One way you can hit a golf ball well is to practice doing it properly. Prepare yourself by standing firm, gripping the bat naturally and firmly. Align yourself with the ball, and through continuous motion, rotate your hips, torso, arms, and shoulders for a swing. There are many different ways to hit a golf ball, so you'll also need to master different types of strokes for your golf game to be perfect.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Preparing to Swing the Stick
Step 1. Grip the golf club with a natural, firm grip
The pinky of the non-dominant hand, or the upper hand, should be placed in an arc under the tip of the golf club. The dominant hand (lower hand) should be placed directly under the upper hand. Position the stick in the crease between your finger and palm, not in the center of your palm.
- For the lower hand, the ring and little fingers should grip the stick with the greatest pressure. On the upper hand, the index finger should rest on the stick with the greatest pressure.
- The grip should be loose, but well controlled. Grip the golf club tightly enough to keep it firmly in your hand, but take care not to strain your hand.
Step 2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and your knees slightly bent
Place your non-dominant foot in front of the target. Place your back foot perpendicular to the target, and point your front toes slightly toward the target. Spread your weight on both feet evenly, and load your body weight onto the balls of your feet.
- Place the ball in the middle of the two legs. The ball should be far enough away from the feet for the arms to hang comfortably straight down.
- If you have to lean over to reach the ball, you're too far away. If you have to hold your arms close to your body, the ball is too close to your body.
Step 3. Tilt your body (starting at the hips) forward about 35-40 degrees
Bend over from your hips so your arms will hang comfortably. Just imagine a watch face: the angle formed by the numbers 12 and 3 is 90 degrees. If you want to bend at a right angle, your back must be bent past the 1, or the sixth minute mark.
- Try looking at your body in a mirror to estimate the position of your hips.
- Proper hip flexion allows you to rotate your hips and move your swing powerfully.
Step 4. Align your shoulders, hips, knees, and feet with the ball
The body, ball and target must be parallel. Imagine that you are standing on a train track. Both feet are on one rail, and the ball is placed on the other rail.
Method 2 of 4: Performing the Basic Swing
Step 1. Shift your weight back as you rotate your hips and torso
Begin the backswing by slowly transferring your weight to the back of your leg. Just before starting to twist your body, raise your arms back slightly in a straight line. In one continuous motion, roll your arms, hips, and shoulders back.
- Keep your arms fully extended as you twist your body backwards. When the golf club has reached shoulder height, bend your wrists to swing your arms and raise the club higher. This makes for a strong swing.
- To push the ball and shoot at medium range, you must perform a full back swing with the golf club overhead.
- You'll need to make adjustments when you putt (slow close-range shots to get the ball into the hole) later. This is because you shouldn't expend a lot of energy doing it.
Step 2. Tilt your front shoulders down toward the top of the back swing
Instead of rotating your shoulders in a flat plane, you should slightly bend your front shoulders. In addition, you should also bend your front shoulders toward your chin, keep an eye on the ball, and maintain the bend from your hips.
As you begin to move from the back swing to the down swing, you will feel the front shoulder moving toward the floor
Step 3. Direct the rotation of the lower swing with the front hips
Begin the lower swing by transferring your weight to the front leg as the front hip is rotated toward the target. Start by moving your hips forward, then quickly turn your body toward the target.
- The body will be like a spring by collecting energy in the back swing and releasing it through the down swing. Swing down must really be done smoothly, quickly, and without a doubt.
- Remember, always pay attention to the ball when you swing the stick.
Step 4. Return to the starting position after you hit the ball
When hitting the ball, your hips, arms, legs and shoulders must be returned to their starting position, which is parallel to the ball. Your body weight should rest on your front foot, but your back foot should still be firmly on the ground.
- Lift your hips up toward the target when the stick hits the ball.
- Tilt your shoulders forward slightly, with your torso extended (but still bent from the hips), not hunched over.
Step 5. Continue the spin with your arms outstretched and high
After the golf club hits the ball, rotate your hips, arms and torso in a continuous motion toward the target. While doing the spin, also rotate the back foot so that the toes are facing the target. Complete the swing by moving your arms in front of your chest while continuing to hold the stick just above your front shoulders. Even if you have to rotate your hips and shoulders, you should still stand straight with your chest open and your torso extended.
