Swinging over the top is a problem that so many golfers struggle with.

It doesn’t matter if you are brand new to the game or have been playing your entire life; getting a swing path that is a bit over the top is something that needs to be fixed.

For some golfers, a simple swing thought can have you on your way to square shots. However, for most players I have worked with, a combination of drills, training aids, and good old-fashioned practice have been the only ways to fix your over the top golf swing.

Take a look at my six key steps to finally fix your over the top golf swing, and start swinging through the golf ball with confidence.

Step 1: Record a Video

The first step in this process may seem like a simple one but both pro golfers and average golfers that have done it will tell you it’s a must.

Start by recording a video of your golf swing.

One of the most challenging things about the game of golf is that we can’t see the golf club when we swing. Trying to determine where the swing path or swing plane is wont’ be easy. However, with modern technology, a quick video will let you see quite a bit.

So many players say to me, “I don’t know how to diagnose the video.”

I understand you may think that is the case. However, chances are you will be able to see a great deal of what you are doing wrong. Also, you want this video as a comparison when you finish fixing your over the top swing.

Take two videos with the help of a friend. One of the videos should be down the line; another should be a face on video.

If you don’t hit the big slice that has been bothering you, record a few swings so you have some evidence of the problem.

Step 2: Check Your Setup

The next part of this process is to look at the most obvious errors in the game. Players who have their grip, feet position, shoulder line, hips, or even their head position wrong at setup.

So many players want to fix their over the top swing by working on their angle into the ball, their rotation, or ensuring they make a good transition. These are all important but are you setting yourself up to get to this position?

If your feet and your shoulder lines are crossed, straight shots are hard to achieve.

We know that practicing your setup and stance is quite boring compared to other things on this list; it’s well worth getting this down before you try and fix something that may or may not even need to be fixed.

Step 3: Perfect The Takeaway

The takeaway of your golf shots should be low and slow. Taking the club back with just your arms, swinging back really fast, or forgetting that important transition between backswing and downswing can cause poor shots and an over the top swing.

Most golfers struggle at the top of the swing, but there are issues at the start of the swing that can cause this problem.

The golf takeaway is often overlooked by amateur players.

One of my favorite swing tips for golfers working on their takeaway is to take a small blade of grass or even a leaf and place it just a few inches behind the ball.

On your backswing, make sure you may contact with this. To do so, you will have to engage your lower body, keep the arms out of it and ensure you are having the golf club and the body work together.

Step 4: Get To The Inside

Now that the basics are out of the way, it’s time to do the actual work to fix your over the top golf swing. There are two things you need to think about here, getting the club path more on the inside and ensuring the club face is rotated so that it is square at impact.

The first part of this process is ensuring a more inside club path. This club path encourages a golfer to keep their right elbow (right-handed golfer) more connected throughout the swing. The right elbow should even feel as though it is touching your body as you make your transition at the top of the downswing.

One of the simplest and best drills for this is to put a golf glove or even a towel under your right armpit and ensure it stays in place as you make a good transition.

Another drill to consider here is over-exaggerating the inside to out swing path. Most golfers that come over the top have an out-to-in swing path. What this typically looks like is a golf club that starts coming down with the arms and shoulders from the top of the swing.

The club never appears to drop into place and fill in that space that you created with a good rotation.

Exaggerating this move so that you feel as though you are coming way inside on the approach to the ball is a good way to get your lower body sequence worked out and feel what you need to do.

When you go back to hitting balls, chances are you won’t be exaggerating nearly as much, and you will actually be in the correct position. Some players that struggle with this common problem of coming over the top will add an exaggerated inside approach to their pre-shot routine.

The next thing to work on is the club face angle. If you get to the inside, but your club face is not square to the target line, the shot won’t work out. Most golfers struggle to rotate their forearms.

Step 5: Training Aids to Help

Feeling this inside-to-out path and getting rid of the over the top swing plane will be hard for some players. If you have been swinging like this your entire life, you won’t fix it with one good swing. In fact, it will take quite a bit of time and effort to work this out.

Some of the best options for fixing coming over the top is to use alignment sticks or something like the Eyeline Speed Trap. All you need to do with an alignment stick is set it in the ground at an angle just above the golf ball.

