When I started to write this article, I became perplexed. I was perplexed because I have studied the golf swing for over 20 years with the sole purpose of simplifying it and the best I've come up with was a 130 page manual, which I know you may not be ready for.
So instead, I will give you my best ideas for getting started and some links to some free articles that will give you the best explanation for the basic golf swing that I can give you.
If you are starting out in golf, there is a lot of information to digest and it can become a little overwhelming. What club to hit, how to chip or pitch the ball, when is it your turn to hit, and where did my ball go are all questions that come to mind.
I want you to back up for a second and think about why you are out there in the first place. Are you really there to try to get a little white ball into a hole only slightly bigger, a few hundred yards away? Not really. You are there to challenge yourself. At first, you want to see if you can even hit the ball, then it will be to hit the ball straight, then how far......always setting a higher goal.
That is the essence of golf and it is a good idea to know it before the frustration sets in. You are there to set goals, meet them, and set new ones. You are there to prove you can accomplish a difficult task. Along the way, the game of golf will humble you just as it does the professionals. You will get mad at yourself when you don't hit a shot like you know you can. You will get mad because you had a temporary lapse of reason and forgot about the tree when you hit a shot too high.....right into the tree.
When this happens, it's time to set a new goal....self control. That is ultimately what golf will teach you. It will bring out your best and worst performances and see how you react. When you finally realize you can't beat golf and learn to accept the bad bounces with the good, you are well on your way to truly enjoying the game.
When you get to the point where you look at a bad bounce as a new challenge and a new goal, you have come full circle and you have become a complete golfer....mentally.
Golf will do this because the game was given to man not to test his skill, but to test his mind. As you progress with your game, keep this fact that golf is primarily a mental game in mind. If you lose control, think about this....
You are playing against yourself, no matter who else is playing in your foursome, you play golf against yourself. If you lose control, there is nobody to blame but yourself....and blame gets you nowhere. So when you get mad or frustrated, make the solution a challenge and a goal and get back to improving your mental abilities and enjoying golf.
Now about the golf swing........
When you start practicing, start with one club, usually a low/mid iron. I usually suggest a 6 or 7-iron. I say this because, other than the position of the ball in the stance, and the stance for each shot, the body movement of the golf swing doesn't change.
Where new golfers get frustrated is in trying to figure out the golf swing. The name even throws you off. It's so easy to watch the movement of the club and the arms and get lost in it, trying to copy those parts. Instead, the golf swing is the turn of the body, the upper body actually pushing the arms and club through the backswing and then pulling it, because of the downswing turning of the body, through the downswing.
The best way to see this is to watch the swings of tour players......but don't watch their arms or their club. Watch their body from the chest down to the knees. That is where you'll find the golf swing.
Once you understand that the golf swing is actually more of a washing machine turn of the body, then take a look at different parts of a pro's swing. Look at the head to see if it moves, and how much. Look at the chest movement in relation to the movement of the stomach.
Here's a secret: The belly button leads the swing both ways. One of the simplest golf tips I've ever had was to make the backswing by turning the belly button away from the target until the target side shoulder comes under the chin. For the downswing, hold the shoulder under the chin and start turning the belly button slowly towards the target. To this day, that is a core thought for my swing when I practice.
Now there is much more to learn than that, but the most important part of the swing for beginners is the stance. That is where a majority of swing problems can be corrected. To explain why briefly, you have to start in balance or your body will automatically fight your swing to put you in balance when you start moving. It's the law of Dynamic Balance, and there is nothing you can do except start in balance to prevent it.
You see, most golfers, even accomplished golfers don't really know if they are in balance or not. When they learn to start and move in balance, it changes their whole game.
Since it is so important to get it right, I will include a link to 5 free newsletters I have on the internet that will explain plainly but in detail how to guarantee a great stance right from the start. The letters will also explain the basic swing, which should get you started on the right foot and have you playing pretty good golf in little time. Here's the link:
www.interactivegolfswingbook.com
Again, this is a free resource that will save you valuable time and frustration as you start golfing.
I hope this article gets you off on the right foot. I know that when I started, I didn't have such a resource to get me started, and I struggled for a few years until I set out to find the real answers. You shouldn't have to struggle to play good golf.
Teaching golfers in 28 countries, Tracy Reed is a Golf Biomechanic, Mental Game Specialist, and author of "Golf Swing Control".
Discover the Effortless Choke-proof Golf Swing Hidden inside Your Body and Never Lose your Golf Swing Again.
Go to http://www.golfswingcontrol.com