In the final position, the body should be stretched and elevated with the head raised, not bent. Legs should be outstretched, with forelegs remaining perpendicular to the target, and chest toward the target
Method 3 of 4: Making Adjustments for Various Strokes
Step 1. Control the force used
A stick stroke can require more power than just a putt. So make sure the amount of force you use is proportional to the distance required. Do a full, half, or three-quarter swing by increasing or decreasing the back swing.
- If you need more force, shift your body weight back when you do the back swing. On the other hand, of course you shouldn't make a full swing if you just want to putt or knock the ball.
- Remember, a half swing using a driver's golf club may not produce the same results as when you make a half swing using a putter. Practice swing lengths with all of your golf clubs so you know how far you can go when doing different combinations.
Step 2. Increase the incline and increase the force of the back swing to propel the ball
To hit the ball so far, you have to give it more lift. Maximize power by raising the stick as high as possible and turning the back swing fully. When the ball hits, tilt your front hips and shoulders higher than usual.
- When pushing the ball, keep your arms straight. Extending your arms fully and keeping them straight will improve accuracy.
- Also, stand with the ball parallel to the toes of the front foot. This will increase the length of your swing, place the low point of the golf club in front of the ball, and allow you to generate more lift and power.
Step 3. Hit the ball low when shooting towards the fairway (the part of the court where the grass is mowed between the tee box and the green)
Fairway strikes result in a medium to long ball run, which requires you to adjust your technique to lift the ball off the ground. The golf swing forms a large circle, like a hulahop standing on the ground. On a fairway shot, the point where the hulahop makes contact with the ground must be parallel to the ball, not in front of it.
- When making your first stroke, you must hit the ball off the tee (a type of golf ball support at the start of the game) using a driver (a type of golf club). The golf club should be past its lowest point and start swinging upwards when it hits the ball.
- Without a tee, lift will be difficult to generate. When hitting the ball with an iron (golf club type) the lowest point of the stick is almost the same as the ball, which will help lift the ball.
- To get the lowest point precisely, place the ball in the center of your standing, not near the toes of your forefoot like when you hit the ball with a tee.
Step 4. Calculate the wind
You will need to adjust your stroke if the wind is blowing very hard when you are golfing. When playing against the wind, widen your stance, place the ball further back (to be closer to the back foot), and grip the stick. You should swing lightly, not hard.
- If you're playing in the wind, focus on hitting the ball high enough to cover the desired distance. Place the ball closer to the main foot.
- When putting the ball downwind, stand with your feet wider, with your waist bent deeper. Putts tend to move with the wind so you'll need to adjust your strokes so the ball doesn't stray too far to either side.
Step 5. Keep the stick and swing plane level when you hit the ball in a straight line
Straight strokes can be difficult to master because the golf club must be perfectly level with the ball when it hits. Keep your swing plane (the vertical angle between the ground and the circle of the stick swing), or your imaginary hulahop, parallel to the direction the ball is going.
Remember, always keep your arms straight when you're making a mid-range or long-range straight shot
Step 6. Get the ball out of a tight spot with a bunker shot (a punch to the ball with the sand underneath)
For a good bunker shot, place the index finger of your dominant hand about 3 cm from the base of the stick grip. This will give you more control over the stick. Open your legs slightly and keep the ball slightly in front of you than usual.
Dig in the sand with your feet and keep your body still. Try to hit the bottom of the ball and the sand underneath, then swing the stick with your hands to generate lift
Step 7. Aim the ball into the green (short trimmed grass area around the hole) from offsite with an approach shot
Approach shots (short to medium range shots to get the ball closer to the green) are farther away than putts, but closer than medium ranges. Several types of approach shots that are often used are pitch, flop, and chip.
- Pitch is a high approach shot to force the ball to fly high and not to spin much when it hits the ground. Do this with a pitch wedge stick.
- The flop is hit much higher and the ball will stop when it hits the ground. This shot is generally used to pass obstacles on the field. To do this, use a sand wedge and a lob wedge golf club.
- Chip is a low hit. The ball only floats low and rolls when it hits the grass. Do this with the back of the foot away from the target, and use an iron or wedge type stick.
Step 8. Curl the ball with a fade, slice, draw, or hook technique
Each of these shots produces a different arc, which is useful for getting the ball closer to the green when you veer off course.
