How to Swing a Golf Club Correctly

One of the first challenges beginning golfers face is learning how to swing a golf club correctly. For some this is easier said than done, but developing the proper golf swing is quite achievable. Today there is better instructional material available than ever before, the advances in club design are helping assist golfers develop a more proper swing quickly, and some of the best golf training aids are now available to the general public for very affordable prices.

All ‘correct’ golf swings will have several elements in common. Let’s examine each part of the golf swing separately and then see how doing the right things at different stages of the swing can produce some excellent results. Every golf swing consists of the takeaway (or backswing), the downswing, and the follow-through. Throughout the various stages of the swing, the golfer also needs to focus on their stance, weight distribution, wrist and arm placement, and swing-plane. When all of these elements come together just right, the result of the swing will be a club face that contacts the ball squarely and the desired result, namely shot that ends up where it is supposed to.

Obviously, there are a lot of components to the golf swing and do execute each stage correctly requires some practice. But rather than read about what you are supposed to do to swing a golf club correctly, the best training tool I can provide on this site is a video that actually shows what you need to do to improve your golf swing. The video below demonstrates a correct golf swing on

the left as executed by professional golfer Adam Scott and a demonstration of some of the common swing mistakes beginners make –  as evidenced by ‘Dave’ a typical beginning level golfer – when learning how to swing a golf club correctly.  The yellow, shaded area demonstrates a correct swing plane (or swing path) and our ‘beginner’ on the right has a swing path that falls below plane, causing his club head to not contact the ball squarely, but push his shots to the right.  Another common beginner swing flaw is a swing that has the club too far above the plane. This type of swing results in an over-the-top downswing and a closed club face at impact resulting in a ball that moves to the left (a hook).

While there are more aspects to developing the best golf swing, focusing on the swing plane or the path that the club takes during the backswing and the downswing, as well as the relative position of the club at various points in the swing, are really the keys to learning how to swing a golf club correctly. In upcoming lessons, we’ll focus on the stance, weight distribution, and follow-through that can help take your golf swing to the next level.