Back To Basics Golf Insturction

BACK TO

BASICS

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Your most important lesson...

The ultimate step-by-step guide to building a sound, repeatable golf game Many golfers say that the most important lesson they ever take is the first one. The lesson where a PGA professional shows you how to hold the club, stand to the ball, make a swing and with a bit of luck hit the shot.

These basics of golf are so important, but how often after that initial lesson do we ever think about them? In most cases the answer is never!

Whether you are an absolute beginner, part-time player or avid fanatic a sound knowledge of the basics of golf is crucial if you want to improve. That’s why

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we’ve devised this ‘Back to Basics’ booklet.

It covers all the essential elements of the game from tee to green that you need to understand if you are to play to your potential and enjoy your golf more.

The good news is that the basic techniques for all the different shots in golf don’t vary that much – yes there are crucial differences, but in most cases the grip, stance and posture are the same or very similar.

Remember, the basics really don’t just apply to beginners.

Even the greatest players in the world are constantly checking

those fundamentals to make sure their swing is sound.

Now’s the perfect time to refine your swing and sharpen up your short-game skills before the new golfing season starts. So what are you waiting for? Take this guide to the driving range or out on the course to help you with your practice and get ‘Back to Basics’. Good luck!

Carly Cummins Instruction Editor

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BACK TO BASICS

Contents

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4 GRIP Get this key part of the game right and the rest is easy (ish)!

10 STANCE Stand and deliver! Make sure you set up correctly.

12 BALL POSITION Where to place the ball in your stance for each club.

14 POSTURE Get into an athletic address position, ready to hit the shot.

16 AIM Zoom in on your target to hit more accurate shots.

18 SWING The fundamental moves from the takeaway to the finish.

22 IMPACT Understanding where the club should be at the moment it strikes the ball.

24 ROUGH RECOVERY How to get out of those tricky lies in deep grass.

26 PUTTING GRIP A step-by-step guide to forming the putter grip correctly.

28 HOLE MORE PUTTS The correct stance and the correct stroke to roll the ball into the hole.

32 GREEN READING Make frustrating three-putts a thing of the past by learning to read greens better.

34 BEAT BUNKERS The basics you need to splash the ball out of a greenside trap.

38 CHIP IT CLOSER How to chip the ball onto the green with consistency.

42 FAIRWAY BUNKER The keys to playing those tricky long bunker shots from the fairway.

46 PITCH PRACTICE See the killer drills that will help you knock approach shots near the pin.

Meet The Pros

Lee Scarbrow The head pro at John O’Gaunt golf club is a specialist in video swing analysis. He talks you through all those long game fundamentals.

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Adrian Fryer A top coach based at the Drivetime Golf Centre in Warrington.

Adrian uses his knowledge to explain the skills needed for all greenside shots.

Shot on location At Cornelia Golf Club, a Nick Faldo championshipdesigned course in Belek, Turkey. 0099 242 710 16 00, www. corneliaresort.com

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The Grip OVerLAp A great golf swing starts with the perfect grip.

Learn how to hold the club correctly by following these seven easy steps...

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BACK TO BASICS grIp

1. START SQUARE

5. ADD RIGHT

Start by holding the club so that the face is perfectly square.

The lines on the clubface should be pointing straight up.

Introduce the right hand by placing the lifeline of the right hand against the back of the left thumb with your palm facing the target.

2. THUMB IN

6. OVERLAP

Next press your left thumb in towards your left index finger so that they are touching. There should be no gap between them.

Curl the fingers of your right hand around the grip, resting your first knuckle of the little finger next to the second knuckle of your index finger of the left hand.

3. CHECK ‘V’ Place your left hand, left palm down, on top of the grip so that the V formed between the thumb and the hand is pointing at your right armpit.

4. SMALL GAP Curl your fingers around leaving a two finger-sized gap above your little finger of the left hand on the grip.

Any more and you’re gripping too low, any less too high.

7. UNITE THE HANDS The right thumb and index finger should press through the club at one another.

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PRESSURE CHECKPOINTS

You should be able to hold the club in your index finger and thumb of the right hand.

