If you're new to golf, it's important to try and make it as easy as possible for yourself by investing some time in golf tips for beginners. One of the ways you can do that is by taking advantage of the best hybrid clubs, which are far more forgiving than long irons. In the video and article below, Golf Monthly Top 50 coach Alex Elliott explains how you can get the most of of your hybrids.

First things first, whether you're a beginner or an experienced player, I recommend getting yourself at least one hybrid. They are so versatile and make the game far easier for golfers of all levels.

If you've got a hybrid, the first scenario in which it is really useful is as a long iron replacement. Long irons are really hard to hit and require a combination of precision of speed that is hard to produce consistently. In contrast, because the head of a hybrid is bigger, the centre of gravity can be moved lower and further back, which makes it more forgiving and easier to launch.

These are the three rules I stick to when playing from the fairway. The first relates to the stance and I want you to imagine the inside of your heels match up with your armpits. Once you've done that, slightly flare your feet out for some extra stability. That's going to allow you to turn more and help you control the bottom of your swing. 

Next up is the ball position. Set up with the ball about a clubhead inside your left heel. This might take some practise to get used to so get the alignment sticks out next time you're going to the range.

Finally, this is the most important rule. Although it doesn't look like an iron I want you to treat your hybrid like an iron, so don't be scared to hit down and take a little divot after the ball.

Another great advantage of the hybrid is that it's brilliant from the rough. The lie I'm faced with in the video above isn't great, but the beauty of this club is that I can use exactly the same technique as I would from the fairway.

Hybrids glide through the grass better than irons and with the centre of gravity further back, you can still get the ball in the air and hit it a decent distance.

So, same as before, get the ball a clubhead inside your left heel and adopt the same stance with your feet slightly flared out. And remember, it's like an iron swing, so hit down and don't be afraid to take a divot.

The final situation which is great for hybrids is around the greens. As a beginner golfer or an accomplished golfer, chipping is something a lot of people struggle with. The hybrid chip shot is a brilliant alternative.

The technique is nice and simple. Keep your stance nice and narrow, walk in close, and all I want you to do is imagine you're making a putting stroke motion. It's going to come off the face a little hotter so it doesn't need a long stroke but it should roll really nicely towards the hole. 

This video was shot on location at Infinitum Golf Resort in Spain.

Golf tips for beginners are the building blocks of a lifelong passion. We know it might feel daunting at first, navigating through the jargon and etiquette of a sometimes complicated sport, but establishing a strong foundation of clear fundamentals will inevitably lead to increased enjoyment and greater improvement.

This article aims to guide you through everything you need to know in order to start your own golfing journey. By focusing on the best golf tips from core elements of the game, like nailing the perfect golf grip and the correct ball position with every club, we are confident that this guide will help you to build your golf swing and set you up to fulfil your potential on the golf course.

Golf Tips for Beginners

In order to set you up to excel on your journey into golf, I have collated some of the best beginner golf tips from a selection of our prestigious Golf Monthly Top 50 Coaches. Before we get into that, however, I have shared some advice on how to get the right equipment to enable you to get onto the golf course as quickly as possible.

1. Equipment

Getting the right equipment to kick start your participation in golf can feel like a tricky and sometimes terrifying process, especially when you consider the sheer volume of golf gear available on the market at any one time.

Listening to the advice of experts in the field is a great way to ensure you don’t make any mistakes that will harm your progress and your wallet, which is where we come in. Golf Monthly’s team of dedicated gear experts have tested an impressive range of the best golf club sets for beginners, highlighting everything you need to know in order to reach your golfing goals.

What can I expect to get in a beginner golf club set?

Most beginner golf club sets will include all of the essentials, including a driver, a fairway wood or hybrid, a set of irons, a wedge/set of wedges and a putter. These clubs have different roles on the course, typically falling into the following categories:

• Driver - used for tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes
• Fairway woods and hybrids - used for tee shots on shorter par-4 holes or long par-3 holes, as well as on approach to the green.
• Irons - used for tee shots on par-3 holes as well as most approach shots into the green.
• Wedges - used around the green and in the bunkers
• Putter - used on the green to stroke the ball into the hole

But, why is a golf club set better for beginners than purchasing each club individually?

Typically, a package can be more cost effective than the alternate option, and they are also far more convenient allowing you to get everything you need for a trip to the golf course in just one purchase.

Many of the golf club package sets are designed with beginners in mind, offering equipment with increased forgiveness and intelligent technology to help you make progress in the game from day one. The consistency of using the same manufacturer and models will also afford a little extra comfort when swinging the club, providing a little familiarity while also looking great in your bag.

