Your guide to basic golf swing fundamentals

For many beginner golfers, approaching a shot and actually executing it can be an intimidating prospect. But getting to grips with basic golf swing fundamentals goes a long way to helping you feel comfortable with this crucial part of the game. And it’s actually simpler than you might think.

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to perform each part of a golf swing. Through practice and repetition, it might even become second nature.

Holding the golf club

As far as basic golf swing fundamentals go, correctly holding the club is paramount to everything that follows. There are three main grips used by golfers

1. The 10-finger grip (sometimes referred to as the baseball grip)
2. The overlapping grip (or the Vardon grip)
3. The interlocking grip

These all provide stability while holding the club without requiring you to grip excessively hard.

The 10-finger grip  

The 10-finger grip is an ideal starting point. Here’s how you do it:

• Begin by resting the club in your weaker hand, with your fingers on the underside of the club and your thumb on top, pointing down the shaft of the club towards the clubhead.
• Your dominant hand then goes below your first hand in the same way: fingers underneath and thumb on top.

This is why it’s known as the 10-finger grip. All 10 digits on your hands are making contact with the club. It might feel a little uncomfortable at first, so spend some time simply holding the club and getting used to how it feels in your hands.

The overlapping grip

This is popular with professional golfers. The basic foundations are very similar to the 10-finger grip, except the pinkie finger of your dominant hand rests between the middle and index fingers of your weaker hand. This is also known as the ‘Vardon grip’, popularised by Harry Vardon in the early 20th century.

The interlocking grip

Progressing one step further, the interlocking grip sees the pinkie finger of your dominant hand directly interlocked with the index finger on your weak hand. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods both favour the interlocking grip, which is about as good an endorsement as you can get.

Finding the right grip for you

Ultimately, it’s down to personal preference which grip you choose.

What’s most important, regardless of your chosen grip, is that you apply the correct amount of pressure to the club. If a one means hardly holding the club at all while a 10 is grabbing it as tightly as you possibly can, you should aim for a grip strength of around five. The club should almost feel like an extension of your body, so stay relaxed and grip gently. Without letting go, of course!

Learn more about the different golf grips and their advantages and disadvantages.

Setting up

You also need to set up correctly before executing your swing. This involves positioning your body and the ball correctly.

First, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, on the balls of your feet rather than your heels. If you’re right-handed, your left foot is your leading foot, while your right foot is the trailing foot. Bend your knees ever so slightly and lean forward a little while keeping your back straight.

While first practising your swing, place the ball in the centre of your stance. As a general rule, the bigger the club, the closer to your leading foot the ball needs to be placed. However, when first learning, you needn’t worry about this too much.

The club will help you determine how far in front of you to place the ball. While holding the club, let gravity do its job and let your arms hang. If you’re stretching to reach the ball, it’s too far in front of you. If your arms are bunched up to your chest, it’s too close.

Keep your stance nice and relaxed. If you’re too tense and too rigid, it will be much harder to achieve the necessary range of motion in the swing itself.

Finally, ensure the clubface is facing your target. This might sound obvious, but if your clubface is askew to the left or right, that’s where your shot is going to go. Pick a target to aim at and position the clubface so that it’s facing that direction.

Rotating

One of the key golf swing fundamentals is that rotation will occur in your hips and shoulders. As you begin your backswing, your body will twist one way, and as you transition to your downswing and strike the ball, you’ll rotate back the other way. This is why it’s so important not to be overly rigid. It’s the rotation which helps you generate power, as you shift your weight distribution towards your leading foot. Restricting it will result in a shorter distance on your shot.

As you begin your backswing, your body rotates in the direction of your trailing foot. So, a right-hander will twist towards their right foot. You can think of this almost as a 90-degree turn. Your shoulders and midriff will now be facing a different direction compared to when you initially set up, directly opposite the direction you’re aiming to hit your shot. You’ll then rotate again in the direction of your target.

That said, one of the key elements of this rotation is fluidity, so it’s better to think of this as one seamless movement rather than two separate ones. You can practice this motion by standing with the club in your hand, gently repeating the transition between the backswing and downswing and focusing on remaining as fluid as possible.

The swing

The first step is the takeaway. This is when you move the club backwards for the first time while beginning your rotation towards your back foot. Keep this slow and in line with your target.

After the takeaway begins, the backswing. The arm of your weaker hand remains straight, while your other arm is bent at the elbow. By the time you’ve completed your 90-degree shoulder turn, the clubface is now above your head and angled towards your target.

Then it’s time for the downswing as you attack the ball. Rotate towards your target and focus on shifting your bodyweight to your leading foot. This is where power comes from, as opposed to simply swinging the club as fast as you can. Keep the motion smooth.

Once you’ve made contact with the ball, it’s critical that you continue your swing and fully follow through, bringing your club back up and past your head. Think of how a tennis player would follow through with a shot of their own. This will help you stabilise your shot.

The most important thing to remember here is that you’re aiming for a smooth motion, with your bodyweight transitioning onto your leading foot.

Putting it together

The basic golf swing fundamentals to keep in mind are a proper grip, a correct setup, a smooth rotation and a range of motion. But these are just the building blocks. You’re unlikely to master it straight away. So get out there and practice!

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