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BACK TO BASICS grIp

T he left hand should be able to hold the club between your index f inger and the base of your palm.

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ALTERNATIVE GRIPS TO TRY

Baseball Grip This grip will help slicers (golfers whoe struggle to releasit the clubhead) asht allows the rig hand to overtaky.e the left more easil

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BACK TO BASICS grIp

Interlocking Grip This grip positionserthone left hand weak eful the club, which iso ushook for golfers wh help the ball as it will nds them keep the ha quieter through theae. hitting ar

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ATHLETIC STANCE You need to build the perfect stance to ensure you are set up correctly for each different club at address

Great stability With the ideal stance you should feel bala poised and rencaeddy, to fire.

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BACK TO BASICS STAnCe

1. SQUARE ON It is really important that you start your set-up by standing perpendicular to your target line. That means standing with your feet absolutely together positioned directly opposite the golf ball.

4. MOVE RIGHT Move your right foot away from the target in accordance to which club you are playing. For a short iron move it to just inside shoulder width, a mid-iron shoulder width and your woods just past shoulder width.

2. STEP LEFT Move your left foot outwards towards the target depending on what club you are using - one golf ball width for your driver, two for a fairway wood and three golf ball widths for an iron.

3. LEFT TOE OUT Point your left foot out slightly towards the target. This allows the body to clear through the left leg while maintaining balance.

If the left leg is too square it blocks your turn through the ball and restricts your balance.

5. PRESS THE KNEES OUTWARDS Press your knees outwards slightly to help give you powerful thighs and more stability during the movement in your swing.

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BALL POSITION

Start feet together then move them...

TRADING PLACES Wedges: Move the left foot four ball widths to the left and the right foot away to one ball’s width inside shoulder wide.

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BACK TO BASICS GRIP

9-6 iron: Move the left foot three ball widths to the left and the right foot to just inside shoulder wide.

5-3 iron: Move the left two ball

widths to the left and the right to shoulder width. Woods: Move your left foot a ball’s width to the left and the right just past shoulder width.

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perfect posture

Learn how to get into an athletic address position to hit the ball powerfully and consistently

e h t r o f L oorekct body . cor les at address ang

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BACK TO BASICS pOSTure

1. FLEX THE KNEES Start by flexing your knees to engage your thigh muscles.

This will stabilise your lower body.

2. HOLD THE CLUB OUT Next, grip the golf club and hold it out at waist height so that the shaft of the club is parallel to the ground.

4. WEigHT DiSTRiBUTiON CHECK Your weight should be central on the balls of your feet. Rock forward and backwards in your shoes until you find the centred position.

3. LOWER THE CLUB Lower the club to the ball maintaining the height in your shoulders to keep length in the spine for leverage and rotation.

5. CHECK YOUR BaLaNCE An easy way to check that you are balanced is to drop the club from your right shoulder through your knee without toppling over.

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accurate aiming Be precise with your alignment and you’ll stand a greater chance of hitting the target

hind ick e b d n a t S ball and p . theoint to aim at ap Common faults ● If you address the ball

so that your body points beyond 90 degrees you’ll be aiming to the right. ● If you address the ball so that your body points under 90 degrees you’ll be aiming to the left.

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BACK TO BASICS AIm

1. DRAW A LINE BACK TO THE BALL Stand behind the ball directly in line with your target and point your club at the target, using it to draw a line back to the ball.

3. SET UP SQUARE TO THE TARGET Keeping the mark in your vision walk around beside the ball and with your feet together try to stand 90 degrees to your target line.

2. PICK A MARKER TO AIM AT Find a mark on the ground no more than two feet in front of the ball on your target line as a guide to aim the clubface at the target.

4. CHECK FOR PARALLEL LINES Build your stance around your square set-up by moving your feet apart. You should now be parallel to your target.

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g n i w s d n u o Withhasnics you will mecike the ball . str e consistently mor

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BACK TO BASICS SwIng

MoT YOUR GOLF swinG

Use these fundamentals to get the club following the correct path around your body and you’ll hit longer, straighter shots

TURn OveR FOR 8 sTeps TO a beTTeR swinG...

