The Secret of the Perfect Golf Swing


    It's the big question. You've heard it asked. You've asked it yourself. You've gotten many different answers from as many different people. It's the #1 key to the entire game of golf. It's even asked in different ways:

  • "How to swing a golf club?"
  • "How to improve my swing?"
  • "What is the best golf swing?"
  • "Who has the best golf swing?"

    Unfortunately, nobody seems to be able to give the end-all-be-all answer. None of the professionals swing the same, so how can any of them know the perfect golf swing? Books and magazines have whole pages attempting to lay out how to line up your shot, how to turn, and how to follow through, but this advice lands you in the water as often as not. How can you improve your game and lower your score if nobody can tell you the best way to swing a golf club?

The Big Secret

    I've played golf for many years. My grandfather taught me in his garage at just 5 years old. Throughout the years I've taken lessons, been part of teams, and played recreationally. Just like many of you, I wish I could play more. Just like many of you, I haven't broken 100 (which I guess makes me "average" according to Harvey Penick). However, I have studied and trained my swing to the point where I can put the ball where I want to most of the time. And through this practice, through my experience, and through my reading, I've come to one conclusion. 

There is no Perfect Golf Swing.

    Nobody can tell you how to swing the golf club just right, because nobody else is you. Nobody else moves exactly like you do, feels exactly like you do, or thinks exactly like you do. Nobody can truly teach a specific swing to you, because what works best for them probably won't work best for you. The variety of advice itself proves this, because who would give advice that didn't help them first? So how on earth can you learn to improve your game?

    Well, it turns out that golf swings can be taught. And it turns out that I lied to you earlier. The golf swing is not the #1 key to the entire game of golf. Hitting the ball where you want it to go is the #1 key to the entire game of golf. The swing is not as important as getting the ball going in the right direction at the right speed. Your swing is simply the method you use to get the ball moving.

    This is how the best golf coaches teach their students. Instead of trying to force you into a movement pattern that doesn't work for you, they analyze how you do move and offer feedback and improvements based on principles of moving the ball. In fact, the ball only touches the club for a fraction of a second. This means that two different swings will have the same result, just so long as the clubhead meets the ball at the same speed and angle in both cases.

    So instead of focusing on finding the perfect golf swing to copy, focus more on studying the principles of how a golf ball responds to a golf club, then analyzing your swing to make the clubhead impact the ball more efficiently.

How to make your Golf Swing Perfect

    This is what I want to help you with. Using my experience, my own swing analysis, and my own research, I intend to help jumpstart your improvement by diving into each aspect of putting the ball where you want. Each of these topics is a large one and will have its own post in the upcoming days. I'll dive deep into each area and lay out the basic principles to keep in mind. This way, not only will you have everything you need to practice your "base swing", but you will be able to adapt it successfully in all manner of situations. Here are some of the main topics that I will cover:

Hitting the Ball Just Right

    This is the #1 key to the entire game of golf (telling the truth this time). The point of golf is to get a ball into a small hole in the ground from hundreds of yards away. This task takes a significant amount of accuracy and precision, and getting the ball moving in the right direction at the right speed is the basis of nearly every aspect of golf advice and merchandise.

    The importance of hitting the ball just right also makes it one of the largest areas of study. There are many different situations that occur in even a single round of golf, and having the base knowledge to approach each one confidently takes a lot of research. Some topics include:

    

Assessing your Terrain

    The golf course has many different types of terrain, all serving to make the game more interesting. Ideally, every shot would land in the middle of the fairway, but even the best golfers have bad days. It is important to know how to handle any situation in which you might find yourself.

Choosing the right Golf Club

    There are many different golf clubs under several different classifications. There are even hybrid golf clubs that can serve as multiple different classes of club. Choosing the best club depends on your terrain, the distance to your target, and what you want to do with the ball.

The Stance and Grip

    When preparing to hit the ball, it is exceedingly important to make sure you are standing and gripping the club correctly. The same principles of the swing apply here: there is no single "perfect" stance or grip, but there are absolutely right and wrong ways to do each.

The Swing

    As I just stated, while there is no single "perfect" swing, there are right and wrong ways to swing. Ultimately, how you swing depends on all the previous topics. You need to consider the basic principles of how the ball starts moving when struck, where the ball is sitting when you hit it, and how far or what direction you want it to travel. Once you have that in mind, your stance and grip take care of most of the swing for you. There are some principles that apply only to the swing, but they tend to form a base that needs to be adapted to each and every one of your shots on the course.

Summing Up

    Every golfer has at some point wanted to know the best way to swing. Many people try to give a specific answer to that question. Unfortunately, the answer has nothing to do with specific sequence of moves. Instead, the perfect swing comes from understanding a few basic principles, how to adapt them in different circumstances, and how to adjust your own movement to best implement them in your own game. 

    There is no single "perfect" swing, but you can make your swing perfect through time, study, and practice.



Location: PRH4+R4 Chesapeake, VA, USA

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