I've never had the ideal golf swing, but then again, I'm also just a mid-handicapper who plays about once per month — and rarely has time to actually practice. So to think I should have a Xander Schauffele-like swing would be silly.
Since I've got to grind and work out some kinks, I visit top-ranked golf teachers like Kelvin Kelley, who don't just give me a golf lesson, but also identify common flaws that most amateur and beginner golfers have, too.
And in one of my most recent lessons with Kelley, he told me about a few common ball-striking mistakes that lots of mid-handicappers can't avoid — and offered up some golf tips to clean them up.
Check out the video below for more!
Fix Your Bad Ball-Striking in No Time
In all the years I've taken golf lessons, a common theme for me has been about rotation — or lack thereof.
For whatever reason, I really struggle with turning all the way back, and then often slide in the backswing to help compensate for that flaw, which leads to early-extension and poor contact.
That's why Kelley addressed this problem first, telling me I needed to work on eliminating the shifting and reverse tilting — which all starts with a proper rotation.
"The direction your body moves is the holy grail in the golf swing — it's the engine," Kelley tells me. "You're the definition of a shifter and tilter, which is hard to recover from...[because] you get your body in an inverted position. We literally have to flip that around."
In other words, I've got my work cut out for me to avoid my continued bad ball-striking habits.
Fix Your Golf Posture First
Before fixing my rotation, Kelley first cleans up my golf posture — which was "too bendy in the knees," as he told me.
To do this, he loosened up my arms to relieve tension — which kills golf swings — and then has me bend from the hips rather than squatting down like I was shooting a free-throw in basketball.
"We've got to get you bent from the hips first," he explains. "Just lock out your legs for me, hyperextend them, now, just unlock them. Now give me a little bend from the hips and use soft arms. You should feel like your chest is parallel to the ground."
After putting my body in the proper position and looking at my reflection in the mirror, Kelley reinforces how my golf posture should look.
"I wouldn't have a job if I gave people straight legs, but it's going to feel like it," he quips. "So you should start straight-legged, then hyperextend them. Now, just unlock them.... that looks like proper posture there."
How Your Swing Direction Impacts Your Ball-Striking
As Kelley told me earlier in the golf lesson, I was the "definition of a shifter and tilter," so he needed to work on my swing direction — which heavily impacts your ball-striking.
Kelley has me look at the mirror face on so I can see how he's positioning my body.
"OK, so the arms go up and the body goes around," he says. "In your case, when the body goes around, you've got to feel like your right glute is going back over towards the target...that's actually coiling around your spine — which makes sense, because that's where we're trying to get the ball to go."
By getting me in the right backswing position, Kelley then slightly adjusts my swing sequencing, which impacts my angle of attack to be more shallow all the way through impact and follow through.
This is where it should feel like I'm swinging a hammer as I hit the golf ball.
"I'm going to change the sequencing coming down, so there's your hammer," he explains. "That's your new takeaway. See how you're level?"
He then has me make some small practice swings to feel the new sensation.
"Just swing your arms up and put your right glute to the left heel...now your body's in position. So when your body bumps slightly, don't open up, because we're trying to hold the lead side.
With just the slightest adjustments, it will improve my rotation, balance, and ball-striking ability.
"That's you shallowing out the club without having to try and shallow it," Kelley explains. "Even that [slight] move from here to there puts you in a position to be shallow — which is an athletic move that you see pro players do."
Golf Posture + Swing Direction = Better Ball-Striking
Now that Kelley's fixed a few of my golf swing flaws, it's time to repeat the new process to feel how it'll impact my ball-striking skills.
"Learning to hit into a stable lead side helps the club comes around at the bottom, which is how you trap a ball," Kelley says. "Your trail side will work around the lead side, and that's your pushing motion coming through at impact [towards the target]."
These new movements aren't complete golf swing overhauls, which keep things simple and easy to incorporate. And by using an impact bag to try some of Kelley's golf tips during your next practice session, you'll discover how they can help make you a better ball-striker.
Craving more golf swing tips and golf instruction? Be sure to follow Nick Dimengo on Instagram, and subscribe to Rainmakers Golf on YouTube for more relatable swing advice to help your game improve.
