How To Improve Your Golf Swing: 15 Simple Drill & Tips

It’s no secret that golfing is an art, and the key to mastering it all comes down to your swing. Sub-par (so to speak) swings can make or break your game, so when it comes to swinging the golf club its important to know what – and what not – to do.

We’re going to let you in on some of the very best golf swing tips that can help you improve your game and allow you to shoot lower scores. By the end of this article, you’ll have the drills, tips and knowledge to revamp and improve your golf swing in no time.

Understanding the Fundamentals of a Golf Swing

Before we deep dive into our definitive list of the best swing tips, Let’s quickly break down the main components of the ‘perfect’ golf swing:

Grip

The grip is how you hold the club, and it will affect the trajectory of the ball. A good, solid grip will give you control of the club, allowing you to hit the ball with the desired angle and spin. 

Stance

Your golf stance is where your feet are placed before the swing. A well-thought-out stance will give you balance and stability, allowing you to generate power and accuracy. Remember if you’re reading about the ideal stance, it’s likely written for a right-handed golfer. Lefties will need to reverse things!

Backswing

The backswing is the movement of the club away from the ball. It helps to build up momentum for the downswing. It should be smooth and steady to maximize power. 

Downswing

The downswing is the movement of the club back toward the ball. It should be timed properly to ensure that the club makes solid contact with the ball in the ideal spot.

Follow-through

The follow-through is the movement of the club after contact with the ball. It helps to ensure the ball is hit with the correct spin and trajectory. Again, keep things smooth and steady to maximize distance and accuracy.

Our 15 Best Tips & Drills For Improving Your Golf Swing

Executing the best golf swings isn’t easy. It takes time and dedication to hone the skill. It also takes some know-how: that’s where we come in. Below are 15 of our top tips on how to improve your golf swing, which will make you the master of your own game.

1. Use Your Whole Body

Now, this might seem obvious and yes we really are starting starting with the basics but you’d be amazed at how many people I see during coaching that are all arms when they swing the golf club which usually translates to a lack of consistency in their ball strike and a serious lack of power and distance.

If you video your swing (something I recommend every one do)in your back swing, you should be clearly able to see, you head staying down looking at the ball, rotation of the shoulders and hips. Then as in your follow through should see that rotate into a finish position that’s balanced and tall with our body facing the target.

If you can nail down using your whole body in your golf swing, you’re on your way to more consistency and more power.

2. Use the Turn-Shift Turn Drill

This is a super simple drill and is great for improving sequencing, which basically means what body parts moves when in the swing. I’ve laid out the steps of the drill for you below with some images for each position or fi you want to see it in action just watch the video above.

Step 1. Set up in your starting position with your arms across your chest, keep you head pointing at the golf ball

Step 2. Turn into your back swing keeping your arms crossed, make sure your get a full chest turn and keep your head pointing the golf ball.

Step 3. As we begin the downswing, we want to ‘bump’ into our lead side (move the pressure from your back foot into the front foot)

Step 4. As we bump into our lead side we come down into the swing and finish tall and facing the target.

Simple as that, if you’ve got 5 minutes at home or in your office stand up and get that drill done a few time and its really going to help you understand how correct body movement or sequencing in a golf swing should feel and if you practice that enough it’ll help improve your sequencing when you actually hit a golf ball.

3. Improve your Golf Grip

Golf grip and ensuring yours is consistent is going to be key to making sure you hit hit better more consistent shots.

If you’ve got a weak or loose grips we’re going to slice the ball and lose it out to the right.

If you’ve got a strong grip we might start to see us hooking it and pulling it to the left.

There is a loads of way to grip a golf and there is no correct way, it simply preference to which grip style you prefer.

If you’re new to the game of golf try starting with a neutral grip. To get a neutral grip of the golf club, I want to bring my left hand in (for a right handed golfer) place the grip in the fingers, NOT the palm and when I grip the club, I ideally want to be able to see two knuckles.

That’s going to create a ‘V’ with the thumb and index finger than that ‘V’ should be lining up the right shoulder. Sounds strange but you can see what that looks like in the picture below.