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1. SMOOTH TAKEAWAY Start the swing by rotating the clubface away from the ball while moving the left shoulder across to create width as well as rotation.

3. LEFT HAND HINGES Hinge the left hand to set the club on plane.

The butt of the club will be pointing at the ball if your club is set on the correct plane.

2. HALFWAY BACK CHECK The left hand, left shoulder and clubhead should form a perfect line parallel to your target line with the clubface vertical.

4. LEFT SHOULDER PAST CHIN To complete the backswing make sure your left shoulder has travelled past your chin and not under, as this can cause a tilt.

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BACK TO BASICS SwIng

5. HANDS START DOWNSWING Let your hands travel down towards your hips and not out towards the ball. This will help you attack the ball from an inside path.

7. EXTEND THROUGH Extend the right arm through to the target to mirror the halfway back checkpoint of your backswing.

6. TIME KNEE AND CLUB INTO IMPACT The right knee and the clubhead should arrive together at the ball with the right knee working towards the left knee and the target.

8. KNEES TOGETHER Finish with your knees tight together and your weight balanced on your left foot, holding a picture perfect pose.

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ace impact Crunch the ball off the turf with irons and launch it up with woods

L et thehehiaprsmcslear to give trelease. room to

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BACK TO BASICS ImpACT

1

Impact is the moment of truth in golf and the most important point in the swing. While impact is not static it’s very important that we know where the club should be at the precise moment it strikes the ball.

Where the clubface is arriving from and pointing at will determine where the ball flies.

Keys to the coRRect impact 1. The clubface is square to your target line.

2. The shaft of the club is leaning forwards.

3. The hips have cleared so that your belt buckle is facing the target.

4. The right knee is level with the clubhead.

5. The back of your left hand is slightly bowed and travelling towards the target.

2

3

RemembeR Impact is not a position you stop in but merely a point that the club is travelling through.

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rough recovery The key to getting your round back on track after you’ve found a bad lie is to get your ball back in play with minimum pain!

Drive it out By usin with plentygoaf locluftb you can power the ball back into play.

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BACK TO BASICS rOugh

1. ASSESS LIE Get down low to the grass and have a close look at how the ball is sitting in order to choose the club you need to get the ball back into play. Always err on the side of caution and take more loft rather than less. If in doubt just get it out.

4. STEEP SWING The swing for this shot needs to be short, steep and exaggerated. Pick the club up vertically towards the sky by using plenty of wrist hinge quickly. This will avoid it getting snagged up in the grass in the takeaway.

2. BALL BACK Everything needs to be extreme in your set-up. Position the ball well back in your stance and lean the shaft forwards so that the hands sit ahead of the ball.

Then widen your stance to anchor your body lower to the ground.

3. GRIP DOWN You often need more force to get out of the rough so grip down at the bottom of the handle and grip a little tighter. A firmer pressure will help you keep control of the club when it enters the long grass and prevent the club from turning over.

5. POWER INTO IMPACT Drive down powerfully into the back of the ball on the same steep angle of attack. Keep your hands ahead of the club to help drill the ball out of the buried lie.

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putting the grip Follow these pointers to hold the putter in a manner so that the hands stay quiet in the putting action

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BACK TO BASICS puTTIng grIp

1. IN LIFELINE

5. OVERLAP

Start by positioning the putter handle in the lifeline that runs below the thumb pad of the left hand.

2. FACE TARGET The back of the left hand should face the target. Extend the index finger straight down the handle.

Place the index finger of the left hand over the middle finger of the right hand to form the traditional reverse overlap putting grip.

AlternAtive putting grips

1

2

3. ADD RIGHT Introduce the righthand side on to the putter handle so that it faces the target.

ClAw grip

4. WRAPFINGERS Wrap the fingers of the right hand around the handle and point the thumb straight down the top end of the grip.

1. This grip is good for golfers who have the yips as it reduces independent hand motion which interferes with the stroke and helps get the hands working together with the shoulders as one unit. reverse hAnds 2. Positioning the left hand low and the right hand high offers more stability to the putting stroke and stops the left wrist collapsing, keeping the club square to the target.