Simply put, making an informed decision on your equipment early on in your golfing journey could be the difference between a long-term love of the game and an early exit borne out of frustration and despair. So, try not to feel overwhelmed, we are here to help you.

2. Fundamentals

Grip

This can save you plenty of shots on the golf course, so finding a nice neutral grip on the club is key. The grip is your only point of contact with the golf club, so it’s super important to spend time bedding this in.

Place your lead hand on the grip of the club, with your thumb pointing down the right centre of the grip (for right-handed golfers). If you are a left-handed golfer, do the same but opposite.

The ‘v’ shape created by your thumb and index finger when your lead hand is on the club needs to ideally point towards your trail shoulder. This is a great reference point to check before each swing. Place your trail hand on top so it’s comfortable and check the ‘v’ points towards the right side of your chest - as you can see in the image.

Finally, interlock the pinky finger on your trail hand through the gap between the index and middle finger on your lead hand to bring it all together. If you prefer, you can just rest the pinky on top of the same gap, which is something called an overlap grip.

Stance and Posture

I am often asked by amateurs, how wide should my golf stance be? The key is actually to create a strong, athletic posture, as this is important in order to get a consistently clean strike on the golf ball.

Start by standing up straight with your feet around shoulder-width apart. Grab a club, say a 7-iron for example, and hold it out in front of you so that the butt of the grip is pointing at your belly button. Also, be sure to use the grip which I outlined above.

Next, bend at the hips until the head of the club touches the ground. This will give you a good indication of how far to stand from the golf ball. Flex your knees a little and you should find yourself in a similar position to the one I am adopting in the image below.

Depending on the shot you are trying to hit, and the club you have selected, your stance width might change slightly. The driver is a longer club, so needs a wider stance to maintain balance, while a wedge or a 9-iron is a shorter club so your feet can be narrower. For any shot, try to ensure your toes aren’t turned in as this will restrict your movement. You could try instead to flare your lead foot out which will help you turn through the shot.

Ball Position

The ball position in relation to your stance is also key to promote a solid strike. If you have a short- or mid-iron, the ball should be roughly around the centre of your stance. As you work up through your long-irons, into your fairway woods and hybrids, move the ball steadily forward until it’s roughly in line with your lead heel when you have the driver in hand.

3. Golf Swing

Once you have nailed the setup fundamentals, as outlined above, it’s then time to focus on how to swing the golf club. There are a number of nuances and some clear differentiations between the golf swing with a driver in comparison to a wedge or a putter, so for the purpose of this section I am going to focus on the driver.

If you want further information on how to adapt the swing for different clubs and scenarios, Golf Monthly has dedicated articles for each key area in their handy beginners golf guide.

The Backswing

The driver backswing is the power-storing stage of the golf swing. Take your normal setup and address the golf ball. Ensure the ball position is left of your sternum, and that you have a nice wide stance.

Bring the clubhead away from the ball, slowly at first, keeping it very low to the ground in the initial stages. This is called the takeaway, and is the first phase of the backswing. Some new golfers tend to pick the clubhead up quickly, which can lead to problems in the later stages of the swing.

Continue to maintain width in the swing, keeping your left arm straight and feeling as though your hands are as far away from your body as possible. As we swing the club back we need to rotate our body in order to generate power and keep the club moving in the correct way.

As the club moves away from you in the backswing, transfer your weight onto your trail foot (furthest away from the ball) and try to get your lead shoulder to sit on top of your trail knee. This might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but this helps us to generate maximum power in the golf swing.

Keep your weight on your trail heel until the start of the downswing, and maintain a stable base throughout by adding a little flexion into your knees. Your shoulders will turn a lot more than your hips, and you must ensure your sternum stays behind the ball at this stage of the swing.

The Downswing and Impact

As you start to reach the top of the backswing, it’s now time to initiate the driver downswing. Transfer your weight from the inside of your trail heel to the ball of your lead foot, creating an explosive movement which sends your stored power towards the target.

The swing moves from very wide in the backswing to very narrow in the downswing, so ensure your trail elbow moves towards your body and almost sits in next to your rib cage on the trail side. From this position, you are free to rotate through to impact by clearing your hips and allowing the hands to whip through.

Allow your forearms to rotate through as you release the club through the driver impact position, much like the feeling of throwing a rugby ball, as this will help to prevent the club face from staying open and causing a big slice.

