Understand Your Golf Swing - Golf Pro Tips

Learn the Shape of your Swing to Improve Golf and Hit Better Shots

Apr 19, 2009 John Hoskison

Understanding the fundamental shape of your golf swing, is the first step to being able to improve. Learn to describe your swing in one sentence, to hit the ball better.

In the same way there are only a certain amount of book plots, seven according to the Internet Public Library, there are only a certain number of golf swings. If you can find out which type you have, you will be taking the first step to making a fundamental improvement to your golf.

Which is your Swing Shape?

  1. Inside on the backswing – inside on the downswing (hooks or blocks)
  2. Inside on the backswing – over the top – outside on the downswing (slices or pulls)
  3. Outside on the backswing – outside on the downswing. (pulls or slices)
  4. Outside on the backswing – loop onto the inside – inside on the downswing (blocks of hooks)
  5. Correct path on the backswing – inside on the downswing (Getting better! draws or pushes)
  6. Correct path on the backswing – outside on the downswing (fades or slight pulls)
  7. Correct path on the backswing – correct path on the downswing (The Pro Swing)

Without understanding your golf swing it is impossible to diagnose your faults accurately and you may well waste time practising the wrong moves.

For instance most people who slice know they approach the ball from the outside. They could be forgiven for thinking that they should, therefore, try to swing the club more inside on the takeaway. But supposing they are swing example two? Already they are too inside on the backswing, more inside would be complete disaster! To fundamentally improve and learn how to hit the ball better, it is essential to know the characteristics of your swing.

How to Find out your Swing Shape

To get an accurate description of your swing, the best bet is to ask a PGA Professional at your local club. Nearly all professionals would be able to describe your swing in one easy to understand sentence.

This is an example ‘you take the club too inside on the way back, you lift up the arms to the top of the backswing without turning, then you come over the top on the way down’.

This example fits the second swing shape listed above. With this description you can now start to target exercises that will help with your main problem, in this case a takeaway that is too inside. You can now source articles in magazines about the takeaway, and not have to guess at what might be relevant.

This might seem an incredibly simplistic approach but very few amateur golfers really understand how they swing the club.

The better you understand your golf swing, the faster you can lower your scores, by hitting the ball more consistently.

Related Article - Improve your Golf Swing with Chip Shots - PGA Tip

Related Article - What Does Over the Top Swing Mean - PGA Tip

The copyright of the article Understand Your Golf Swing - Golf Pro Tips in Golf is owned by John Hoskison. Permission to republish Understand Your Golf Swing - Golf Pro Tips in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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