Golf swing basics

A good golf swing is simpler than it looks: hold the club well, stand to the ball in a balanced position, turn back, turn through and finish facing the target. This guide covers those basics in plain words, the most common faults and what usually causes them, and how the swing works in One Fairway. It's general advice, not a lesson: if you're starting out, a few sessions with a qualified coach are worth more than any page.

The grip

The grip is your only contact with the club, so small changes here change the whole shot. For a right-handed golfer:

• Left hand first. The handle runs across the base of the fingers, not the palm. Close the hand and you should see two or three knuckles from above. The V between thumb and forefinger points roughly at your right shoulder.
• Right hand below it. It covers the left thumb, and its V points the same way. Link or overlap the little finger of the right hand with the left forefinger (the interlocking and overlapping grips), or keep all ten fingers on the club (the ten-finger grip). All three are fine; pick the one that feels secure.
• Light pressure. Hold it firmly enough to control it, not to squeeze. A tight grip locks the wrists and arms and costs both speed and feel.

Left-handed golfers mirror everything.

Stance, posture and alignment

• Feet about shoulder-width apart for a mid-iron, a little wider for the driver, a little narrower for short wedges.
• Bend from the hips, not the waist, with a straight back and a slight flex in the knees. Let the arms hang down naturally from the shoulders.
• Weight on the balls of the feet, shared evenly between both. You should feel ready to move, not sitting back on your heels.
• Aim the clubface first, then the body. Set the face looking at the target, then line up feet, hips and shoulders parallel to that line, a little left of the target for a right-hander, like the inside rail of a railway track.

Ball position

• Driver: opposite the inside of the front heel, so you catch the ball slightly on the upswing, off a tee.
• Fairway woods and hybrids: a ball or two back from the driver.
• Mid and short irons: close to the middle of the stance, so you strike the ball and then the turf.
• Wedges and chips: middle or slightly back.

If you keep topping or fattening shots, ball position is one of the first things to check.

The swing, in four parts

1. Takeaway. Start the club back low and slow with the shoulders and arms moving together, not a quick flick of the hands.
2. Backswing. Turn your shoulders away from the target while the hips turn less. Your weight moves into the inside of the back foot. The arms swing up; the wrists hinge naturally. It doesn't need to reach parallel: a shorter, controlled backswing beats a long, loose one.
3. Downswing. Start it from the ground up: shift your weight toward the front foot and unwind the hips, then the body, arms and club follow. Don't start by throwing the hands at the ball.
4. Impact and finish. At impact your hands lead the clubhead slightly with irons. Keep turning through to a balanced finish: chest facing the target, almost all your weight on the front foot, the back heel up. If you can hold the finish for a few seconds, the swing was in balance.

Tempo matters more than speed. Most good players have a smooth backswing about three times as long as the downswing. Swinging at 80% with good contact usually goes further than a lunge at 100%.

Common faults and their usual causes

• Slice (the ball curves right for a right-hander): an open clubface at impact, often with a swing path that cuts across the ball from outside to in. Check the grip (a weak grip leaves the face open) and alignment (aiming left encourages the cut).
• Hook (curves sharply left): a closed clubface, often from a very strong grip or the hands flipping over through impact.
• Push and pull (straight right or straight left): the path is off, but the face matches it. Often alignment or ball position.
• Topped shots: standing up through impact or the ball too far forward.
• Fat shots (hitting the ground first): weight hanging back on the back foot, or the ball too far forward for an iron.

Change one thing at a time, and practise it with short, easy swings before full ones.

Practise with a target every time, with a club on the ground to check your aim, and spend plenty of time on short shots: chips, pitches and putts add up to a big share of every round. How to read greens.

The swing in One Fairway

In One Fairway you don't copy a real swing with your body, but the same ideas apply: power, timing and the strike decide the shot.

• Draw back, release, strike. Press and hold, drag up for power and let go. A marker then sweeps across the meter, and you click (or tap, on a phone or tablet) as it meets the gold line. On a keyboard, the arrow keys set power and Enter releases and strikes.
• Timing is your accuracy. Strike on the line for a "Pure strike". For a right-handed golfer, early pushes the ball right and fades it; late pulls it left and draws it. The harder you swing, the narrower the timing window: the meter says it plainly, "More power · Finer timing". It's the same lesson as real golf: an easier swing is easier to time.
• No luck involved. The same swing always gives the same shot: there's no random spread, and every shot is replayed on our server, so scores are fair.
• Shape the ball with the strike point. Drag the dot on the ball to hit a fade or a draw; a low strike adds backspin and launches higher, a high strike flies lower and runs.
• Pick the shot, not just the club. Full, punch, pitch, chip, flop and putt each use the club differently. The caddie suggests a club and shot, but it's only a default.
• Levels give you control, not power. As you level up you unlock the punch and the flop and gain more shaping and a slightly bigger sweet spot. No level and no club adds distance.
• Practise on the practice tee, from the tee, the fairway, around the green and on the green, and try clubs there before you buy them.

Questions

What are the basics of a golf swing?
A neutral grip, a balanced stance with the clubface aimed first, a shoulder turn back, a downswing that starts with a shift of weight to the front foot, and a balanced finish facing the target.

Why do I slice the ball?
Usually an open clubface at impact, often with an out-to-in swing path. A weak grip and aiming left are common causes, so check those first.

How do you swing in One Fairway?
Press and hold, drag up for power and let go, then click or tap as the marker meets the gold line. Early pushes the ball right, late pulls it left, and the timing window gets narrower the harder you swing.

Try your swing on Stonepine, in a realistic golf game that's free in your browser. You can start as a guest. More: golf club distances · how to play golf.