- For right-handed (right-handed) players, the fade forms a low curve from left to right. Fade with the club face (the part of the stick that hits the ball) exposed so the stick will open slightly (towards the right in the right player) into the swing path.
- Draw forms a low curve from outside to inside, or from right to left for right-handed players. This is more difficult to do than fade, but can result in longer distances with the ball spinning faster. A club face that is closed relative to the swing path will result in a draw.
- For the right-hand player, the slice is the height curve from left to right, and the hook is the height curve from right to left. Both do not produce a long ball shot and tend to get out of control. These two techniques are usually avoided by players.
Step 9. Adjust the stance and grip of the stick when puttingts
Once the ball is in the green, you must switch the stick to the putter to push the ball into the hole. You'll need to make more noticeable adjustments when puttingts than with other types of strokes.
- Change the grip of the hand on the stick to do a putt. There are different types of grips, but the basic goal is to bring the two hands closer together to function as a stable unit. Many golfers do this by bringing both hands close to the end of the stick, while others change the position of the upper and lower hands.
- Experiment with grip placement, find a position that feels natural and focus the energy of the shot on the shoulders and arms, not the hands. To do a putt, move only your arms and shoulders. Keep your hands and wrists straight.
- Keep your head still as you putt. Do this with the ball slightly in front, or in front of the center of the forefoot. Imagine the line the ball must cross to get into the hole before you putt.
- Adjust the length of the swing to match the distance of the ball from the hole. Don't use the full back swing as if you were taking a long tee or fairway shot. Pull your arms back by rotating your shoulders, and keep your arms outstretched when you hit the ball, like a swinging pendulum.
Method 4 of 4: Choosing the Right Golf Club
Step 1. Use wood to shoot long range
Wood produces the longest distance from the ball, and is generally used to make shots that reach a distance of 180-320 meters.
- Wood can be divided into 2 broad subcategories: drivers and fairways. Driver is also known as " 1 wood ", and produces the farthest shot.
- Fairway woods are woods 3, 5, and 7. The higher the number, the more loft (angle between the club face and the ground) the shot will take and the shorter the distance.
- Wood used to be made of wood, but now it is generally made of steel, titanium, or some other alloy.
Step 2. Use the iron for mid-range strikes
If you are not within putting distance, but the ball is less than 180 m from the green, the best golf club for this condition is an iron.
- Iron is heavier and provides greater lift than wood.
- Irons are numbered 1 through 9. Long irons are numbered 1, 2, and 3, which results in longer distances with smaller lofts. The intermediate irons are 4, 5, and 6, which are commonly used to shoot the ball within 140-160 meters of the green. The short irons are numbered 7, 8, and 9.
- There are 2 basic types of iron: cavity back and blade. Cavity backs are easier for new golfers to use, while blades are more difficult.
Step 3. Use a hybrid stick to replace the long iron
Hybrid sticks are a mixture of wood and iron. The shape is similar to wood, but the loft and spacing are similar to iron. Thus, hybrids are often used in place of iron. This golf club is easier for beginners to use.
In general, size 3 and 4 irons are most often replaced with hybrid golf clubs
Step 4. Try using a wedge stick if you want to shoot high
In fact, wedges are iron-type rods designed to provide high lift. This stick is generally used when you have to get out of an obstacle in a relatively short distance. There are several types of wedges, but the most commonly used are the pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge.
- The pitching wedge is used on fairways and for chip shots around the green. The pitching wedge produces a loft of about 40-50 degrees.
- The sand wedge is used to get out of the sand trap. This type of golf club has a loft of about 55-60 degrees.
- The gap wedge fills the space not reached by pitching golf clubs and sand wedges with a loft of about 50-55 degrees. The gap wedge produces a longer distance than the sand wedge, but shorter than the pitching wedge.
- The lob wedge has a loft of about 60-65 degrees. Use the lob wedge to shoot the ball over bunkers, waters, and other traps that have to be done at very close range.
Step 5. Use the putter to hit the ball a short distance
Once the ball is in the green, switch to a putter-type golf club to get the ball into the hole.
- The club face on the putter is flat and small. This way, you can push the ball more easily without creating loft or shooting the ball too far.
- Always use the putter when inside the green. You may also need it when the ball is near the green.
