How to Teach Someone to Hit a Golf Ball

Teaching someone to hit a golf ball starts with one simple idea: forget power, forget perfection, and focus on the feeling of making clean contact. This guide breaks down the essential steps - from the grip and setup to the swing itself - in a clear, repeatable way that builds confidence from the very first shot.

Start with a Simple Concept: The Swing is a Circle

Before ever touching a club, explain the basic motion. Many beginners imagine a violent, straight up-and-down chopping motion. This is the biggest mental block to starting well. The golf swing is not a chop, it’s a rotation. Think of it as swinging a bucket of water around your body in a circle - you want to be smooth and fluid to keep the water from spilling.

The goal is to use the big muscles in your body (your torso and hips) to rotate and swing the club around you. The arms and hands are along for the ride. Framing it this way from the start - as a turn instead of a hit - makes every other step fall into place more naturally.

• Keep it simple: "We're going to turn our body back, and then turn our body through."
• The Goal: Just brush the grass. Before even using a ball, have them take a few smooth practice swings focusing solely on hearing the clubhead clip the top of the grass in the same spot every time.

The Grip: Connect to the Club

The grip is your only connection to the club, making it the steering wheel for your shots. While a "correct" grip often feels strange at first, it's the foundation for a repeatable swing. Let’s cover a grip for a right-handed golfer (lefties can just reverse these instructions).

The Lead Hand (Left Hand)

The lead hand largely controls the angle of the clubface at impact, so getting it right is important.

1. Have your student hold the club out in front of them with their right hand, with the clubface pointing straight up and down.
2. Instruct them to bring their left hand to the side of the handle, as if they were going to shake hands with it. The palm should be facing inwards.
3. The grip should sit primarily in the fingers, running diagonally from the middle of the index finger to the base of the pinky.
4. Once the fingers are on, they can close their hand over the top. Two good checkpoints are to make sure they can see the knuckles of their index and middle fingers when they look down, and the "V" a formed by their thumb and index finger should point roughly toward their right shoulder.

Coach's Tip: Most beginners grip the club too deep in their palms. Stress the feeling of holding it in the fingers - this allows the wrists to hinge properly during the swing.

The Trail Hand (Right Hand)

The trail hand adds support and power but shouldn't overpower the lead hand.

1. Bring the right hand toward the club with the palm facing the target.
2. The main "lifeline" of the right palm should fit snugly over the thumb of the left hand.
3. The right-hand fingers then wrap around the grip.

Connecting the Hands

There are three common ways to link the hands together. There is no one "best" way, comfort is the priority.

• The Overlap (Vardon Grip): The pinky of the right hand rests in the space between the index and middle fingers of the left hand. This is the most popular grip.
• The Interlock: The pinky of the right hand hooks together with the index finger of the left hand. This can provide a secure feeling for people with smaller hands.
• The Ten-Finger (Baseball Grip): All ten fingers are on the club, with the pinky of the right hand and the index finger of the left hand touching. Great for juniors, seniors, or anyone who struggles with hand strength.

The Setup: Build a Balanced, Athletic Stance

Once the grip feels somewhat familiar, move on to the setup. A good athletic posture doesn't just look right - it gets the body in position to rotate freely and swing the club on the correct path. Again, this will feel odd, but it’s correct.

1. Stance and Ball Position

For a beginner learning with a mid-iron (like a 7 or 8-iron), the setup is straightforward.

• Feet Width: Place your feet about shoulder-width apart. This provides a stable base for rotation. Too narrow makes it hard to stay balanced, too wide restricts the hip turn.
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Place the ball directly in the middle of your stance, in line with the buttons on your shirt.
• Weight Distribution: Feel your weight evenly balanced, 50/50, between your left and right feet.

2. Posture

This is where it often feels the most unusual for newcomers.

• The Hip Hinge: Instruct them to stand tall, then bend forward from their hips - not their waist. It should feel like they are sticking their butt back.
• Knee Flex: From there, add a slight flex in the knees, just enough to feel athletic and springy, not like they are sitting in a chair.
• Arm Position: With this posture, their arms should hang down naturally from their shoulders. The end of the club should be about a hand’s-width away from their thighs. This creates the necessary space for the arms to swing past the body.

Coach's Tip: Have them do it wrong first. Tell them to round their back and see how trapped their arms feel. Then, have them try the hip hinge and feel the freedom it creates. The contrast helps the right position click.

The Swing Motion: Putting It All Together

With a solid grip and setup, the swing itself becomes less complicated. Break it down into three parts: the backswing, the downswing, and the balanced finish.

Part 1: The Backswing

The backswing is about creating a solid coil that stores energy.

• The Takeaway: Start the swing by turning the chest and shoulders away from the target in one smooth motion. The arms, hands, and club move away together. For the first few feet, the triangle formed by the arms and shoulders should stay intact.
• The Turn: Continue turning the shoulders and hips until the back is facing the target (or as far as flexibility allows). As they turn, the wrists will naturally hinge and set the club upwards. Avoid letting them think of it as an "arm lift." It’s a body turn.
• Top Position: At the top, the weight should feel loaded into the right leg (for a righty), and they should feel a good torso coil. The club will be roughly parallel to the ground.

Part 2: The Downswing and Impact

The downswing is a chain reaction, not an aggressive heave from the top.

• Initiate with the Lower Body: The first move down is a slight shift of the hips towards the target. This simple move drops the club into the right position and prevents the dreaded "over the top" swing, where the arms and shoulders dominate.
• Unwind the Body: After that slight shift, the body simply unwinds in the reverse order it wound up: hips, torso, then arms. The club is just being pulled along. This sequence creates effortless speed through the ball.
• Hitting the Ball: The goal is to strike the ball first, then the ground. The feeling should be hitting down and through the ball, letting the club’s loft get the ball airborne. Tell them to avoid any "scooping" or "lifting" motion.

Part 3: The Follow-Through and Finish

Where the swing ends tells you a lot about what happened during the swing. A good finish is a sign of a well-executed motion. It's not just for looks, it ensures proper acceleration and balance.

• Extension: After impact, the arms should fully extend out towards the target.
• Rotation to Finish: Let the body's momentum continue to rotate the torso and hips until the chest is fully facing the target.
• The Balanced Finish: The club will wrap around the body and finish over the lead shoulder. Almost all the weight (around 90%) should be on the front (left) foot, with the back (right) heel completely off the ground. Have them hold this balanced `pose for three seconds after every swing. It's a great positive reinforcement.

Final Thoughts

Teaching someone a golf swing is about building from the ground up, starting with a good grip and balanced stance. By focusing on a smooth, rotational motion and finishing in balance, a beginner can go from whiffing and topping to hitting solid shots with surprising speed.

Once you’ve shared these fundamentals, your new golfer will be on their way. As they continue to learn, questions and unique on-course situations will pop up. That’s an area where technology can be a fantastic supplement to hands-on teaching. For those moments when you aren't there to give advice, our app, Caddie AI, is built to help. They can get a personalized shot strategy on a tricky hole, take a photo of a weird lie in the rough to get a recommendation on how to play it, and ask any golf question anytime they think of it. It’s like having a 24/7 golf coach in their pocket to bridge the gaps between lessons and build confidence on the course.