Golf is both simple and complex. The overarching objective of the sport is to use your clubs to get a golf ball into the hole from varying distances in the fewest strokes possible.

Pretty simple, right? Until you try it for the first time. Or the hundredth. If you are a golfer, you understand what I’m saying here. Golf is not as simple as the game's objective makes it out to be.

What is even more confusing about golf is that as much as it can drive us insane, we can't get enough of it! Sure, some of us say things like, “This is the last time” or “I hate this game!” only to tee it up the following day. I understand that this game is not at all easy, but at the same time, can be truly rewarding and a blast to play with friends and family.

My name is Brendon Elliott, and I am a PGA Professional based in Central Florida. I caught the golf bug about 40 years ago when I was eight. That passion I had early in life never let go, and by age 14 or 15, I knew I wanted to work in golf.

I have spent the past 27 years of my adult life working in the golf business as a Head Golf Professional, General Manager, Golf College Business Educator, Director of Career Services, and a golf coach and instructor. I have been humbled by being recognized as a leader in the business with over 25 prestigious awards for coaching and teaching, most notably, the 2017 PGA National Youth Player Development Award winner.

I love helping people — particularly young people — discover their passion for golf and improve at playing it. It has been my life's work and what makes me tick for almost three decades.

Today, I want to share some basic concepts to help you expand your knowledge regarding the golf swing. In particular, I will focus on what is required to ensure you can swing the club on a swing path that will give you the best chance of hitting good golf shots.

How to Get the Perfect Swing Path

Whether you are a beginner or the best golfer at your home golf course, understanding proper golf swing fundamentals will help ensure your golf game can be at its best.

Step #1: Understanding the Cause and Effect of Ball Flight

I think starting by giving you an overview of golf’s ball flight laws is important. These principles guide the cause and effect of how a ball flies as it comes off the clubface based on how you deliver it into the ball.

I have always believed in a golfer having complete and factual knowledge of the concepts required to hit the golf shots the way they want to. Knowledge is power, and in this game, when so much information is out there from all kinds of sources, it is essential to cut through that noise and get correct information.

Modern Vs. Old Ball Flight Laws

What is known as the Modern Ball Flight Laws varies significantly from what we used to teach not too long ago with the Old Ball Flight Laws.

With the Modern Ball Flight Laws, the clubface at impact, related to your target line, determines the start direction of the ball. Additionally, your swing path, related to your clubface, will determine the curvature of the ball as it flies.

Clubface (related to the target line) + Swing Path (related to the clubface) = Ball Flight.

The Modern Ball Flight Laws are as follows:

1. Straight Shot: Face is square to target and square to a straight path
2. Straight Slice: Face is square to target and open to outside to inside path
3. Straight Draw: Face is square to target and closed to inside to outside path
4. Push Slice: Face is open to the target and open to a straight path
5. Push Straight: Face is open to target, and square to inside to outside path
6. Push Draw: Face is open to target and closed to inside to outside path
7. Pull Slice: Face is closed to target and open to outside to inside path
8. Pull Straight: Face is closed to target, and square to outside to inside path
9. Pull Draw: Face is closed to the target and closed to a straight path

Before the advent of high-speed radars, which have given us a much different understanding of cause and effect, the ball flight laws looked like this:

1. Push: The Path is inside to outside; the face is square to the path
2. Push Slice: The Path is inside to outside; the face is open to the path
3. Push Hook: The Path is inside to outside, and the face is closed to the path
4. Straight: The Path is straight to the target line, and the face is square to the path
5. Pull: The Path is outside to inside, and the face is square to the path
6. Pull Hook: The Path is outside to inside, and the face is closed to the path
7. Pull Slice: The Path is outside to inside; the face is open to the path
8. Slice: The Path is straight to the target line, and the face is open
9. Hook: The Path is straight to the target line, and the face is closed

Back then, the ball was thought to start its flight based on the path. The face would determine the curve of the ball. We know this is not to be the case anymore. However, many still teach this way, so be aware as you search for a coach or consume your golf instruction online.

Step #2: Understanding the Pre-Swing and Set-Up Fundamentals

The pre-swing fundamentals of Posture, Grip, and Alignment are like the pre-flight checks a pilot goes through before taking off. If these fundamentals are out of whack in any way, your chances of swinging the club on a good path and getting good results with your strike go down considerably.

Granted, not all golfers are built the same, and with that, they do not swing the same, but in general terms, Posture, Grip, and Alignment are very often the culprits in shots that do not go off as planned.

Your Golf Posture or Golf Stance is how you set your body up to the ball. Getting into good posture ensures that you will be able to move your body the correct way during the swing.