Now bring the right hand in, completely up to you whether you want to use interlock grip, overlap or baseball grip, all I’m concerned about when this right hand comes in is having the ‘V’ between my thumb and index finger on my right hand facing my right shoulder just the the left hand like mine below.

Once you’ve got those things in place you’ve now got a neutral grip that should look something like mine below.

4. Improve your tempo

Tempo in the golf swing is something we all struggle with from time to time but it’s something having good tempo is something that can really help to improve our golf game.

Lets take Jake Knapp as an example, he’s come onto the PGA tour, won an event and he’s got great distance, but when you look at his swing it’s smooth and it almost looks effortless, that’s because he’s got great tempo (that’s not the only reason he launches it but it certainly contributes.)

Too many times I see people come in and try to hit the ball as hard as they can by swinging the golf club as fast as they can and no surprise there is no consistency in their golf shots.

A really simple, thought or tempo to use to stop you from swinging the golf club like your trying to snap it, is using a 4-count as we swing

Count 1 would be our back swing, count 2 is the top of our back swing, count 3 is our down swing and count 4 is our finish position.

Now this seems easy but trying to introduce tempo into a swing that used to flying can be really tough, so stick at it and in the long run you’ll be launching ball with accuracy.

5. Control Your Trail Elbow

What we want to see here is the trail elbow staying just in front of the shirt seam in the backswing(left-hand side of the picture above) and not falling behind (right-hand side of the picture above)

If we can control the trail elbow it’s going to allow us to transition and drop into the down swing ‘on plane’. If we lose the trail elbow behind the shirt seam, its likely going to lead us coming more over top in our down swing, leading to a slice.

A good drill to get the feel for this is to place your left hand (for a right handed golfer) underneath your right tricep (left-hand side of the picture above) and from there just make a backswing (right-hand side of the picture above). This drill puts in the perfect position to drop it into the slot on the down swing and square the club face up.

Do that a couple of times and to get the feel of the position then move into your practice swing and just focus on controlling the trail elbow.

6. Hit down into the Golf ball

Way too often do I see the low point of Golfers to far behind the ball as if they’re trying to sweep the ball up. Consistent distance and ball striking comes from the opposite. we need to hit down for the ball to come up.

Couple of really simple drills I use both myself and when I coach is too imagine a point on the floor just in front of the ball and try to hit down and through that point rather than the golf ball. When you you use this in your practice swings you should see some turf marks just in front of where you ball would normally be.

The second drill is really useful for when you want to move onto hitting the ball rather than just practice swing. All you do is place a tee down in front of the ball in the same you would if you were doing the practice swing drill, then it’s just a case of hitting the golf ball and trying to remove the tee as well.

If you can nail this you’re going to compress the golf ball so much better, which means more consistency and more distance with less effort.

7. Hold Your finish

I can count how many times I’ve seen (or done myself) falling of shots backwards, hopping one one leg and all types of other crazy finish positions which is then generally followed by a pretty rubbish shot. Remember not all of us are Scottie Scheffler!

So, when you’re golfing, the way you finish your swing speaks volumes. Not just because it looks cool but If you make it to a full, steady and balanced finish position, you’ve likely used your body correctly throughout the swing/

To get a better idea of, what I mean watch how the pros like Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa or Brooks Koepka do it. Look at the finish positions they hold until the ball lands – you’ll see great control and balance. This should be your goal! Hit the driving range to practice committing to a full finish. Then the next time you play on the course, you’ll be able to accelerate the golf club through impact for better ball striking.

8. Don’t Rush The Swing

Take your time and don’t rush – that’s the key to a great golf swing! Slow down your transition and take a few practice swings with a wedge – the extra time at the top is the key to success.

If you’re new to golf and playing on a course you can feel a bit of pressure from other groups catching up. Don’t worry at all, most people are really understanding especially when it comes to beginners because we’ve all been there before! So if you’re taking a bit longer because you don’t want to rush, ask them if they want to play through and just take your time.

If you rush it, chances are you’ll cause yourself some avoidable issues (slicing being the most common), so don’t be in a rush to hit the ball. Keep it slow and steady, and you’ll give yourself a good chance of hitting the ball a significant distance accurately.

