Many amateur golfers think that putting backspin on a golf ball is something only professionals can do. However, if you are interested in learning how to get some spin on your shots, you certainly can.

Even high handicap golfers can spin the ball. When I was younger, all of my golf shots had a forward spin. I prepared for it and expected it, but it still made accuracy more difficult.

Eventually, I learned how to put backspin on the ball, and it made all the difference from an accuracy standpoint. Here is how I did it…

Why Putting Backspin on The Ball Is an Important Skill to Learn in Golf

When you put backspin on a ball, it can help control the direction as well as the distance of the golf shots you hit. When backspin can be added to your shots, you can truly plan where the ball is going to end up.

Without backspin, all of your shorts will have a forward roll. With the forward roll, there is very little way to ensure your ball finishes next to the hole.

When I started getting backspin on my shots, I noticed that I had shorter putts for birdie and par. In addition, I made quite a few more par saves because I was good at getting myself up and down.

Lastly, from 100 to 200 yards in with iron approach shots, I could not pick areas on the green where I wanted to land the ball and benefit from the slope. In the past, the ball would roll through, but now I could land the shot on the high side of the green and have it roll down toward the pin.

Backspin helps you score.

How to Put Backspin on a Golf Ball: 6 Tips

Some of getting backspin on your shots are controlled by you, and some are from outside influences. Here are six tips to help put backspin on a golf ball.

1. Choose The Correct Lie

As great as backspin is, it cannot be used anywhere on the golf course. The first step in this process is to analyze the lie you have and make sure it is correct for attempting to get backspin. The way I like to think about this is whether or not the golf ball and the clubface will have a clean interaction.

If the face of the club and the golf ball can connect with each other with nothing in between, backspin is a possibility.

When the face of the club and the golf ball has grass or even water that will impact their connection, the chances of backing the ball up can be smaller. When you are trying to get backspin on shots around the green, make sure that the ball is in a lie with shorter grass.

In addition, lies where there is a major slope involved, your ball is in a divot, or you are hitting out of thicker grass, don’t expect much spin.

2. Steepen The Angle of Attack

When your angle of attack is steep, it is much easier to get spin on the ball.

Shallow golf swings are great for long distances, penetrating ball flight, and even a bit of a draw on your golf shots. However, most draw spin is a forward roll, and it doesn’t back up.

To get a golf ball to spin back, you must steepen the angle of attack. I don’t like to think about this too much with my short irons because I feel it changes the swing more than I would like. However, around the greens, I often think about being steeper with my angle of attack and allowing that to stop the ball on the green.

With the wedges on shorter shots where I want a little spin, I feel like the club comes up a little on the takeaway. Instead of it getting wrapped around, I feel a little more upright, and it leads to a steep angle of attack and more spin.

3. Play with a High Spin Golf Ball

A high spin golf ball can help improve the chance of creating backspin in your shots. Something like a Titleist Pro V1 has a much higher chance of spinning than a Callaway Supersoft. The higher-spinning golf balls have a cover that is more reactive, and the grooves on the face combine with the cover on the ball to increase overall spin.

When I switch out the golf ball in my game to try something new, the first thing I will look at is how well it spins around the green. If the golf ball does not spin well, I won’t keep it in play.

If I switch from a four or even five-piece ball down to a two or three-piece ball, the most significant difference I see in performance is the spin.

4. Increase Clubhead Speed a Bit

You have to have enough clubhead speed to get a higher spin rate. Golfers often try to think about having a smooth and easy swing but sometimes, to get the right amount of spin, you will need speed.

Don’t be afraid to get aggressive with your approach shots and your shots around the green. A downward angle of attack combined with some speed will get your golf ball spinning backward.

I never like to think too much about speeding up as it throws off other things in the game at times. However, I can have the thought of being more aggressive to create high spin. I work on getting my weight towards my front foot and ensuring I hit down and through the ball with some extra speed. This helps improve the accuracy and the overall spin on the golf shot.

5. Improve Friction Between Clubface and The Ball

To improve friction between the clubface and the ball, you need to ensure nothing is blocking the ball from interacting on the grooves of your club head.

Simply put: clean your golf clubs!

Playing with dirty clubs makes no sense. There are plenty of cleaning tools on the market to help you get the face of the club clean and the groove clear. Golf grooves need to interact with the dimples if you are going to get backspin.

I see many amateurs make this mistake with their wedges. They think because there are no clumps of dirt on the wedge that it’s good to go. Take a tee and clean the grooves out to ensure that they are clear.

6. Check The Grooves on The Clubhead

Lastly, ensure that the grooves on your golf club are still in good shape. In addition, some golf wedges are better at producing backspin (especially from the rough) than others.

Every year golf manufacturers make improvements to their equipment that help increase overall spin rates. If you are not taking advantage of this and are still hitting wedge shots with a 13-year-old wedge, it may be time to change things up.

Some golf clubs can be regrooved if they are old and need some help to get the grooves back to their original condition. However, for others, it’s just time to make a change.

Best Situations to Use Backspin

Backspin is very often a great help in your game. However, there are times when it is unnecessary. For instance, I would not want my driver to back up. I’m doing all I can to get that one to spin forwards! Here are some times when backspin can help, and you should focus on trying to get more of it in your game.

Short Chips

Hitting short chips around the greens usually means that you don’t have much green to work with. If you need a ball to land on the surface of the putting green and then stop, then you need some backspin.

On longer chips, less backspin is fine because the ball can roll partly to the hole. Ensure that with your short chips, you are being aggressive, you trap the ball a little and hit down and through.

Approach Shots to Fast Greens

Personally, I like having backspin on all of my approach shots to the greens. However, when you are playing faster greens, a higher spin rate is beneficial. With fast greens, its hard to get the ball to stop, as it just continues to roll when it makes contact with the turf.

Hitting a shot with a higher spin rate and fresh grooves certainly increases your chance of being more accurate. Professional golfers would be in a world of trouble without backspin on their iron shots, and wedge shots, the fast greens on the PGA Tour are very difficult to hold without spin.

Sand Trap Shots

Finally, it’s important to have spin on sand shots around the greens. The most important thing when hitting out of a bunker is the ability to be aggressive. If you can hit sand trap shots out of a bunker and be aggressive, you will get the ball to stop on the green and never worry about having to hit out of the bunker a second time.

The great thing about developing backspin out of a bunker is that if you have a clean lie, you can generate spin even easier than you can out of the grass.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children.

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If you’re new to golf, you may not know how to operate a rangefinder.

I didn’t even know what a rangefinder was when I first started playing golf. I thought the gentleman I was paired with was looking through binoculars the entire round!

This guide will break down what range a rangefinder is and how it works. I’ll also let you know which rangefinder I use and recommend to help improve your accuracy on approach shots into the green.

How a Golf Rangefinder Works

Golfers use rangefinders to get the exact distance of their target. Most of the time, rangefinders are used to determine how many yards away the pin is.

