A Great Golf Swing - Simple But Not Easy

Many amateur golfers, even those with golf handicaps that are fairly low, don't understand all the basics of a great golf swing. You must be able to break down the simple golf swing into its elemental parts before you can perfect your swing. Swinging the golf club perfectly is a dream every golfer has. Let's examine a few elements of a great swing.

First there is balance. Balance is critical to a great swing. It should be one of the first things you learn when you take beginner golf instruction. Balance throughout the swing starts with a good set-up that has the following elements:

- Head is behind the ball.
- Back shoulder is slightly lower than the front.
- Both shoulders are aligned parallel, left of target.
- Hands are positioned just inside the front leg.
- Knees are slightly flexed.
- Feet are at slightly wider than shoulder width.

That is a lot to think about. Expect to practice this often until you develop the "muscle memory" to have a good, natural golf swing.

A solid takeaway is another key to a great swing. Your arms should remain ahead of your chest. Your knees should be slightly flexed. Your front knee points towards the ball. Your hands and shoulders must be in sync. A good takeaway produces the next element of a great golf swing, a tight coil at the top of the swing.

Skilled golfers know that true power comes from the upper body coiling over the resistance of the lower body, and that depends on good footwork.

Professionals keep their left heel planted on the backswing and push off of their right heel on the downswing. (Reverse this if you are left-handed.) Many golfers lift their left heel on the backswing and keep the right heel planted at impact. This is the opposite of what you should be doing. Learn the proper footwork and you'll be hitting longer, more accurate shots.

The last element of a great and easy golf swing we'll cover is a solid impact. For a solid impact, your back shoulder should be slightly lower than the front. Your front shoulder, arm, and hip should create a straight line. Your hands in the same position they were at address. Your front wrist is flat and both hands are leading the club head into the ball. You've transferred weight from the right to the left foot.

To sum up a great golf swing, it's a turn backward then forward. The front knee acts as the hub of both the turns.

A great golf swing is simple but not easy. To develop a natural, easy golf swing takes understanding the elements of the swing and a lot of "perfect practice".