This golf swing is such a vast topic, with so many different points to consider, so covering everything in one article would be very difficult. This is a concise beginners guide that I hope will help you to get started, but be sure to regularly give yourself an MOT by using the best golf tips at Golf Monthly or booking in for a lesson with your local PGA pro.

4. Practice

Putting aside time to practice is crucial for all golfers, no matter their ability, but for beginner golfers it might just be the best investment in your pursuit for progress. Many amateur golfers struggle to find time among their busy schedules, and some that do find a spare slot end up wasting it by arriving without a plan.

When I manage to find 30-minutes to get to the range, I like to break my session up into three 10-minute sections in order to make the most of my time. Below, I will share with you how to implement this routine and share a few tips to help you shoot lower scores on the course.

Section 1: The Basics

This is a hit among tour professionals, so it’s definitely something worth copying. Take two long irons out of your bag, or two alignment sticks if you have them, and place them on the ground so that one points directly to the target and on points at ninety degrees across that first one to create a perfect right angle.

This drill helps with alignment and ball position, giving you a method to check each before hitting every shot. Clearly, you won’t have the clubs on the ground as a reference on the course, but through regular practice this will just become natural.

Hit a few shots with one of your wedges, ensuring your feet are parallel to the target line and the ball position is central. Move up through your bag, moving the ball position slightly forward as you work up to the driver, and start to get a feel for how to set up a strong address position.

Use the remainder of this ten minutes to work on technique. You could even record yourself to get some additional feedback.

Section 2: Skills Challenges

The key here is to work on things you are currently not happy with in your game. Anyone can turn up and practice the things they are good at to feel better about themselves, but focus here on what you want to improve.

I like to practice from 100 yards and in, hitting 10 shots and trying to make each one go marginally further than the last. You can do this by eye, or use the technology available at your local driving range, but this is a great way to dial in your distances for those tricky approach shots.

I also like to work on my ‘fairway finder’, perfecting an invaluable shot that I can use each and every round on the course when required. Use flags, signs or even a cluster of balls on each side of the range to draw out an imaginary fairway in your mind. Take another 10 balls and see how many you can hit onto the ‘fairway’, record your score and try to beat it next time.

This shot isn’t about going all out with the big stick, instead take some speed and power off with a strong focus on hitting your intended target.

Section 3: Pressure Practice

Finally, let’s finish things off with a little pressure. Head-to-head challenges are great if you are going to the range with someone else, or you could always create a log on your phone of your previous scores in a set of challenges and try to beat your previous performance.

Try to target a number of areas of the game by switching up the challenges. You could go for a longest drive competition, a nearest the pin or even a putting challenge on the practice green.

Take it seriously like you would on the golf course, because that way you can learn to play shots under pressure and directly convert those experiences to better performances on the golf course.

If you're new to the game, one of the hardest things to do is develop a feel for the finesse shots - things like pitching and chipping. In the video and article below, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Dan Grieve shares his expert advice to help beginners strike the ball better and save shots approaching the green.

Pitching can prove awkward, especially for those just starting out. Hitting your number consistently from 30-70 yards is not easy, but there are a few keys to better pitching that will help everyone.

The set-up

As with most things in golf, the set-up is vital. A lot of people talk about taking the club back to certain points on the clockface but I've yet to meet anyone who can do that consistently. Instead, it's better to use your set-up to alter the distance you want to hit the ball. This is what I call my address system.

Address 1 - 30 yards

Using my 56-degree wedge, you want your stance to be about the width of a clubhead for this 30-yard shot, with the ball position just slightly back of centre. Once you've done that, grip down the club so your hands are about an inch from the bottom of the grip and put around 60% of the weight on your front side. Keep that pressure there throughout the swing.

You'll notice this will limit how far back the club can go when you start your swing, as shown above. This means you can make what feels like a full swing and hit it 30 yards, which will increase your consistency and ensure you're always accelerating through the shot.

Address 2 - 50 yards

To hit roughly a 50-yard pitch with the same club, set up so your stance is the width of two clubheads. Put your hands in the middle of the grip this time and move a little bit further away from the ball to account for these changes.

Still keep your pressure left throughout the shot and swing back and you should notice the club travels further this time, which will increase the distance you hit this pitch shot.

Address 3 - 70 yards

The stance with this shot should be the width of three clubheads and you should be near the top of the grip. Again, move a little further away from the ball but keep your weight left throughout the shot.

When you take a backswing, you should now be a little further back. Swinging through should help you hone a reliable 70-yard shot.

