Techniques: The Swing, The Stroke.

How to Improve Your Swing

The golf swing is simple but not easy.  Do not believe the storyline that the golf swing is the most complicated movement in all of sports. 

Whether you are learning golf or making a swing change, the following are the 3 required steps to improve your swing:

• Learn the model swing.
• Learn details of your swing.
• ‘Saddle time’ with feedback.

Model Swing.

Learn the details of the best model for you.  Acquire video and photographs.  David Leadbetter’s “The Golf Swing” does an excellent job of presenting details of the various pass-through positions.

A test of your understanding of the details is to do a super-slow motion swing in front of a mirror and without a ball.   Use the face-on view and then down-the-line view.  Compare your positions to that of the model swing.

Your Current Swing.

Where the club currently is in your swing is vital.  Use video (the best choice) or a mirror to see what your swing really looks like. 

Compare your biomechanics and positions with that of the model swing.  Identify the stages of your swing that are different from the model swing. 

Plan to correct the weaknesses in order of their appearance in your swing sequence.  Correcting early errors can eliminate later errors in your sequence.  For example, do not start with changing a follow through that is too steep when the first part of your take away is a flash to the inside of the target line.

‘Saddle Time’ with Feedback.

Practice makes perfect.  If your swing is weak, you are making the weaknesses permanent.  Hard work alone will not cut it.  It has to be smart-hard work.

Your practice has to be structured, purposeful, and mindful in order to improve.

Until you body pivot is consistently similar to the model, hitting balls and playing is a tease and a source of frustration.  Ask Barkley. 

With that in mind, a lot of fundamental work can be done in front of a mirror, without a ball.   It is a form of stretching, golf technique, breathing, and yoga.  Our YogGolf™ system was built on this concept. 

This is great for senior golfers and people without the hours to beat balls on the range. 

Feedback is vital to your successful practice.  Video, a pair of trained eyes, mirrors, and problem-specific training aids provide the required feedback.

Full Swing - 8 Major Components

When studying your swing and the model swing, consider the 8 essential components of the swing. 

Use the following checklist to evaluate your weakest ‘link’ and accordingly plan your improvement path:

1. GASP- grip, alignment, stance, posture.  These are static items that can be checked prior to swinging the club.
2. Perfect impact position.
3. Body pivot.  Until the body pivot is perfected, hitting balls is a waste.  An improper pivot requires independent, compensating movements of the hands and arms.  This leads to major inconsistencies and makes hitting/playing a tease and a waste.
4. Swing plane/path where the hands, club head, and club shaft remain very close to the optimal, model plane throughout the swing.
5. The plane is mostly driven by proper forearm rotation.
6. Maximum swing width.
7. Timing/sequencing.
8. No extra movements

See your instructor for details of each of these components.  Or wait for future Golf Improvement Newletters (GINs).

Like any other system, you can improve your swing one component at a time. 

Below is a ‘scorecard’ for regular evaluation of your swing components. 

Major Swing Component Scorecard

(1-5 Rating.  5=Model, 3=Average)

Important Questions:

Are you looking for a Master instructor or looking to switch instructors? 

Does your technique not hold up under pressure?

Do you fear hitting certain shots or from certain lies?

Do you ever leave a ball in a sand bunker?

Do you want to get to the next level and do not know how?

Are you hitting less than 8 fairways, less than 6 GIRs, and more than 34 putts?

Can you not  hit a low chip and a high chip with your sand wedge?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, the Zone Golf system can help you.  contact us

We can give you a checklist as you look for an instructor.  You do not have to use our instructors.  If you want, we can point to instructors (independent service providers) that have worked with us for years.

We can also observe the first few lessons to ensure that the fit is correct.

Please follow Steps 1 and 2 (they are free or near-free) and/or call Zone Golf.

Zone Golf simplifies the swing and stroke- most non-scratch players have 30-50% extra movement.  Removing the extra Zorro’s signature and the Fred Astair dance steps will make you a more consistent ball striker and better player.

Regardless what you hear or read- golf is simple.  Yes that is correct.  It IS simple.  But it is not always easy.  Let Zone Golf simplify your swing and your thoughts.

Our system breaks the swing down in 3 component areas:

• Initial conditions, static things – GASP or Grip, Alignment, Stance and Posture.
• Swing path as seen looking toward the target from behind the player.  The path must be very close to your optimal plane or planes as per your model.
• Sequencing or timing- best viewed face on with the player as he sends the ball.

And that is the precise order you develop your swing – like building blocks.  The Pros have the first two steps down cold and are allows looking how to improve their timing or synchronization. 

Most club players ( handicap > 10 ) still are looking for the correct swing plane throughout the swing.  Higher handicappers usually do not have the initial conditions correct.

The following are the 3 simple Zone Golf steps to improve your swing:

• Learn the details of the best model for your swing- pick a Pro your build or somebody in the club.  (Zone Golf can provide a model for you).
• Then practice with a ton of nonjudgmental feedback such as video, certain training aids, and a practice station.  This is smart-work.
• Then practice smart-hard-work more than the others do. A lot of the practice does not require hitting a ball which does cause a collision of forces and can cause some problems.   Make sure you follow Zone Golf’s guidelines to prevent golf injuries, how to spot the onset of a problem, and what to do when you do get injured.