Many golf articles discuss “golf mistakes” such as poor club selection, bad strategy, rushed routines, poor setup, etc. For this one, we focused specifically on swing mistakes: things your body and the club are doing during the motion that quietly ruin contact, cost you yards and make accuracy feel random.
Let’s walk through the 10 swing mistakes we see most often and what you can do to correct them.
1. Fanning the clubface open in the takeaway
The swing starts back and the clubface immediately rotates open. By waist-high, the leading edge is pointing behind you instead of matching your spine angle. Golfers who do this often hit a weak, high, spinny shot. It’s also a common cause for a slice.
Quick Fix: Feel the back of the lead hand staying more “down toward the ball” for the first foot of the takeaway. The clubface shouldn’t look at the sky. It should stay closer to square.
2. Dragging the club too far inside early
The inside takeaway is another common swing mistake. Some golfers do it because it feels natural to them. However, when the hands roll, the shaft dives inside the target line and the club gets stuck off-plane before the swing has even started. Dragging the club inside early can lead to shanks and toe strikes.
Quick Fix: Place an alignment stick just outside the ball and try to keep the clubhead outside your hands for the first 12 to 18 inches.
3. Losing posture in the first move
Many golfers stand up or lift their chest as soon as the club moves. The legs extend, the hips rise and the upper body loses its tilt. Losing posture often leads to early extension in the swing and pop-up misses with the driver.
Quick Fix: Feel your tailbone staying back as the club starts. A simple cue: maintain the “butt to the wall” feel for the first half of the backswing.
4. Swaying off the ball instead of turning
Instead of rotating around the trail hip, the hips slide laterally away from the target. You lose your center and because of that you also lose your low point in the swing. Expect fat and thin shots and poor rotation ability in the downswing.
Quick Fix: Put an alignment stick or a bag against your trail hip and practice keeping your hip inside that line as you turn.
5. Reverse spine angle at the top
This is one of the most common and most damaging positions amateurs get into. The upper body tips toward the target at the top of the backswing. It tends to lead to steep downswings, pulls and slices, and sometimes lower back stress.
Quick Fix: Feel your lead shoulder move down and across, not up and toward the target. The upper body should tilt slightly away from the target at the top.
6. Rushing the transition/throwing the shoulder out
When golfers rush the transition, the trail shoulder tends to lunge toward the ball. The club works outside the original plane and the downswing path is already compromised. When this happens, you’ll see pull, slices and typically more of an over-the-top path.
Quick Fix: Make a few rehearsal swings where you feel the trail elbow drop first, not the trail shoulder. For some players, this can be fixed with a simple pause at the top.
7. Hanging back on the trail foot through impact
The golfers who hang back are usually easy to spot. They are almost always finishing with all their weight on the back leg, maybe even losing their balance and falling backwards. Hanging back occurs because the weight and pressure never transfer forward. The club bottoms out early; you usually hit fat shots or weak high ones. Hanging back almost always costs distance.
Quick Fix: Take some swings with your feet together. It’s easier to feel the weight shift and transfer. Try to end up with your body facing the target and your trail foot on its toe. Start with half swings and progress to full.
8. Early release/dumping the wrist angle
If the angle between your lead arm and the shaft is released too early on the downswing, you won’t get compression when you get to impact. Most golfers hit thin and fat shots or add too much spin to the shot they hit.
Quick Fix: Hit half-swings where you stop the club at waist-high on the follow-through and hold the shape. If your wrists have already flipped, you’ll feel (and see) it immediately.
9. Standing up/early extension into the ball
Just as important as it is to keep your posture on the backswing, you’ll need to do it on the downswing as well. If you stand up on the downswing and your hips thrust toward the ball and the chest rises, it very often leads to a heel strike. Some golfers will hit a block or try to scoop the ball as they come through impact.
Quick Fix: Make practice swings with your backside lightly touching a chair or wall and maintain that contact through the downswing.
10. Flipping at impact (Trying to “save” an open clubface)
This might be the single most misunderstood swing mistake. Golfers flip not because they’re unskilled or they think it’s more powerful but because the clubface is late and they’re trying to square it at the last second. To flip at impact, you have to slow down and that costs power. In addition, the contact point is no longer consistent.
Quick Fix: Work on slight shaft lean at impact. A simple start. Press your hands a few inches forward at address, hit small punch shots and keep the lead wrist flat through the strike. Learn what that position feels like and then try and repeat it.
Final thoughts
Every golfer has tendencies but these 10 swing mistakes show up everywhere from beginners to mid-handicaps to players who haven’t filmed their swing in years. You don’t need to fix them all. Start with the mistake that shows up most in your ball flight or video, pair it with a simple rehearsal drill and build consistency.
The post The 10 Most Common Golf Swing Mistakes (And How To Fix Them) appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