Rather than leaving it all to chance, this address system will help you get started on the right foot when it comes to pitching, which will increase your enjoyment of the game.

Paul Foston has put together a beginners guide to bunker play to simplify the technique and help you escape the sand everytime

As with every other area of the game, quality shots stem from good foundations at address, this is a principle you will see repeated throughout our beginners golf guide, and I really want to stress this point in my beginners guide to bunker play. One of the most common mistakes I see is people setting up very open with their feet, hips and shoulders aiming well left of the target.

This promotes a steep angle of attack that causes you to dig the club into the sand through impact. Often the speed in the head gets lost and the ball fails to clear the lip.

Instead, I like my pupils to be open, but not too much.

At address, start by taking a wide stance that is a little open to your target. The ball position should be slightly forward of centre (this helps you create a shallow angle of attack to help you take the right amount of sand) and again, the clubface should be a fraction open to your stance. You should now feel powerful, athletic and ready to go.

Crucially, try to strike the sand about an inch before the ball. This is the only shot in the game where you don't have to hit the ball before the ground. Understanding this essential element is imperative and it actually gives you more margin for error with the contact. If you can strike the sand consistantly an inch or so before the ball, your bunker distance control will help you get up and down more often.

Slightly open at address

As I’ve already explained, you need to be open at address, but not too much. A great drill that will highlight the perfect address and swing path is to make a line in the sand aiming just left of your target.

At address, set your body parallel to this line but aim the clubface at the target. As you can see from the image the ball pops up directly on line with the pin, with plenty of loft.

You can use this line in practice as a helpful reference. Also, notice how I maintain my knee flex through impact - this is crucial for the shallo path you are looking for.

Set and reset

If you’re having problems with your bunker basics, it’s worth trying this simple, yet very effective, movement. Set your wrists on the way back and then reset them on the way through.

If you get it right, the club will kiss the sand through impact. The technique of releasing the shaft through impact will help you use the bounce of the club, ensuring the clubhead exits the sand quicker than the ball. So as you set up to play the shot, think ‘set and reset.’

Complete the swing

One of the biggest issues that golfers face from sand is that they’re often only hitting the ball a short distance, which can cause a tentative approach.

However, you need to commit to what you’re doing and let the swing flow with an almost relaxed freedom.

Take a look at my finish position. This is only a shot of around ten yards, but because the sand absorbs a lot of the energy of the clubhead, I know I can let the swing flow without losing control of my distance.

Make sure that you swing through to a full finish, because if there’s anything that ruins a good bunker shot it’s a short, jerky stroke. As long as the club is accelerating through impact, you will not lose control of the ball.

There are a host of drills that you can try to improve your bunker play but if you can cement the essentials we have discussed here, you will become a much better bunker player.

One of the often neglected golf tips for beginners is how to hit a fairway wood, meaning they often sit pristine and unused in your golf bag or thrown in the shed when you realise you can't get the ball of the ground.

Getting the hang of hitting fairway woods, and in particular a 3-wood, will stand beginner golfers in great stead, and could lead to lower scores. In the video and article below, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Ben Emerson shares some simple advice that is sure to help!

Fairway woods offer a great option off the tee when you're driver isn't behaving and from long distance on the fairway into par-4s and par-5s. So it's probably a club you're going to hit quite a bit.

In order to get the most out of these clubs and ensure you are able to hit them consistently well, getting the set-up right is vital. One of the most common faults I see is that too many people try and hit it like a driver. So they've got the ball positioned far too far forward in their stance and they're trying to hit the ball on the up and sweep it away off the tee. Topping the golf ball is a frequent outcome of this move.

When you look at the best players in the world, they don't hit up on the ball with their fairway woods. In fact, if anything the likes of Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are actually hitting slightly down on the ball with these clubs.

The first thing I want you to do is to realise the tee height is so important. With a driver it's fine to have the ball teed up nice and high so you can hit up and maximise distance, but with a fairway wood I want you to tee it down, so it looks like it's sitting in a perfect lie on a fairway.

Once you've done that you need to trust the loft in your hand, whether it's a 3-wood, 5-wood or even a 7-wood. So there should be no leaning back and trying to help the ball into the air as this is only going to cause you to hit all manner of bad shots.

As for the ball position, move it back in your stance so it's an inch or two inside your left heel, which will encourage more of a neutral or slightly downward angle of attack.

