Thinking about getting back into playing golf? Perhaps you’ve just retired and are looking for a new hobby. Or maybe you’ve found your old clubs in your garage and want to get back out on the course.
There’s never a bad time to get into golf, and particularly for senior golfers, there are a ton of lessons and coaching tips available to help you get back into the sport.
Here are six of the best lessons senior golfers should look to take before getting on the course:
- Grip lesson;
- posture and swing lesson;
- chipping lesson;
- putting lesson;
- bunker lesson; and
- lesson on the course.
In this guide, we’ll be walking you through all the lessons senior golfers should be taking, why they’re important, and how they can benefit your golf game. We’ll also be examining how far those over 60 years of age should look to hit the ball and how fast you should ideally be swinging the golf club.
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The Best Lessons For Senior Golfers
Senior golfers should look to focus primarily on their technique and posture and less on their power. That’s where lessons on correcting your grip and working on your swing action can help you become a better golfer and score low rounds.
Senior golfers can be some of the most experienced players on the course. There’s no doubt that if you’ve been playing golf for a long time, you’ll have a lot more skill and technique than a beginner. But as you get older, it can be hard to maintain consistency in your golf swing. That’s why golf lessons are just as beneficial for senior golfers as they are for beginners.
Here are the top lessons we recommend senior golfers look to take before they get back on the course.
1.Improving Your Grip
Your grip is the fundamental part of your golf swing. You can often find yourself hitting shanks, hooks, and even hitting the golf ball fat with a poor grip. That’s why it’s imperative to get your grip right before you start to work on the rest of your swing.
Head down to the range and have a chat with your coach about how your current golf grip could be improved or changed to suit your style of play. Even if you are new to the game, it’s good to get an idea of the best practice grip techniques to ensure your connection on the ball is the best it can be.
Golfers are often taught not to grip the club too hard when they address the ball, with many coaches teaching their students to let the club do the work. But for senior golfers, coaches will approach this part of your game a little differently.
Most golfers over the age of 60 won’t hit the ball as far as younger players, and that’s why many coaches will instruct you to have a firmer grip on the club. This may feel alien at first, and you may struggle to get a cleaner connection on the golf ball too, but after a few shots, you’ll see the harder grip will help you add a lot of distance to your game. For more information on golf club grips, check out our guide here.
2.A Lesson On Your Posture And Swing
For many senior golfers, posture can be a challenging part of your game to get right. As your body gets older, you may find it a little more difficult to bend the knees and twist through the shot. That’s why it’s important to have a few lessons assessing your posture and stance to ensure you aren’t developing any bad habits that could cause an injury.
Lower back injuries account for approximately 25% of all golf injuries, and the majority of those are not caused by lugging a heavy bag of clubs around a course. They are caused by bad posture and those players who are above 60 years of age are vastly more adverse to these injuries than younger players.
Poor posture play can include a player having an arched back as well as standing up and losing your set up posture as you move through your swing to strike through the golf ball. Therefore, it is important to make time to schedule a lesson to help you get that posture correct so that you firstly can avoid any injuries and strike through the ball better.
Coaches will instruct their senior golfers to slow down their backswing and make sure you have flex in your knees. Many senior golfers straighten out their knees and stand up in the shot, which can cause you to top the shot and put greater stress on the lower half of your back.
For a complete guide on everything you need to know about golf lessons please check out my helpful article.
3.Work On Your Chipping
Chipping is by far the most frustrating part of any golfers game. With no two chips ever being the same, it is always hard to find consistency when you’re trying to plonk a ball three feet out from the hole. And for senior golfers, approach play can be a very difficult part of your game to master.
For most chip shots, players need a bit of elasticity in their arms to get under the ball and scoop it off the turf. But that can be hard for older golfers, whose joints may be a little more than that of a younger golfer. On that basis, older golfers should look to get some advice from a professional coach on how they can improve their flop shot game and save shots around the greens.
My best advice is to never underestimate how much the bump and run can get you out of trouble. Unlike a flop shot, the bump and run doesn’t require you to contort your body to open up your clubface, and it also doesn’t require a fast swing through the shot. When played right, it is a simple dink shot that can get you over and around obstacles on the course and can also be much more accurate when you’re looking to hit the flag.
For a guide on our favourite clubs for chipping around the green please check out our post.
4.Have Lessons For Your Putting
Many think putting is the most straightforward part of your golfing game, but it can be the most complicated. No matter your age or experience level, it’s always good to have at least one or two putting lessons to help you learn how to read greens properly.
Even some of the most experienced golfers in my local club still struggle to drain their shots on the green, so that’s why putting lessons are invaluable when it comes to helping you save shots around the course.
Particularly for senior golfers who typically won’t strike their drives as long as younger players, it’s important to know where you can save shots on the course. And putting is one of those areas. Developing a solid putting game with the help of a professional coach can drastically reduce the number of shots you’ll post on your scorecard.
Coaches can help you improve your aim, your putting distances, and your connection with the golf ball to help you become more accurate.
During a putting lesson, you can also pick your coach’s brain about the best way to approach specific scenarios or even what type of putter you should be using for your ability. For more information on the different types of putters that suit your unique game check out our guide here.
5.Master The Sand Traps
Many golfers fail to realize that shots are won and lost on the course in their recovery play. Particularly if you’re an amateur golfer, you’re going to be hitting wayward shots on the course and are undoubtedly going to find the sand every now and then. That’s why it’s important, particularly if you’re a senior golfer, to be able to master your play from the bunker.
Similar to chipping, playing shots from the sand requires a little more flexibility than a classic bump and run shot. But there are ways a golf coach can help you recover the ball from the sand if you are a senior golfer. During a lesson in the bunker, your coach will help you comfortably alter your grip and posture so that you can comfortably lift the ball out of the hazard.
It is a lot harder to play a bump and run shot from the sand, but depending on what club you’re using, you can still strike down on the ball in the bunker and gain some loft. But players need to be careful when playing from the sand as there are certain rule constraints that you can see in.
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