Golf Swing Mechanics – The Clubs & Their Role in Successful Golf Swing Mechanics

For many golfers mastering golf swing mechanics are one of the most frustrating challenges of the game.

Many golfers fail to recognize that their choice of club plays a major role in executing successful golf swing mechanics.

Truth is – using the wrong tool to complete a certain task will make the assignment unnecessarily more difficult and maddening! This same principle applies to golfers and their selection of clubs!

Each club is designed to serve a certain function – distance, loft or rolling. For the club to perform its correct purpose – directing a ball to its intended location, golfers must simply learn to consistently execute one single swing pattern possessing the proper golf swing mechanics.

In his book, “Golf Can Be an Easy Game”, author Joe Novak expands upon this concept in greater detail. He explains that many golfers make their golf swing mechanics and game much more difficult than they have to be. For Novak, golf is an easy game to master, requiring the golfer to perfect one simple swing and let the clubs do the heavy work!

Novak writes;

“Every good golfer learns that it is one thing to swing a golf club, but it is another thing to know what position the club is in while it is being swung.

…this is a good time to tell you what an easy game golf is, and what an enjoyable game it can be with a correct understanding of the simple facts:

(a) A golf club will only do what the player makes it do.

(b) Each club is designed for a specific purpose, and only when it is applied to the ball in its true, natural state will it produce the effect for which it was designed.

(c) Basically, there are only three clubs in golf:

1. The driver, shaped so that it drives the ball on a low trajectory and is therefore used for distance shots.

2. The iron, formerly called a lofter, does exactly what the name implies—it lofts or lifts the ball. This club is used to place the ball into position in certain spots on the fairway or on the green.

3. The putter, which would be better named a “roller,” is so designed that it rolls the ball; therefore, it is the club used to accomplish the very purpose of the game—roll the ball into the cup.

But golfers are not limited or restricted to these three clubs. Golfers get themselves a set of two or three, more generally four, but sometimes even five, drivers. They carry a set of three or six, most generally a set of eight, irons. They usually add to this outfit a heavy weighted club to get the ball out of deep grass or sand traps. And, the above clubs, along with a putter, generally constitute the set of 14 clubs that a golfer is permitted to use in tournament play.

Now, having such an outfit is a perfect waste of material unless each and every club is swung in the same way so that the various differences in the shapes of the clubs can each perform their objectives. In other words, golf is an easy game to play, because the player has a specific club or tool for each shot or effect that is desired. All they have to do is to learn the one basic swing and apply it to each club.

By comparison, the game of tennis is difficult. In tennis, the player has only one club or one racquet, the ball is never in the same position—it is either high or low, in front of them or behind them—and to make their shots successfully the tennis player must learn and be able to play several different strokes. But not so the golfer. If they correctly learn the one stroke, they can simply let the club do the work”.

The correct choice of club is a major contributor to successful execution of golf swing mechanics.

Use Novak’s expert advice to help you get the most out of your clubs – the tools of the game!

Check back soon for more tips and posts to help improve your golf swing mechanics!

Golf Swing Mechanics – The “Triple Duty” of the Left Hand

Due to club design, the golfer’s left hand plays a major role in proper golf swing mechanics.

The left hand serves three important functions in the golf swing – positioning the club, maintaining the proper club position during the swing pattern and ensuring the correct clubface angle at impact.

From start to finish, the left hand’s “triple duty” is the key to successful golf swing mechanics.

Unfortunately, many golfers fail to fully understand and appreciate all three capacities of the left hand in successful golf swing mechanics.

In his book, “Golf Can Be an Easy Game”, author Joe Novak offers greater insight into the importance of the left hand in proper golf swing mechanics.

Novak writes;

“Golf clubs vary in length—from the 33-inch length of a putter shaft to the 43-inch length of the driver shaft. All clubs have handles on a graduated scale of lengths.

It is perfectly natural that the player should first place the club behind the ball, and from the placement of the club they will automatically know just where to stand, which is the second move.

However…let me call your attention to the fact that there is a certain peculiarity in the construction of golf clubs. The face of the club, the part that meets the ball, is not parallel with the shaft. It is “hooked in,” that is, it is angled so that it points off to the left a matter of two to five degrees. This exists in all properly designed clubs.

To those unfamiliar with this peculiarity, difficulties can be created at this very step.

However, understanding the hooked-in face construction of the golf club, the player can and will place the club properly to the ball.