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putting stance Although body alignment doesn’t totally influence the stroke it’s easier to visualise the putt if you set up square

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BACK TO BASICS puTTIng STAnCe

Set-Up keYS 1. Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, parallel to your aim line.

2. Position the ball inside your left heel so the putt is struck with topspin.

3. Bend forward from the hips, elbows tucked in.

4. Position your eyes over the target line.

1

2

3

checkpoint To help you read putts correctly your eyes need to be directly over the target line. Check this by suspending the grip end of the putter beneath your eyes. The ball should be positioned below where the putterhead hangs in line with the shaft.

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BACK TO BASICS puTTIng STrOKe

5

STROKE KEYS 1. The length of the putting stroke should vary depending on the length of the putt.

2. Allow the putterhead to swing straight back and through for short putts and on a slight arc for longer putts.

3. Maintain a smooth tempo and rhythm to your stroke, avoiding any noticeable ‘hit’.

4. Keep the lower body static so that the stroke happens from the arms and shoulders only.

5. Keep the back of the left hand and putter face tracking through square to the target for as long as possible.

2

3

L eft Keep the hleanaddss passive by getting the back of the wrist to point to the hole. back to basics Today’s Golfer 31

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GREEN READING Learn to prowl around the hole to gauge the slopes and judge the break on your putts accurately

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BACK TO BASICS green reAdIng

1. APPROACH ANALYSIS Analysis of the slopes should start as you walk up onto the green. Observe the surrounding terrain and look for the natural fall and slopes.

3. LOOK SIDE-ON Next, walk down the length of your putt to the hole observing the size of the slopes from the side-on view. Try to identify any break points.

2. SQUAT DOWN Squat down low behind the ball to study the contours of the green and visualise the ball’s journey to the hole.

4. HOLE ANALYSIS Pay particular attention to the slopes around the hole. This is where the ball is slowing and gravity will affect it the most.

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bunker basics Great bunker play is all about taking the

right amount of sand with the right amount of force. Follow these steps to get it right...

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BACK TO BASICS BunKer

1. OpEN StaNcE Open your stance so that you’re aiming 10 feet left of the pin, flex your knees and position your feet just wider than your shoulders.

d n a s e h t e Stroirke the ball for bef enside shots. gre 2. SHUFFLE FEEt IN Shuffle your feet into the sand to ensure that the bottom of the swing arc happens lower than the ball, helping you strike the sand first.

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3. open clUBface Open the clubface to point around two clublengths right of the pin. This will add loft to the club, making it easier to splash the ball out.

5. UprigHt swing Swing along the line of your feet, making an early wrist hinge to pick the club more upright towards the sky.

4. Ball forward Position the ball just forward of the centre of your stance, opposite your left pec, and keep the hands in line with the clubhead, not ahead.

6. Hit sand first Strike the sand before the ball. Try to displace a footprint’s worth of sand (about two inches either side of the ball) onto the green.

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BACK TO BASICS BunKer

7. Sky high Keep your swing tempo smooth and make sure you finish with the club at shoulder height in order to maintain momentum to carry the ball out.

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consistent chipping The secret to knocking your chip

shots close every time is to use a simple yet repeatable technique

our y p e e K badge glove ng the faci et for targ -free wrist

chipping.

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BACK TO BASICS ChIppIng

1. NARROW STANCE Use a narrow stance, with your feet about six inches apart, and your weight favouring the front foot 60-40%.

3. CHEST SITS AHEAD Make sure your sternum (the centre of your chest) is positioned slightly ahead of the golf ball at address.

2. OPEN YOUR FEET Aim your feet, knees and arms slightly left of the target but keep your shoulders square to the target.

4. GRIP DOWN, HANDS AHEAD Grip down to bring your body closer to the ball and lean the clubshaft forwards towards the left leg to position your hands ahead of the ball.

