Learn to play golf

By Claire Minter | Aug. 10, 2023

The more you practise the technique the more success you'll have on the golf course.

Golf is growing more and more every year. Nearly every country in the world has a golf course. Zimbabwe has over 30 courses.

Some are nine holes and others are 18 holes. Bulawayo Golf Club is the oldest in Zimbabwe and was established in 1895 and the oldest in the world is The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland Est built in 1552.

Beginner golfers need to remember that golf is a game of patience, practice and technique.

Practice makes it perfect

The more you practise the technique the more success you'll have on the golf course.

The most important aspect of golf is “The swing”. If you have the understanding of the swing, anyone can play.

The first step in learning your swing is your grip. Ask an instructor to show you how to place your hands in the right gripping position.

If you don’t do this correctly you won't be set up well to hit the ball.

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If you pay attention to other golfers, you will notice that everyone moves a bit differently through the swing but the grip is the part that stays uniform.

At school, I played tennis, hockey and polocrosse and to be honest golf is the hardest sport I took up. You have 14 clubs in your bag, you are hitting a stationary ball with the smallest face in sports.

There are a number of various shots you have too full off. Chip, bump and run, lob, draw, fade, over trees, under trees, through trees, uphill and downhill lies, bunker and then you finally get to the green and have to putt a 4,2cm ball into a 10,79cm.

But I love golf the most. No matter how good or bad I am playing, there is always that one shot that brings me back!

If you learn grip, posture and stance correctly from the beginning you will understand why millions of players are taking up this sport.

There are three types of grip

Overlap

It’s good for bigger hands – Those with longer fingers and bigger hands will find the overlapping grip more comfortable, as it partially wraps around the leading hand and not just the club. It combines freedom and control.

By making the hands a little more unified, the overlap grip increases the amount of control you have over both wrists, helping them move as one but without reducing their freedom entirely.

Interlock

It’s well-suited to small hands. Players with small hands, such as children and female golfers, will find the interlocking grip more comfortable than the overlapping grip.

It locks the hands and wrists together. With the interlocking grip, both hands effectively act as one fluid unit.

This gives you much better control without having to think much about what your wrists are doing. It reduces the tension on the club.

With all ten fingers back on the club, and the interlock naturally helping you hold it, you don’t need to put so much pressure on the grip.

This helps you avoid choking the club and allows for a more fluid swing.

Baseball or Ten Finger

It’s easy for beginners. There can be a lot of things to focus on when you first start playing golf, from swing to posture, to club selection and everything in between.

Allowing them a neutral, natural grip means one less thing to worry about for the time being.It’s the most natural feeling. Until players get used to it, some of the movements and grips in golf can feel a little awkward. Adopting the ten-finger grip feels comfortable and can lead to a more relaxed stroke in general.

Posture and stance

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart to feel well balanced on the ground.
Your weight should be on the balls of your feet and not heels.
Bend your knees slightly.
Tilt your upper body slightly forwards with a straight back to get a nice shoulder and hip rotation.
Hands should fall relaxed in front of your body.

If you would like to learn how to play golf or if you are struggling with parts of your game, please contact myself or Akil.