Malaysia Golf Guide

As a dedicated golfer, I find nothing annoys me more than thinking I’ve played a shot well, only to see it drifting way off target. Even more irritating than that is that I often think I’ve played the shot exactly the way I have before when it worked well.

That’s where you – like me – will benefit from some advice from a professional golfer. I’ve had many lessons over the past few years, and I’m passing on some of the wisdom that I’ve learned in a series of articles. Starting with the most important lesson – keep the ball moving the right way.

My golf coach impressed on me from the start of my lessons that almost nobody ever achieves the perfect swing, perfect grip, perfect stance etc. He assured me that most amateur golfers will waste 90% of their time trying to perfect what they see as a problem. And indeed most golfers have plenty of issues to be concerned about, such as keeping their arm straight or their head still.

More important than any of this, though, is hitting the ball so it heads in the right direction. That is, keep the ball moving towards the green. To demonstrate the importance of this 1 factor above all others, my coach showed me exactly what he meant.

Taking an outrageously off-centre backswing, and letting go of the club with one hand, he proceeded to bring the club down in such a manner as to send the ball flying straight from the tee. There wasn’t a huge amount of power in the shot, but it was certainly in the right direction.

This showed me that the fundamental issue in golf is ensuring that the head of the club meets the ball in the right position to send the ball off in the right direction. Which is where I realised I should concentrate my initial efforts.

Obviously, the more control you have over the backswing and other elements, the more power you’ll be able to get into the shot and thus hit the ball further. And your club selection is going to be important here, too, for getting more distance on the ball.

Fundamentally, though, the aim of the game is to get a little white ball from a little wooden / plastic tee, all the way to a little hole which may be several hundred yards away from where you start. If you can keep that ball heading in the right direction, like me, you’ll find your game improving and can start working on the other aspects over time.