The goal is to swing under this alignment stick. If you swing over the top, you will hit the alignment stick.

Start with slow swings here, as you won’t want to make contact with the alignment stick and hurt yourself.

The Eyeline Speed Trap is another excellent device that allows you to see the proper path and eventually leads to golfers having a square face at impact. The latest release of the Eyeline Speed Trap makes it much easier to use the device without damage to your club or yourself.

I love the visual benefits of a tool like this.

When you head out to the golf course, you can be sure that your mind is in the right place and that you are prepared for what impact position should look like.

Step 6: Transfer to The Course

As a golfer (and teacher of the game) who has had issues with swing path in the past, I know how it can feel simple to fix issues on the range and then an entirely different situation to fix them on the golf course.

You are not alone in this frustration of transferring knowledge to the course.

The best way I have found to help this issue is to work on making your driving range practice more like the course.

Most amateur players head to the driving range with a bucket of 75 golf balls and then just start firing away. This is, of course, not the solution. Even if you do come closer to fixing your over the top swing, chances are you have ignored other issues that could be creating inconsistency.

Instead, take some time to work on the drills we talked about. Hit ten or twenty golf balls using the drills. Then take out a training aid like alignment sticks or a path trainer and work with that for some swings.

The idea is that you are building the muscle memory to then use when the pressure is on.

Once you feel like you understand the motion, you have to start putting pressure on.

Pick a target and try to hit it just as you would on the golf course. If you miss the green because of a slice, chances are you were over the top. If you hook it or draw it, maybe you came a little too far from the inside.

Make a mental note of this shot and then move to the next one. Don’t stand there and rapid-fire golf shots; it gets you nowhere. Make your practice like the course, and everything will transition to the course independently.

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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Knowing
how to grip a golf club is the most important element of the golf swing. 

You
can trace many problem shots and faults back to how you hold the club. Is it
too strong? Maybe it’s the opposite. So, what makes a perfect golf grip? 

Whilst
it’s true that there is such a thing as an orthodox golf grip, different types
of grip can be effective. 

As
PGA professional Alistair Davies explains: “Compensations are going
on in your golf swing that make your grip work”.

For
example, players with a strong grip, which tends to encourage a hooky flight,
often make adjustments elsewhere in the swing that means they hit the ball
straight—in which case, Davies wouldn’t recommend making any tweaks.

However,
it sometimes helps to go back to basics—something even the pros will do from
time to time to ensure bad habits aren’t creeping in. 

Here, Davies looks at how to grip a golf club in five easy steps.

1. Cradle your fingers to avoid a ‘palmy grip’

Let’s
start with the placement of the club in your lead hand. Where the golf grip
sits right in the middle of the hand, it’s known as a ‘palmy grip’—and,
according to Davies, it’s one of the biggest faults he witnesses amongst
amateurs.

“A
palmy grip can cause issues squaring up the clubface because it makes it harder
for your wrists to work,” he explains. 

“It
can also cause the backswing to have a collapsed lead arm and a limp wrist
position. As a result, you will struggle to strike the ball consistently out of
the middle, and you’ll likely lose a lot of power.”

Look
to align the grip more in the fingers, so through the middle joint of the index
finger to the bottom joint of the little finger. 

Try cradling your fingers and let the club sit in the cradle. Finally, you want the thumb to sit slightly to the trail side of the grip.

Related: 7 driving range tips to improve shot consistency

2. Check the ‘V’

If
you’re talking about a perfect golf grip—a neutral one, as opposed to strong or
weak—the ‘V’ created by the thumb and finger on your trail hand should point
somewhere between your chin and right shoulder.

This
is where you hear a lot about how many knuckles you should see, but it’s not an
exact science, as Davies explains. 

“The
ideal number of knuckles you should see on the lead hand is two to three, but
it depends on the size of your hands. That’s why it’s more important to see
where that ‘V’ is pointing.”

If
you have a strong grip, the ‘V’ will point more towards your trail shoulder,
and you’ll see more knuckles on your lead hand. 

Golfers with this grip will often hook the ball. With a weak grip, the ‘V’ points towards the lead side of the body, and you’ll see fewer knuckles on your lead hand. Such a grip will encourage more of a slice.

