3 Golf Tips for Beginners

I get asked a lot about golf swing instruction and golf tips. I thought it would be helpful to share what I’ve found to be the best 3 basic golf tips for beginners to help them sharpen their game.

One thing that beginning golfers sometimes struggle with is chips around the green. They find themselves either topping these short golf shots or hitting them fat. So you want to focus on getting solid contact. To improve your chances of consistent solid contact, first set up with a narrow, slightly open stance. One of the keys to this golf shot is getting more of your weight on your front foot (left foot if you are right handed); you want approximately 60-70% of your weight on this foot and want to have a slight forward lean. You want to swing the golf club with a short, descending blow and keep your left hand firm through the ball. Try this and see if it works.
Another tough shot for new golfers is the buried sand shot. Golf shots out of the sand can be intimidating enough, but to find your golf ball burrowed down into the bunker can make you want to scream. Use your pitching wedge for this one. Open your stance slightly, get your weight forward, and instead of swinging through, hit down hard into the sand behind the ball. The ball will blast out and should land softly with a little roll. The speed of your downswing depends on how high the lip of the bunker is and how far it is to the pin. Work on getting out of the sand and I promise you will lower your golf handicap.
If you find yourself constantly hitting the ball on the toe or heel of your golf club, it may be as simple as adjusting how close you are to the ball. If you aren’t hitting it consistently in the center of the clubface, just hit some practice balls standing a little closer or farther away until you find the spot where you are most comfortable.
I hope that you find these golf tips helpful if you are just taking up this great game we call golf. If you have another problem that you are struggling with, just click on the link at the top right of this page and ask The Golf Nut your question.