There is no question that golf is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, games in which to become reasonably proficient. For this discussion, let’s define “proficiency” as the level where you can reasonably expect to move the ball around the course efficiently and consistently enough to shoot 90 or better, though your own goals might be somewhere lower. From my research into various golfer communities, it is highly likely that – if you are reading this blog post – you probably are playing to somewhere between a 5 and 16 handicap.

I realize it is hard to write to such a diverse audience, but I’m going to give it my best with this post, and pose the basic two questions to each of you :

“How important is it to you to get measurably better at golf?”

If the answer to No. 1 is somewhere between “somewhat important” to “very important,” then the next question has to be…

“What are you willing to do to get measurably better?”

As a lifelong golfer, a student of the game and having made my living in the golf equipment industry for 40-plus years, I have made it a study to observe golfers of all skill levels as they try to figure out this crazy and very difficult game. What amazes me the most is how many golfers will continually spend thousands of dollars on golf equipment but never take the initiative to change those fundamental things that will help them really improve their skills and abilities.

Being a golf club designer and marketer, I certainly know that there are gains to be made in your efficiency by availing yourself of the right modern equipment. No matter what your skill level, you will not optimize your performance with outdated or ill-fitted golf clubs. That said, no equipment can make up for poor fundamentals in your approach to moving a golf ball around three to four miles of real estate in the least number of strokes. The basic fundamentals of striking a golf ball have not changed nearly as much as golf club technology, and those fundamentals have their roots dating back a hundred years to Bobby Jones and his peers — or even further.

If you really want to improve your golf, you must define where you are losing the most strokes and start there. If it’s putting or greenside scoring, spend your time working on those aspects instead of beating balls on the range. But if your best place for improvement is in your approach shots or play with the long clubs, you simply must work on your fundamentals of the golf swing. From my observation of thousands of golfers of all skill levels, far too many are deficient in the fundamentals, starting with the grip, and then to the set-up and only then to the swing motion.

I am constantly amazed at how many golfers are trying to play the game with a fundamentally unsound hold of the club. The simple fact is that good golf cannot be played with a bad grip on the club. In fact, a sound, fundamental hold on the club is the first step in setting up for a technically sound golf swing. And it’s one of only two elements of the golf swing that require absolutely no physical skills. Barring physical limitations, anyone can learn to hold the club properly, and you can practice it anywhere from the sofa in front of your TV to your office while on a call.

While you might prefer the overlap, interlock or full-finger style, the hold on the golf club is pretty much the same – the upper portion of the grip has to be under the pad of the upper hand and held more in the fingers than the palm of both hands. The palms should be aligned, that is so that the two “V”s formed by your thumb and forefinger should point in the same direction, whether a bit weak or strong from the neutral position. And the grip should be light enough to allow supple movement in the wrists during the swing.

You can be assured there is not a single successful player in the professional ranks who does not have a fundamentally sound grip on the club. So, if you really want to get better at golf, start by learning how to hold the club properly.

Secondly, it also takes absolutely no athletic ability to learn how to set up in the proper posture to make a sound golf swing possible. This is even less a “personal” thing than the grip with very little variation, there is a single way to set up to a golf ball to help a good golf swing happen. As you watch PGA or LPGA golf, you will see very little “personalization” to this basic fundamental. Study those players and mimic their set-up and you will take another giant step toward playing better golf.

The point is today, regardless of your skill level, if you work on making your grip and your set up closer to the proven fundamentals of the best players in the game, your path to better golf becomes infinitely easier.

But regardless of the type of change you are trying to make, you also have to be willing to commit to it and suffer the learning period — oftentimes you have to get worse (for a while) to get better (permanently).

The question is, again, “Do you really want to get better at golf?”

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