The proper way to place a golf club to the ball is to tilt the handle of the club slightly in the direction of the shot. The shaft, in other words, is leaning or tilted slightly forward in the direction of the shot. Because of this forward tilt of the club handle the left hand will be directly over the ball and not over the club head.

Players who fail to understand this peculiarity of golf club construction place the club to the ball so that the shaft is perpendicular—that is, straight up and down, instead of being tilted or leaned forward slightly.

Obviously, only when the shaft is tilted forward slightly is the face of the club square with the line of the shot; and when the shaft is perpendicular, or straight up and down, the face of the club is aimed off to the left of the line of the shot.

In addition to this failure of incorrect aim, there is one other important reaction that arises from the way the club is placed to the ball, and that has to do with the way the left hand fits to the club. If there is any one thing that is important in a golf shot, it is the way in which the left hand works. As a matter of fact, it will be learned that the left hand action is the very crux of every golf shot. Actually, the left hand has a triple duty in a golf shot:

(1) Creating or determining the position of the club will be in during the swing.

(2) Keeping the club in the desired position.

(3) Bringing the club into and through the ball.

Now, the proper position of the left hand on the club is as follows: the hand is more or less on top of the shaft. When it is in the proper position, three knuckles of the left hand are in clear view when the player looks down at his hand and the left thumb is at a point more or less behind the shaft.

All this happens naturally, if the shaft of the club is tilted forward slightly when it is placed to the ball.

By comparison, if the shaft is placed incorrectly, that is, straight up and down, then the left hand will automatically shift to a point in front of the handle instead of on top. Only one knuckle, instead of three, will be in view and the thumb will be right on top of the shaft. This is a weak position of the left hand.

Carried to extremes, the correct position, with the left hand on top, would tend to produce hook shots, whereas, the incorrect position, with the left hand too far in front, would tend to produce slice shots.“

When evaluating your golf swing mechanics – remember the “triple duty” of the left hand.

Use Novak’s professional guidance to correctly position your left hand, helping execute proper golf swing mechanics and successfully swing the golf club!

Check back soon for more tips and posts to help improve your golf swing mechanics!

Beginner Golf Swing Instruction – Are Your Golf Clubs the Best Fit for Both You and Your Golf Game?

Beginner golf swing instruction programs understand having the right tools makes learning and playing golf much more enjoyable.

It is a fact that student golfers can get more out of their beginner golf swing instruction if they are taught using correctly fitted clubs.

Beginner golf swing instruction programs offer their students some general advice and direction on purchasing a proper set of clubs. However, to learn what golf clubs provide the best personal choice and fit, student golfers need to perform further research.

Although an entire how to book could be written on proper club selection, fitting and purchase, a little information from an expert can go a long way in guiding you through your next golf club investment.

In the book, “How to Master the Irons, An Illustrated Guide to Better Golf”, authors Gene Littler and Don Collett offer valuable advice on how to go about choosing a proper set of golf clubs.

They write;

“Selecting the proper equipment is a big step toward playing better golf. This phase of golf is so often overlooked that I feel impelled to discuss it here at length, not only to clear up certain misconceptions concerning golf clubs, but to point out how important it is to have clubs that fit you and your swing.

There Is A Difference In Clubs

To the layperson, a golf club is a golf club. They all look alike. This is true to a point, but don’t let this similarity of appearance fool you. As any experienced golfer will tell you, there is a difference in golf clubs, just as there is a physical difference in the individuals who swing them.

Since no two golfers swing alike, it might seem that almost all players would require clubs made to order, to compensate for these individual differences. This, of course, is not true. What is necessary is a good, balanced set of clubs that have been selected by the golfer with the help and counsel of an experienced professional.

Always remember, it is entirely possible to have good equipment and still not have a correct, fitting set of clubs. You must fit the golf clubs to you and your swing, not yourself to the clubs.

So many golfers in their haste to get out and play make a hasty purchase and then, upon learning more about the game and the importance of having properly fitted clubs, find they must buy another set.

Find A Set To Fit You

MEASURING UP. The golf clubs of today are far different from what they were some 30 years ago. Improved club design, which have given clubs better balance and feel, are among the major reasons for the improved play of all golfers, particularly the professsionals.

Factory-made clubs are now fairly standardized and are designed to fit almost every golfer. Unless you are extremely tall or short, a factory set should suit your needs, for clubs don’t vary too much from standard specifications. In any case, don’t purchase a new set of clubs haphazardly.

SHAFT FLEXIBILITY AND SWING WEIGHT. The speed of your swing will determine the flexibility of your shaft and the swing weight of the clubhead.

