Did you know that right now, women golfers are picking up the game at a rate faster than male golfers?
Women’s golf is on the rise, but when you look for golf swing tips across the internet, many use men as the primary reference. Of course, many of the golf swing tips we share here and elsewhere on the internet work regardless of the player, but there is absolutely something to be said for a personalized approach.
The Best Golf Swing Tips for Women
Today we wanted to go over some useful golf swing tips for women golfers that will cover all areas of golf – the full swing, short game, and even equipment choices.
Let’s get started!
1. Customize Your Equipment to Level The Playing Field
Female golfers have a different physical build than male golfers. Therefore, playing with the same equipment would be doing a disservice. Women’s clubs should be custom-fitted to adjust for height, hand size, swing speed, and overall strength differences.
If you are a new player, it’s smart to get fitted for clubs when you start and then again as your game improves and grows. Your equipment needs will be continually changing as your swing improves and your skill rises.
2. Smooth Tempo is A Positive
One of the strengths that women golfers have in their game is a smooth tempo. Plenty of women want to hit the ball far and gain extra distance, but they use a smooth tempo and more rhythmic swing.
The more you watch golf, you may notice that this is a key difference between men and women golfers, and tempo is an issue many struggle with. If you have a nice, smooth tempo, keep it! Don’t let anyone around you influence your natural tempo.
3. Leverage Your Lower Body Strength
Women are notorious for having more muscular lower bodies than their upper bodies. The good news is that as a golfer, you can benefit from this lower body strength. Use your legs and hips effectively, which will produce a lot of the distance for you.
Many new players tend to overextend their arm swing and try to make contact with the ball this way. Get that thought out of your mind, and work on turning the lower body and using those legs to drive power.
4. Learn To Fix The Slice
Let’s face it: sheer distance can be a struggle for female golfers. If you are a player who slices the ball, then you’re losing even more distance. Learn to fix the slice as soon as you can.
A slice happens because your clubface is open to the target at impact.
Learning to square the clubface and releasing the club a little sooner will help. In addition, finding the right equipment, like the Ladies SF1 (please note this is currently only available for right-handed players), and ensuring your fundamentals (grip, setup stance) are all correct will help.
The sooner you can fix the slice, the easier it is to become a better golfer.
5. Participate in Some Golf Specific Fitness Activities
While from a cardio perspective, golf isn’t as strenuous as other sports, it certainly still takes a strong body and a good bit of endurance. A strong core is integral to many aspects of physical activity, and that’s no different with golf – women golfers with better core strength play better golf.
Having a strong core can aid in both balance, stability and swing strength.
In addition, women golfers who add flexibility to their workouts tend to get the club in better positions in their swing.
Look at golf as you would any other sport and prepare your mind and body for it by implementing a good practice routine.
6. Keep The Elbows Close
A common mistake that some women golfers often make is allowing their elbows (especially the right one for right-handed players, vice versa for lefties) to separate and move away from the body.
If you can keep your elbow closer throughout the backswing and even the downsizing, getting the club on the plane is easier.
Keeping the elbow closer is easy if you put a headcover under your arm as your practice.
Take some ½ to ¾ golf swings without letting that golf headcover drop down. This drill is a great way to warm up before a round and see better connection and consistency in the game.
7. Consider Instruction (At Your Own Pace)
Often, when talking to women golfers about their fears and concerns with the game, one of these is professional instruction.
One-on-one and group instruction are not your only options if you’re hesitant to put yourself out there in the beginning. Which, by the way, is very normal for all golfers!
There are many golf training programs online that help you work through your issues in your golf game.
Do a little self-study, and pick one area of your game to work on at a time.
8. Get the Shoulder Alignment Concept Down
Your shoulder, hip, and foot alignment should be closely monitored when setting up to hit a golf ball. You need to ensure that your hips, feet, and shoulders are all parallel to the target.
It’s easy to get your feet set up, then forget about shoulder alignment.
One of your last checks before you hit the ball should be that your shoulders are not open or closed.
A simple incorrect angling of the shoulders can cause you to hit shots 10 or even 20 yards off target, so be sure not to miss this step.
9. Take a Slightly Wider Golf Stance When You Need Power
While it’s true that a slightly wider stance helps gain more power, there’s more to consider. When setting up to hit a golf ball, the further your legs are apart, the harder it is to turn and transfer weight correctly.
You won’t want to exaggerate this tip.
However, you will want your feet a little further apart when you need more stability, balance, and distance.
It’s tempting to focus exclusively on precision and form, but from time to time, you must work on generating power if you want to really push the envelope.
Take some practice swings with your feet about an inch wider.
See if you are still able to make an efficient turn.
Now try this with a driver or a fairway wood and see if this wider stance gives you more stability and a bit of extra power.
10. You Need A High and Low Short Game Shot
It’s important to remember not all chips and pitches will be the same.
The more tools you have in your arsenal, the easier it is to score.
Use your sand wedge to hit high-lofted shots out of the rough or when you have to go over a bunker.
Take a slightly larger swing with a bit more hinge in your wrists.
For the lower shots around the green, use a 9 or an 8 iron and take more of a putting-type stroke.
Let the ball roll its way back to the hole.
Final Thoughts for Women Golfers
These golf swing tips for women should give you plenty of ideas of things to work on before your next round of golf. As a woman golfer, just be sure that any information you are taking in is specific to who you are as a player and your personal skills; and don’t take it all at face value.
We hope you enjoy the wonderful game of golf!
