I often have beginner golfers come in for lessons and the biggest hurdle at the start is the ability to get the ball in the air. This hurdle is overcome by understanding what goes in to causing the ball to elevate. I often say that if you gave anyone a club no matter who they are and told them to get the ball up in the air, 'they would all basically do the same thing'? They would attempt to try and lift the ball which invariably means staying on the backfoot and 'scooping' their wrists.
This action as you may be aware does the complete opposite. The more you stay back and try and lift the ball in the air, the more you hit the top of the ball which causes the ball to travel along the ground.
Therefore the mindset has to change for the beginner which means understanding and training them to move onto the front foot and hitting down on the ball so that the ball can go in the air. Hitting down on the ball means trying to hit the grass at impact below the ball and not just hitting the ball cleanly. The reason why this works is because of how the club head and the shaft are designed. The clubhead has loft therefore you need to hit down on the golf ball to utilise the loft.
If you've ever been to one of my lessons as a beginner, you will often see me do a certain drill to help you with how the body moves through the swing. This drill involves putting your club behind your shoulders and making sure your back is straight. I then ask you to tilt toward the ball to 45 degrees and slightly bend your knees.
I then ask you to move your left shoulder under your chin so that you have a 90 degree turn whilst keeping your head roughly in the same position. For the downswing I ask you then to turn back through the ball and move all of your weight on your front foot. Lastly I ask you to check to see if your body is pointing at the target including your hips, chest, and right foot.
Once you have warmed up with this drill, you can then simulate the action with the golf club. It is best to ignore where the ball goes at the start and just make sure you try and take some grass on the way through as well attempting to move all of your weight on the front foot.
Once you have worked on this your mindset will start to change and you will understand how the golf swing functions.
If you would like to book in for a golf lesson and understand more, I'm located at Emerald Lakes Golf Club, Gold Coast.
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