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CONSISTENT CHIPPING

1. The stroke is a pendulum action where the upper e body and club ar moved by a mini turn back and through

2. T he hands the clubhead should lead assisted by a into impact, turning motion subtle hips and knee from the s.

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BACK TO BASICS ChIppIng

the p e e K 3. swing and backg similar in win throutghhswith the rlweaftrd leng remaining fo act. wrist through imp

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FAIRWAY BUNKER The secret to playing from fairway traps is not to get over ambitious with your club selection. Take sufficient loft to fly the ball over the lip and out

C lean conhneecbtaillonf irst Strike tntacting the before co nsure maximum sand to e ance. carry dist

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BACK TO BASICS fAIrwAy BunKer

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1. PLANT YOUR FEET You don’t need to dig your feet into the sand for this shot, simply place them on top with a slight shuffle to stop them slipping.

3. GRIP DOWN Choke down the grip to shorten the shaft, take a shorter swing and reduce the amount of sand you take, making this shot easier.

2. FIRMER FOREARMS Add tension to your forearms by tightening your grip. This will help reduce your wrist hinge and keep your backswing compact.

4. CONTROLLED SWING Make your swing no longer than threequarters the length of a full swing. With firmer forearms this should happen naturally.

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BACK TO BASICS fAIrwAy BunKer

5. PICK THE BALL Use a sweeping motion to pick the ball off the top of the surface of the sand, only taking a minimal amount of sand after striking the ball.

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PERFECT PITCHING Different distances can be achieved by regulating the amount of body turn, arm swing and making subtle adjustments to the set-up

of h t g n e l Vary tshwieng to alteer your distance th the travels. ball

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BACK TO BASICS pITChIng

1. SEt up For FEEL Narrow your stance so that your feet aren’t quite shoulder-width apart and spread your weight 50/50 between the feet.

3. cENtrAL BALL poSItIoN Position the ball in the centre of your stance, directly below your sternum (the centre of your chest).

2. opEN your StANcE Aim your feet slightly to the left of the target (open) but keep your shoulders square to the target.

4. HANDS AHEAD Lean the shaft of the club a touch towards the target so the hands sit slightly ahead of the ball to encourage a downward strike to get spin.

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5. VARY BACKSWING LENGTH Swing the arms back, varying the length of your backswing depending on the distance of the shot - hip, chest or shoulder height.

7. MIRROR IMAGE The throughswing should be a mirror image of the backswing. Keep the length the same to ensure perfect distance control.

6. L-SHAPE HINGE Allow your wrists to hinge so that they form an L-shape with the arms to set the club on the correct plane in the backswing.

8. CONSTANT TEMPO Keep a smooth, even tempo throughout the swing, focusing on the body turn and arm swing working together as one unit.

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BACK TO BASICS pITChIng

9. HIT DOWN Strike down into impact to ensure a crisp connection.

Hit down into base of the b the make your pit all to shots spin and ch stop.

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BACK TO BASICS CHECKLIST

BACK TO BASICS: YOUR CHECKLIST

The 10 most important things to remember from this booklet - tick each one as you master it...

2. BALL POSITION

1. THE GRIP

■

With the club in your lifelines, the Vs formed between your thumb and hand point at the opposite armpit.

■

3. BALANCE

■

Ensure your weight is evenly spread between both feet and centred on the balls of your feet at address.

Move the ball position depending on the club nearer the left foot for longer clubs and more central for short ones.

4. AIM

■

Pick a point to aim at ahead of the ball in line with your target. Build your stance parallel (at 90˚) to this target line.

5. PUTTING GRIP

6. PUTTING STANCE

■

The back of your left hand should face the target and you should be able to make a wrist-free stroke.

■

The top of your back is flat so that your eye line is directly over the ball to help you picture the putt accurately.

■

You are set up open to your target and are aiming to strike a point in the sand two inches behind the ball.

■

You alter the length of your backswing using an L-shape swing to vary how far the ball travels.

■

A narrow stance with your weight favouring the forward foot and the centre of your chest slightly ahead of ball.

8. PITCHING

7. BUNKER

10. CHIPPING

9. FAIRWAY SAND

■

Your feet are planted on top of the sand and with firm forearms you swing shorter and pick the ball off the surface.

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