9. Know Your Strength and Weaknesses

Before the first shot off the tee, you’ll be faced with a ton of decisions but to reduce the decision making process and get my focus on my strengths there’s 4 questions simple core questions I use before hitting my shot that help eliminate the other million things I could be making

1.What club am am I going to hit? Pick the best club for YOU, not the ones your pals are hitting!

2. Where am I going to aim? Do I want to aim shot because my long putting is a strength? Go at the flag because I’m good a sinking putts inside 10 feet?

3. Am I going to hit it high or low? Knowing this is going to help you

4. What’s the wind doing? for example If its off the left and I want to play to my strengths which is hitting a fade I know I’m going to want to adjust a few things

All that being said even if you have answer for all of those questions the most important thing to remember is to play to your strengths and steer away from your weaknesses. Even the best golfers in the world have some weak spots they try to avoid. It’s not realistic to think you can hit every shot with success, so don’t be tempted to try something you can’t execute just to show off.

The great part of golf is that you can decide which shot is right for you. 

Be smart with your club selection and steer clear of shots you struggle with. Of course, you should still practice improving your weaknesses, but when on the course, always pick the shot that gives you the best chance to succeed!

10. Allow room for your bad shots

This one is really good one to wrap your head around if your a beginner. To many times I see beginners aim straight at the flag everytime, which in theory sounds great but in reality not even the pros do that.

I need to understand my current tendencies or ‘shot shape’ and aim at a point that means when hit the golf ball and it lands, I’m still going to be in an ok position.

For example, if you’ve been hitting the ball left all day, don’t aim straight at the flag, aim right of it and that is allowing room for a ‘bad’ shot because it means when we aim right we still end up in a positive position.

11. Pick a target

This might seem obvious after the point above but with some much concentration and thought going into just swinging the club, I see so many people just walk up to a ball and hit it without actually picking a target. So the here is save the technique for the driving range and pick a target.

As a golfer, it’s always important to have a very specific target in mind when you take your stance before each shot. This will help you stay committed and focused on the swing and will help you have more confidence with each shot. So don’t just aim for the fairway; this simply won’t make the cut. Instead, search for a target in the distance before you take aim.

12. Find a coach

Now I know, I know you’re thinking of course I would say this I’m a golf coach but I promise you if you want to get better at golf not grind it out of the driving range with no direction then you’re going to need a golf coach and get lessons.

Yes it’s an investment, but it means you’re getting tailored drills and coaching for your swing which will help you improve YOUR golf game specifically, so if you can, get a golf coach!

13. Get custom-fit clubs

Bare with me hear, I’m not saying you have to spend thousands of dollars on new custom-fit clubs just to look cool on the course and yes you want to make sure you’re committed to playing golf before chucking money at new clubs.

But getting your clubs fitted by a professional means you’re going to be playing with clubs that have the shaft length, shaft flex and t lie angle all tailored to your height, stance, set up and your club head speed.

The result of custom fit clubs, you’ll be playing with golf clubs that are suited to you and your swing which will seriously help when it comes to consistency and ball control

14. Work on the mental game

Psychology plays a big part in the game of golf. Thankfully, there are a few great hacks that can really help to up your level of play.

Mental preparation can enhance performance and reduce anxiety on the golf course, making for an improved golf swing. Visualization, goal-setting, and mindfulness practices routinely help golfers stay focused and confident during the game:

• Visualization: Visualize yourself hitting the ball in the exact spot you want it to go. When you visualize, aim to focus on the little details, such as the sound of the ball being hit, the feel of the club in your hands, and the sight of the ball flying off the club.
• Goal-setting: Set realistic goals (emphasis on realistic here!) for each round of golf you play. These could be to get the ball within a certain number of yards of the hole or to practice a specific golf shot. This will help to keep you motivated and focused on the task at hand.
• Mindfulness practices: Before each shot, take a few deep breaths and clear your mind. Focus on the present moment and make yourself more aware of your body and its movements. This will help you to keep your cool when striking the ball.

Another less obvious tip that’s worth an honorable mention but It’s something that I as a golf coach swear by when golfers are struggling to get a great swing due to a lack of confidence.