Anything that is off could restrict your body's rotation and proper movement. Your setup needs stability, so having your feet approximately shoulder-width apart is suggested. You can go a little wider with your driver and longer irons and somewhat narrower with your wedges and short irons.

A good Golf Grip is critical, especially when considering how vital the clubface is for shots that go where you want them to. Your hands are your only connection between the golf club and your body. You can only imagine what an improper grip can do to the clubface throughout the swing. Additionally, your right hand and left hand need to work together to ensure a good grip. How you connect the hands, whether it be an interlock grip, overlap grip, or even a baseball grip, ensures that the hands work as a unit.

Alignment is, without a doubt, one of the most critical factors concerning your swing path. To be blunt, if your body lines and clubface are off, your swing path will be altered in relation to the target.

I have some great tips for assuring you nail your Posture, Grip, and Alignment in my Curated article “How to Swing a Golf Club.” I highly recommend you check that out!

Step #3: Understanding the Basics of a Correct Backswing

Now, we are getting into the nitty-gritty of the swing itself. The golf swing is truly something that could be compared to a bunch of dominos in a line. If everything is lined up and happens in sequence as it should, you will have something amazing come out of it.

On the flip side, if one thing is off in that sequence, especially early on, it will be tough for your outcome to be what you wanted. When we look at the Backswing, a few things are critical to know and try to execute.

Truths to know and execute in Backswing:

• The body is rotating and building up energy as you swing back, which you will unleash on the downswing.
• The hands, arms, and club work back on a slightly different path from the body.
• Having your hands, arms, and club go back in one piece in the takeaway is essential. You want to keep the clubhead low and move back slowly, keeping your clubface square to the target line. Do not let your hands, arms, and club rotate to the inside, following your body as it turns.
• At about hip height, the wrists will start to hinge the club up, and at the top, a good checkpoint is having the club shaft just a smidge below your trail shoulder.
• The back of your lead hand and that wrist should be flat, which will help ensure that your clubface is flat or square at the top.

• Your lower body, or the hips, should rotate roughly 45°, and the upper body, or shoulders about 90°. The 45° of separation between the hips and the shoulders is essential and, in essence, is that potential energy being built up, as mentioned previously.

• Your body must remain centered, with your center mass or center of gravity steady and over the ball. However, you will shift pressure (weight) into your trail foot as you rotate back to the top of your swing. You want to get about 70% of the weight or pressure into your trail foot by the top of your backswing. Additionally, you want about 65% into your heel versus 35% into your toe.

Check out some great tips for nailing your backswing in my Curated article “How to Swing a Golf Club.”

Step #4: Understanding the Basics of a Correct Transition and Downswing

Next up is the Transition and the Downswing. What is meant by Transition is the change of direction from the backswing to the downswing. That Transition happens even before your hands reach the top of the backswing. All good players shift their pressure into the lead side before the hands get to the top of the swing.

As the downswing starts, it is absolutely critical to ensure that you follow a correct downswing sequence. Many golfers initiate the downswing with their hands and upper body. This leads to the infamous over-the-top path with the club.

The correct downswing sequence to help ensure that you have your best chance of swinging from the inside on the downswing (i.e., the “Perfect Swing Path”) looks like this:

First, your hips start to unwind. Second, your upper torso or shoulders start to unwind. Third, your hands and club move down a little shallower or under the initial plane than in the backswing.

As described above, you should continue shifting your foot pressure into your lead side during the downswing sequence. This pressure shift will reverse what you were doing in your backswing. When you finish your swing, you want to get all the weight or pressure into your lead foot. All of that pressure should also be moving into your heel, then your toe, with all of it eventually on your toe.

Your spine and center mass should stay over the ball as you unwind from the top and down through impact, and in post-impact, it should start moving up and into your lead side, with your chest facing the target by the finish.

Oh, and remember that wrist hinge you created in the backswing? Well, that should remain in place as you move down in your downswing and should not be released until just after impact and into the start of your follow-through.

To cap things off, you should be fully transferred into your lead side and in a nice balanced target-facing finish position with your hands, arms, and club ultimately released and behind your head. Think of the PGA TOUR logo.

Wrapping Things Up and Next Steps Toward Perfecting Your Swing Path

I hope this guide has helped you understand how to perfect your swing path. Remember, the game of golf is challenging but, at the same time, a gratifying experience.

When looking to improve your game, it is essential to enjoy each opportunity you get, both on the course or in the practice facility. Only then will your journey toward better play have the chance to take shape.

If you would like further information or have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me or another Curated Golf Expert.