You Are Only As Good As Your Personal Golf Swing

Having just watched the fantastic finale to the British open golf championship I was pondering the fact that the swings of Padraig Harrington and Greg Norman are so different and yet they both work very well.

The 2 swings suit the players very well but how do they end up using the same sort of clubs so differently? Your golf clubs must suit you and you have to use them in a way that gets the ball flying in the way you want.

To develop your personal golf swing you need to forget much of the conventional wisdom that the professionals talk about. They have access to professional golf coaches and play everyday. The hints and tips they are looking at are about changing tiny elements of an already successful golf swing.

You need to consider the big picture with your personal golf swing and not tinker with little details. Once you have achieved a regular movement that you can repeat then you can start looking at the details. So do you know what your swing is like?

Have a look at your swing

Most golf schools and coaches video your swing to show you what you are doing. You can also analyse your swing and look for ways to improve it. When I saw what I was doing I was very surprised at what I was doing. I thought I was the new Tiger Woods but I was more like Happy Gilmour on a bad day

For the amateur these are the main aspects you need to focus on to achieve a decent personal golf swing.

Make sure your swing is smooth. Jerky movements will throw you off balance and these types of swings are not repeatable. It is much better to slow down your swing speed and get a flowing movement rather than have a fast and lumpy one.

Slow it down and reduce it. Nearly all amateurs try to force the club through. They do a full back swing and follow through just like they have seen their favourite golfer do. But because you do not play regularly you cannot hit consistently with this type of forced swing. Reduce the backswing and the follow through and focus on good balance and ball contact.

Do not hold the club so hard. You do need to hold it firmly but not like you are in a tug of war match. Combine a lighter grip with the other 2 steps and you should have a more accurate and relaxed swing.

The point of these 3 tips is to try and achieve a clean and consistent contact between your golf club and the ball. When you are tense and nervous you will not hit the ball well.

Once you have hit a few thousand balls on the range you can then look at other problems with your swing such as body alignment and the type of clubs you use.

Did you know that nearly all golf clubs will work with your swing? Yes there are some that will make marginal improvements to distance and line but any modern set of clubs will hit the ball well for you and your personal golf swing.