Here are some highlights of how a rangefinder works:

• Look through the rangefinder with one eye
• Hit the button on top to increase the magnification and zero in on your target area (flag, bunkers, water hazards, etc.)
• The button sends a laser beam to lock on whatever you are pointing it at
• The rangefinder will then calculate the yardage for you by measuring how long it takes for the laser to reach your target and shoot back to the device
• The device will then show you the yardage to your target

Another helpful feature that some rangefinders have is called “Slope Mode”. As the name implies, this function tells you the elevation change of the green and factors that into the overall distance. This is a massive advantage for the golfer and can lead to accurate distances on approach shots.

Are Rangefinders Accurate?

Yes, golf rangefinders are incredibly accurate. Most brands are accurate to within one yard of the actual distance. This high level of accuracy gives golfers an extra boost of confidence when deciding which club to hit.

Just how much yardage can you measure with a rangefinder? Most brands will give you pinpoint accuracy for up to 500 yards. That means you can trust a rangefinder’s accuracy from the tee on every hole on the golf course.

However, laser rangefinders aren’t perfect, and certain circumstances can lead to a decrease in accuracy. For example, the laser beam of the rangefinder will be negatively affected by any type of rain or fog. Remember that if you are playing golf in any kind of harsh weather conditions.

Which Is Better – A Golf GPS or Rangefinder?

Both rangefinders and golf GPS devices are helpful tools to use while on the golf course. Both devices have slope measurement capabilities and can provide accurate readings. Both are also easy to use and have a high level of durability.

So, with all that being said, which one is better? The answer is different for every golfer. Let’s examine which device is better based on what category is most important to you.

Price

If you are trying to save money, go with a GPS device. Some golf GPS phone apps are even available at no cost. These apps utilize satellites to give you a layout of each hole on the golf course.

Golf GPS watches are also affordable for golfers on a tight budget. They can be bought for as little as $90 and the battery will usually last around 12 hours before needing to be recharged.

A laser rangefinder works quite well, but they’re usually more expensive than golf GPS devices. The cheapest models start in the $150 to $200 range.

Accuracy

If it’s premium accuracy that you are after, you can’t go wrong with optical rangefinders. These are more accurate than GPS devices and can provide you with the correct yardage more quickly. Also, the slope technology option on a rangefinder is typically much more accurate than a golf GPS watch.

Just how much more accurate is a rangefinder? Remember how we said earlier that most rangefinders are accurate to within one yard? Most GPS golf devices are only accurate to within four yards.

For the average golfer, this accuracy difference won’t matter much. Mid and high handicappers are going to use the same club if a shot is 80 yards or 84 yards. However, advanced golfers may use an entirely different wedge in this instance.

Ease of Use

This attribute, like many others, comes down to the personal preference of the golfer. Rangefinders and golf GPS devices are both reasonably easy to use on the course.

Some golfers prefer the rangefinder because the autofocus camera makes it easy to aim at their targets. However, folks with shaky hands may not be able to hold steady enough to lock onto their targets.

Along those same lines, some people like the convenience of a golf GPS watch. They find it kind of nice to not have to zero in on a target but simply look down at their wrists to get the yardage to the pin.

The Rangefinder I Use and Recommend

If you are ready to buy a rangefinder, I highly recommend the Bushnell Tour V4. It’s been one of Bushnell’s most popular rangefinders over the last six years. It’s even legal for tournament play as long as the slope mode is turned off.

When it comes to rangefinders, Bushnell is the king! Here are some of the benefits of the Bushnell Tour V4.

• Amazing Accuracy: You’ll have more confidence in your club selection because it’s always accurate to within one yard.
• Long Battery Life: I’ve been using the Tour V4 for over a year and a half, and the battery is still going strong.
• Pinpoint Slope Calculation: You’ll know the exact degrees of slope and just how much it will affect your shots. This is incredibly helpful on both uphill and downhill shots, especially if obstacles like water hazards are involved.
• Jolt Technology: This feature is probably the most incredible. If you are properly locked onto your target, the Tour V4 will lightly vibrate as a signal. No more guessing as to whether or not you are aiming at the correct spot
• Fast Focus System: The Tour V4 rangefinder lenses work quickly to provide you with the correct yardage. Some Golf GPS devices can lag if the signal is weak or the weather is bad. That won’t happen with the Tour V4.
• Ideal Size: The Tour V4 isn’t too big or too small. It fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. It’s also lightweight, which means you shouldn’t have a problem zeroing in on your target.
• Warranty: Bushnell stands behind the quality of its products. Each type of rangefinder that Bushnell offers is covered by a two-year warranty.
• Water Resistant: Unlike some other rangefinders, the Tour V4’s performance isn’t affected by rain. The device is water resistant and will still give you accurate readings in a light drizzle. Just to be on the safe side, though, I don’t use it during any type of heavy rain.

I can’t say enough good things about the Bushnell Tour V4. I used to think that all rangefinders were overrated and overpriced, but Bushnell has converted me from a skeptic to a believer.

I can’t imagine playing a single round of golf without it in my bag. If you decide to give the Tour V4 a shot, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Mike Noblin

Mike has been involved with sports for over 30 years. He’s been an avid golfer for more than 10 years and is obsessed with watching the Golf Channel and taking notes on a daily basis. He also holds a degree in Sports Psychology.

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Shamble, scramble, and best ball are constantly confused by amateur golfers.

Working in the golf industry for more than a dozen years taught me that most amateur golfers have no idea what the difference is between these events, and some just think the word shamble is a mispronunciation of scramble.

Rest assured, the shamble is a real thing.

In fact, it’s kind of a fun format and can be a great team event. Here’s what to expect when you play in a shamble tournament.

What is a Shamble Tournament?

A shamble tournament is where each golfer hits a drive, the best drive is chosen, and then all players play their ball into the hole from there. The shamble is different from a scramble or a best ball event.

When you play in a shamble, you will be using some of your own golf drives as you make your way around the golf course, but it can be beneficial if you run into a bad hole to have another drive that you can play off of.

The shamble tournament is great for those who struggle off the tee box but can play the hole on their own.

Many shambles have different variations, and sometimes one team score is all that is needed; sometimes, there are gross and net scores collected, and other times it is two net scores at the end of the hole. It will be up to your tournament committee to decide which is the case for your event.

Differences Between a Golf Shamble vs. Scramble

There are a few main differences between a scramble and a shamble, and it’s important to understand them. Not only do you want to ensure you are following the rules, but it’s also essential to think about strategy when playing in these events.

Shamble Requires More of Your Own Shots

In a scramble, you will continue to choose the best shot from the golfers in your group the entire time you play the hole. This results in some holes where none of your shots are selected as the best ones.

In a shamble format, you may not be playing from your own drive, but you will undoubtedly be playing your ball into the hole.

