Perfect swing tips

Have you ever wondered how to do the perfect golf swing? Our expert explains how you can make some slight adjustments to improve your round one shot at a time.

There’s no such thing as a perfect swing. All golf swings are different, and all golfers have their own way of hitting the ball as far and accurately as possible. Watch professional golfers and you'll see they rarely have the same swing or technique, and often have individual methods that help them maintain their rhythm.

The golf swing has 6 stages, and all play their part in creating that perfect swing:

1. The setup
   
   This is where we should consider the ball position and our posture. Find the right combination for you, but remember the key tips are to keep your back straight and bend the knees slightly.

2. The takeaway
   
   Your first movement of the club away from the ball, this really sets the pace of your swing. This should be controlled, and you should bring the club parallel to the floor while keeping your elbows together and wrists firm.

3. The backswing
   
   Keeping your left arm straight (or right arm if you are lefthanded), this is where you begin to bring the club towards the top of your swing. Try to keep your head down and rotate at the hips.

4. The downswing
   
   Bringing the club back down, you can pick up the pace slightly, but it starts with rotating your hips back around. As you’re bringing the club down you should start to shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot (left to right if you are right handed and vice versa).

5. The impact
   
   At this point you’ll make contact with the ball, trying to strike it as cleanly as possible. Your hands should be ahead of the ball with your hips now rotated so that you are back to where you started. The key here is to keep focused on the ball and not raise your head. If you’re using an iron, you’ll want the impact to happen as the club is on the way down towards the lowest point of the swing. With a driver or a wood, you’ll want the impact to be as you come out of the lowest point on an upward motion.

6. The follow through
   
   You might think that once the ball is struck the swing is complete. However, your follow through has a meaningful part to play in the direction of travel that the ball will take. It’s important to continue to rotate your hips through the impact until they are facing the direction that you want the ball to go.

How to improve your swing

To improve your swing, break it down and focus on one stage at a time. Identify a target, make a change and hit at least 5 shots with each change to see what happens. That way you’ll know if the change is getting you closer to where you’d like to be. Even small adjustments can help: you might be too tense when hitting the ball, standing at the wrong kind of angle or holding the club too tightly.

One final tip is to remember that in golf there are no quick fixes - you’ll need to keep practising and tracking your progress to notice improvements. Our Mytime Active golf professionals can give you some personal tips that support with developing your swing.

If you’re new to golf and are keen to give it a try, Mytime Active's Get Active in Golf scheme is the perfect course to get you up and running with a new sport. The course consists of 6 lessons in 6 weeks, all for just £30..