Point butt end of your club toward your ball at top

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

For a good golf swing, you need to let your grip end point toward your target line at the top of your backswing. That ensures you swing the club on the proper plane and hit the ball far.

You’ll slot the club into the correct downswing path, delivering your club from slightly inside the target line. Importantly, you’ll unleash your power fully into the shot without using brute force. You’ll naturally create a 90-degree angle between your left arm and the club shaft.

Don’t leave the club shaft resting in a straight up-and-down position. Or rather, don’t allow the grip end to point excessively inside your target line almost toward your toe-line. That says you’ve swung the club on too steep a plane.

Similarly, don’t leave the club resting nearly horizontal, your grip end pointing far outside your target line. That tells you’ve swung the club on too flat a plane.

Either way, you’ve swung the club off-plane. You’ll have difficulty hitting the ball squarely. Granted, you cannot release the club properly or increase your swing speed to the maximum.

Swinging the club back on too upright a plane, you’ll swing it down to outside your target line. You’ll suffer annoying pulls and pull-slices. If you adjust it excessively on the downswing, you’ll hit the ball from too much inside the target line. You’ll incur pushes and push-slices.

Similarly, swinging the club back too flat, you’ll swing the club down on too shallow a plane. You’ll hit the ball poorly from too much inside the target line. This creates nasty pushes. Or, if you lift your arms and club too high to adjust it, you’ll come over the top. This faulty move forces you to suffer pulls and slices.

To swing the club back properly, waggle your club several times so you can hit the ball toward the target. As you waggle the club, you need to hinge your wrists slightly. More importantly, you need to prime yourself to hit the ball toward the target.

Once you’ve completed your last waggle, swing the club back the way you’ve waggled. Make sure your clubhead takes the identical path it took during the waggle.

Complete your backswing so the butt end of your handle points to the ball. Your grip end pointing toward the ball at the top says you’ve swung the club back on the proper plane. That also shows you’ve put yourself in a position to slot your club into the correct downswing path.

Focusing on your grip end pointing to your ball, you can always finish your backswing every time you swing. Without extra effort, you’ll turn your body consistently and swing your club on the correct plane. Your swing comprises a series of chained actions and reflexes. Finishing the backswing consistently, you’ll automatically swing the club down properly.

To begin the downswing, just bump your left hip left. That way you’ll swing the club down on the correct plane, preserving the 90-degree angle between your left arm and the club shaft. You’ll naturally release the club fully through your shot at the right time.

Critically, shift your left hip briskly to the left to hit the ball powerfully. You need to use much energy in moving your left hip left to increase your swing speed.

A brisk left hip shift to the left on the downswing encourages you to hit the ball longer and straighter. That helps you lag your clubhead properly behind your hands through the shot. More importantly, that ensures you increase the swing speed to your maximum and you hit the ball far to your satisfaction.

If the ball starts to travel right of your target, you’ve positioned the ball too far back in your stance. If the ball begins to fly left of your target, you’ve played your ball too far forward in your stance. When you hit your driver, place the ball off the tip of your left shoulder or slightly left of it.

To hit your ball solidly and powerfully, you need to grip the club properly. Especially, you need to grip the club with a light pressure. Don’t forget to relax your grip every time you swing. You are apt to tighten the grip when you hit shots off the tee. Tightening the grip is a fatal fault you need to stay clear of. Holding the club too tightly, you cannot hinge and unhinge your wrists properly. Or rather, you cannot release your club fully. You’ll have diverse poor shots, including wild slices.

You need a smooth, controlled swing. To this end, you need to avoid tightening your grip so you can swing your club at a leisurely pace. This ensures you unleash your power fully into your shot at the right time. You’ll feel the ball stay on your clubface longer. Make sure you loosen your grip so your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders stay relaxed during the entire swing.

Keep in mind that the top knuckle of your right-hand forefinger is your key pressure point. If you complete your backswing properly, your club will rest on the top knuckle of your right-hand forefinger. You need to grip the club properly so you can feel pressure there during the swing. This helps you lag your clubhead behind your hands, promoting power and solid contact.