If you are rather strong, the shaft should be on the stiff side with the swing weight a little heavier than medium. Conversely, if you are not so strong, it would be best to use a more flexible shaft with a lighter swing weight. Shafts come in several different flexes and different weights.

Generally, the dividing point for swing weight is D-3. Anything under that is getting on the light side, and anything over D-3 becomes correspondingly heavier as the number increases. In other words, a driver that has a swing weight of D-7 would be too heavy for the average golfer. It would be better for them to use a medium-stiff shaft with a swing weight between DO and D-4.

Women’s clubs are usually swing-weighted from C-5 to D-0. The shafts in their clubs are more flexible than men’s, and they are also lighter. The medium swing weight for them would be C-7 to C-8.

The swing weight is not as important as the shaft and the over-all dead weight of the club. To prove this, all you have to do is perform the following test: Take two one-dollar bills (or any other denomination), and, after putting your club on the swing-weight instrument in your pro shop, fold the bills over the shaft near the clubhead. The weight of these two paper bills will change the swing weight approximately one point!

If the weight of two paper bills can change the swing weight of a club, you shouldn’t concern yourself too much about swing weights. Instead, make sure you have the right shaft in your clubs. A good, matched set of clubs, according to manufacturers, can vary up to three or four points and still be a good set.

LENGTH AND LIE OF CLUBS. Golf clubs are usually made up in three different lies: flat, medium, and upright. The standard-length driver is 43 inches, and the two-iron, the longest iron club, is 382 inches long. The length and lie of clubs are determined by the distance the hands are from the ground. This hands-to-ground measurement will usually not vary more than 2 or 3 inches from a tall to a short person. Thus, it is not uncommon to have a golfer of medium height using the same length and lie as a taller player because their hands-to-ground measurements are the same.

Generally speaking, the great majority of golfers can use standard-length clubs with a medium lie. If you are a rather short or tall person, you may require a special set. Here again, it would be wise to consult an experienced professional. You will find it to be time well spent in the long run.”

Beginner golf swing instruction programs should teach their students how to go about finding and purchasing a correctly fitted set of golf clubs.

Although volumes of information on purchasing golf clubs can be found in books and on-line, following the expert advice of Littler and Collett could make your next golf club investment your best yet!

Check back soon for more beginner golf swing instruction tips and posts!

Beginner Golf Swing Instruction – Finally Get a Grip on a Better Golf Swing!

We continue our beginner golf swing instruction with today’s post – a discussion on the manner with which to grip a golf club. This post is not about variations on hand position or placement, but instead about gripping force and its affect on golf swing performance.

Teaching the correct gripping force with which to apply to the golf club is a challenging topic in beginner golf swing instruction.

Beginner golfers, unsure about their golf swing control, have a tendency to place an excessively tight grip on the club. What the beginner golfer has yet to realize however, is gripping the golf club in this manner is detrimental to their golf swing control, swing mastery and swing mechanics.

In the book, “The Master Key to Success at Golf”, author Leslie King explains how an overly tense grip on the club negatively impacts golf swing performance.

In the book King writes;

“Strong hands, wrists and fingers are essential to the retention of a correct and constant grip in every detail and the development of the feeling that it is fitted snugly to the shaft.

You may well ask why this emphasis on strength in view of my warning against a vice-like grip of the club. After all, a golf club only weighs between twelve and fifteen-and-a-half ounces.

Here is the answer. For all its comparatively light weight the club head moves in a wide arc and works up to a high speed at impact. To keep complete control of it without restriction of the life and power of the swing it is necessary to develop a measure of strength which permits firm mastery without the fullest physical effort to apply it.

Smooth steering thereby is impossible and if one were to drive any distance the arms would soon be aching. Similarly with the novice boxer. Clenching their fists inside their gloves and holding their arms rigid they cannot throw a proper punch or react quickly enough to parry one from their opponent. Their arms rapidly tire and feel as heavy as lead.

It is this same muscular tension against which I am warning you as a golfer. A fierce grip on the shaft locks the wrists and deprives the movement of LIFE, but if the hands are not conditioned to their task the natural instinct is to grip fiercely.”

Beginner golf swing instruction must educate the novice golfer that overly excessive grip offers no greater control over the swing. It has exactly the opposite effect – robbing them of both their command and power over their golf swing.

Newbie’s, keep this concept in mind to get the most out of your beginner golf swing instruction. Taking a little tension out of your grip could take a lot of tension out of your game!

