Video: Golfing tips

We catch up with the pupils from Easton College who are studying to be golf professionals.

With the help of Bawburgh Golf Club’s head pro Chris Potter, who also helps tutor the youngsters, we will examine some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the individual’s swings.

Through this process we aim to hopefully pass on some helpful hints and tips to all you keen golfers out there.

You can view video footage below of the golfers’ swings with commentary from Chris Potter.

Click here for more tips from Chris Potter


Joe Lambert - Pitch shot

Joe plays at Wensum Valley off a handicap of seven and has reduced it from 10 in less than a year.

When Joe first started the course at Easton College he hit the ball long distances but lacked control of the distance he hit each club, in particular wedge shots.

It was not uncommon for him to hit a 300 yard drive and then to take four or five shots to hole out from inside 100 yards.

Joe stood far too square on for his pitch shots, playing a pitch shot far too much like a full swing for a mid iron. This made his distance control non-existent.

His set-up position has now changed considerably for a pitch shot. The ball should be just inside the right foot, the stance should be open – aimed left of target – with the club face and shoulders square to the target.

The weight should be favouring the left foot with 60-70 per cent of the weight on this foot.

The swing should be mostly arms and shoulders with the distance controlled by the length of swing taken and not by the speed or the amount of wrist action used.

To control Joe’s dstance we encouraged him to imagine his swing was like a clock face with his hands waist high on the backswing being 9 o’clock and the mirror image on the follow through being 3 o’clock.

To control distance Joe measured this 9 o’clock swing, as we call it, with all his short irons, ie: a 9 o’clock sand wedge may go 80 yards.

As Joe was using an arm and shoulder swing with no wrist action it would go the same distance within a yard or two every swing he made.

By increasing the length of his swing to a 10 o’clock position and 2 o’ clock position he would hit the ball 90yards, an 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock swing would go 100 yards and so on.

This has given him the control he needed from 100 yards and subsequently he has reduced his handicap.

Combining this with taking accurate on-course measurements will further improve his scores.

Peter Murphy - Six iron shot

Peter plays off a handicap of five at Mundesley Golf Club.

His ball striking is excellent, however, and mean his handicap is lower than it is.

The poor shots that Peter suffers from are either a weak fade shot – bending left to right – or a pull shot – going straight left.

Unfortunately, under pressure either can occur. We have identified his main fault at the start of his back swing.

He moves the club outside the line on the back swing and this causes a slight tilt with his weight going on to his left side, causing his right leg to straighten.

This poor position makes starting his downswing correctly very difficult.

At the top of his back swing Peter’s right arm is too far away from his body and this is what we are trying to avoid.

The more compact and slightly flatter position is my preferred top of back swing position.

The poor position he is in at the top of the back swing makes starting the downswing correctly with his legs rather than his arms and shoulders almost impossible, causing him to start the downswing with his arms and shoulders first causing the club to be “cast” outside the line on the downswing.

This movement makes him finish in a very poor position through impact with the club pointing way left of target.

If he releases the club correctly he gets a destructive pull hook.

I feel that if Peter can overcome this fault his game will improve greatly and make a very good ball striker that little bit more consistent with the poor shot being less likely to find trouble thus allowing him to reduce his handicap by a few shots which his quality of ball striking deserves.

Christo Fellas - Rescue wood shot

Christos plays off a five handicap at Great Yarmouth and Caister Golf Club.

Playing a coastal course means he has learned to adapt to very changeable weather conditions and inparticular keeping the ball on a low trajectory.

Sadly, this has also led to one of the biggest faults in his game.

From a neutral set-up position he gets the club into a poor knee-to-waist-high position.

At this point the golf club shaft should be parallel to his feet with his thumbs on top of the club shaft with the toe of the club pointing skywards.

Christos' club is pointing towards the ground (closed). His hands have turned and the palm of his right hand is also pointing at the ground.

At this point his thumbs should be on top of the club. The back of his left hand and palm of the right hand should be parallel to his feet.

From here he has struggled to turn correctly on the backswing, normally picking the club up too steeply.

I would prefer to see his right arm position lower and slightly more tucked into his body.

This better top-of-the-backswing position would make it easier for Christos to control his iron shots, especially in the wind at Caister.

Christos has had two major faults which on his day have cancelled each other out, but if he is going to reach the standard he hopes to we must minimise or totally eradicate these errors.

Ben Kinder - Draw shot

Ben has a very fundamental fault in his set up which has been grooved into his game with practice – consequently, it will be very difficult and uncomfortable to change.

Most faults in an established golf swing are in the set up. Ben’s left hand grip is extremely strong. By this we mean that he is showing about four knuckles on his left hand grip.

The V formed between the thumb and forefinger should point between the chin and right shoulder.

The V between Ben’s thumb and forefinger points over his right hip, he should be showing two to two-and-a-half knuckles.

The logo on his golf glove should be pointing towards the target.

This poor grip will cause Ben to swing the golf club on an in-to-out swing path flat around his body causing either push shots (straight right) or hook shots bending left.

This poor grip is a must change for Ben as this major fault will be highlighted when he is under pressure and will jeopardise his improvement.

