Best Way to Strike a Golf Ball

Most men find striking a golf ball easy. Most women don’t. Women beginners tend to be afraid of damaging the ground or themselves, but focus and concentration can build confidence.

Watch the ball at impact. Keep your eyes on the back of the ball – the part you are going to hit. See the ball as you hit it and then see the grass after the ball has gone.

As a beginner have plenty of practice swings, learning to brush the ground exactly where you intend to.

Through impact, the left heel should be firmly on the ground, the eyes stay focused on the back of the ball and the clubhead brushes the ground exactly where the ball sits. The arms should feel stretched because they are travelling fast. All your thoughts are on making a good contact.

Striking the ball is like using a hammer — the hammer moves backwards and forwards on the same curved path. The same should happen with a golf club — the takeaway and attack should follow the same curved path. Imagine you have a nail in the back of the ball and are trying to hit it forward with a long-handled hammer.

In the wrong attack, the clubhead usually moves away on a smooth curve but then attacks the ball too steeply. In terms of our hammer and nail, the hammer would be hitting downwards and bending the nail rather than driving it forwards. The cause for women is usually the right hip, which gets in the way of making a curved attack.

Contact with the ball is all-important. The basic swing with a 7 iron is adapted depending on the contact you want to make. With a driver you sweep the ball away on the upswing. The ball is positioned further forward in the stance. With most iron shots you sweep the ball away with the ball just ahead of centre.

With downhill and recovery shots you make a downward contact, taking the ball and then a little divot.

Driving range

A driving range is the ideal place to concentrate on improving your striking of the ball. You can take as many practice swings as you like, hit as many balls as you want, and listen for that elusive perfect contact.

Hit through the ball

Aim at the very back of the ball, imagining there is a nail in it that you want to drive forwards. Hit all the way through the ball at the point of impact, smoothly sweeping the ball away.

Try this exercise

Put a blob of lipstick or chalk on the back of the ball, hit it and see where the mark is left on the clubface. Unless you are a very good player you won’t find them all in the middle of the clubface. Just keep looking at the ball, practice more and assess each contact. On a driving range you can hear how well some players contact the ball. Listen for a perfect strike.