The nice thing about this for golfers that play in a shamble is that they can enjoy seeing more of the course and get more of a full round in. The downside, of course, is that it’s much harder for higher handicap golfers.

More Than One Score at The End of a Shamble

Most shambles will have you take at least one best gross and one best net at the end of a hole. However, sometimes it can be the two best net balls of the group.

With a scramble tournament, only one score is recorded as all players keep moving to the best shot throughout the hole. When you play a golf shamble format, you will have a more accurate idea as to what your score would have been if you played your own golf ball.

Number of Drives

Most of the time, with a scramble, each of the team members in the foursome needs to contribute at least two drives. Considering the drive is such a vital part of the shamble, this same rule is typically in place.

Make sure that you are paying close attention to this as you move through to ensure that you have the best chance of winning this golf tournament format.

Two Person Formats

The 2-person shamble is rarer, but it is a format that can work. In addition, you can play a 2 person scramble tournament. However, most of the time, this works best with a group of four.

The pace of play for the shamble on the scramble is comparable. However, I can tell you that the scramble will usually be a bit shorter. It really depends on the golfer’s handicaps in the group to be able to estimate the pace of play.

Can You Handicap a Shamble?

Handicapping for shambles will vary based on what your tournament committee decides is the best fit. For the majority of shambles, the handicap of every player will be reduced by about 20 to 25%.

If you are a 20 handicap, you will get 15 shots that day. Considering you will have the chance to play from the best drive out of four, this is pretty fair.

A golf shamble handicap can sometimes be based on player handicap where the lower player gets less of their handicap, and the higher player gets more of their handicap, but this makes things more complicated.

Some tournament committee that is unsure of anyone’s handicap will just play a gross shamble. This is when only a gross score tournament result is collected.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children.

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You can’t swing a golf club effectively without a proper golf grip.

There’s no getting around this simple fact.  

A consistent golf grip will improve your ball striking, fix your slice, make you more consistent, and give you an all-round better golf game.

Whether you’re getting ready to pure a 300-yard tee shot, or steadying yourself for a two foot putt, you need to know how to handle your club correctly.

It may seem strange to put so much emphasis on your golf grip, I used to think the same thing until I heard the greatest ball strikers crediting consistent grip as the #1 way to improve your ball striking.  As Ben Hogan said:

Bad habits can be picked up early in any golfer’s playing days and they often don’t go away.

Think about just how many times you’ll grip a club in your life. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Maybe more. If you want to deliver the club face square onto the ball every time, you’ll need the proper golf grip.

A consistent golf grip is vital to great golf and lower scores.

It’s why some of the greatest golf coaches start with grip and golf stance and don’t move on until their student has fully understood and learned how to hold their drivers, irons, and putter.  The same reason why we won’t let you leave here without understanding the same thing.

1. Evaluate Your Current Grip

Before we get a little technical and start showing you the best way to hold your club on the course, you’re going to need to do a little something for us. It’s a small step, but an important one nonetheless…

Now, unless you’re a seasoned pro or an amateur with decades of experience, there’s a very good chance that your game is going to need help. That’s why you’re here. And that’s why we’re here too. Your first step here is to think about your own grip and accept that it may not be perfect.

Picture yourself about to tee off or trying to stick it close on a short par 3.

How do you pick up your club? How do you hold it? What position are your fingers in? How comfortable is it? How confident are you that you’re going to hit a great golf shot?

Is there room for improvement? There is? Great. You’re ready to learn.

2. Grip Size

Your clubs have rubberized grips on them. They’ll be a standardized size. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the right ones for you. Different size grips exist and they they’re out there for a reason. It could be that you need to invest in some new ones.

For now, stick with the ones you have. Read the rest of this guide and test out your grip.

If you find you are consistently pulling or slicing – despite adapting your hold – you may very well need to consider new grips. Your golf club shop can advise you on a suitable size. It’ll mostly depend on the size and shape of your hands. If you’ve got petite hands and short fingers, smaller grips are required. If you’ve hands like shovels, you’ll want something a little larger.

3. Hand Positioning

It’s time to pick up your club and start perfecting your grip.

Always pick it up in your weaker hand first (left hand for a right handed golfer).  Turn your hand over so that you can see two knuckles of your left hand and then point the ‘V’ shape that your index finger and thumb have created towards your right shoulder.

Allowing for about a half inch of the club to poke out of the top of your grip.

Your left thumb should point down the right hand side of the shaft. Now take your right hand and grip the club, with your right thumb sitting on top of your left thumb. Make sure your right thumb sits on the left side of the club, facing downwards.

If this is all a little daunting for you and you’re not confident in your hand positioning, don’t panic. There are special molded grip trainers that can assist. They are molded to instruct you where your hands, fingers and thumbs need to be positioned.

Some even combine a grip trainer with a tempo trainer like this one. It’s perfect to keep at the office or anywhere you want to get some extra practice swings in.

4. Get a Sharpie Out

Carry a marker pen like a Sharpie in your golf bag. If you’re not entirely confident about how your club is sitting in your left hand, you can draw two lines on your glove at the correct angles to help. It’ll remind you where the club should be in your grip and give you that little boost of confidence that you’re not misjudging it.

Don’t worry, you’re not breaking any clubhouse or professional rules. It’s perfectly legal to mark your golf glove in this way to assist with your grip.  Similar to how marking your golf ball can help you start your putts on line, marking your glove will allow you to guarantee that you’re consistently gripping the club every time you swing it.

5. Interlocking vs. Overlapping Golf Grip

The final piece in the puzzle – position wise – is whether or not to link your hands together with your fingers.

Some players do, some don’t.  

However, linking your hands together has become the most prevalent decision amongst golfers in recent years as linking fingers promotes better wrist hinge and a more solid overall grip.

The most common method of finger linking is called ‘The Vardon Grip” or “The Overlapping Grip”.  In this grip your hands are joined together by the placement of the right pinky finger being placed in-between the index finger and middle of the left hand.

Now all that’s left to do is align the thumb of your left hand with the middle of your right hand palm.

6. Pressure

As with most things in life, how hard you hold your golf club is all about compromise.

You shouldn’t grasp it so firmly that your knuckles turn white. You’re playing golf, not riding a roller coaster, but similarly you don’t want your grip to be too light that you’ll lose control over your golf club.

If you grip your club too tightly when you play a shot, you may well find yourself delivering the heel of the club onto the ball, instead of the face. Causing inconsistent strikes and a loss of control with every club in your bag. You’ll know if you’re holding on too tightly because as you address the ball, you’ll feel your forearms tense up. Play the shot like that and there’s virtually no chance you play it in a satisfactory way.

Keep your hands gripping softly but firmly. Relax your arms. Waggle the club a little if you like. Sometimes that helps shake off a little tension in the wrists and arms.

7. Keep Things Neutral At First

The grip and technique that we have described to you here is called the “neutral” grip. It’s the most common and natural way to hold a golf club. It makes sense to learn this way and then, later on, when you’re more confident and proficient, you can learn the two other styles. Then you’re adapting your game and improving.

