How to Hit a Golf Ball: Instructions and Tips

Where to Stand

The first thing you need to know in order to learn how to hit a golf ball is where to stand. A golf player needs to stand about 20 inches away from the ball, with their left shoulder pointed at the green, or where the target is. Ideally, your left foot should be below the left shoulder, and the ball should be between your feet.

Which Body Parts to Involve

A good golf player should know exactly which parts of your body to move when hitting a ball. You need to begin the swing by shifting your entire weight on to your back foot. At the same time, your hips should be rotated towards the right. You are about to swing your golf club, but your whole body needs to be involved in the game, not just your hips and your hands.

How to Swing

To know how to hit a golf ball properly, you have to learn how to swing next. When you are ready to swing your golf club, your entire body's weight should be transferred to your front foot instead. Your arms and hands should follow the same pattern as your weight.

When to Make Contact

The first thing to do in order to make the contact is to bring your golf club down to the ball. The moment that your golf club is about to come into contact with the ball, unlock both your wrists. The wrist movement is very subtle but immensely important, it determines whether the ball is hit with the appropriate force or not.

Where to Look

From the moment that you are ready to hit the ball, your eyes should be at the back of the ball. Many golfers make the mistake of looking to and fro the way their ball would go, which makes them lose their focus, and results in a mishit. Therefore, always keep your eyes on the ball, and stop concentrating too much on the ball's path.

You Should Learn How to Use Leverage

Golf is not a sport where you need big muscles. What you actually need to know is how to use leverage, which is created by the angle between your left hand and the club you are using. You also need to know how to hold this particular angle in your body. And this has nothing to do with brutal force. Forcing your body to hold that angle will most definitely result in a bad swing, and it rarely works while playing.

A tactic that you can use to hold this leverage is to start the swing by shifting your hip a little towards the way of the target. Doing so will help you add more momentum to your golf club, making the impact between the club and the ball more powerful.

You Shouldn't Stop Your Body from Turning

If you have the habit of hooking, you might notice that your body actually slows down as you hit the ball. This also causes the momentum of your swing to flip over and snap close. To avoid this automatic slowing down, you need to turn your body to the way where the target is. If you remember to shift to your left - where your target is - your club will not flip over, and you will be able to fix your hooking habits.

You Only Need to Swing Within Your Limits

I repeat, golf is not a game to show off your strength, and therefore, you don't need to swing your club with more strength than you possess. You need to use the force that is normal for you, and nothing more than that. When you are more focusing on your body's strength than concentrating on your swing, you will be losing focus on your game.

You Need to Maintain Your Arm's Speed

Another tip to remember would be to keep your arm's speed stable from the start to the finish. If you have the habit of stopping your arm immediately after swinging, you have the risk of throwing your golf club at the way of the ball. On the other hand, if you maintain your arm's speed, you will be able to create a good rhythm.

You Need to Trust Your Own Swing

Golf is also a mental game, as is any other sport. You need to trust your swing and don’t always try to imitate what other people are doing. If you keep thinking about the technical details of how to hit a gold ball during a play, you will lose focus. At the end of the day, this is a game of your own, so you need to be comfortable with your own style and trust your own swing.