The Four Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting!!

I often have students who end up coming in for lessons who have tried by themselves to work it out on their own. There are a number of similarities that students have that causes them to stint their progress. One of the biggest problem areas is watching too much Youtube or getting advice from their friends. These sources can be helpful at times but often lead to conditioning bad habits that often need to be rectified later.

The second problem area from a technical stand point is that most people stand too far away from the ball. This causes instability through the swing as well lack of power as the arms and body are unable to form a strong connection through the swing. The ideal distance for the club to be from the body is around a handspan. During the Takeaway you should try and keep this distance right up until the club reaches parallel to the ground. The hands will then move slightly further away from you as the club reaches the top of the swing.

Thirdly there is lack of body and club rotation for most beginner golfers. Most of the time beginner golfers will tend to swing the club straight back without rotating the club face. This will tend to result in ‘topping’ or for the balls to go sharply left as the club face will tend to return left at impact. You want to make sure that the club face is rotating during the backswing and the downswing so that the clubface returns back to square at impact. You want to also feel the body rotating back and forward as well.

The fourth biggest mistake is the misconception of keeping the head down. This misconception causes the weight transfer to stall on the back foot during the follow through causing once again ‘topping’ and ‘slice’ shots. You want to make sure the head remains stable through the swing but once the ball is hit, it must then move forward along with the rest of the body so that all of your weight finishes on the front foot.