How much you rotate your left hand depends on the “strength” of the grip. If you can see more than two knuckles on your left hand then that’s a “strong” grip and it will close the club face on impact. Rotate your left hand counter-clockwise so no knuckles are visible and that’s a ‘soft’ grip. Which opens up the club face.

You can experiment with the effects of grip “strength” once you’ve mastered the basics. But for now? Keep it nice and neutral.

8. Alternative Grips

We’ve shown you the most popular and ‘approved’ way of gripping your club. But, as with most things, there’s no real cast iron way of doing it. Everyone’s different and some golfers can’t get comfortable with the regular grip. Ultimately, you should do whatever feels natural and comfortable (but that still produces results).

Not everyone grips the way we’ve explained. In fact, some of the world’s top professionals have alternative holds. Take Jordan Spieth, for example.

The Dallas-born superstar holds his clubs like no other pro, proving once and for all that’s there’s no “right or wrong” way to grip a golf club. So long as you know where the club face is and can bring down the thing to hit the ball flush and send it on a nice linear journey towards the hole, you’ve cracked it.

Speith’s grip is certainly unusual. But undeniably top quality. He doesn’t really overlap or interlink his fingers in a way that any other player would recognize. And his grip is pretty weak. He lets his left index finger sit lightly on top of his right hand and only ever so slightly links it with his right pinkie.

If he were a kid going for lessons with a golf tutor, the teacher would get him to ‘correct’ his grip. But there’s no need. He can control the club, knows where the face is and can deliver the head onto the ball perfectly.

It’s not conventional, but it works. After all, you don’t win majors with a lousy grip!

Develop a proper golf grip and improve every aspect of your game…

Are you willing to commit to improving your game?

What would it feel like to turn those frustrating rounds into record lows?

Think about how much better you would play if you could stop worrying about blow-up holes and start making more birdies…

August Noble

August Noble was first introduced to golf at 7 years old. In 2013 he started seriously working on his game and was able to reduce his handicap from 19 to 3.4 in less than two years. He’s been helping other golfers do the same ever since.

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Slices suck. 

They cause you to lose distance, accuracy, and your temper… yet most golfers don’t know how to fix a slice.

It doesn’t matter how many chipping or putting drills you do… if you can’t hit the fairway, it’s tough to play great golf.

What causes a slice?

The most common cause of a slice is an outside-in swing path. This means that through the initial part of your downswing, your club is outside the line of the ball (or further away from you than it should be).

In order to make contact with the ball, you compensate by swinging the club from outside the line of the ball, to inside this line.

Combine this with an open club face, which comes from a natural instinct to counteract your outside-in swing path, and you’ll have your ball spinning through the air like a ping-pong ball (and probably going OB).

How to fix a slice?

If this sounds like you, you probably watch players hit long, controlled draws and wonder how in the hell they do it. Fortunately, there are simple solutions that you can use to fix your slice.

These 7 simple steps will show you how to fix your slice and start hitting straighter golf shots.

The steps are ranked in order: 1 being the easiest to implement, 7 taking the most practice to perfect.

For the purpose of this article, we’ll assume you’re a right hander. If you’re a lefty, just flip the directions and use the same steps.

Step 1: Don’t Aim Left!

The Problem

We all know the feeling: you crush one off the tee and see it flying down the middle of the fairway.

Gradually, it starts to fade right. This fade becomes a slice, and before you know it the ball is sailing off into the thickest group of trees on the course.

A common response for golfers who regularly slice their drives is to aim left.

Of course, this makes sense: if you’re confident your ball will move significantly left to right, aim left.

Unfortunately, this only makes the problem worse, as the player is then forced to continually make the same mistake in order to keep the ball in play. This reinforces a bad habit, something we don’t want to do.

The Solution

Aim straight!

Play as though you’re going to hit your good shot. Maybe your best shots still fade a little – so be it.

Many PGA Tour professionals prefer to hit fades. If this is the case, sure, aim left.

Make sure when you aim left, though, that we’re talking left side of the fairway – not 50 yards into the rough.

If your best shots go dead straight, aim that way, and if you sometimes hit a little fade, play for it. You don’t want to encourage bad habits.

You might be surprised how often you play the shot you set up for.

Step 2: Position Your Golf Ball Properly in Your Setup

The Problem

Of all the causes of a slice, this is perhaps the most simple one to notice.

Many players have the ball too far forward in their stance (meaning too far toward the target).

This will inevitably result in an outside-in swing path, as the golfer will be reaching for the ball, and won’t be able to properly release the club (see Step 7) prior to impact.

The Solution

Move the ball further back in your stance.

This is an simple solution to fixing a golf slice, and one that can have an immediate impact.

Slide the ball a little further back in your stance, and you’ll find you can swing much more naturally. How do you know where in your stance to position the ball? If you’re hitting a driver, the club which is most likely to cause a devastating slice, the ball should be slightly inside your left heel.

Step 3: Take Note of your Divots

The Problem

As has been covered, when you hit a slice, generally your club has travelled on an outside-in swing path through your downswing.

A great way to know check your swing path after hitting an iron shot from the fairway is to check your divot, it will be pointing to the left of your target, reflective of the right to left path of your club.

The Solution

This step is not so much a tip to fix your slice as a great way to recognize why you hit one.

Take note of your divots.

They can provide you with vital information about why you just hit a slice, and more importantly, how severe your outside-in swing path was.

As you begin following these steps, and move closer to consistently crushing shots straight down the middle, use these divots as a performance marker.

Gradually, your divot will begin to point closer and closer to the target, and you can take this as a sure sign that you’re improving your swing habits.

Step 4: Fix your grip

The Problem

The 4th step to eliminating your slice comes before you swing.

A proper golf grip is a guaranteed way to get more control over your golf shots.

Many slicers will find that their left hand (assuming a right handed golfer) is too far underneath the club at the point of set up. This inevitably opens the club face, and contributes to your slice.

The Solution

To combat this issue, rotate your left hand clockwise until you can see three of its knuckles.

This stronger grip will enable you to keep the club face in the correct position through the point of impact, and contribute to eliminating your slice.

If you’re not 100% confident in your hand positioning, don’t panic. There are special molded grip trainers that can assist. They are molded to instruct you where your hands, fingers and thumbs need to be positioned.

Some even combine a grip trainer with a tempo trainer like this one:

It’s the perfect tool to keep next to your desk or anywhere you want to get some extra practice swings in.

Step 5: Keep Your Elbow Tucked in During Your Backswing

The Problem

Now let’s focus on your swing.

What we want to do is to avoid starting your downswing from outside the ideal swing path.

So how do you fix a slice swing?

Fix your back swing.

The simplest way to do this is to focus on your right elbow (again, assuming a right handed golfer).

If you are a chronic slicer, you will likely find that your right elbow flares out, away from your body during your backswing.

