A good golf swing has 5 parts: setup, backswing, transition, downswing, and follow-through. Get each right and the ball goes where you want it.
Setup
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Ball position depends on the club: driver off the front heel, irons in the center of your stance, wedges slightly back of center.
Bend from the hips, not the waist. Your arms should hang naturally. Weight stays balanced, roughly 50/50 between both feet for irons. For driver, shift slightly more weight to your trail foot (right foot for right-handed players).
Your grip controls the clubface. Get it right before anything else. A neutral grip means the V formed by your thumb and index finger points toward your trail shoulder.
Backswing
Turn your shoulders while keeping your lower body stable. Your lead arm stays relatively straight. The club should reach parallel to the ground (or close to it) at the top.
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Common mistakes:
- Swaying laterally instead of rotating
- Lifting the arms instead of turning the body
- Gripping the club too tightly (causes tension throughout the swing)
A good checkpoint: at the top of the backswing, your back should face the target. If it doesn't, you're not turning enough.
Transition and downswing
The downswing starts from the ground up. Your hips rotate toward the target first, then your torso follows, then the arms and club. This sequence creates speed.
The most common amateur mistake is starting the downswing with the hands. This throws the club over the top and produces a slice. If you slice the ball, focus on bumping your lead hip toward the target before your arms move.
Swing speed by level:
| Player type | Driver swing speed | Typical carry distance |
|---|---|---|
| PGA Tour average | 114 mph | 275-295 yards |
| Scratch amateur | 100-105 mph | 240-260 yards |
| Average male amateur | 85-95 mph | 200-230 yards |
| Average female amateur | 65-75 mph | 150-180 yards |
Impact
At impact, your hands should be ahead of the ball for iron shots. This creates a descending blow that compresses the ball against the turf. That's where spin and control come from.
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With a driver, you want to hit slightly on the upswing. Tee the ball high enough that half the ball sits above the crown of the driver.
Follow-through
A full finish with your belt buckle facing the target and your weight on your front foot. If you can't hold your finish for 3 seconds, something went wrong earlier in the swing.
The follow-through doesn't change the shot (the ball is already gone), but it tells you whether your body moved correctly. A balanced finish means good sequencing.
3 drills that work
Alignment stick drill
Place a stick on the ground along your target line. Hit 20 balls checking that your feet, hips, and shoulders are parallel to the stick. Alignment errors are the #1 cause of missed shots that feel like swing problems.
Slow-motion swings
Swing at 50% speed and focus on the sequence: hips, torso, arms, club. Do 10 of these before every practice session. You'll build muscle memory for the correct order.
Towel under the arms
Tuck a towel under both armpits and hit half-shots. If the towel falls, your arms are disconnecting from your body rotation. This drill fixes chicken-wing follow-throughs and arms-only swings.
When to get a lesson
If you've played 5+ rounds and still slice every drive, get a lesson. A PGA teaching pro costs $50-150 per hour and can fix in 30 minutes what you'd spend months trying to fix from YouTube videos.
Most pros recommend a series of 3-5 lessons for beginners. That's enough to build a functional swing that gets the ball airborne consistently.
For more on the basics, read our beginner's golf guide and how to hit a golf ball.
