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Welcome to Swing Like A Pro from the makers of Golf Monthly magazine. In this special bookazine, some of the UK’s best golf instructors have come together to provide tips, tricks, drills and expert advice to help you improve every aspect of your game and get you playing golf like your heroes. Start off by learning the signature shots of some of today’s biggest stars, from Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau to Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood and more. We also bring you invaluable advice from the likes of Henrik Stenson and Colin Montgomerie on key elements of the game, while Johannes Veerman gives his thoughts on the best ways to lower your scores. From there you’ll find a host of tutorials covering every aspect of the game. We’ll help you power up…

When it comes to reducing your handicap there’s plenty of data to suggest that power off the tee is king because of the accompanying distance it brings. Whether you struggle with generating power or unleashing it at the appropriate time, these simple tips will help you to bank extra yards on the golf course. There is a real variety of advice here, from making small adjustments to addressing the key fundamentals, but each will have a significant impact on your performance with the driver in hand and lead to longer, more powerful tee shots… OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER Using the ground better 1 At address you want to feel securely planted with a nice stable base. Then, to use the ground effectively to generate power, it’s important to find the correct…

Walk down the driving range at any tour event and you will see many different grips, postures, alignments and ball positions, all of which we are constantly told are the fundamentals of the golf swing. What if I told you they weren’t? For me, the number-one fundamental for the iron game is that your low point has to be after the ball. That’s a fact if you want to be a good, consistent iron player. I’m going to delve into this more over the next six pages and offer you some top tips and advice on how to take your iron play to the next level… OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER Control your low point 1 TRY THIS SIMPLE DRILL Set two alignment sticks up either side of the ball, as here. These…

When it comes to which clubs to use from long range on the fairway, you should be able to hit them all to give yourself a choice, with just a couple of basic set-up and technique alterations for each. There are really three main keys. Good set-up combined with good speed will mean the correct launch angle for good distance, then finally, you need a good strike. Golfers often complain that all their long-irons fly the same distance and that’s down to poor strikes. Here, I highlight some practice drills and quick fixes to get your long-irons, hybrids and fairway woods working well every time… OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER How to hit a long iron 1 A DOWNWARD ATTACK The long iron shot can be great going into lengthy par 4s or…

Not many club golfers would say pitching was a strong point. The primary goal with pitching is distance control, so it makes sense to set up for the distance you want to hit it. Here, we’re going to look at those awkward 30- to 70-yard shots, where it’s difficult to consistently hit the numbers. You’ll have heard a lot over the years about taking the club back to different points on a clockface, but I’ve never met anyone who can do that consistently – they try to take it to nine o’clock and end up at ten and that impacts how far the ball goes. I much prefer to work to a clockface position but from address, so I almost get the position for free as a result of how…

Shot on location at Infinitum Resort, Spain 1 The chip and run is one of the easiest shots to master, yet many players struggle as they let their hands interfere with the action. This can lead to a catalogue of problems, from hitting the ground heavy to the unpredictable strike of a thin. Taking the wrists out of play can solve this issue. A one-piece movement, with arms and body forming a triangle, lets you make the simple swing action needed to give you the chance to chip close and save par more often. 2 Simplify the set-up Keep your feet close together with just one clubhead width between them. Flare your left foot out a touch with about 70% of your weight on your lead side and a slight body and…

Shot on location at Infinitum Resort, Spain 1 The lob shot is useful for going over obstacles, such as greenside mounds, that you have to avoid landing on to prevent your ball getting a nasty kick away. And it’s extremely handy if you have to go over a penalty area or bunker, as here. Most golfers fail because they’re fearful of making a full swing and quit on the shot. The key is to pair this with a wide open clubface and a smooth, easy swing tempo. 2 You’ll need a reasonably good lie in the rough to pull this shot off. If the ball is sat down really deep in long grass then this shot is too high-risk. In this scenario, you’d be better off taking your medicine and playing away…

1 In an effort to help the ball up into the air, club golfers often end up leaning back on the trail foot at impact, which leads to poor strikes. This drill will give you a better idea of how the body should be working during the golf swing… and all you need is a football. Stand opposite a wall or your garage door with the ball, as I’m doing here, taking an athletic posture as if you were addressing a golf ball. 2 Make a golf swing and focus on driving that ball through the middle of the wall or door down the target line. If you release the ball on the target, everything moves through as if you’ve just emptied a bucket of water. Actually, visualising emptying a bucket of…

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1 One bad strike and some golfers ‘lose it’ for the rest of the round. To start the swing correctly you need to groove good, solid habits. Here, I’m in a strong and engaged posture. Good posture requires a neutral (straight) spine and a bit of flex through the knees. Hinge forward from the hips to send the chest towards the ball. The arms should be relaxed, hanging under the body. 2 The first part of the golf swing, the takeaway, can set off a series of events in the rest of the swing that make it difficult to square up the clubface at impact. You can see here that my hands have started the backswing too quickly, rolling the clubface open and behind the body. If this happens, it can often…

