How to Properly Swing in Golf

A great golf swing generates power, delivers accuracy, and repeats time after time. It feels less like a sudden hit and more like a fluid athletic motion built around your body's rotation. This guide breaks down the essential parts of that motion, giving you a clear, step-by-step path to building a swing you can trust, whether you're just starting out or looking to fine-tune an established game.

The Grip: Your Connection to the Club

Your hands are your only connection to the golf club, making the grip the steering wheel for your entire swing. An improper grip forces you to make complex compensations just to get the clubface back to square at impact, while a sound, neutral grip lets the swing happen naturally. Let's build it from the ground up, assuming a right-handed golfer (lefties, just reverse the hands).

The Lead Hand (Left Hand)

Start by placing the club in front of you with the leading edge of the face pointing straight at your target. As you bring your left hand to the grip, try not to twist or turn your wrist. Let it hang naturally.

• Place the grip diagonally across the fingers of your left hand, starting from the middle of your index finger and running down to the base of your pinky finger.
• Close your hand, placing the pad at the base of your thumb on top of the grip. The club should feel secure in your fingers, not deep in your palm.
• When you look down, you should be able to see the first two knuckles of your left hand clearly.
• The "V" formed by your thumb and index finger should point roughly toward your right shoulder or ear.

A common mistake is gripping too "strong" (seeing 3-4 knuckles) which can promote a hook, or too "weak" (seeing less than 1-2 knuckles), which often leads to a slice. Finding this neutral position is your first step toward consistency.

The Trail Hand (Right Hand)

Your right hand works in concert with your left. As it approaches the club, its palm should face your target. The goal is to cover the left thumb with the lifeline in your right palm. The fingers then wrap around underneath.

You have three main options for how to connect your hands:

1. The Overlap (Vardon) Grip: The right pinky finger rests in the channel between the left index and middle fingers. This is the most popular grip on professional tours.
2. The Interlock Grip: The right pinky and left index fingers link together. This is great for players who feel their hands can sometimes come apart during the swing.
3. The Ten-Finger (Baseball) Grip: All ten fingers are on the club, with the right pinky snug against the left index finger. This can be a comfortable option for beginners, juniors, or players with smaller hands.

There's no single "best" option here, choose the one that feels most comfortable and secure to you. The goal is to have your hands work together as one unit. It will feel strange at first - that’s normal. Stick with it.

The Setup: Building Your Athletic Stance

A good setup creates balance, stability, and puts you in a position to make an athletic turn away from the ball. It’s a posture that prepares your body for movement.

1. Stand tall, then tilt: Start by standing straight with your feet about shoulder-width apart for a mid-iron. From here, hinge forward from your hips, not your waist. Push your rear end back as if you were about to sit in a high chair. Let your back stay relatively straight.
2. Let your arms hang: As you're tilted, your arms should hang down naturally from your shoulders. Where they hang is where your hands should grip the club. This prevents you from reaching or feeling cramped.
3. Slight knee flex: Bend your knees slightly to get into an "athletic" position. You shouldn't be squatting, but your knees shouldn't be locked stiff either. Your weight should be balanced over the arches of your feet.
4. Ball Position: This changes depending on the club. For short irons (like a 9-iron or wedge), the ball should be in the center of your stance. As the clubs get longer, the ball moves progressively forward. For a 7-iron, it's slightly forward of center, and for the driver, it should be positioned opposite the heel of your lead foot (your left foot).

This posture might feel exaggerated, especially sticking your bottom out, but it’s what allows your hips and shoulders to rotate freely.

The Backswing: Winding Up for Power

The backswing isn't about lifting the club, it’s about rotating your body to store energy. Think of it like coiling a spring. The goal is to turn, not sway.

Imagine you're standing inside a barrel or cylinder. As you swing back, you want to rotate your shoulders and hips while staying within the confines of that barrel.

• The Takeaway: The first move away from the ball should be a "one-piece" action. Your hands, arms, shoulders, and chest all turn away together. For the first few feet, the clubhead stays low to the ground and travels straight back from the ball.
• Setting the Wrists: As the club reaches waist-high, your wrists should begin to hinge naturally. This hinge sets the club on the correct upward path. A great checkpoint is when your left arm is parallel to the ground, the club should form roughly a 90-degree angle with your arm.
• The Body Turn: The main engine of the backswing is your torso. Focus on turning your shoulders and hips. Your goal should be to get your back facing the target as much as your flexibility allows. You should feel a stretch across your back and obliques, meaning you’ve successfully coiled your body.

A common mistake is swaying the body to the right instead of turning. Keep your weight centered over your feet as you rotate your upper body. This creates tension that you can unleash on the downswing.

The Downswing & Impact: Releasing the Energy

The downswing is a chain reaction, not a conscious effort to hit the ball. The key is the sequence: the lower body starts the movement, pulling the upper body, arms, and club through.

1. Start with the Hips: The very first move from the top of the backswing should be a slight lateral bump of your hips toward the target. This subtle shift transfers your weight to your lead side and makes room for your arms to swing down from the inside. This is the difference-maker for solid, ball-first contact.
2. Unwind the Body: Immediately after that hip bump, your lower body begins to rotate or "unravel" toward the target. Your hips open up, followed by your shoulders and chest. The feeling is one of turning through, not hitting at the ball.
3. Let the Arms Drop: Because your lower body is leading the way, your arms and the club will naturally drop down into the "slot." You don't need to try and steer them. This is how you generate lag and create effortless clubhead speed. The body's rotation pulls the arms through.
4. Impact: At impact, your hips will be open to the target while your shoulders are still closer to square. This demonstrates that you’ve used the correct sequence. Your weight is planted firmly on your lead foot, and your hands are slightly ahead of the clubhead. Don't try to help the ball get into the air, trust the loft of the club to do the work.

The Follow-Through: The Signature of a Balanced Swing

What happens after impact is just as important as what happens before. A full, balanced follow-through is a sign that you’ve released all your stored energy efficiently.

• Full Rotation: Don't stop turning at the ball. Allow your momentum to keep carry your hips and chest around until they are fully facing the target. Your right foot will naturally come up onto its toe as pressure releases from it.
• Extension: As you swing through the impact zone, let your arms extend out toward the target. Imagine throwing the clubhead down the fairway after the ball.
• Hold the Finish: After full rotation, the club will wrap around your body, and you should be able to hold your finish position comfortably until the ball lands. Your weight should be almost entirely on your lead foot (at least 90%), and you should be in a tall, balanced pose often called the "Pose of the Pros." If you're balanced at the finish, it’s a great indication that you were balanced during the swing.

Final Thoughts

Building a proper golf swing is a process focusing on a sequence of sound fundamentals: a neutral grip, an athletic setup, a rotational backswing, an unwinding downswing led by the lower body, and a full, balanced finish. Breaking it down into these manageable parts removes the mystery and gives you a practical roadmap for improvement.

Understanding these steps is one thing, but applying them on the course, especially under pressure, is another challenge entirely. That's why we created Caddie AI. Think of it as your on-demand coach and caddie right in your pocket. If you find yourself over a tricky lie in the rough or feel your swing rhythm is off, you can get instant, expert advice on how to play the shot. It takes the guesswork out of the game, giving you clear, simple strategy and swing thoughts so you can commit to every shot with confidence.