The feeling he needs to get is that the left arm and golf club act as one.

The V formed between thumb and forefinger ought to point between the chin and right shoulder, the left arm should feel comfortably straight and only slightly twisted to the right.

The logo on the glove or the back of the left hand should be pointing to the target.

The V between thumb and forefinger on the right hand should also point between chin and right shoulder and the right arm should feel slightly flexed.

This neutral position will give Ben far more consistency.

Tom Covell - Hitting a driver

Tom is a very good ball striker and has made steady progress throughout the year, lowering his handicap gradually.

The changes he has made to his swing have been quite significant and have moved him close to achieving the Holy Grail in golf – consistency.

The biggest fault that Tom experienced in his swing when he first joined the course at Easton was one that a large number of amateur golfers also suffer from – an incomplete body turn.

The powerful turning/winding action of the body is a common factor in any good swing.

Incorporating a full turn and weight shift, the athletic body pivot creates the torque that’s necessary to hit the ball solidly. And that’s what you must strive to achieve.

Many players, particularly those who have been lectured on the perils of swaying, and keeping the head still, are actually afraid of the motion that’s involved in making a full turn. A fuller turn also equals more distance.

Here’s how to really feel your turn. In front of a mirror, take your address position, then place both hands on your hips and turn to the right, as if you were looking at someone standing directly behind you. Your back should be facing target – your shoulders having turned through at least 90 degrees, your hips about half the amount.

Make a note too that your left knee points inward and that your weight is predominantly on your right side – specifically the inside of your right foot.

Daniel Russell - Three Quarter Punch shot

Daniel is the lowest handicapper in our group his progress has been consistent and he had been rewarded for his hard work by recent medal rounds having broken par consistently in competition.

Like the other students poor course management is more of a problem than poor striking. Some of this improvement in his consistency has come from a swing change which felt awful to Daniel at the time but now is more comfortable.

It can be clearly seen that his backswing is inside the line (club pointing to the right of the target). This causes an in to out swing path causing pushed or hooked shots.

At the waist high position on the backswing the shaft should be square to the ball to target line with the thumbs on top of the club and the face pointing skywards.

This change obviously felt awful to start with but it has made a massive difference to the consistency. This consistency has now meant Daniel’s poor hit is far less destructive than it used to be. One erratic shot off two handicap means you play above your handicap.

Margins for error at 2 h/cap are slim. Daniel is well on course to achieve his goal of scratch by the end of the course.

Jamie Smith - Fade shot

Jamie has improved no end in the previous six months prior to coming on the course.
However we needed to address two major faults — one his course management and two his address position.

It is clear to see that his right arm is too straight which causes his shoulders to be open pointing left of the target causing an out to in swing path.
The correct set up shows the left arm being straighter with the right arm slightly tucked into the body.

At the set up position the line across the feet the hips and the shoulders should all be square to the ball to target line. This stronger set up position has allowed Jamie to coil more on the backswing allowing a greater should turn, more distance and more consistency.

His technique with this and a couple of minor swing changes have allowed him to be more consistent.

This has been highlighted recently by him winning the Norfolk Scratch order of merit at Costessey Park.

His handicap has been reduced from six to three, a massive achievement at this level of handicap, since September.

In his own words “if I can learn to be less aggressive and manage myself better on course over the final few holes I could and should have been even better”.

Ryan Page - Draw Shot

Ryan has had a good year having reached a final of a national newspaper sponsored event played at Valderama, Spain.

An event from which he achieved a credible finish and gained a wealth of experience.

He has also recently won a Junior Open and had a fantastic round going recently standing four under par on the last tee only to falter on the final hole. The big swing change for Ryan has been on his backswing, he tends to over-swing.

The club has gone past parallel which also tend to cause a regrip at the top as indicated. Ryan therefore does become a bit wristy which could mean inconsistency.

We have tried to encourage him to turn better as indicated. He has coiled more around his left shoulder and has resisted more with his right side.

The trunk of his body therefore is much stiller.

The bad swing shows the right elbow above the left, in the good swing it is below.

This change will make it more powerful and more consistent for Ryan. We still have more scope to improve this position but we are much closer to where we need to be as has been proved by his recent form.

Ryan as indicated above is knocking on the door of a very, very low round. Again as in all the student course management and self-management will be Ryan’s major aim this summer.

James Wing - Pitch shot

James has improved no end since he started in September he has got down to single figures and on his own admission if he improves his course management he would have improved more.

One of his weakest shots was his pitching.

He always stood too square on the ball leaving himself little room to let the club swing through square to the target.

This caused him later on in the swing to flick at the ball with his right hand.

His stance is more open, feet aimed to the left of the target this position gives him space for his hands and club to swing through to the target without getting in his own way. The result is more control in his distance judgment.

It is a common fault of the amateur golfer that when chipping the stand too square with weight on the right foot and a very wristy action.

This stance should be open (aimed left) with slightly more weight on the left foot 60pc/40pc the weight stays on the left side and the shot should be played with the arms and shoulders and not the wrists.

The length of shot is controlled by the length of the back and through swings not how hard you hit the ball. James will be looking for continued improvement with the way he manages himself around the course top of his agenda.