• Bring a small novelty or foam golf ball along to the golf course. Prior to your shot, ( as long as you’re not holding people up!) give it hit to get your body and mind into the swing of things. This will help to keep the game entertaining, let you relax and take the pressure off of making each shot perfect.

The more you practice these hacks, the easier you will find them. After a few sessions, they should become old hat, so you’ll do them without even consciously thinking about them.

15. Practice, Practice, Practice

Practicing isn’t just for newbie golfers. As with anything, the old saying, practice makes perfect is true, even when you’re on top of your game. Remember that, no matter how good you are, there’s always room for a little improvement.

It’s super important to practice both your full swing and your short game. You can also use training aids and equipment to help with swing mechanics, such as weighted clubs and alignment sticks.

For improving your grip, practice keeping your hands in the same position while taking multiple practice swings. A grip trainer can be really handy to help you keep the same grip each time.

When it comes to getting a better backswing, you might want to opt for using a mirror to ensure that you are keeping your head down while your arms and golf club are in the correct position.

For improving swing mechanics, try using weighted clubs, alignment sticks, and even a swing analyzer. These tools can help you make sure you are keeping your body in the right position throughout the swing and that you don’t have any major flaws in your technique.

Bonus Tip: Troubleshoot your swing

Even the most experienced golfers can find themselves in a situation where they’re not hitting the ball as they’d like. Whether it’s shanking, hitting fat or thin shots, or your shots veering to the left or right unintentionally, it can be frustrating and, well, frankly, embarrassing.

Thankfully there are solutions at hand. Let’s look at common problems and how you can rectify irksome issues and perform the perfect golf swing.

Shanking

Firstly, let’s talk briefly about shanking. A shank is when the golf ball is hit with the heel of the golf club, resulting in a slice or pull. It’s annoying, to say the least, but it can be fixed!

The most successful way to fix this is to focus on your grip. Ensure you exude even pressure on both hands, but check that your grip is not too tight.

As well as this, be sure to keep your hands in front of the ball at address. The logic behind this stance is it will help you make a more consistent swing.

Last but not least, you want to make sure your swing is coming from the inside and that you are keeping your head still throughout the swing.

Hitting fat or thin shots

Even the best players (whether they like to admit to it or not) will probably have gone through the unfortunate phase of hitting fat or thin shots.

Fat or thin shots occur when the golf club is either hitting the ground before the ball or behind the golf ball, resulting in a less-than-favorable shot. To fix this, it all boils down to posture.

Make sure you are maintaining your spine angle during the swing and that you are keeping your body weight on the inside of your feet. Also, ensure you are pushing off the ground with your feet as you swing.

Finally, you’ll want to make sure your arms are staying in front of your body throughout the swing and that you are keeping your wrists firm.

Difficulty hitting a straight shot

Shots that travel too far right or left are a real nuisance, and they happen to the best of us. When your shots are going off course and you can’t seem to get them back on track, the best way to fix this is to focus on your alignment.

Ensure you are setting up the ball with the target line in the center of your stance (don’t worry if it takes you a little longer than you’d like). Then it’s time for a quick practice swing or two. This will ensure your swing path is consistent.

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure you are swinging at the same speed and rhythm on each shot.

FAQs

What are some common mistakes that golfers make when trying to improve their swing?

From slicing the ball to being too tense, too many golfers easily fall into bad habits when trying to get a great swing. But, by far, one of the most common is forgetting to practice – you can’t expect to improve if you don’t get out on the course and learn the basics! Another is overthinking the swing – if you get too caught up in the mechanics, you’ll lose the fluidity so pratice on the range and when you’re on the golf course enjoy it, pick a target and strike it.

How can physical fitness and strength training help me improve my own golf swing?

With good physical fitness, you’re going to be moving more freely, which allows you to have a more efficient and consistent golf swing. Strength training can help increase your power, which can help you hit the ball farther and with more accuracy.

Is a golf instructor recommended to make me a better golfer?

To develop a great swing, many golfers find that taking the time to learn the ropes and practicing is enough to help them up their game. However, instructors can make a beneficial difference to not just your swing, but your overall golf strategy if you’re looking to become the next PGA champ!