Five Top Swing Tips with Ian Poulter

[PAGEBREAK]RELAX INTO YOUR CONTROLLED SWING

The key to any good swing is to find your own, individual tempo. I've always had quite a quick swing and as long as the speed stays the same throughout 18 holes, I can rely on this when the heat is on. Whether you swing it fast or slow it doesn't matter just make sure it remains the same speed everytime you have a crack. Set up with the ball slightly towards your left side with a mid iron and then get ready to take the pin out.

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[PAGEBREAK]POSTURE

Straight back

Maintaining a good posture is something all golfers should work on. Ordinary golfers will often just stand up to the ball, crouch over and give it a whack. Wrong. Try to make sure your back is straight and that your head doesn't slump over the ball. When you work on your posture it will feel strange to start with but slowly you'll get used to it and your ball striking is guaranteed to be consistent.

Maintain the angle

Try to keep your posture through the swing. Here at the top of my backswing the spine angle is pretty much the same as at the start of the swing. By maintaing your height, you won't have an off-centre strike.

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[PAGEBREAK]NICE LENGTH

Don't overswing

Everyone wants to hit the ball a long way but overswinging isn't the way to do it, trust me. Here you can see that the club is parallel to the ground. From parallel I can build club head into the back of the ball for a powerful and accurate srtrike.

Notice my left arm is pretty much straight yet looks relaxed. Amateurs will often bend this losing control and distance.

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[PAGEBREAK]HIT THE BALL FIRST

Take a look at these pictures. Notice I hit the ball before the turf. This is essential if you want to generate any power or spin. Let the loft on the clubhead do all the work - the loft will lift the ball up. You don't need to go digging for Australia - let the club do what it was designed for.

By hitting the ball first you'll generate backspin that makes approach shots far easier to control. Practice this for a while and you'll notice how quickly the ball stops especially with your wedges.

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[PAGEBREAK]KEEP YOUR BALANCE

Finish well

If you come to the end of your swing and have to take a pace to steady yourself things have gone wrong. Practice coming to a well balanced finish where you can admire your shot without needing to go walking after it in a Gary Player style. This should help your consistency and accuracy as your balance is maintained throughout the swing.

This is a full finish. I've accelerated all the way through the ball and most my weight is now on my left side. This helps you swing right through the ball rather than chop at it like an axe.

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