Building a great golf swing comes down to understanding that it's a rotational motion powered by your body, not an up-and-down chopping motion with your arms. If you can grasp that single idea, you’re already ahead of the game. This guide will walk you through the essential parts of the swing - from how you hold the club to your finish position - so you can build a consistent, powerful, and reliable motion from the ground up.
Your grip is the steering wheel for every shot you hit, it has a massive influence on where the clubface points at impact. When the clubface isn't square, you have to make a lot of compensations in your swing just to hit the ball straight, making the game much harder than it needs to be. Getting the hold right from the start simplifies everything else.
First, make sure the clubface is aiming squarely at your target. You can use the logo on your grip as a reference point or just line up the leading edge of the clubface so it's perfectly straight. Once you have it aimed, you can build your grip.
Place your left hand on the club. You want the grip to rest mainly in the fingers, running from the base of your little finger to the middle of your index finger. As you close your hand, the palm should sit naturally on top of the grip. A couple of simple checkpoints:
If you see too many knuckles (a "strong" grip), you’ll tend to hit the ball left. If you see no knuckles ("weak" grip), you’ll likely see shots go right. The goal is a neutral position.
Now, add your right hand. As you bring it to the club, let the palm sit comfortably on the side of the grip. The fleshy part of your right palm should cover your left thumb. The "V" formed by your right thumb and index finger should also point up toward your right shoulder, complementing your left-hand position.
As for how to connect your hands, there are three common styles:
Don't overthink this part. Choose whichever feels most comfortable and allows your hands to work together as a single unit without slipping.
Your setup is the foundation of your swing. It's a slightly strange stance that you don't really use in any other part of life, which is why it can feel so awkward at first. But a good, athletic setup puts you in a position to be both powerful and consistent.
Start by placing the clubhead behind the ball, aimed directly at your target. This is your anchor point. From there, build your posture. Lean forward from your hips, not your waist, and let your arms hang down naturally from your shoulders. A common mistake is not leaning over enough. You should feel like you're pushing your rear end back, which allows your arms the space they need to swing freely.
Once your arms are hanging comfortably, establish your stance width. For a mid-iron shot, your feet should be about shoulder-width apart. This gives you a stable base that allows your body to rotate effectively. If your stance is too narrow or too wide, you'll restrict your hip turn, which limits your power.
Weight distribution should be balanced for most iron shots - about 50/50 on each foot. You don't want to be leaning too heavily on one side or the other. Finally, the ball position relative to your feet is important. Here’s a simple guideline to start:
Settle into this position and take the tension out of your arms and shoulders. You should feel athletic and ready, not stiff and rigid.
The backswing gets overcomplicated very quickly, but at its heart, it's just a rotation of your body away from the ball to store power. Remember, the swing is a circle around your body, not a vertical lift.
As you begin the swing, think about turning everything together: your chest, shoulders, and hips initiate the movement away from the ball. Imagine you're standing inside a barrel or cylinder. As you turn, you want to stay within the confines of that cylinder, rotating around a stable center. You don't want to sway from side to side, as that makes a consistent return to the ball very difficult.
Here’s a small move that pays huge dividends: as you start the takeaway, feel your lead wrist (left wrist for a righty) hinge slightly. This sets the club on the correct plane early. Without this little bit of wrist set, many players let the club get dragged too far inside or behind them, causing a host of problems. By hinging the wrists a bit as your body turns, the club swings up and around your body on a natural arc.
Continue rotating until you feel you’ve reached a comfortable stopping point. For some, this will be with the club parallel to the ground, for others, it may be shorter. Don't force yourself into a position that feels stressful or unbalanced. A compact, controlled backswing is far more effective than a long, loose one.
Now that you've stored all that power at the top, the downswing is all about releasing it in the right sequence. The first move to start the downswing is a subtle shift of your weight towards the target. Feel your lead hip move slightly to the left. This simple move prevents you from falling backward and helps guarantee that you strike the ball first, then the turf.
Once that slight weight shift occurs, it's time to unwind. Let your body rotate open toward the target. Your hips lead the way, followed by your torso and shoulders, and finally, your arms and the club. This is where your power comes from - the efficient unwinding of your body. A common error, especially for new players, is trying to "lift" the ball into the air by leaning back. Your clubs are designed with loft to get the ball airborne, your job is to deliver the clubhead with a descending blow.
As you unwind, you want to bring the club back down on a similar path it took on the way up, hitting the ball first and then making a small divot just in front of where the ball was. Feel your arms extending through impact towards the target, not pulling in towards your body.
And don't forget where you hit the ball on the face matters. To check your impact location, a quick trick is to spray some athlete's foot powder on the clubface. It will show a clear mark of where you made contact. Consistently finding the center of the face gives you predictable distance and a better feel.
The swing doesn't just stop at impact. A good follow-through is a sign that you transferred all your energy through the ball and toward the target. Instead of quitting on the shot, let your body's rotation continue naturally.
After impact, your hips and chest should keep turning so that you finish facing the target. As your body rotates through, your rear foot (right foot for a righty) will come up onto its toe naturally - don't force it. The momentum of the swing will bring the club around your body to a comfortable finish position, often over your lead shoulder.
The end goal is a balanced finish. At the end of your swing, most of your weight - around 90% of it - should be supported on your lead foot. You should be able to hold this position for a few seconds without wobbling or falling over. A balanced finish is proof of a well-sequenced swing, showing that you moved your weight forward correctly and didn't hold anything back.
Building a solid golf swing revolves around a athletic setup, a proper grip, and using your body's rotation to create a powerful, circular motion. If you practice these fundamentals one piece at a time, you’ll develop a repeatable swing that holds up under pressure and allows you to enjoy the game more.
Of course, turning concepts from an article into real-time feelings on the course is the hardest part. Sometimes you just need a second opinion right then and there. It's why we created Caddie AI. If you find yourself in a tricky lie and aren't sure how your setup should change, you can snap a photo and ask for advice. If you have a question about strategy or what a certain shot requires, you can get an immediate, simple answer. It acts as your on-demand coach, reinforcing good habits and giving you the confidence to commit to every shot.
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