At address, your weight should be balanced roughly 50/50 between your left and right side. When you swing back your weight will naturally move more to your right side but it's vital to shift it back to your left or lead side as you move into impact. A good way to think about it is to imagine your energy is always moving towards your target from the top of the backswing.

All golfers were once beginners in the game, and many experienced players will tell you that putting can be one of the trickiest skills to perfect.

Having access to the best putting tips and putting drills will make a huge difference to your progress, but you could also go one step further and invest in one of the best putting mats or putting aids to take your practice mobile and maximise your opportunities to put in the hard work.

In order to guide anyone who is just starting out in this magnificent game, we asked Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Gary Allis to share his best putting tips for beginners...

Putting Tips For Beginners: Set-up

The first fundamental aspect you must get right is set-up, as if you allow bad habits to embed themselves at this stage you will always struggle – even with one of the best putters on the market in your hands.

The idea is to make contact slightly on the upstroke of your swing, which can be made easier with the correct ball position. Set-up with the ball a fraction forward of centre, in line with your left eye.

You can check this easily by holding the ball in front of your left eye in your set-up, and dropping it towards the surface. This will give you a great indication of rough ball position for the putting stroke.

Meeting the ball with the putter at the correct point in the swing will promote solid contact and a better roll, allowing the ball to start on the correct line and help you to control your distance better.

Stroke length

A common mistake beginner golfers make when putting is around stroke length. I see plenty of new players make the backstroke much longer than the follow-through, causing a deceleration through impact. This makes it very tricky to judge distance accurately, and can lead to costly 3-putts or worse.

There is a simple fix, however. Place a tee just outside your right foot and the other around double that distance outside your left foot (as shown in the video).

Hit some putts by taking your swing to these markers on the way back and through, and forget about the hole for a second. This drill focuses on improving your stroke length, which will ultimately help you to sink more putts when we bring the hole back into play.

Rock the shoulders

One of the keys to putting is that the club is controlled by a rock of the shoulders and not by a flick of the wrists or a separation of the arms and the body. In order to keep the arms, shoulders and wrists in unison, you should try practising with something tucked under both arms, such as an alignment stick or a towel.

By simply rocking the shoulders, the stick or towel will stay in position, allowing your body to move as a cohesive unit for more consistency.

Know your stroke

Identifying the type of stroke you have will also help you work out how to choose a putter that is suited to your game. A great way to do this is to put two tees in the ground about four feet apart, and either balance an alignment stick on top of them or tie a piece of string around them.

Place your putter underneath this line and make some practice strokes. It will be very clear to see whether your stroke tracks straight back and through, or if it has a slight arc or strong arc.

The result will highlight whether you need a toe-hang or face-balanced putter, or something in between. If you have a straight-back-and-through stroke, a face-balanced putter would be best; if you have a stroke with a slight arc, you're better with a mid-hang putter; and those with a strong arc will benefit from a toe-down putter.

If you've done this test and you're still unsure, ask a PGA pro to help you find a make and model best suited to your game.

When starting out in the game, I would suggest that driving tips for beginners are perhaps the most popular due to the 'Hollywood' factor of hitting the big stick. While it's true that finding the right golf tips for beginners is an essential step to set yourself off on the right path, you won't get very far without being able to hit a good tee shot -so let's start there.

The journey to becoming a better golfer is one of the most addictive and enjoyable processes in sport, but without the right guidance you can quickly become disillusioned.

Finding the best driver for beginners is a great place to start, as they provide a touch more forgiveness, but nailing the fundamentals of how to hit a driver is the only way to ensure you aren't spraying erratic tee shots all over the course.

In this video and article, PGA Pro and Sky Sports Golf Pundit Trey Niven shares his expert driver tips for beginners, helping you to start hitting better drives today!

Driver Tips For Beginners

Driver Setup

Driver Setup

Embedding the correct set-up for hitting a driver is vital, so let’s look at the driver address position first. To ensure an upward attack angle, you need to move the ball position forward in your stance. This means it’s closer to the target than it would be with an iron.

To do this, start with your feet close together and the ball in line with your left heel. Then, take a very small step with your left foot and a bigger step with your right foot to achieve the perfect ball position. Your stance should be slightly wider than the distance between your shoulders, which will give you a stable platform from which to swing.

As you move the ball forward and you address the ball, your shoulders should naturally tilt with your right shoulder lower than your left. A word of caution here: when you move the ball forward in your stance, the shoulders will want to point a little left. To counteract this, gently sit the right shoulder back a little so they are pointing towards your target.