1 This is one of the most common positions I see weekend golfers get into as they start their downswing, with the upper half of the body moving forward. It’s easy to see how this leads to a steep swing that slices across the ball. I also see a lot of ‘backing up’ just pre-impact, with the upper body moving back onto the trail side. What does this mean? Fats, thins, tops… nothing good. 2 Take your club all the way back to the top of your backswing, then, in transition, pump into your lead foot as here. I want you to feel like you’re starting down with a hard push. I call it the ‘pump and jump’ drill. If I drew an arrow from my trail shoulder to my lead foot,…

1 The wrists work as a link between the lead-arm lever and the club. You almost want them to be a conduit for storing up speed in the backswing and then releasing it in the downswing. It is the wrist hinge that allows for increased clubhead speed in a full swing. Sometimes golfers underuse the wrists in the backswing; sometimes they overuse them. A good checkpoint is when the left arm is parallel to the ground. The angle between left arm and shaft should ideally be 90-100˚ (main image), an appropriate amount of wrist set to deliver some speed and power into the ball. If the angle is too acute from using the wrists too much, things normally get thrown out in the downswing. This results in a cast, with the…

Shot on location at Infinitum Resort, Spain 1 To create a simple picture to understand, I’m going to focus on lead-arm position at the top of the backswing. We could have a flat lead arm or one-plane swing (above left), more like Matt Kuchar, or we could have a more upright lead arm or two-plane swing (above right), like Bubba Watson. If the lead arm is level with or below the shoulder plane, that would be a one-plane swing. The opposite is the lead arm getting above the shoulders on a more upright backswing plane. 2 So, how does this play out in the downswing? The one-plane, flat backswing will require a really good rotation of the lower body and chest in the downswing (below). The club is probably going to exit…

Shot on location at Infinitum Resort, Spain 1 When golfers cast the club and cut across the ball, the correct sequence of the golf swing is out of sync. The first move from the top is the arms. Then comes that horrid ‘casting’ of the club, which releases all the stored energy too early and costs you both distance and accuracy. For the correct movement, imagine you’re skimming a stone across a lake. The kinematic sequence happens from the ground up and it’s the same with the golf swing. From the top of the backswing, the first thing that has to go is the shift in weight, followed by your hips turning. The last thing is the club. In the case of skimming a stone, the last thing to go is…

Shot on location at La Cala Resort, Spain 1 A standard chip shot does not require anything to be open at set-up. We’re not talking about a flop shot, here. What I always like to see is a square set-up – that’s a square stance and a square base. Poor chippers tend to lean back in an attempt to lift the ball in the air. When the sternum is behind the ball and the weight is on the trail leg (above right), you’ll most likely produce either a fat or a thin as you have moved the swing’s low point to opposite your trail foot. 2 It’s the lead knee that you’re turning around and the low point of your swing needs to be opposite that. If I let this pivot point…

1 This is a typical position I see many weekend golfers get into when pitching: leaning back and throwing the arms at the ball. We call it ‘scooping’, and it will typically result in either making contact with the ground before the ball, or a thin strike that shoots through the green. Here, because I’m leaning back and throwing the arms, I have no chance of controlling the dynamic loft whatsoever (that’s the loft presented to the ball as it leaves the club). 2 For pitches of about 50-80 yards, make sure you get your pressure onto the lead foot (about 70/30). Pitching is the strongest part of my game, partly because I keep it simple. Here, I’m just thinking about creating a long arc with straight arms and no wrist hinge,…

Shot on location at Trump Turnberry 1 Many club golfers struggle with their short games at the best of times, but when the wind is howling around the green, it can strike fear into the hearts of even the most confident of players. However, with just a few simple set-up changes, you can overcome the elements and get up and down from anywhere. The first thing I’d advise is to take a lower-lofted club, like an 8- or 9-iron, to keep the ball under the wind. Make sure your hands are forward of centre and the ball position is a little further back in your stance. This will ensure you can get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. 2 We want to almost take the wrists out of play for this…

We don’t hit every fairway and sometimes even when we think we’ve hit an okay shot, we experience a spot of bad luck. So having the skills, repertoire and golfing IQ needed for a variety of recovery shot options is very important. Here, I run through seven escape shots for you to call on in various scenarios as you see fit. Some need a lot of specific practice; others require new dexterity training. The main thing is that when it matters most with scorecard in hand, you only take on shots you can pull off nine times out of ten. If you can’t, hit a different shot. OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER Out of the ordinary shots 1 THE LEFT-HANDER The idea is to take your club – normally a 9-iron is a…

OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER You should never miss an opportunity to watch the world’s best golfers in action. Every time we tune in, there’s a chance for us to learn something and maybe apply it to our own golf games. Of course, there are some moves and swings that I might not necessarily recommend every golfer tries to replicate, especially those who maybe lack a bit of flexibility or who don’t have a lot of time to work on their games. Bryson DeChambeau is someone who springs to mind here, a player who shaped his game on The Golfing Machine, a book that gets a little technical in places. However, after studying the games of each of the six big names featured over the following pages – even DeChambeau’s pretty unconventional…

