A Lesson From Jim McDonald, PGA

Mastering your pre-swing fundamentals is key to a solid golf swing.

In golf, as with most sports, it is crucial to develop sound fundamentals in order to develop an efficient swing. While fitness and properly fit clubs are just as important, we, as players, create the foundation with sound fundamentals. 

Jim McDonald, PGA, TPI Certified

Today, I would like to talk about the “pre-swing” fundamentals:

Grip: Your grip helps you square the clubface at impact and create club head speed. Hold the club in front of you at a 45-degree angle and place the club across the palm of your left hand (for right-handers). When you close your hand, you will see 1-2 knuckles of the left hand. The right-hand grip is more in the fingers.

Posture:  Since the ball is in front of us and on the ground when we play golf, maintaining good  posture throughout the swing is essential for creating the proper club head path through impact. We like to see a slight knee flex while bending from the hip joint. 

Alignment:  Most golfers will aim their body at the target, which aims the clubface to the right.  Think of the rails of a railroad track: your ball sits on one of the rails and you are standing on the other rail. Your clubface is aimed at the target and your bodylines will be left of the target.