Driver Backswing

A really simple way to think about loading the driver backswing is to feel like your chest is turning towards your right foot as you rotate your hips. As I am demonstrating in the image below, lots of new golfers will take the club back but lean their weight forward, which is going to encourage a downward strike and result in a loss of distance and control.

Driver Downswing and Impact Position

The downswing is the vehicle for transferring all that stored power that you worked hard for in the backswing and releasing it through the ball when we reach the impact position. We could get really technical here, but instead why not just keep it simple.

Working on your attack angle will help to add those all important extra yards to your drive. To improve your attack angle in the downswing, try this simple drill.

Take a headcover, or a glove, and place it about a foot past the ball on the target line. The idea is to clip the ball away without hitting the headcover. If you get it wrong and hit down on the ball, you will collect the headcover as you swing through to the finish.

This drill is great as it gives you immediate feedback. So, next time you’re heading to the range, try it out. You will be crushing the driver straight down the middle of the fairway before you know it.

Frequently Asked Question

Q: How is the swing with a driver different to the swing with an iron?

A: There are some differences when comparing the driver swing vs an iron swing. When hitting an iron the ball is on the ground, meaning we need to hit down in order to make crisp contact.

However, the driver has a lot less loft and is on a big tee, so the opposite applies. In order to create the optimal driver launch angle for maximum carry, we want to hit up on the ball more.

Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Kevin Craggs offers his beginners guide to iron play to help you strike yours sweetly everytime.

Check your setup

Throughout our beginners guide to golf you will notice the starting point should be your address position. It is no different here.

The key here is to position your sternum right over the ball at address.

Golf Swing Tips

A lot of golfers have a tendency to setup with their body leaning back behind the ball, often in a subconscious attempt to get the ball up in the air.

From this position you will really struggle to find the ideal ball first, turf second contact you are looking for. You won’t be able to compress the ball properly at impact creating weak strikes that lack flight.

When standing at address make a simple check that a line runs through your shaft, belt and up to your chest.

This will help the consistency of your strikes which in turn will help you control the distance of your iron shots.

Maintain spine angle

The position of your spine at impact should resemble the position it is set in at address.

If you are setup correctly, maintaining your spine angle like this will help to ensure that you deliver the club onto the ball correctly to produce a pure strike. This is something to check everytime your practice your iron play.

One great way of working on this is to get hold of a medicine ball and putting it between your backside and a wall.

Make some slow practice swings making sure the medicine ball stays in place throughout your swing.

If you don’t have a medicine ball you can use your trusty umbrella and lean it up against your backside.

Focus on maintaining contact with the umbrella from address right through to after impact.

Importantly, as you try to maintain your posture, make sure you make a full, athletic turn. Remember - you are trying to turn your body around a central fulcrum that remains constant, your spine angle!

Dumping the club

This is one of the common faults that causes inconsistent ball striking and is worth pointing out in any beginners guide to iron play.

It means that from the top of the swing the left hip starts to turn very early and the club is dumped on the ball with the hands very much behind the line of impact.

What we are really looking for is the left hip to shift towards the target, with the hands in front of the ball at impact.

When practising try putting an umbrella down just in front of the ball to create an impact line.

Put yourself into the position at the top of your backswing, feeling a movement down towards the target and then the position at impact, making sure that your hands are in front of the umbrella.

Don’t sway

Swaying off the ball as you take the club back is also a cause of poor striking.

Again you can use an umbrella to help prevent this from happening.

When practicing take your setup and push an umbrella in the ground, pointing straight up from just outside your back foot.

You will notice a gap between the top of your leg and the umbrella and should look to maintain this gap you swing to the top.

Preventing this swaying will give you a far more solid base from which to attack the ball.

Another great drill for ball striking involves placing a tee infront of the ball at address. This is designed to help you find purer contacts and stronger ball flights.

Create lag

I can’t emphasise enough the importance of not turning the hips away as you start the downswing.

In order to encourage you to drive down and forward you can also switch the umbrella outside your front foot.

This time you should start with a small gap between your leg and the umbrella at address.

This gap should close as you start your downswing as your weight shifts down and towards the target.

You can even place an umbrella or tour stick either side of your stance to further ensure that you are completing this important move and are compressing the ball it impact with your hands ahead of the club.

Beginners Guide To Iron Play Checklist

Check your body is over the ball at setup.

Avoid swaying on the backswing.

Drive your front leg forward on the downswing.

Make sure your hands are ahead of the club at impact.

Shot on location at Montgomerie Maxx Royal, Turkey by Paul Severn