Beginner Golf Swing Instruction – Striking the Ball from the Tee or Grass – “Feeling” the Difference!

Here is a short piece on driving to help those struggling in beginner golf swing instruction programs. It concerns swing styles.

A different swing style must be used to hit a golf ball from each the tee and the fairway grass.

Many students in beginner golf swing instruction programs have a difficult time getting these swings right.

Beginner golf swing instruction programs teach their students a simple change in swing “feel” to help them strike the ball true and proper no matter how it’s positioned.

In the book, “How to Master the Irons, an Illustrated Guide to Better Golf”, authors Gene Littler and Don Collett offer some beginner golf swing instruction to students of the game. They provide valuable insight into the manner with which the club should be swung to strike the ball correctly from either a tee or its position on the grass.

They write;

“If you have a good grip and a fundamental understanding of the basic swing, wood shots should not give you too much trouble. The full swing is employed in hitting both the fairway woods and the driver, but there is a distinct difference and, as a result, a different feeling between hitting a ball off a grassy lie and hitting off a tee.

Difference Between Fairway Woods And Driver

The best way that I can describe the difference is this: When playing your fairway woods, you must have the feeling that you are hitting slightly down on the ball, just as you do iron shots, whereas in driving a ball from a tee, where you are striving for as much distance as possible, you must feel that you are hitting slightly up on the ball at impact.

Tests have shown that, to hit a ball with maximum distance and carry, the ball must fly on a 45-degree trajectory. Since most drivers are constructed with 10 to 12 degrees loft, this would mean that the driver must be slightly inclined upward at impact in order to achieve this 45-degree trajectory.

This does not mean that you must perform a lifting action with your hands and arms in the hitting area in order to get the ball into the air. On the contrary, the arms are merely extended fully in the hitting area, thus forcing the hands into a whipping action which creates a wide, low arc with the clubhead as it smashes into and through the ball. Assuming that you have positioned yourself over the ball correctly (it should be slightly inside your left heel) at the address and that you are in correct position coming into the hitting area, the clubhead will automatically be coming slightly up as it contacts the ball.

I do not believe you should consciously strive to hit up on the ball; rather, you should create the feeling of sweeping the ball off the tee with the clubhead. “

Beginner golf swing instruction programs know students have a difficult time making the proper and necessary adjustment from hitting golf balls off the tee to off the grass.

To help make this transition easier, try incorporating Littler and Collett’s advice into you practice sessions.

Check back soon for more beginner golf swing instruction articles and posts to help quickly improve your golf swing and game!