Beginner Golf Swing Instruction – Easy Tips On Purchasing Golf Clubs

Any beginner golf swing instruction program must include an orientation of each clubs purpose and function in the golf swing and golf game.

However, in some cases – for whatever reason – this important topic is mostly overlooked in beginner golf swing instruction courses.

For the beginner golfer, choosing the proper clubs has a tremendous influence upon their golf swing learning curve and overall golfing experience.

With beginner golf swing instruction, the first step toward really learning golf is investing in ones own set of golf clubs. Simply put, golf clubs are the tools of the game, master them and you will master your golf swing and golf game!

For the golf newbie, however, purchasing their first set can become a confusing and expensive endeavor.

There exists a plethora of manufactures and clubs available to choose in the golf club market. From Titleist drivers to Taylor Made irons and putters, the task can be overwhelming.

We at www.golfswingstip.com want to provide some simple beginner golf swing instruction and advice, helping make your first club purchase an easy and confident experience.

Below you’ll find some general background information and tips to help educate beginner golfers, allowing them to make intelligent decisions regarding their golf club options.

In the book, “Golf Can be An Easy Game”, author Joe Novak offers his expertise to help newbie golfers make rewarding golf club selections.

Novak writes:

“Modern manufacturing methods produce golf clubs that are uniform as to weight, balance, grip and shaft tension. Clubs are available in various price ranges and can be secured in sets of lesser numbers than the 14 permitted by the rules.

The advice of a member of the Professional Golfers Association would be invaluable in selecting the proper clubs, but if such services are not available, avoid clubs that are too heavy, also avoid clubs with extra stiff shafts.

An ideal balanced club for the average man is a D2 swing weight and the shaft should be of medium tension.

For the average woman the clubs should balance at C7 and the shaft should have a flex tension.

Beginners can operate capably with an abbreviated set —two drivers, preferably the #2 and #4 woods, four irons, preferably #3, 5, 7, 9, a sand wedge and a putter. Such a half set will provide a complete range of shots, and the omitted clubs can be added later.”

Novak goes on to explain the differences in the purposes of the clubs:

“The only difference between the…woods is the degree of loft on the face of the club, which tends to elevate or drive the ball on a higher angle of flight or trajectory.

The same thing is true of the irons…

So the drivers in a set of woods, and the irons in a set of irons are each but a cog or a niche in that set—each designed to produce a certain angle of flight or trajectory, all of which emphasizes this important fact: that the clubs will not produce the respective effect for which they were designed unless they are all swung and applied to the ball in the same way.

In short, a golfer does not purchase a set of golf clubs to make the game more difficult, they do it to make the game easier, and it is easy if they use the same swing on all clubs.”

Above is some helpful information to incorporate into your beginner golf swing instruction. Beginner golfers are to remember this when choosing their golf club arsenal.

Clubs are obviously the tools of the golf game and ones selection will have a large influence upon their golf games performance, experience and success.

Improve your beginner golf swing instruction by better understanding the tools of the game – the clubs!

Hey beginning golfers….was this article helpful? Want more information on choosing golf clubs or beginner golf swing instruction? Comment below and let us know!

Hey seasoned golfers…want to share some valuable and insightful advice that other readers can benefit from regarding golf club selection or your experience in beginner golf swing instruction? Please comment below too!

Use Forward-Shaft Lean To Hit Crisp, Clean Shots

All golfers want to improve. Those serious about doing so take golf lessons from professionals or study golf tips offered in books, magazines, and newsletters, like mine.

Usually, the golf lessons and golf tips focus on swing flaws. Refining your swing to eliminate flaws is a great way to improve ballstriking. Understanding how club design dictates the quality of impact is also a great way to improve ballstriking. In fact, it may be just as good, if not better than, working at eliminating swing flaws.

When we discuss club design, we usually talk clubhead size or shaft materials. These can affect your ballstriking and shot distance. But here we want to discuss a different aspect of club design.

A club has three key design features:

* shaft lean toward target,

* significant lie (or shaft lean toward body),

* center of gravity These features exist in every club, even your putter.

They contain secrets on how to swing your drivers, wedges, and irons to improve your ballstriking, if we interpret them correctly. In other words, if we look at the features closely, we’ll see how they dictate proper golf swing mechanics. Shaft Lean Toward Target Shaft lean is the first, and possibly the most important, club design feature to consider.

If you sole a club properly in your normal address position, you’ll see that the club sits on an angle where the handle leans slightly toward the target. The angle is important. It represents the angle at which the club must be delivered to the ball at impact to create optimal pressure.

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