This forces the club high and away from you, and causes you to pull it back across the ideal swing path during your downswing.

This movement will impart left to right spin on the ball, while the excessively steep downswing will send the ball much higher than you want it, resulting in a loss of both control and distance.

The Solution

During your backswing, try to keep your right elbow as close to your body as possible.

Though it may initially feel uncomfortable, it will force you to keep your club on a better swing path throughout the backswing, allowing you to swing straight through the line of the ball on your downswing and follow through.

Golf Slice Towel Drill: Hold a towel between your right elbow and body throughout your swing.  This will force you to keep your elbow in throughout your swing.

Another way to make sure your swing path is straight is with a swing path trainer, like this one:

It’s great for practice swings at home and the perfect tool at the range to get instant feedback on your swing path.

Combine it with the towel drill mentioned above and you’ll be shocked at how straight you can hit the ball.

Step 6: Transfer Your Weight

The Problem

Transferring your weight during a golf swing is a relatively simple concept, yet many players are not doing it correctly.

On the most basic level, your weight should move more towards your back foot as you swing back, then return towards your front foot as you begin your downswing and hit the ball.

A common mistake amateur golfers make is to transfer their weight onto their back foot during the backswing, and leave it there through the downswing and follow-through.

Leaving your weight on your back foot causes you to open your club face, and swing outside the line of the ball.

This often occurs with players who are also not properly releasing the club (see Step 7).

The perfect recipe for a big slice.

The Solution

Learn how to properly transfer your weight during your golf swing.

A simple way to practice this is to place something next to your front foot, and touching your left thigh during your set up. This can be a golf bag, or any object which will stand up straight and reach your thigh.

As you swing back, your thigh will move away from this object slightly, indicating the transfer of weight towards your back foot.

As you begin your downswing, if you properly transfer your weight your thigh will again come into contact with the object.

If you leave your weight on your back foot, your thigh will stay separated from the object, and you will likely see your ball swinging out to the right with a big slice.

Step 7: Release the Club Prior to Impact

The Problem

Releasing your club is often the final step in fixing your slice.

“Releasing” refers to rotating your forearms through impact with the ball.

You might not be aware of it, but at some point during your swing you will rotate your right hand, wrist, and arm over your left – it’s impossible to complete a follow-through without doing it.

The problem many slicers have is that they don’t do it until far too late, meaning the club face is far too open when you strike the ball.

This can not only cause the ball to spray out to the right, but also contributes to the left to right spin which creates a slice.

The Solution

There is only a split second between timely forearm release – and a straight drive – and a forearm release which comes too late, which means developing a proper release can take some practice.

A proper release is one of the most important to get right because  while incorporating 7 of these simple slice fixes will help you get rid of the dreaded slice, if you continually release the club too late your results will remain inconsistent.

A great drill to practice releasing the club happens to be a pretty enjoyable one:

Take an old club to a wide open space, preferably with no people around.

Imitate your normal swing, however as you feel your right hand and forearm rotate over the left, let go of the club completely.

Send it flying (told you it’d be fun)!

Most likely, you will end up releasing it way up in the air and to the left, maybe even over your left shoulder.

This is because your release occurred too late.

The idea is to throw the club in the direction of your target, while maintaining an actual golf swing.

When you can do this, do it again. Then do it again, and again, and again, until it feels natural.

Follow these simple steps to fix your slice and start hitting straighter golf shots!

For most chronic slicers, a number of these problems will be applicable.

Fortunately, many of them are interrelated, meaning if you focus on solving one, others will naturally follow.

For example: if you position the ball correctly in your stance, you will automatically find it easier to release the club at the right time, and likewise if you properly transfer your weight.

Another important thing to remember is that, in attempting to fix your slice, you don’t need to develop a draw.

Many professionals often play a fade.

As the great Lee Trevino once said, “you can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen”.

You simply need to reduce the amount of movement on your ball enough that you can justify calling your shot a fade, rather than a slice.

From there, you can work on developing a draw.

These changes may feel strange at first… stick with them!

You’ll be smashing drives down the middle of the fairway in no time.

August Noble

August Noble was first introduced to golf at 7 years old. In 2013 he started seriously working on his game and was able to reduce his handicap from 19 to 3.4 in less than two years. He’s been helping other golfers do the same ever since.

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As a golf fan, you no doubt watch the top players on the PGA Tour and admire their amazing swings. Let’s be honest, even fellow PGA Tour professionals admire players like Dustin Johnson and Rory Mcilroy’s ability to drive the golf ball. These guys are simply amazing!

Well I have some encouraging news for you!

While very few of us will ever hit towering drives as far as Dustin and Rory there is one element of your swing that can be exactly like theirs.

Yes, you read that correctly!

Every player regardless of skill level can learn to have a good setup, which is a vital step in learning to play better golf. If you setup to the golf ball with a flawed stance, you’ll have a flawed swing. It’s as simple as that!

You don’t need years of golf experience to set up to the golf ball properly, this skill can be learned in just a few minutes. This is one reason many golf coaches enjoy teaching it to people brand new to the game of golf. They don’t have any bad habits engrained with years of experience. They start from scratch and immediately learn a proper grip and stance. If you’ve ever gone through a grip change, you know how difficult it is to break bad habits. However, if you are struggling with your game, take a moment to examine your setup.

In this article we are going to give you 5 easy steps to find the best golf stance for you.

1. Always Think Athlete

When teaching my students a proper golf stance, I always start with a simple question:

“What other sports have you played before?”

This is important to me, because often times players can relate certain elements from other sports to help them better understand golf. Golf is an athletic sport and therefore we need to setup in an athletic position. By far the majority of amateur golfers setup in static positions that don’t allow their bodies to move athletically!

The player in this photo is a prime example of a non-athletic setup position. His knees are bent significantly, causing his body weight to shift to his heels. His spine is completely vertical and hands almost touching his body. From this position it will be impossible to make an athletic motion with the club.

Using the analogy of other sports. I want you to imagine a goalie in soccer. He stands very upright with a slight bend in his knees, and his weight towards the balls of the feet. Have you ever seen a goalie significantly bend his knees, hunch his back and have all his weight in his heels? Of course not, and the reason is simple.

The goalie needs to be in an athletic position to move either left or right in a fraction of a second. Sometimes we forget how athletic a golf swing is, but it’s not much different. We are moving both right (backswing) and left (downswing) in our golf swing and need to be in a powerful position to do so.

So what does an athletic stance look like? Let’s look at one of the PGA Tour’s star player, Australia’s Jason Day for more insight:

Jason Day is an athlete, and sets up to the golf ball like one. His knees are only slightly bent allowing his upper body to tilt forward from his hips. If we draw a straight line from the back of his right shoulder, we see that the line touches the front part of the knee and extends to the balls of the feet. Jason has put his body in a powerful position to swing the club with authority and power!

