The Perfect Golf Swing

This is a guest post by my Dad as told to me.

This is how it started:

DAD: Kris, I’ve figured out the essence of the perfect golf swing.

ME: Oh? (I don’t really golf)

DAD: You have to stick your ass out.

ME: What?! (laughing) Tell me more. Here’s the juicy essence of perfecting your golf swing.

How to Improve Your Golf Swing

There’s a reason you need to stick your rear-end out:

You need to “keep down on the ball” when you swing. “Sticking your butt out” is what will help you to do that. It will also help with your balance. This is for both drives and iron shots.

“Staying down” means keeping the knees bent and the line of the upper body in the same angle relative to the ground. Of course your back is going to twist during your swing, but the line of your spine should remain the same.

With your iron shots, make sure you hit the ball first as opposed to the grass. Hit the ball first, then the divot.

Keeping It Simple

Here’s the beauty of it. Don’t think about the knees or the spine. Just remember to stick the butt out and the rest will automatically fall into place.

If you watch golf on TV, watch the pros. Some on the pros will noticeably stick out their rear-ends. Many don’t because they know they need to “keep down” on the ball as they swing through. For the rest of us, sticking out your butt will help you “keep down” through your swing.

As an example, if you take a look at the divots that Tiger Woods leaves, they are very long. This is an indication that he is staying down on the ball for a long time through his swing.

So keep down on the ball during your swing. Sticking your butt out will help you to do this. Remember that this is all for nothing without a full follow-through at the end of your swing, keeping your eyes on the ball the whole time.

The Importance of Practice

Practice this as often as you can in your back yard with a club, even in your house without a club. The more you practice this position, the more it will become a part of your muscle memory. That’s what you want. You want this to be automatic. Pretty soon you’ll start to notice that you don’t have to put in as much effort and also the ball will be more likely to go in the exact direction you want.

So practice.

So here is a very short video that demonstrates this concept.

I Didn’t Invent This

My dad wants me to say here that he didn’t invent this. This has come to him through observing the pros and then trying to implement it himself. He noticed that the pros never lift up their whole body throughout their swing. Everyone always says “don’t lift up your head.” Well if you’ve lifted up your head, you’ve probably lifted up your whole body from your original position and that’s what’s killing your swing.

A Note on the Back Swing

Bring it back “low and slow.” Low means keeping the head of the club low to the ground as long as possible.. This will help you get the most twisting power out of your upper body. And lastly, it’s not important to bring the club back super far. The more important thing is the follow through at the end of your swing all the way around.