Beginner Swing Technique

[Collegefbfan]

First day on the driving range.  I know you all are going to say get an instructor.  That is in the works.  Couple of weeks away.  First time on the range was pretty awful.  Okay, super awful.  I hit maybe 10 out of 40 balls straight and around 100-140 yards.  I know the first time isn’t going to turn me into a decent golfer.  I feel I wasn’t bringing the club back far enough and downswing was not good at all.  Anyone have any YouTube videos for a basic beginner swing for a mid 40s guy?  

[JDCON]

There are two YouTube channels I recommend.

 

Athletic Motion Golf and Mike Malaska. Monte Scheinblum is also great, but doesn’t put out as much content regularly on YouTube as the other two - though he does post occasionally on here.

 

Next, to really understand a concept, I suggest watching multiple videos from those I mentioned. For example, wrists. Search that term on each channel and you’ll find these three have very similar philosophies, but slightly different ways of talking about them - which for me, is key to better understanding.
 

I think the AMG guys are the best at covering a topic, but they can lack at giving useful drills (or at least drills I like), so then I go to the others to get a drill for that topic.

 

Sorry, this post is all over the place.

[Tanner25]

Post your swing here, you will get plenty of comments.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Lessons 😉

 

Seriously, that's it. I wouldn't even spend time on the AMG or Malaska videos because at this point your swing is going to be so far out of whack that you're just going to confuse yourself. 

 

However, as for actual tangible advice, here's what I have:

1. Work on grip and setup position. That's an easy enough thing to understand without going down too much of a YouTube rabbit hole. Padraig Harrington has a great video on grip. I'm sure you can find some on address position too. 
2. Don't worry about taking the club back far. In fact, most of us who suck (myself included) have to fight taking it back too far. At this point I'd focus on short swings and making good contact above all else until you get in front of an instructor. Heck, I'd spend at least half of your range session on the 9-to-3 drill (https://rotaryswing.com/golf-instruction/golfbiomechanics/9-to-3-drill-golf-swing-drill), and the other half on only taking your club back to what's called P3, where your left arm is parallel to the ground and you get your wrists c0cked so the club is about a 90 degree angle to your arm.

The biggest thing at this point is to start with an instructor ASAP so he's building good habits rather than breaking you of bad ones. 

[Hawkeye77]

I'm finally able to swing a golf club this season, though not much behind it yet, but I'll get there.  Played my first 18 yesterday, previously just a couple of short jaunts with hybrid and a couple wedges just to get a feel.  I probably looked worse than you, OP, no idea what was going on and I'm a single digit handicap who looked double digits (not that there is anything wrong with that), just happy to be out, so I wouldn't make to much of a range session, especially if you are a beginner.  

 

I know this isn't what you asked, but I'd sure hold off until you have a lesson.  There are lots of "basic swing" kind of approach vids out there, and you'll probably get all sorts of competing suggestions and links and nothing wrong with following them, but do so at your potential peril, lol.  You may get what is being presented perfectly, but you may also not and think you are doing what someone said as far as setup or motion and hit a good shot and be doing it all wrong, lol.  Or you may end up trying someone's "method" that may not be for you.  

 

I think blank slate and start with where the instructor wants you to go, and leave anything resembling a preconceived notion in the trunk, as hard as that sounds in this day and age of information overload.  Then see if you make improvement, if you and the instructor are a good fit, and so on.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[Hawkeye77]

3 minutes ago, Tanner25 said:

Post your swing here, you will get plenty of comments.

 

DON'T DO THIS, DON'T!!!!!!!!

 

You don't even have a "swing" as a beginner, let things take their course with the instructor!

[Collegefbfan]

Guys, thanks.  All of this helps or at least I think it will.  Spending the day with the family.  Will view these later.

[mogc60]

Grip! Setup! Posture! 
Relax, simplify, and swing. Swing without hitting balls. Feel the club, feel the rhythm back and through, try and get comfortable. The golf ball adds pressure. Put a tee in the ground and clip the tee. You’re a beginner, spend a little time getting comfortable with some basics and then take a few lessons from a COMPETENT teacher. But please keep it simple. The golf swing is about rhythm and balance on solid fundamentals. That is your starting point. 

[Collegefbfan]

Also, this is going to sound super crazy, and I bet you all have never done this.  So, at the range, even with no one there and nothing around me at 7 am this morning, on my downswing, I feel like I wasn’t coming all the way down and around and following through because I felt like I would break something.  I mean, for real.  Nothing around me, and I was scared I would hit the ball and it would go airborne and hit something.