2. Use the Three-Step Posture Drill as a Guideline

I like to keep things simple and over the years I’ve found this 3-step posture drill the most effective way to teach an athletic setup. This is how it works:

Begin by standing with your feet as wide as your shoulders and stand perfectly straight while extending your arms and golf club out in front of you.

It’s important to note, in this first stage my knees are not bent, and my arms and club form a straight line that is parallel with the ground below.

Slightly bend your knees and allow your arms to drop down until both are resting on your chest.

In this position, the golf club is still parallel to the ground and my knees have only bent a couple inches. A good visual reference to feel this slight bend in the knees is to imagine you are sitting down on a high bar stool. Your knees just need to a bend a fraction before your backside makes contact with the chair.

The final and most important step, slowly bend forward from your waist, until your clubhead touches the ground. When it does you will be in a perfect setup position.

If you’ve done the drill correctly, you will feel your body weight in the balls of the feet and your hands located directly underneath your chin. Your spine will slightly tilted forward, but relaxed. You are now in a powerful setup position to make an athletic swing.

3. Practice the Extremes

You are starting to make great progress on your setup and now just need to fine tune your positions.

For this step, we are going to focus specifically on your spine angle and help you find the most neutral, or in other words “natural” position. Generally speaking, there are three types of posture at setup. C Posture, S Posture, and Neutral Posture.

Golfer’s with C Posture have a rounded back and level hips at address:

Golfers with S Posture arch their backs and have excessive tilt with their hips at address:

Golfers with neutral posture are in between C and S and have a straight back and their hips tilted the correct amount:

It’s hard for most players to initially find a neutral posture position. The most effective way to find what “neutral” feels like is to practice the extremes. Begin by taking your golf stance and hunch your back like a cat. This sounds a bit odd but I want you to focus on rounding your shoulders, bringing your chin closer to your chest, and feeling very “crunched up” and small. This is position is now one end of the spectrum.

To find the opposite end of the spectrum, stand tall and arch your back as much as possible. Your chin should be far away from your chest and you should feel a lot of tilting in the hips. This is now the other end of the spectrum.

It’s important to practice both ends of the spectrum because you can then go to the middle point and find a posture that is a perfect balance of the two. If you’re struggling with your posture use this exercise as an effective way to help you find exactly what the neutral position feels like.

4. Analyze What’s Comfortable

Earlier in this article I mentioned the fact that every golfer can setup to the golf ball like a PGA Tour player, however there is an important element to understand.

You also need to find the position that is most comfortable for your body and if you suffer from any physical ailments there is nothing wrong with adjusting your setup to reflect what makes your body feel comfortable.

Many times, I work with players who suffer from a lack of hip mobility. This lack of mobility could be from a previous injury, general loss of flexibility, or just a general aging of the body. Sometimes I purposely put players in a position where their shoulders are more rounded and chin tucked closer to their sternum (the C Posture). The best example of how effective this method can be for some players is to look at current European Tour golfer Tommy Fleetwood:

Tommy’s shoulders are much more rounded than most other professionals. However, this setup position allows him to keep his spine angle stable throughout his swing.

Generally speaking I would always prefer a student to have more of a C Posture (rounded in the back and shoulders) than the S Posture. Students with a C Posture will find their hips to be slightly more level allowing them to rotate their hips better. Just like every golf swing is unique, every posture is unique to how your body feels and can move.

5. Wash, Rinse, and Repeat!  

As you progress in the game of golf you will realize that the more advanced you become, the more important the basic fundamentals are.

When I was the Head Golf Professional at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China, I was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with many PGA Tour players on the range during the WGC-HSBC Champions event every year.

I’ve watched all the top pros hit balls and one of the best lessons I learned from many of the game’s top players is how much focus and dedicated practice they put on the basic fundamentals of the game.

Things like posture and alignment, concepts so basic you would think that a tour pro wouldn’t need to worry about, were the exact things most of the guys were constantly practicing.

Learning the correct golf stance is something you never actually “learn” and then forget. It’s something that needs to be practiced, monitored, adjusted, and like every other aspect of your game given focused practice.

As a general rule of thumb, I don’t like to go more than 1 month without seeing my swing on film. Errors in posture in stance don’t happen overnight, they gradually happen as we travel, practice, and play. But if your posture adjusts every day by even just a millimeter, it will be way off in a month’s time.

Having a routinely monthly checkup (or weekly if you are playing often) will help you stay fresh and monitor your progress.

After teaching golf to students around the world for over a decade, I would say that 2 out of every 3 swing problems can be traced back to an initial problem in the setup. When PGA Tour professionals start hitting the ball poorly, every single one of them will immediately go back to the basics and examine the basic fundamentals beginning with the golf stance, it’s that important.

As you examine your own golf game, do you setup to the golf ball in an athletic position? Do you know what neutral posture actually feels like? When was the last time you saw your setup on video?

Use these 5 methods to improve and monitor your golf stance and you’ll be on your way to more consistent swing soon.

August Noble

August Noble was first introduced to golf at 7 years old. In 2013 he started seriously working on his game and was able to reduce his handicap from 19 to 3.4 in less than two years. He’s been helping other golfers do the same ever since.

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It’s not the most fun thing to do, but it’s a good feeling to know your bag is finally clean.

In this article, I will take you through each step of cleaning your golf bag, from clearing out your clubs and accessories to vacuuming every nook and cranny. Plus, I will explain why I do not recommend using a water hose to rinse your bag.

What You’ll Need

• Golf bag
• Vacuum cleaner
• Dish soap
• Clean bucket of warm water
• Clean cloth
• Sponge or brush
• Dry rag

A Simple Checklist for Properly Cleaning a Golf Bag

Step 1: Empty The Bag

Let me ease you into the process. The first step is to empty out your bag. Start by removing each golf club from its slot. Once they are out, remove your golf balls, tees, rain gear, and any essential accessory. Ensure that every zipper is open and nothing remains inside the pockets.

Darren Arber showcases how to efficiently clean out your bag in the video below:

Step 2: Shake Out The Sand From The Club Slots

Once your bag is cleared out, the second step requires you to remove the remaining dirt and debris from the club dividers in your bag. Tip the bag upside down to allow any matter to run down and out the bag. Give it a couple of shakes until you are satisfied that nothing remains.

Step 3: Remove The Strap and Soak It in Mild Soap Water

You can wipe the strap with some soapy-warm water if you want to. However, I prefer to give it a proper clean.

Unclip the strap from your bag, and let it soak for 2 to 3-minutes. When you notice how brown the water is, you will appreciate your effort to undertake a thorough cleaning. Grab a scrubbing or toothbrush and brush off any remaining mud or marks.

Once it is clean, place the strap in your hand, and create a fist. This helps you press excess moisture out of the material. Hang it up in the dryer room, and leave it overnight.

Step 4:Vacuum The Pockets and Interior of The Bag

Turn your attention back to the golf bag. Before scrubbing your leather, polyester, or nylon golf bag, you need to clean out the interior. Grab your vacuum cleaner and suck out any remaining sand or dust from the storage compartments.