I used to work under Butch Harmon, who would always stress how critical the backswing is. He used to say that, as coaches, we had an opportunity to help players with their set-up and to influence their backswing. But the downswing, and where we want the club to travel through impact, is trickier as the club is travelling so quickly, particularly with stronger players. Butch was keen on giving his players a functional-looking set-up and functional backswing, where you’ve got more time and more chance to allow them some thinking space to actually nail these positions. Here, I offer up four backswing drills to help you lose the faults leading to those leaky shots and reinforce some solid fundamentals… OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER The glove drill 1 ARE YOU A SWAYER? This…

When I give playing lessons, it always strikes me how quickly recreational golfers can show improvement with a few simple pointers and words of advice. Without getting hugely technical, various course strategy tips can go a long way to helping players shoot lower scores. I was reminded of this recently when I played a few holes with my co-author here, Barry Plummer, a keen and relatively new golfer who has a lot of potential. I believe Barry learnt a lot from playing Turnberry on a cold, wintry day and, on the back of our playing lesson, I’m sure you can too. Over the following six pages, I’ll be showing you how to tidy up your game from tee to green. OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER On the tee 1 ASSESS THE TASK Teeing…

Each week, Golf Monthly gear experts Dan Parker and Joe Ferguson provide a lighthearted deep-dive into the world of golf equipment. They discuss what they’ve recently tested, debunk some of the most misunderstood gear-related terminology and delve into the club line-ups of the game’s best players. If you’re researching your next purchase or simply interested in the world of golf equipment, our new show is your next must-listen. LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE NOW! Go to your preferred podcast supplier and subscribe to Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show Amazon Music Apple Podcasts Spotify…

1 The golf swing is a rotational movement, so it’s vital we rotate both shoulders and hips. I often see limited shoulder rotation, usually because the lower body isn’t rotating as much as it should, or could, be. This can lead to a really up and down swing – one that would be called ‘armsy’ and ‘choppy’. The end result is more of a slice, but it’s an action that brings about fats and thins, too. 2 Think of a baseball swing. If I had a baseball bat in my hand, I wouldn’t be lifting it up and chopping it down; I’d be rotating it around myself. I often notice that if I get someone to turn the club around and stand upright, they rotate beautifully. As soon as they’re in golf…

The show retells the most important, and often misunderstood, stories from the history of golf. GM editor Neil Tappin plays the role of host with golf historian and writer Fergus Bisset offering the insights. Fergus brings each episode to life by delving into the archives to uncover the details, the quotes and the characters behind seminal periods in the game. The topics covered include: Arnold Palmer’s Open wins; Seve’s greatest Ryder Cup moments; how Walter Hagen changed professional golf; and Tiger’s incredible 2000 US Open win. In each episode the two also discuss a record from the history books they think will remain unbeaten and pick a memorable quote from the past, with Fergus finishing things off with a quiz. If you’re interested in the history of the game or…

This game is great when it feels as though you can’t miss on the greens – when the hole looks the size of a bucket. Wouldn’t it be nice if that happened a little more often? Even better if, when it did, we knew exactly why we were putting so well and what it was that we were doing correctly. I love teaching the concept of putting – the skill and art of what is a game within a game. Over the next six pages, I’ll help you to nail some of the basics, so that you can groove a more solid and confident stroke. I’m certain these tips will help you to become a better putter, capable of shooting much lower scores. OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER Mastering the basics 1 THE…

When you play a perfect bunker shot, it feels (and looks) fantastic. You take just the right wedge of sand and the ball splashes out safely over the lip and settles close to the pin. There are few more satisfying shots in this game. There’s no reason why you can’t do this every time, or at least a lot more often. As PGA Master Professional Anders Mankert demonstrates over the following pages, if you practise the fundamentals, the standard greenside bunker shot will actually become quite simple – and you may even start to hole a few. Of course, you won’t face straightforward shots all of the time – after all, a bunker is supposed to be a hazard. Mankert, though, relishes these more testing shots. So, if you’re struggling…

The position of the ball in your stance is often seen as the simplest part of the set-up in golf, yet it is the most overlooked. Ball position is critical to making the correct contact and it needs to vary according to the club you’re using and the scenario you face. Here, I explain the common mistakes golfers make and the simple corrections needed to successfully execute the various shots you’ll play during a typical round. OFFICIAL DATA PARTNER Bunkers and chips 1 THE FAIRWAY BUNKER SHOT Many golfers dread fairway bunkers and fear not getting out. The common fault is the club catching the sand too soon, impacting into the surface before the ball. Catching the sand heavy will destroy your chances of getting distance and may even mean you…

Shot on location at Infinitum Resort, Spain 1 All of us will encounter tricky stances, whether it’s the ball above our feet, below our feet or on varying degrees of upslope or downslope. These, along with all sorts of other difficult stances, will occur during most rounds of golf, especially if we play on undulating courses. Many of us fail to cope with these stances simply because we don’t know how to adjust our set-up and technique to counteract the lie or slope. But for the most part they are easy to overcome if you make a few small adjustments, as I explain below. 2 BALL BELOW FEET The main mistake here is having the ball too far forward in the stance. It should be fairly central as the downswing will be…