A good first step to achieving a low golf handicap is perfecting your swing. A flawless swing exudes power and rhythm. That’s why smart golfers take golf lessons and read golf tips—to root out their swing flaws. If your swing is flawless—or close to it—you’ll hit the fairway more often. You’ll also set yourself up for hitting good approach shots and making more pars and birdies. But if your swing has flaws, you’ll hit into trouble more often than not, racking up big numbers on your scorecard. More importantly, you’ll never achieve that low golf handicap.
Below are descriptions of the five most common swing flaws among weekend golfers. Actually, they’re probably the five most common swing flaws period. If you have one of them in your swing, stamp it out. But even if you don’t have one, you should be aware of them. Even good golfers can form bad habits because of one of these flaws, so it’s good to know how to correct them. When evidence of one appears, root it out quickly. Otherwise, you’ll ingrain it and have a hard time eliminating it. More importantly, you’ll have a hard time achieving that single digit golf handicap you’ve always wanted.
1. Inside Takeaway
This flaw ruins your swing before it begins. Typically, a golfer’s swing is “up and around.” Most golfers don’t have a problem with the “up” part. But they do have a problem with the “around” part, whipping the club too far to the inside. That ruins ruin their swing. If golfers come too far inside on the takeaway, they’ll probably come from the outside on the downswing, producing a slice. To eliminate this flaw, take the club straight back with the face pointing at the ball, not toward the sky or feet.
2. Over The Top
Coming over the top traps you into making a false turn. Your shoulder turns 90 degrees, but the rotation doesn’t really position you behind the ball. That in turn forces your weight over to your left side (right side for lefties), leading to numerous mistakes. Only a level shoulder turn produces a powerful backswing coil. It also creates a flatter swing and keeps your elbows and wrists from breaking down. Focus on turning your front shoulder over your back knee and you’ll eliminate this flaw.
3. The Pull
Some golfers are more prone to this flaw than others. But we probably all commit it at one time or another. Often, the golfer’s first move down is a rapid turn of the shoulders. That moves the clubshaft above the downswing space, resulting in a pull. If the clubface is left open, it turns into a slice. In a fundamentally sound downswing, the hips reach their peak speed before the shoulders do, with the hands and clubhead bringing up the rear. This sequence creates the whip-like motion that defines a powerful swing. If you find yourself coming across the ball, think sequence—hips, shoulders, hands, and club.
4. Slice/Hook
Even good drivers slice and hook occasionally. Either can occur if a golfer’s lower and upper bodies are not in sync. When a golfer slices, her legs usually outrun her body on the downswing. This causes the golfer to swing too much from the inside with an open clubface. Conversely, when you hook the ball, your arms are too far in front of you and your lower body hasn’t turned. To fix synching problems, remind yourself that on any given day, one’s body is rarely in the same state. You’ll need to adjust to how your lower and upper bodies feel on any given day.
5. Poor Coil
Ever heard someone say, “keep your head down” after a bad shot? That’s not something you’d hear in a golf lesson or read in a golf tip. Stuffing your head between your shoulders limits your ability to turn. It also causes you to lose your spine angle, resulting in all sorts of trouble. Instead, think “keep your chin up.” That allows your front shoulder to pass underneath and generates a strong backswing coil. When you head is low, you can’t turn. When your head is up, your neck aligns with your spine. It becomes easier to make a strong full turn. If you find yourself hitting weak shots, keep your chin up and your neck straight.
Chances are good you have one of these five common flaws in your swing. If you’re serious about achieving a low golf handicap, a good first step is eliminating them. A flawless swing encourages power and accuracy. So take golf lessons, read golf tips, and practice as often as you can. Do everything you can to iron out these flaws and you’ll be on the road to becoming a scratch golfer.
