Golf Tips for Beginners

By Barry H. Nolan

Much basic golf-instruction terminology is misleading because it is based on a superficial look at the swing.  The typical face-on view of a swing appears two-dimensional, certainly on a tv screen or on a magazine page.  And the motion looks to be dominated by back and forth movements.

However, a more accurate view of what the body actually is doing when it hits a golf ball is from above.  From this view, everything (clubhead, hands, arms, shoulders, hips) seems to be whirling in circles, first clockwise, then counter-clockwise. 

When you supplement this overhead view with sophisticated research into what muscles are busiest during the golf swing, the notion of rotation is amplified.

So, all you beginners, pay no attention to any instruction that encourages a back-then-forth motion.  Rather, feel yourself coil your torso, and then uncoil your torso.

A second thought.  You’ll hear the word ‘power’ often in relation to the golf swing.  This suggests force applied by tense muscles. Best to get ‘power’ and all its connotations out of your mind.  Rather, think loose, supple, quick, whip.  Above your waist right out to your fingertips, get so loose you can hardly hold onto the club.  And, don’t lose this looseness.  Yes, above your waist feel soft and loose throughout the entire swing.

A final misleading term is ‘control’.  You’d be perfectly reasonable to think that you must maintain control over the club at all times.  How else can you get the one-square-inch sweet spot on the clubface to meet up with the ball amid all this whirling?

This from internationally acclaimed instructor Jim McLean: “To gain control of your shots, you must give up control of your swing”.  Hard to believe, but make sure your ‘swing’ is a loose, out-of-control, wild whirl!