Are you just starting to play again after a long layoff? Maybe you took the winter off or had an injury that stopped you from playing for a while. Whatever the case, you can’t expect your game to be as honed as it once was. So chances are good, you’ll need to work on the basics to get back to where you once were.
An excellent place to start on the road back is your full swing. To iron out the kinks out of it, you should go to the range and hit a few buckets. Hitting balls after being away for a while will feel odd at first, so don’t try to do too much at first. Instead, stay within yourself and focus on regaining rhythm and consistency in your swing.
Below we look at five swing faults to focus on when trying to regain rhythm and consistency in your swing. Working these swing faults out short-circuits your way back to a great swing. We’ve also added a simple drill to help you work out the kinks:
· Griping the club too tightly
Returning players often grip their clubs too tightly at first. Tightening your grip creates tension in your arms and hands. That inhibits a smooth, free-flowing swing. Instead, grip the club more with your fingers than your palms and loosen up your grip. That relaxes your hands and arms and allows your wrists to cock naturally.
· Failing to create a solid base
Creating a solid base stabilizes your core and generates good balance and consistency. To build a solid base, place a short iron in front of you with the grip angled toward you. Next, put your right hand on top of the grip and your left hand on top of your right. Then, push the club into the ground with your forearms. That’s what a solid base feels like.
· Swinging the club too fast
If you haven’t swung the club for a while, you could find yourself swinging too fast initially. That’s only natural. But in your rush to hit the ball, you might not pause at the top. That encourages mishits. Instead, make a conscious effort to slow down your swing by holding your finish at the top of your swing. That move slows everything down. Plus, it keeps you in balance while swinging.
· Overturning with your body
Returning golfers sometimes make too big a turn at first, causing shanks, dribblers, and worm- burners. To stop turning too much, keep your back knee flexed to the top. That restricts your hip turn and generates a more controlled rotation. It also positions you to swing the club back to the ball on a straighter path. The result: solid contact and straighter shots.
· Making your swing too long
To eliminate this swing fault, push their hands away from your head. This simple adjustment widens your swing arc. That allows you to swing the club back in front of your body on the downswing. If you focus on keeping your right arm wide you’ll keep your left arm wide as well, eliminating the fault.
Reclaiming swing rhythm
Some call this simple drill the 25-50-100 drill:
Line up three balls on the ground, get your favorite iron out of your bag and set up to the first ball. If you can’t decide on a club to use, use your 7-iron. After addressing the ball, swing at 25% of your standard swing power.
Move up to the next ball and swing at 50% of your standard power. Finally, move up to the third ball and swing at 100% of your standard power. Stay within yourself when you swing and don’t swing to fast. Do this golf drill several times to get your swing back in synch.
Coming back to golf after a long layoff is a challenge. Ideally, you’ll want to work on the fundamentals first. An excellent place to start working on your golf basics is with your full swing.
Work on recapturing your swing rhythm first with our simple drill and then focus eliminating any swing faults you may have developed, like the five discussed above. Before long, you’ll find self—and your swing—back in the groove.
Back to Golf Basics: Use Pre-Shot Routine to Groove Your Swing
One of the best ways to groove your swing is by starting every golf swing with a pre-shot routine. That’s the set of actions you take before hitting. It gets you ready physically and psychologically to hit. A good pre-shot routine is repeatable and consistent every time you execute it.
The key words here, of course, are “similar” and “consistent.” The more repeatable your pre-shot routine, the better your swing. Your pre-shot routine also needs to be short. It shouldn’t take you more than 20 o 30 seconds to go through it—less, hopefully. To speed things up, you should start your pre-shot preparation before it’s your turn to hit, speeding up play.
Below is a six-step sequence you can use to trigger your pre-shot routine:
- Check the ball’s lie before doing anything
- Check distance, wind, and landing area
- Consider the risk of mishitting and gambling percentages
- Choose club, visualize the shot, and commit to it
- Imagine the swing and swing keys
- Internalize the feel of your swing
The goal of your pre-shot routine is to get a feel for your upcoming shot. Taking one or two practice swings without much thought, however, doesn’t do it. Instead, make your practice swings as perfect as you can. Make the last swing precisely the way you want to hit the upcoming shot.
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Developing a repeatable, consistent pre-shot routine prepares you physically and mentally for making your shot. It also helps you control your swing’s rhythm. Doing all these things can help you stay within yourself, rather than overswing.
Your pre-shot routine is a great place to start when going back to golf basics. Use your pre-shot routine to help you recover from a slump and play your best.
Also, using it at the range helps make it second nature so that it will feel natural during a round. A good pre-shot routine can help you chop strokes off your scores and handicap.
Back to Golf Basics: Boost Consistency Using These Golf Drills
One common swing fault you may commit when you come back from a long lay off is swaying.
That throws your backswing off. It causes you to hit the ball at different points in your swing, creating inconsistency. Stop swaying and you’ll boost consistency off the tee and hit more fairways. Landing in the fairway more often increases your chances of breaking 80.
Practicing these two golf dills helps you master to stop swaying:
No Swaying Golf Drill #1
Take your normal stance at the practice range. Have a friend brace your golf bag against your back leg. Now make some practice swings. Try to make the swings without pushing into the bag on your backswing. If you brush against it, you’ve swayed.
Now do it again with the bag between you and the target. Brace the bag, so it’s even with your front shoe but leave a little extra space between your shoe and the bag. That way your front leg can move slightly toward the target and become perpendicular to the ground.
No Swaying Golf Drill #2
This golf drill is about as simple a golf drill as you can find. Take your normal address position with your driver. Now start your backswing. As you do, tap your toes up and down until you get to the top of your swing, then swing down to impact. You can’t tap your toes and sway at the same time, breaking this habit.
If tapping isn’t your thing, try going back while making short, squat bounces as you go back—almost like you’re dancing at address. Once you get to the top, stop. Then swing down into impact. As with toe-tapping, you can’t bounce and sway at the same time.
If you’re hitting the ball over the place off the tee, you could be swaying at address. Ridding yourself of this deadly swing fault adds consistency and power to your swing. That can help you go low.