Starting Out

SOME POINTS TO GET YOU SWINGING

It is never too late to pick up a club for the first time — here are some tips to get started

By Scott Edwards

Almost All of the skills and movements required to make a golf swing can be related to things we do in our everyday life. Developing your golf swing is a journey of discovery, the same process that we used to learn how to crawl, jump, throw and kick. Figuring out what is comfortable and what works for you as an individual is key for enjoying the game, there is no right and wrong. For example, many golfers that play right-handed are left-handed in all other aspects of life, and vice-versa. So how do we start? To begin with, we want to be comfortable holding the club, making sure it feels secure in our hands. We will start with a right-handed club. Hold the club in your right hand (right), in a way that

feels secure and allows you to move the club both up and down and left and right. This can be done with the club head resting on the floor, or with the club out in front of us.

Stand to the side of a short tee (above), with your left shoulder on the side of the target. Rest the club head on the ground behind the tee and try a few small one-handed swings, like throwing a ball under arm, moving the club from right to left (opposite page).

Now try with the left hand, again swinging the club from right to left. Changing to a left-handed club, face the opposite direction so our right shoulder is now on the side of the target, holding the club in the left hand (below) and now swinging from left to right (below right).

right-handed

left-handed

Change to the right hand and repeat, swinging again from left to right. Which way of swinging feels the most natural and comfortable?

Try again with both hands on the club (above), initially place the hand closest to the target (left hand for right-toleft swings, right hand for left-to-right swings) towards the end of the grip. Place your other hand below, with the palm completely covering the thumb and leaving no gap between the fingers.

The above is just a suggestion, golfers hold the club in a variety of ways with some interlocking or overlapping their fingers, some holding the club very tightly or very loosely. There is not a ‘perfect’ way to hold the club. To begin with, try out a few different ways and see what feels secure and comfortable. Swing in each direction, think again, which way feels the most natural?

Once we have decided if swinging from left to right or right to left is easier, try making a small swing hitting the short tee. After successfully hitting the tee, place a ball on the tee and try to make the same swing (above). Keep your focus on hitting the tee and the angle on the face of the club will launch the ball into the air.

Our goal is to hit the ball as close as possible to the sweet spot, the centre of the club. Experiment with bigger and smaller swings, faster and slower tempos. How short can we hit the ball? Can we swing the club over our head on the swing back and the swing forward? The larger and faster we swing, the further the ball can travel but it is harder to make good contact.

If you’ve never hit a golf ball, go to your nearest driving range or practice facility and give the above thoughts a try. It always helps to get professional lessons — especially when starting out and academies like ours at Golf Saudi are happy to help.

scott edwards is a member of the PGA Professionals team at Golf Saudi-managed Riyadh Golf Club