Top 7 Golfing Hacks to Turn You from a Total Beginner to a Semi-Pro

Presented by Coachellavalley.com

Elegant and dynamic, golf is a marvelous sport and a healthy hobby to have. It’s also unlike most sport-like activities in the sense that it will test your hand-to-eye coordination, strength, endurance, and quite a few other things.

Despite the steep learning curve, getting better at golf feels very rewarding, and we can help you do it with seven hacks that can transform even the most immediate beginners into semiprofessionals, so let’s start from the top.

1.    Take some time to improve your stance

Your stance affects both the accuracy and strength of your shot, so before you start working on your technique, you should invest some time in correcting your stance.

As a beginner, you’re probably relying on what feels right instinctually, and the first thing you should do is learn how to properly position your feet, arms, and back.

Start from your feet; the feet opposite of your dominant hand should be slightly angled, although it’s perfectly fine if both of your feet are in line with your shoulders. The only ‘bad’ position of the feet is if they’re both at an angle, which will prevent you from performing a full body motion with each strike.

The adequate distance between a golfer’s feet should be equal to the width of their shoulders. This applies for full shots; you could shorten this gap for putting shots.

Your knees should not be bent; rather flex them a bit. You’ll want to have a straight back at all times, as this allows you to transfer weight more easily.

2.    Work on your grip

One of the reasons why the learning curve is so steep is that golf can hardly be practiced outside of the course. We’ll talk more about indoor golf practice courses, but meanwhile, the most flexible way to practice without actually swinging your club is to work on your grip.

You can use whatever item is near you at any given point, be it recess for students, a coffee break for adults, or days off when you can’t manage to get to the course.

Try out different hand positions and make adjustments in the strength of your grip. Notice how your muscles react differently depending on where your fingers are, especially when they overlap.

After exploring different combinations of gripping positions, simulate different swinging motions. Feel your shoulder muscles and abs becoming more tense and try to find the optimal position that is the least stressful and fatiguing, as you will be able to bring these exercises into your training regime later on.

3.    Begin with small chip shots

Beginner golfers usually don’t know how much strength they need to put into each shot, so one of the first things you should do is to start with small chip shots. Observe how the ball reacts with different levels of strength behind your shots, as this will allow you to gauge the strength needed for the next one.

This is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with your equipment, but it’s also helping you learn the very fundamentals of playing golf. Accuracy comes with time and patience while using your strength in a controlled manner will greatly help to get the most out of it.

4.    Consistency is the key for all sports

In order to get better at any sport, you’ll need to find creative ways to work on it even when you’re not actually practicing. Watching golf shows and simply thinking about it is remarkably helpful for beginners, as it promotes the faster development of beneficial habits.

As far as practice sessions go, think about everything that you’ve been learning so far; adjust your posture, correct your stance, properly grip the club before you make the swing. The muscle memory will make sure that your body reacts properly if your mind is in the right place.

5.    Practice Breathing Exercises

Breathing properly is a crucial part of golf, especially if you intend to run the full course. Diaphragmic breathing in particular is what most professionals utilize as a fundamental part of their playing style, so you should start practicing it too.

Aside from the fact that it’s used to keep the body relaxed, diaphragmic breathing also promotes delayed fatigue and will allow you to retain your strength as you dart from one hole to the next.

There are also other breathing exercises that can help improve your focus, as well as strengthen your swing impact.

In a nutshell, the point is to breathe in as you wind up your backswing and exhale at the moment the club makes contact with the ball. This can feel quite stressful as it’s not a normal breathing pattern, so practicing different exercises will help embed it in your instincts and muscle memory.

6.    Stretch as often as possible

Playing golf can be pretty tiring, and once your arms or shoulders go sore, you should probably pack up and call it a day. In order to avoid sore muscles and unnecessary stress, you should make a habit of stretching before and after each shot.

Warming up your quads will ensure that your posture remains stable while warming up your back will help keep you relaxed and steady, consequentially improving your accuracy and performance. If you have a habit of gripping the club too tightly, make sure to stretch your hands as well.

7.    Get an indoor golf course

You can practice golf indoors in two ways. Firstly, you can either craft your own makeshift course or secondly, buy an indoor golf simulator. If you want to make your own, all you’re going to need is a few cardboard cutouts and basic DIY skills.

The simulators are far more advanced, tracking your performance in real-time while casting a depiction of what the shot would’ve looked like on the screen of a TV or smartphone. However, they’re a bit more expensive.

Being able to practice golf indoors will help polish your skills at a faster rate in comparison to relying on once-a-week training sessions.

We hope that this rundown was of use to you and that you’ve learned a few new golfing hacks today. Make sure you are staying safe in these times we are all going through and have a good one, guys!