Golf skills
18 skills, beginner to advanced. 17 of them you can film on a phone and get measured. No fake scores.
Skills by level
You can film17 of 18 skills
Beginner 5
- The GripThe grip is your only connection to the club, so it quietly controls everything — especially whether the clubface is square at impact. The goal for most beginners is a 'neutral' grip: the club sits in the FINGERS of your lead hand (not the palm), and when you look down you see about two knuckles, with the 'V's…
- Setup & PostureGreat swings start from an athletic setup. You want a 'ready' posture: hinge forward from your HIPS (not your waist), let your knees flex slightly and your arms hang naturally, with a straight-but-relaxed spine and weight balanced toward the balls of your feet.
- Aim & AlignmentAlignment is one of the most overlooked fundamentals — and aiming and aligning are two different things. Picture railway tracks: the ball and target sit on the outer rail, and your feet, hips, and shoulders run along the inner rail, PARALLEL to the target line (not pointed at the target).
- The Body PivotGolf power doesn't come from your arms — it comes from your body coiling and uncoiling around your spine. The pivot is that rotation: in the backswing you turn your shoulders and torso AWAY from the target around a stable spine, while your lower body stays relatively quiet, building a 'coil' of stored energy.
- Balanced FinishA balanced finish is both a goal and a diagnostic: if you can hold a relaxed, balanced finish position, it usually means the rest of your swing was reasonably sequenced and on-balance. The full swing ends with your weight on your lead foot, your hips and chest facing the target, and you posed comfortably on your…
Intermediate 5
- The TakeawayThe takeaway is the first move of the swing, and it sets up everything that follows. The goal is a 'one-piece' takeaway: your arms, hands, and chest move away together as a connected triangle, with the club staying low and wide and minimal early wrist hinge.
- Top of BackswingThe top of the backswing is the loaded position you swing down from, so getting it right makes everything after easier. Two big checkpoints: a full shoulder turn (back toward the target) over a stable spine to build the coil, and a FLAT (or slightly bowed) lead wrist, which pre-sets a square clubface.
- The Downswing SequenceThis is the most important move in golf — and the #1 amateur fault. Power comes from sequencing the downswing from the GROUND UP: a slight pressure shift and hip bump toward the target start things, THEN the body unwinds in order (pelvis, torso, arms, club) while the arms drop and the club lags behind.
- Impact PositionImpact is the only position that directly determines the strike — everything else exists to deliver a good one. The hallmarks of a solid impact: your weight is on your lead foot, your hips are open (rotating toward the target), and your hands are AHEAD of the ball with a flat lead wrist (forward shaft lean).
- Tempo & RhythmTempo is the often-missing glue that lets all the positions sequence correctly. The widely taught ideal is a 3:1 ratio — your backswing takes about three times as long as your downswing — with a smooth, unhurried backswing that gives your body time to load and transition.
Advanced 5
- Swing PlaneSwing plane is the angle your club travels on through the swing — and getting it right is what produces consistently straight, solid strikes. A simple way to picture it: at setup, draw a line from the ball through your hands (the 'base plane'); a good swing keeps the club near that line, dropping 'into the slot' on…
- Driver LaunchThe driver is unique: it's the one club you want to hit slightly UP on. Maximum distance comes from a positive attack angle (around +2 to +5 degrees) with high launch and low spin, which you set up by teeing the ball high, playing it forward in your stance, and staying behind it through impact.
- Iron Ball-StrikingPure iron striking comes from hitting the ball FIRST, then the turf — a descending strike that compresses the ball. The secret most amateurs miss: you don't create this by trying to 'hit down.' You create it by shifting your weight onto your lead foot through impact, which moves the low point of your swing arc…
- The Pitch ShotA pitch is a shorter, lofted shot (more carry than roll) for distances inside a full swing — say 20 to 60 yards. It's a scaled-down version of the full swing with a wedge: a smaller, controlled motion where DISTANCE CONTROL comes mainly from the LENGTH of your backswing, not from swinging harder.
- The Chip ShotA chip is the small, low shot around the green that rolls more than it flies — and it's forgiving because the motion is so small. It's basically a longer putting stroke: choke down, narrow stance, weight forward, and rock an intact arms-and-shoulders triangle back and through with quiet wrists.
Insane 3
- Bunker PlayThe greenside bunker shot is the only one in golf where you DON'T hit the ball — you hit the SAND behind it, and the sand splashes the ball out. The keys: open the clubface to expose the 'bounce' (so the club skids through the sand instead of digging), play the ball forward, keep your weight forward, and accelerate…
- The Putting StrokePutting is its own small art — part mechanics, part feel — and it's where scores are truly made. The mechanics are simple: set up perfectly square (feet, hips, shoulders all parallel to your line), eyes over or just inside the ball, and make a shoulder-driven PENDULUM with the arms-and-shoulders triangle intact,…
- Shot ShapingShaping shots — a draw (curving toward you) or a fade (curving away) — is an advanced skill built on the modern ball-flight laws. The two facts that matter: the clubFACE at impact mostly controls where the ball STARTS, and the PATH relative to the face controls how it CURVES.