade shot. The ball will curve a decent amount with these numbers.
This shot would be considered a pull fade.
Here is a complete post on the Ball Flight Laws
Ball Flight Laws: Scenario 3
Clubface: 3 degrees right
Swing Path: 3 degree right
The ball will start right of the target line (club face is 3 degree open or right) and fly straight since the clubface and the swing path are the same number of degrees open or right of the target line.
The end result is a push shot. The ball will start right and stay right.
Ball Flight Laws: Scenario 4
Clubface: 3 degrees left
Swing Path: 3 degree left
The ball will start left of the target line (club face is 3 degree closed or left) and fly straight since the clubface and the swing path are the same number of degrees closed or left of the target line.
The end result is a pull shot. The ball will start left and stay left.
Ball Flight Laws: Scenario 5
Clubface: 3 degrees left
Swing Path: 10 degree left
The ball will start left of the target line (club face is 3 degree closed or open) and slice since there is a big gap between clubface and swing path. The end result is a pull slice. The ball will start left and curve hard to the right.
This is a shot that many amateurs struggle with. They continue to aim further and further left. The swing path keeps moving left and the face remains open. The end result is a full slice.
Ball Flight Laws: Scenario 6
Clubface: 3 degrees right
Swing Path: 10 degree right
The ball will start right of the target line (club face is 3 degree closed or open) and hook since there is a big gap between clubface and swing path. The end result is a pull slice. The ball will start right and curve hard to the left.
This is a shot that many elite amateurs struggle with. They end up getting too far inside with the swing path and try to save it by closing the clubface at impact.
BONUS DRILL: How To Hit A Push Draw
This is my all time favorite drill. I am able to work on a stock shot and the different tips above. With my smartphone setup, I am able to check for a complete turn, squat,
I would recommend working on building a stock shot for your game. This is where you can rely on a draw or a fade, whichever you are most comfortable hitting under pressure and really work on hitting that shot in all situations.
Eventually, you could progress to hitting a draw or fade, whoever the shot calls for, but in the short term gain some consistency by working on building a stock shot.
Here is a drill you can utilize:
- Set up an alignment stick straight down your target line about 6-8 yards in front of you.
- Set up a 2nd alignment stick about 3-4 feet right of the first alignment stick.
- Go ahead and try to hit your shot between these two alignment sticks. . This will help you hit the ball with a slightly open face and get the ball starting right of the target.
- Once you can do this, notice the flight of the ball. If you are hitting a slight draw, perfect. If the ball is starting right and fading right, you will want to get your path further to the right or at least right of the clubface. This will help produce a draw.
- Work on this drill at every range session and build your stock shot!
Here is a video further explaining this drill:
Take Your Game To The Next Level: Measure Your Swing and Get Feedback
One of the great things about being a golfer in today’s era is that the instruction has come a long way and we now understand ball flight laws and what is actually impacting the curve of the ball. In addition, you can measure the interaction and spin axis on your ball through technology.
If you visit any PGA Tour stop you will see the majority of professionals use a launch monitor at some point throughout the week . Many are monitoring their clubface, swing path relationship as well as swing speed. These are important numbers to monitor to make sure you are keeping your swing within a certain range.
While many won’t have $16,000 to spend on a Trackman, there are some great affordable options that can be used at your local driving range, on the golf course or in your garage or house as part of a practice area of golf simulator setup.
Here are my top 3 recommend affordable golf launch monitors:
Some of the key information that you will be able to received immediately after every swing includes:
- Ball Speed
- Club Speed
- Launch Angle
- Spin Rate
- Spin Axis
Over time, knowing where your numbers are when you are making quality swings will help you groove a swing and become more consistent. When you are struggling, you can use your launch monitor to see where your numbers are at.
Is it a clubface or swing path issue? When your spin axis number is really high either way, you know there is a major gap between the two. In the ideal world, you have a 1-3 degree difference between clubface and swing path, unless you are trying to hit a hook or slice intentionally then a bigger gap is desired.
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.