In addition, you should vacuum between any creases in your bag’s material and the club slots. Fit the vacuum with a standard intake port, allowing it to reach the bottom of your golf bag. I suggest turning the bag on its side. That enables you to feed the intake port down the divider to suck up remaining dust and debris.

Step 5: Wipe The Loose Dirt and Dust with a Washcloth

The next step is to remove the top layer of dirt from your golf bag. I suggest attaching your rain hood to the bag for an efficient clean.

Dip a washcloth into a bucket of clean water, and squeeze excess liquid from it. Next, wipe down your golf bag from head to toe to eradicate dust particles from top to bottom. Don’t forget to wipe the base of your bag and the stand to clear it off mud and grass.

Step 6: Scrub The Golf Bag

Add a teaspoon of dish soap to your bucket of clean water and mix it thoroughly. Next, pull out your brush and gently scrub the bag from head to toe to release any deep-seated dirt. You can also add a mix of soap and water to a bottle. Spray water onto the bag and scrub as you go.

Although a soft bristle brush is suitable for nylon and polyester, I suggest using a softer material on a leather golf bag. A dishwashing sponge works well and does not scratch a leather bag. Ensure that you have covered every area before checking step 6 off the list.

Step 7: Remove The Soap From the Bag

Grab a damp microfiber cloth and wipe the remaining soap off your golf bag. Give it a solid rinse and leave it for a few moments. Some golfers suggest employing a hose to rinse off the soap, but I recommend avoiding this approach.

The excessive build-up of water from a hose can cause less durable materials to rip. It also increases the drying time because your bag becomes absolutely soaked.

Step 8: Add Stain Remover to Erase Existing Marks

Return to the bag and conduct a thorough inspection of your work. If your golf bag is as clean as a whistle, take it to the dryer room to rest. However, if your bag still carries the scars of Gatorade, beer, and ketchup spillage, you still have a job to do.

Spray a healthy dosage on the stubborn stains, and give it 30-seconds to neutralize the mark. Then employ a toothbrush and get scrubbing to remove it. There is no guarantee that you will totally remove stains, but it is worth attempting.

Some commentators mention that they have successfully removed golf bag stains using a mix of water and white vinegar. The going ratio is apparently 1:5, meaning 1 part vinegar and 5 parts warm water. I cannot comment on its effectiveness, but those I have spoken to swear by it.

Step 9: Dry Your Bag

Once the cleaning part is complete, it is time to dry it and prepare for your next round of golf. You may be tempted to leave your bag out in the direct sunlight, but try to avoid this method. It can cause the colors on your bag to fade, which is an unpleasant sight on the golf course.

Place your bag in a warm room, out of direct sunlight, and let it dry overnight. You could even throw an air dryer into the mix to expedite the process.

Step 10: Restock Your Bag

Now that your bag is clean and dry, you need to put everything back where you found it. Place your golf shafts into the club dividers, and follow the instructions from our guide on organizing a golf bag.

Store your golf balls and tees in the assigned compartment and the bottom of your bag while the rain gear moves to the apparel pocket. When the job is complete, you are ready to walk onto the course as an organized, clean golfer who looks the part.

FAQ’s

What Can I Do If My Golf Bag Still Smells After Cleaning It?

There are 3 ways to neutralize the odor of your golf bag, namely baking soda, coffee beans, and fabric softener. Fill a bag with one of these substances and place it into the compartment responsible for the foul smell.

While I have used coffee beans to improve the smell of another bag, I have never attempted it with my golf bag. I always found that regularly cleaning it prevents these scenarios, and prevention is always the best cure.

However, my best buddy growing up had this issue at one point and employed fabric softener. It added a few extra ounces of weight to his bag, but man, it made it smell good.

How Do I Get Rid of Set-In Stains?

Spray the affected areas with your stain remover detergent or vinegar concoction. Leave it to settle on the surface of the mark for 30-seconds to 1-minute. Take out a toothbrush and activate your elbow grease. Scrub in a circular motion on top of the stain and work the detergent into the area.

Wet the brush, and remove the formula from the golf bag. Take a time out, and check to see if you are making progress. If the stain is still apparent, repeat the process until you see an improvement.

How Often Should I Clean My Bag?

I advise cleaning your golf bag at least once a month. You do not need to conduct a deep clean this frequently, but keep it tidy and shining. However, I urge you to conduct a thorough cleaning every 3 months.

This helps you avoid the build-up of dust, humidity, and mold. The latter two are difficult to rid your bag of and carry a permanent funky smell.

For starters, you can clean out your golf bag after every round. This helps you toss empty bottles, sandwich containers, or candy wrappers. You can accumulate junk rapidly, and it doesn’t take long until it becomes disgusting.

A subscriber of Darren Arber claims that he found a moldy banana and a rotten half-eaten sandwich in his bag. As disgusting as this is, it doesn’t surprise me. There are many grubby golfers among us, and constantly emptying out your bag is one way to keep it tidy.

Additional resources on cleaning your golf equipment:

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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In the summer of 2006-07, I played off a 6-handicap. I played and practiced consistently, and then winter arrived, which was also rugby season.

I didn’t touch a golf club for 4-months, and in my first round back, I lost a matchplay-Stableford game against a 24-handicapper. I could not hit a ball and asked myself why I suck at golf?

The answer was a combination of factors. I neglected the game and stopped practicing. In addition, I was stressed and anxious about my final high school exams. In this post, I will explain why this wondrous game is not going your way.

1. You’ve Never Had a Lesson

The top reason why many amateurs downright suck at golf is that they never received the correct guidance. It is common for players to take up the game because their buddies play. Unfortunately, many of their friends are as clueless as them and have no business instructing others.

This causes rookies to pick up bad habits from the get-go and results in consistently bad shots and frustration. Rather than chase your tail, book a lesson with a PGA-certified instructor to avoid common mistakes. It also makes sense to do it right rather than play the game for years and never progress.

Coaching teaches you to correct mistakes in your golf shots on your own accord. This takes time, and it is why lessons are an investment.

Think of it like school. You cannot become a lawyer or doctor without going to college. Well, you cannot reach the ranks of a scratch golfer if you do not have the guidance of professionals.

2. You Never Visit The Driving Range

If you have received lessons in your life but still struggle to play golf, you may lack practice. This game is not like riding a bike. When you stop swinging a club and putting in the time, the results are disastrous upon return. An area I am well-versed in.

You need to consistently work on every element of your game to see improvement. I understand that most of our readers are busy professionals who lack time to sneak in an hour or 2 practice session. However, you need to make time if you wish to lower your total strokes.

Those with limited time may consider a golf simulator. This setup allows you to work on your ball-striking consistency after work from the comfort of your home. The point is that no matter where you are, you need to consistently practice to see results.

