Before we actually go through the steps, don't try to knock the ball into space, your not Tiger Woods.

Step 1.The Back swing - Your back swing needs to be timed and controlled so you can control the rest of the shot. As you start to lift your club, you should start turning your body to the right if your right handed, and left if your left handed also the arm with the hand closes to the end of the club needs to be kept as straight as possible.
Step 2.At the Top - You should still be looking at the ball, the arm with the hand closes to the end of the club should still be relatively straight, your back leg should be slightly bent at the knee, the straight arm and the shaft of the club should form a right angle and all the weight from the upper body should be on your back foot.
Step 3.The Downswing - Start to slide into the shot with your hips, this will then cause you to swing around with your arms. The worst thing to do is start your downswing with your arms.
Step 4.Impact and After - On impact the power you stored on the back swing has all just been let out. Just before impact your hips should be ahead of the ball. All the weight on the back foot is now being transferred to the front foot which leads you onto the final part of the swing.
Step 5.Follow Through - This is a natural part of the swing. The speed of your swing will automatically force you to flow through. When you do follow through, your body should be square to the target and the club should be behind your head above your shoulders and all the weight from your back foot should have transferred smoothly to the front foot. If you lose your balance it is because the weight transfer wasn't so smooth or because your swinging too fast. If you see the club head at this point it's probably because your over swinging. That’s not a major problem.

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The Overlapping grip This is the grip most players use. It is so called because the little finger of the right hand slots into the groove formed by the first two fingers of the left hand. It provides a flexible yet firm connection between the two hands to ensure they act in harmony.

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Ball Position

For most medium range shots the ball should be in the middle of your stance. And as a general rule of thumb, a longer shot such as drives and low irons are played nearer the front foot. Whereas the shorter clubs such as wedges and high irons are played nearer the back foot. But experiment to see what suits you. The important thing is that you should strike the ball at the bottom of your swing.

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Lining Up the Ball

There are a three main ways in which you can line up your ball.
The first is to use the name on the ball as a guide line.
The second is to draw a line on the ball and use that to line up your shot.
The third is to pick a spot, about a foot in front of your ball which is inline with your ball and the target.

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Bunker Shots These shots are all about getting the club face right under the ball, so make sure you hit down. And if you're a right-handed player, getting your weight over your left side will help the shot. Vice-versa for left-handers. Hit at least an inch behind the ball in a bunker, this helps to get underneath the ball. Also open the clubface slightly to get more height on the shot

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© Copyright Adam Laycock 2003