Golf is a funny game because no matter how hard I try, it seems my swing changes from day to day. Okay, that is a bit dramatic, however I have noticed that I do have a tendency to swing differently from time to time. This ‘hiccup’ is most prevalent with my hickory sticks as I am working on my early season game. I am fairly confident that every golfer has this challenge and often seeks remedies to eliminate at least one of the multiple swing errors. Fortunately, I have two things that help my game and I am confident they will help yours as you navigate towards improving over the 2026 golf season.
The challenges I have early in every golf season is the lack of proper swing movement. I tend to twist my upper body with very little lower body movement. Most of this issue is caused by trying to swing in order to develop more distance. Early in the season, our bodies are stiff and lack the flexibility to shift our hips forward. Because of this we have a tendency to twist around at our hips and pull the ball or create a huge slice. It happens every year and i am sure many of you are experiencing this now. Right now, you are saying great, I understand this swing fault, but what is the fix.
The fix to too much twisting is easy. Force yourself to have the clubhead finish at your target. This might seem strange or even challenging, but it is and easy fix. By releasing the clubhead at your target, a whole bunch of swing errors are corrected. Our hands will release, our shoulders will finish properly, our belly button finishes at the target and our clubhead will finish above our heads. These and many other challenges will naturally align to produce the golf swing we want and help us find our bet golf swing.
To accomplish this swing fix, we might have to slow our clubhead speed a bit to control our bodies. This is natural and will produce the same distances than when we try to ‘swing hard with a twist’. Forcing your clubhead to finish at your target does take some getting used to in the beginning and once you start to master this swing movement you will be able to increase your swing speed and that is when the magic happens.
The second fix is just as simple. It has to do with our golf grip. Many of us grip the club way too tight. Yup, too tight. I found a golf video by Chris Ryan that explains exactly what I am talking about:
At the beginning of my golf season, I definitely grip the golf club too tight. I have a strangle hold on the club thinking that by adding more pressure I can control my swing better. The exact opposite is true and I need to work on this challenge as quickly as possible at the beginning of my golf season.
As you can tell, I have some work to do on my golf swing. Releasing the clubhead towards my target and finding the proper grip pressure are two easy fixing for my early season golf woes. I have a few rounds in the books already and it is time to start to hone in on specific issues. I am confident that with just a bit of practice, these two swing challenges will melt away.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!