3. Your Practice Sessions Have No Purpose

Besides practicing, you need to do it with a purpose. I recently spoke to Scottish golf coach Peter Arnott about practicing with intent and how that sets Tiger Woods apart from the rest of his peers.

Instead of aimlessly hitting golf balls, Tiger would look to replicate scenarios he may encounter on the golf course. Arnott explained that Woods would pull out a rangefinder, pick his mark and then play different shots to get the ball to that exact point.

For example, he would picture a tree in front of him and draw the ball within a few feet of the desired target. Conversely, he would practice fades, stingers, and punches to prepare for any shot necessary.

This story is relevant to you because most amateurs do not have a goal when conducting a drill at the range. This means that they walk away from the practice session unaware of whether they have improved and were able to achieve their objective.

Work on specifics. A simple start could be to hit 60% of your shots straight. Focus on squaring your club face up at impact to deliver straighter shots. If you do not achieve your objective, conduct a debrief to understand the errors.

4. You’re Using The Wrong Equipment

A major issue that I find with amateurs who have never been coached is their golf clubs. Because they never received the guidance of an expert, they are swinging the incorrect specs.

I often notice casual golfers using shafts too stiff and heavy for their swing. This reduces their clubhead speed and causes low ball flight and a loss of distance.

Conversely, faster swingers use shafts that are too flexible. As a result, these golfers consistently balloon their shots and lose distance through the bag.

Aside from shaft flex and weight, lofts are a sore point for casual golfers. If you are swinging a weak lofted club for your swing, you may launch it high and lose total distance. Contrarily, slower swing speeds are best suited to weaker lofted long irons and woods. These players need all the ball speed and available spin to achieve consistency in this area.

Golf influencers are divided on the value offered by club fitters. However, I suggest getting fitted for your first clubs. This is because you are likely clueless about the ideal specs for your game, and you do not want to waste money on the wrong gear.

Club fitters will set you up on a launch monitor and analyze every element of your swing to find suitable woods, irons, wedges, and a putter.

5. Your Grip Is Incorrect

I have spoken frequently about the need to consistently work on your game to stay on the fairway. Now, let us look at your actual setup and swing. The way you grip a golf club impacts your control. If your grip is too tight, it often prompts golfers to strike the ball with a closed clubface, leading to a hooked golf shot.

Conversely, a weak grip can cause your clubface to open at contact, prompting a slice. If this is your issue, our guide on 8 simple steps to a better golf grip will provide the necessary inspiration. Nevertheless, I will give a brief rundown below.

There are three predominant grip setups, the baseball, interlock, and overlap.

I use a baseball grip and have done it for 28-years. In essence, this type of grip features all 10-fingers touching the rubber portion of your golf clubs. Every coach I have ever had has attempted to change this, but the other grips feel uncomfortable.

6-time Open Championship winner Harold Vardon pioneered the overlap grip. It is the most common grip among amateurs and professionals. Right-handers need to wrest their pinky on the knuckle of their left hand. If that is uncomfortable, you can try placing your pinky in the interdigital folds between your left index and middle finger.

Although every golf instruction book recommends this setup, I find that this weakens my hold on the club. That causes me to produce excess movement of the wrists, and I leave the clubface open at impact. Therefore I push or slice every shot.

The final setup is an interlocking grip, which Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods employ. Jack suggested that this setup gave his smaller hands the most control over the club. What you do, is feed your right pinky between your left index and middle finger. As a result, you lock your hands around the club.

The most significant point is to ensure you can release the clubhead at the top of the backswing along the intended club path. If your grip is correct, you will generate maximum power and enjoy a long, straight shot.

6. Your Golf Ball Is Positioned Incorrectly In Your Stance

The next issue that amateur golfers face is their ball position in their stance. This is tricky, as each club or shot requires a different ball position. Your ball should sit parallel to the inside of your lead heel on tee shots. This gives you ample time to clear your hips and square the face through impact for straight drives.

Next, you place the ball a few inches back from your driver position for shots with fairway woods or hybrids. This trend continues until you have a wedge in hand, where you position the ball marginally back of center.

As you can see, the longer the shaft is, the further forward the ball needs to sit in your stance.

Besides the shaft length, you need to adjust your ball depending on the type of shot you wish to play. When your ball is teed up it should lie forward in your stance. This enables you to strike the ball on your upswing to lift it off the tee.

Furthermore, when you place the ball back in your stance, you strike it at a steep angle of attack. This causes you to deloft the clubface and launch the ball low. You also set the ball back in your stance if you wish to draw the ball. Lastly, a forward ball setup is the best way to induce a fade.

7. You Don’t Strategize

Struggling golfers have a tendency to walk up to the ball and whack it. They do not think about the layout of the hole, their next shot, and the best way to make par.

Take your time to examine the layout and the conditions. Which side of the hole gives you the easiest route to the flag? Which direction is the wind blowing? By thinking about these questions, you can lower your scores by putting yourself in a prime position.

Even if you do not hit your target, you can miss in a safe area that still gives you a shot at the flag.

8. You Have No Pre-Shot Routine

A pre-shot routine is what separates superior golfers from the rest is a pre-shot routine. Many amateurs do not get into a rhythm before their shot, leading to inconsistent results. It brings order to your mind and encourages structure from your practice swing to impact.

Employing a pre-shot routine gives you a moment to clear your mind and focus on executing your task. A practice swing is necessary to help you identify if you are aligned correctly. You can clearly see if you are on track to strike the ball cleanly with a square clubface. If not, reset and repeat the routine.

You cannot expect to achieve consistent results from tee to green if you do not undergo the same process before each shot.

9. Your Short Game Is Your Worst Nightmare

We have a guide dedicated to short game tips and drills that will improve your up and down record. So, I will be brief on this topic. If you cannot chip and putt, you are doomed. That is where it counts.

I suggest spending more time on the practice green mastering your short game before you try to bomb your drives like Bryson DeChambeau. Throughout my golfing journey, I have suffered an erratic long game, which forced me to master my chipping and putting.

Learn how to read the break of the greens and understand different grass grains. In addition, work on your flop, pitch, and chip shots, to get up and down. Finally, work on your putting touch to eliminate 3-putts and reduce bogies.

10. You’re More Concerned With Distance Than Accuracy

Every golfer longs for more distance. How they try and achieve it is the real issue. For starters, these golfers purchase expensive equipment, hoping that it is a magical cure.

Next, they force their swing to increase velocity but impact their rhythm, tempo, and smash factor. The unfortunate result is a loss of distance and accuracy. Effectively, a lose-lose scenario.

My solution to this is shortening your swing, which is how I currently operate. Yes, I lose distance compared to a full swing out of the sweet spot. However, I am hitting more fairways and greens in regulation than ever.

Therefore, if your full swing is causing your ball to fly all over the golf course, think about shortening it.

Further Reading: Focus on the fundamentals of the game by reviewing our 10 tips to help you break 100.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

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