What to Know About Golf

Learning how to swing a golf club properly is the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment on the course. Too many new players get caught up in complex ideas, but the swing can be broken down into simple, understandable parts. This guide will walk you through the entire process, covering everything from how you hold the club and stand to the ball to the complete motion of the swing and finish, giving you a clear roadmap for building a consistent action.

The Core Concept: A Rotational Swing

Before we touch on the finer points, it's important to understand the fundamental action of a golf swing. At its heart, golf is a rotational sport. Theswing is a rounded motion where the club moves in a circle around your body, powered primarily by the turning of your torso - your shoulders and hips.

Many new golfers make the mistake of thinking about the swing as an up-and-down chopping motion, driven only by the arms. This approach robs you of power and makes consistency nearly impossible. To hit powerful, accurate, and consistent shots, you must learn to use your body's rotation as the engine. As your torso turns back and then unwinds through the ball, the club and your arms are brought along for the ride. If you can grasp this one idea - that the swing is around the body, not up and down in front of it - you’ll be ahead of the game.

How to Hold the Golf Club

Your grip is your only connection to the club, making it the steering wheel for your golf shots. An incorrect hold can force you into all sorts of bad habits in your swing just to get the ball to fly straight. Our goal is a neutral grip that allows the clubface to return to a square position at impact without any extra manipulation.

The Lead Hand (Left Hand for Righties)

Start by placing the club on the ground with the clubface aimed directly at your target. Most grips have a logo on top to help you line it up square. Approach the club from the side, allowing your left hand to hang naturally.

• Place the grip in the fingers of your left hand, running diagonally from the middle of your index finger down to the base of your pinky finger.
• Once the fingers are on, wrap your hand over the top. The palm shouldn't be directly on top or too far underneath, it should be in a natural, neutral position.
• Checkpoint 1: When you look down, you should be able to see the first two knuckles of your left hand. Seeing more means the grip is too strong (rotated to the right), and seeing fewer means it's too weak (rotated to the left).
• Checkpoint 2: The "V" formed by your thumb and index finger should point roughly toward your right shoulder.

The Trail Hand (Right Hand for Righties)

Now, bring your right hand to the club. Just like the left, you want it to sit in a neutral position. Let it approach from the side, with your palm facing the target.

• The life-line in your right palm should fit snugly over your left thumb.
• Wrap your fingers around the grip. This hand is also a "finger" grip, not a "palm" grip.
• The "V" formed by your right thumb and index finger should also point toward your right shoulder.

Don't be alarmed if a proper grip feels weird at first. It's an unusual way to hold something and often feels quite different from what new players naturally try. Trust the process, a good hold is one of the most effective fixes for directional problems.

Setting Up to the Ball

A good setup, or address position, creates the athletic posture necessary for a powerful and balanced rotational swing. Like the grip, it can feel a bit staged and unnatural, but it puts you in the perfect position to succeed.

1. Start with the Clubface: Always begin by placing the clubhead directly behind the golf ball, making sure the face is aimed precisely at your target.
2. Find Your Posture: From a standing position, hinge forward from your hips, not your waist. Push your bottom back as if you were about to sit in a high chair. Your back should remain relatively straight, and your chest should be angled over the ball. This is the move that feels strange to most players, but it's essential for balance and power.
3. Let Your Arms Hang: With this posture, your arms should hang straight down from your shoulders, relaxed and free of tension. If they feel jammed up or like you're reaching, adjust your distance from the ball or the degree of your hip hinge.
4. Establish Your Stance: For most iron shots, your feet should be about shoulder-width apart. This provides a stable base that’s wide enough to allow your hips to turn freely. A stance that's too narrow restricts rotation, while one that's too wide can lock up your hips. Your weight should be balanced 50/50 between your feet.
5. Set Your Ball Position: As a simple guide for starting, place the ball in the middle of your stance for your short irons (like a 9-iron or Pitching Wedge). As the clubs get longer, gradually move the ball forward. For a driver, the ball should be positioned off the heel of your lead foot (your left foot for a right-handed player).

Once you are set, the final piece of the puzzle is to relax. Tension is a massive killer of a good golf swing. Take a deep breath and let the tension drop from your shoulders, arms, and hands.

The Backswing

The purpose of the backswing is to wind up your body and put the club in a powerful position at the top. This movement should be a smooth, connected takeaway.

• One-Piece Takeaway: Begin the swing by turning your shoulders, hips, and chest away from the target all together. This "one-piece" motion ensures your arms and body are working in sync from the start.
• A Touch of Wrist Hinge: As the club moves away from the ball and reaches about waist high, allow your wrists to naturally hinge upwards. This sets the club on the correct plane and stores energy. Think of it as a small, simple setting of the wrists, not a forceful or early break.
• Rotate, Don't Sway: As you turn to the top, it is important you rotate your body while staying centered. Imagine you're standing inside a barrel. Your body should turn within the confines of this barrel, not slide or sway from side to side. Swaying off the ball makes it incredibly difficult to get back to it consistently.
• How Far to Go: Don’t feel like you need to make a massive, tour-pro-length backswing. Turn your shoulders as far as you comfortably can while maintaining your balance and posture. That is your ideal backswing length.

The Downswing and Impact

This is the moment of truth where you unleash the power you stored in the backswing. A good downswing sequence makes solid contact feel effortless.

• Start From the Ground Up: The first move to start the downswing is not with the arms or hands. It’s a slight bump or shift of your hips toward the target. This small move gets your weight moving forward, which is what allows you to strike down on the ball and take a divot after contact.
• Unwind the Body: Once your weight has shifted slightly, simply unwind your hips and torso as fast as you can. Your arms and the club will follow your body’s rotation, naturally dropping down into the slot. This prevents the common "over the top" move where your arms get disconnected from the body.
• Aim for the Ball, then the Turf: With iron shots, the goal is to hit the ball first and then the ground. The downward strike compresses the ball against the clubface, generating distance and spin. Don't try to "help" or "lift" the ball into the air, trust the loft of the club to do its job. The feeling you want is your chest staying over the ball through impact.

The Follow-Through and Finish Position

The swing doesn't stop at the ball. A full, balanced follow-through is a sign that you accelerated through impact and transferred all your energy to the ball.

• Keep Rotating: Continue to turn your chest and hips all the way until they are facing the target. Don’t stop your body’s rotation at impact. This full turn ensures maximum acceleration and extension.
• Extend Your Arms: As your body turns through, allow your arms to extend fully out towards the target before they fold up and around your body.
• Finish in Balance: A balanced finish is non-negotiable. As you rotate through, nearly all of your weight (about 90%) should end up on your lead foot (your left foot). The heel of your trail foot (your right foot) will lift naturally off the ground, and you should be able to comfortably hold your finish position until the ball lands. If you're falling backward or losing your balance, it’s a good sign something broke down earlier in the sequence.

Final Thoughts

By breaking the golf swing down into these understandable components - from the grip and setup to the full rotation - you can build a motion that is both powerful and repeatable. Focus on one piece at a time and remember that the swing is a round, athletic motion powered by your body.

Of course, turning concepts into feelings can take practice. When you're standing over a tough shot or aren't sure if you're applying a drill correctly, having personalized advice is invaluable. That’s why we created a tool to give you that expert guidance instantly. You can use Caddie AI anytime, 24/7, to get clear answers to your questions, whether it's about swing mechanics, on-course strategy, or even a weird lie in the rough. It helps a great coach right in your pocket, making it easier to build confidence and apply what you've learned.