Less is more when it comes to teaching someone how to play golf. The golf swing is a complicated movement, requiring the coordination of many muscles in an uninterrupted chain of events for maximum efficiency. Learning the swing all at once can be overwhelming. Use the Graduated Length Method of learning, starting small and working your way to a full swing, to make learning golf less frustrating and more successful for your student, family member, or friend.
Step 1
Start on the putting green, to let your student get a feel for ball-club interaction. Putting is a controlled stroke that lets your student get used to the weight of the club and its effect on a golf ball.
Step 2
Move to the fringe and teach chipping. Chipping introduces getting the ball off the ground, but lets your student use a stroke similar to a putt while adding slightly more backswing and follow-through.
Step 3
Move completely off the green and introduce pitching. The pitch adds more backswing and follow-through, and begins to feel more like a full swing. The higher loft of the club will help get the ball in the air, preventing the perceived need to chop down at the ball that often occurs when beginners try to learn a full swing.
Step 4
Go to the driving range to work on short irons. If your course does not allow pitching from off the practice putting green, you may already be working from the range. Working with short irons that require a full swing on the course will require your student to add the last portions of the backswing and follow-through to create a full swing.
Step 5
Have your student hit from tees before hitting from the grass to make learning a full swing easier. Have them vary ball placement to understand what happens when they stand too close to or far away from a ball, or when the ball is placed forward or back in their stance.
Step 6
Switch to long irons, hitting from tees and the grass. Repeat the experimentation with the ball placement.
Step 7
Switch to woods, including the driver. While beginners will use more short irons and fairway woods than long irons and the driver, they will be naturally curious to try all of their clubs.
Tips and Warnings
- Use the Graduated Length Method to introduce your student to the full golf swing. To introduce correct stroke technique, you will use other methods of teaching, including games-based teaching and problem-solving.
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