Golf swing basics: 4 drills to refresh your fundamentals this season

When it comes to your golf swing basics, there are four things that golfers need to prioritize above all else: Your grip, your posture, your stance, and your impact position. They’re all items golfers should be checking readily, but especially before you start playing a heavy stretch of golf, like before the start of the season.

Enter Todd Sones, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher who is here with a few tips to help you nail down your golf swing basics.

Golf Swing Basics #1: The grip

While there are lots of different types of grips, and making the necessary tweaks depends on your unique body, a good golf swing basic is for golfers to start with a neutral grip. To do this, Sones toe stand in a relaxed-and-upright position, with your arm hanging in your natural position. Allow the club to fall into your left hand, then hold your arm and the club in front of you, then place your right hand on the grip. The club should be in the fingers, not the palm.

Golf Swing Basics #2: Posture

Good posture is one of those golf swing basics that amateurs don’t think about enough. To make sure your posture doesn’t get sloppy, Sones says to stand in an upright position and place a club across your hip bones, just below your waistline. Move slowly into golf posture; the feeling you’re looking for here is to bend from the hips, not your back. you can help with this by keeping your back straight, and pushing the club back into your hips as you tilt your upper body forward.

Golf Swing Basics #3: Stance

The final of the setup-related golf swing basics that Sones shares is a tip to help with your stance. Now that you have a good grip and posture, you can set the right stance by holding the club in front of you with your left foot staggered behind your right. Set the clubface behind the ball, keep your right foot in place and step into the shot with your left foot, making sure it’s in-line with your right foot. Finish off your stance, Sones says, by making a small step too your right with your right foot.

Golf Swing Basics #4: Impact

Now that your setup is in good shape, Sones wants you to nail down your impact position — the most important part of your golf swing. Do this by taking your new setup position and making an abbreviated backswing, so your left arm is parallel to the ground and your club shaft forms a 90-degree angle with your arm. Once you get set in that position, swing through and stop post-impact. At this point, Sones said, your arms should be pointing straight at the target with your clubshaft parallel to the ground.