W.D.H.S.
GOLF
BEFORE YOU SWING
- 14 clubs allowed; players usually carry…
- Three “woods”: #1 wood (driver), #3 wood, #5 wood
- irons
- wedges
- putter
- other specialty clubs
- all shots with one basic swing; grip, aim, swing arc and plane
- stance (distance between feet) narrow with shorter clubs; wider with longer clubs
- ball closer to the feet with the shorter clubs; farther away with the longer clubs
- ball off front foot with longer clubs or shots that need to go high (sand shots), in the middle of your stance for irons and putting, and in the back of your stance for chip shots
GRIP
- overlap, interlock, or baseball grip
- club in palm of left hand (swing leads with back of left hand)
- club handle in the fingers of right hand, not the palm
AIM
- get behind the ball and look to where you want to hit the ball (line of ball)
- feet are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the line of the ball
- aim 3 feet in front of the teed ball
FULL SWING FUNDAMENTALS
- STEADY HEAD; not up and down or forward and back
- irons:
- ball in the middle of your stance
- toe of club should be “thumbs up” when club is parallel to the ground (1/2 swing), both in the backswing and the follow through (if not, ball will go right or left)
- woods:
- Take the club away from the ball with a relaxed, slow swing
- Cock wrists about ½ way through the backswing
- Fast swing through the ball and through the follow through
- keep grip loose (soft forearms) to keep everything loose
- Hit beneath the ball
- KEEP EYES ON THE BALL UNTIL AFTER YOU MAKE CONTACT
PITCH SHOT (shorter shot – 30 yards from green)
CHIP SHOT (short shot - close to the green)
- feet close together, weight on front foot
- ball off the back foot (off front foot if trying to get up and over water/sand)
- hands forward but still inside the line of the body
- short backswing; longer follow through
- “triangle” does not break down; no wrist action (similar to putt)
- problems
- putting weight onto back foot and leaning back
- using wrists to scoop the ball up
SAND SHOTS
- Ball forward in stance
- Clubface open
- Full swing
- Hit behind the ball (hit sand, not the ball) and take approximately 2” of sand for close shots; less sand for shots where you want more distance
PUTTING
- Look at the putt from both sides of the hole
- Grip in palms
- Weight evenly distributed
- Feet and shoulder alignment square to target
- Eyes directly over ball; FOCUS ON BALL
- Blade of club stays relatively square to line of putt from backswing to follow through
- Shoulders, arms, and hands “triangle” move as a unit; body should stay still
- NO WRIST ACTION
- If wrist action is a problem, reverse hands in grip and get that feel
- Backswing shorter than follow through