3. Check the placement of the trail Hand

Many
people get the centre of gravity in the trail hand too high, which means it
doesn’t align with the shaft. 

When
you try and apply pressure above the shaft, you’re not getting any power, plus
you lose control and stability of the clubhead through impact.

If
that sounds complicated, make sure you watch Davies’ video here:

 

4. Mind The Gaps

Whether
you’re using an interlocking, overlapping or baseball grip, you don’t want gaps
between the little finger on your trail hand and your first finger on your lead
hand.

“Pockets of holes create the club’s movement, mostly between transition and impact,” says Davies. “It makes the clubhead twist a bit and gives you a lack of control of the clubhead through the ball.”

Related: How to play golf on a budget

 

5. Apply the right pressure

If
you’re talking about a scale where ten is very tight, Davies recommends
gripping the club at a five or six. 

“It’s
like holding a child’s hand when you cross the road,” he explains. “You don’t
want them to slip out of your hand, but you don’t want to hurt them.”

Davies
says to think, ‘firm hands, loose wrists.’ 

“Your
hands are gripping the club, and you’re swinging between 70 and 90mph. You
don’t want the club to be moving around. At the same time, you don’t want
unwanted tension that goes into your arms and stops your arms flowing
properly.”

It’s also important to keep the pressure consistent. “If you swing the golf club thinking five or six, you’re not looking for it to increase or decrease. A decrease is just as bad as increasing.”

 

If you own a club or set of clubs, you may want to protect them against theft, damage and loss by getting specialist golf insurance.

At Golf Care, we arrange cover to
protect your clubs, bags and accessories against loss, theft, and damage. This
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Every golfer strives to improve, from the complete novice to the World’s Number One. 

For the average amateur, one of the
most common desires is to know how to hit a golf ball further.

Most of us recognise we’re never
going to be able to send it “out there” like Rory McIlroy, but it would be nice
to be able to consistently reach the fairway off the back tees and,
occasionally, feel a par-5 may be “on in two.”

We’re all getting older, and it would
be easy to view diminishing length on the golf course as a fait accompli. But
it needn’t necessarily be so. All golfers could try some simple ways to find a
few extra yards. 

Here are seven tips to help you learn how to get more distance in golf.

 

1. Slow it down

This might sound counterintuitive, as
it’s undeniable that faster clubhead speeds at impact result in greater
distance. But slowing things down is vital when learning how to get more
distance in golf. 

A wild flailing swing does not best
achieve those fast clubhead speeds. Good timing and acceleration through the
ball will make the golf ball travel further.

It doesn’t matter how fast the
clubhead moves away from the ball or how fast the transition is from backswing
to downswing. Speed during this part of the swing is wasted energy and
generally has a destabilising effect. 

Try to take the club away slowly and
steadily, complete the backswing, and then transition to your downswing as
slowly as possible. 

It would help if you naturally
accelerated through the downswing, and the club head will move at maximum
velocity upon reaching the ball.

Look at some of the longest hitters
in professional golf; their swings seem effortless. 

Examine more closely, though, and you’ll see they tend to be relaxed and smooth when it doesn’t matter (on the way back and through the transition). But it’s then that the speed kicks in, where it does matter—as the club nears, and reaches, the ball.

Related: How to grip a golf club in 5 easy steps 

 

2. Strengthen your core

Stability through the swing will
enable you to accelerate through the ball and maximise clubhead speed. This
stability comes from the core—particularly your lower torso.

If you have strong abdominal and
oblique muscles, you can generate more power without losing control, therefore
achieving more distance. 

Strengthening the core doesn’t have
to mean hours spent in the gym. It’s easy to do it at home with simple
exercises like the “high plank.” Hold yourself in a high press-up position for
as long as possible and feel your stomach muscles working. 

You might not be able to do this for
very long at first, but keep at it, and you’ll soon see improvements.
Alternatively, try the “low plank.” It’s the same but with your elbows on the
ground rather than your hands.

Yoga and Pilates are great for
strengthening the core, and many sports centres and health clubs run classes
targeting golfers. 

Apart from learning how to hit the
golf ball further, you’ll also feel generally stronger and less prone to
injuries, particularly to your lower back.

Related: Best golf exercises to improve your game 

 

3. Go for a fitting

This could be the simplest way to
learn how to hit the golf ball further, especially off the tee. If you have the
wrong set-up in your driver, it could be that you’re not getting the most out
of your shots.

