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#21 The most common mistakes
Mistakes happen. Every golfer knows that almost better than any other athlete. Because in golf there are countless opportunities to make mistakes. The following are the most important, or most common, mistakes that can become unpleasant traps, especially for amateur golfers without regular coaching lessons.
Grip
Even before the first tee shot, this first mistake can come into play. The grip is the first complex thing that can be challenging for golfers. If you're picking up a golf club for the first time and getting the grip right, you'll know how strange it feels, how much it needs to be practiced to be reproducible and to feel good before long. But precisely because the arrangement of the hands behind and partly above each other is so difficult, it is also predestined for mistakes that can creep in without being noticed directly. So if suddenly the swing doesn't work anymore, the ball hooked or sliced, then it can be due to the faulty grip, it doesn't have to be the swing itself that is to blame.
Stand
Errors can be noticed more quickly here and are also easier to correct than with the grip: In general, the feet should be about shoulder width apart, with the tips pointing slightly outwards. The stance should be comfortable. A line, formed over both toes in the direction of the stroke, should indicate the path of the ball.
Address position
The most important consideration at this point is the back. This must be straight, slightly bent forward in the buttocks. To do this, the player bends his knees slightly. Only under this condition can a straight and also desired swing path be created. If the ball does not fly as it should, it could be that the back is not straight but curved. Just take your time and check.
Backswing
Here, the upper body naturally performs a slight rotation against the direction of the ball's flight. This rotation is caused by the further bending of the leg standing in the direction of ball flight, so that the upper body and pelvis rotate slightly together and the hips are not involved in the rotation. This is the only way to create a little tension on the backswing, which then helps to build up good club head speed on the follow through.
Swing arm
This arm (left arm for right-handers) should remain as straight as possible during the backswing. If it is bent, it must be brought back into a straight line in the follow through. This can lead to a faulty swing path. In addition, a bent swing arm takes the tension back out of the body that should be created in the backswing. An extended arm to the end position in the upswing creates this necessary tension.
Wrists
They should already be slightly bent in the first third of the backswing, so that an angle of about 100 degrees is created between the club shaft and the forearm. It is important that the back of the hand and the forearm remain in line. The angle must be created over the thumbs, not the backs of the hands. Otherwise it will be very difficult to regain the correct posture by the time the ball is hit.
Weight shift
In the backswing, the weight is naturally shifted to the back foot first. But at the highest point, the weight should then already be on the front foot, otherwise there is a danger of being straight in the back position during the follow-through. Badly hit balls would be the result.
Straightening
Many amateur golfers do not pay attention to the fact that the knees must remain slightly bent during the backswing. As a result, they stand with their knees pressed through the swing and cannot hit the ball correctly. This often results in a topped ball.
Swing plane
This is where mistakes tend to creep in. Previous mistakes are compensated for by changing the swing plane, which is actually a good one. Many golfers swing too flat, come to the ball too much from the outside or inside, which in turn leads to hooks or slices. Correction is seldom possible on one's own, since the golfer cannot see himself from the side in the swing. At least one hour with the pro should therefore be standard before the start of each new golf season.
Chicken Wings
These have already been discussed in detail recently. It is about pulling the arms in during the follow through. There is often a psychological aspect to this. Therefore, the swing should always be practiced without the ball for a while at the beginning on the range. Then it is easier for the mind to understand the swing from one highest point to the other as a fluid movement and to store it permanently.