If the shaft isn’t right for your
swing, you may produce too much spin, sending the ball up rather than out.
Changing the loft on your driver could optimise ball flight, giving a better
trajectory and greater carry. 

Changing to a driver with a draw bias may reduce distance-killing cut spin, while looking at a club with a different weight distribution could improve ball flight and increase distance.

Go to a local pro with the Mizuno Shaft
Optimizer and Swing DNA system or similar ball-flight tracking technology, and see how your
current kit performs. 

Then check if the figures can be
improved by new or different equipment. It might cost a few quid, but it’s
perhaps worth it for an extra 10 yards off the tee.

Related: How to play golf on a budget 

 

4. Check your ball

As with clubs, getting the right ball
for your game can increase your distance. 

Many amateurs opt for a “premium”
ball, believing that if it’s the choice of the pros, it must be the best you
can buy. 

But many premium balls are designed
for players who produce fast clubhead speeds at impact, greater than the speeds
generated by the average amateur. 

Below a certain clubhead speed, these
premium balls will not be compressed sufficiently at impact to deliver maximum
spring and distance. That’s why it’s best to shop around when learning how to
hit a golf ball further. 

Most major ball manufacturers produce
a range of balls to suit players with different clubhead speeds.

Get your local pro to measure your
clubhead speed and then consider the available options. It won’t necessarily be
the most expensive ball that helps you to hit the golf ball further.

Related: The 12 best golf balls on the market  

 

5. Try to hit a draw

The draw is the Holy Grail for most
club players, but producing one is a challenging prospect for the
majority. 

But in terms of learning how to get
more distance in golf, it’s well worth trying—in flat conditions with the same
impact speeds, a ball hit with draw spin will travel further than one hit with
cut spin.

When you open the face and cut across
the ball, you increase the club’s loft and impart more backspin and sidespin. 

This causes the ball to climb—much of
the energy you have transplanted goes into upward rather than outward movement.

The more you can reduce the effects
of the distance-sapping cut, the further your golf ball will fly. You don’t
have to hit the ball from right to left to get results. Just try to hit a draw,
lessen the cut, and you’ll see improvements.

So, ensure your grip isn’t too weak. The v created by the thumb and forefingers on both hands should point to your right shoulder. Check your set-up is square to the ball—feet, hips, knees, and shoulders should all be pointed straight at the target. 

If you have a cut, the temptation is
to aim left to compensate, but by opening up to the target, you exacerbate the
problem, increasing the out-to-in, cut-inducing swing.

Then, as you swing, try to envisage a
draw and what the clubface must do to create one—effectively wrapping itself
around the right side of the ball. Imagine a topspin forehand in tennis.

Related: How to hit a draw in 5 quick steps 

 

6. Improve centre contact 

One of the best ways to learn how to
hit a golf ball further is to work on your centre contact.

This means improving your consistency
with hitting the ball with the centre of the club face. 

Many amateur golfers either hit the
ball with different areas of the club face or choose the wrong spot initially.
Even being one inch away from the centre can significantly reduce your
distance. 

By improving this, you will not only
learn how to get more distance in golf, but your shot consistency will be better overall. 

Check out this video from Canadian
Fade Golf for a useful drill: 

Related: How to improve your contact with every club

 

7. Practise shifting your weight 

Developing your swing technique by
learning how to shift your weight properly is a great way to achieve more
distance in golf. 

You should keep your hips loose and
use them to drive the club through your swing. This creates momentum during
your downswing and increases club head speed for a more powerful impact. 

During your backswing, you should shift up to around 60% of your weight onto your back leg as you reach the movement’s peak. 

By the time you reach the bottom of
your downswing, your front leg should be supporting around 90% of your body
weight. 

This takes practice, but it’s one of the most valuable ways of learning how to hit a golf ball further. 

 

Once you’ve got a solid technique,
you may want to protect yourself before heading out on the green. 

At Golf Care, we arrange specialist golf insurance that includes Public Liability
up to £10m, equipment cover up to the value of £7,500, and much more. We also
provide three free rounds of golf with each policy!

Click the banner below to learn more about our cover and get an instant online quote. 

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