Grip and set-up: the fixes that cost nothing

Two things determine most of what your golf ball does, and neither happens during the swing. How you hold the club and how you stand to it are free to change, need no athleticism, and are where nearly every self-taught fault begins.

The grip decides where the clubface points

Hold the club so that you see two knuckles on your lead hand and the V between thumb and forefinger points at your trail shoulder. Three or four knuckles and the face tends to close, giving a hook. One knuckle and it stays open, giving the slice most amateurs fight for years.

It is the most common cause of a persistent ball flight and the least popular thing to change, because a corrected grip feels wrong for about a fortnight.

Pressure: firm enough to control, light enough to swing

At ten out of ten the forearms lock and the club stops releasing. At two it moves in the hands. Four or five is what most coaches ask for. Hold the club out in front of you and have someone pull gently: if it slides out you are too light, if your forearms are tense you are too tight.

Posture starts at the hips

Stand tall, put your hands in your hip creases and push the hips back until the upper body tilts forward. Let the arms hang. That posture puts the hands under the shoulders where they can swing freely. Bending from the waist with a rounded back produces the stand-up move through impact.

Three ball positions and no more

Driver off the lead heel, mid irons two ball widths forward of centre, wedges just back of centre. That covers the bag. Playing every club from the same spot means compensating on every shot.

Alignment: clubface first, body second

Set the clubface at the target, then build the stance parallel to it. The reverse aims the body at the flag and the face right of it, which is why so many players who feel correctly aimed are thirty metres off. Put a club on the ground every practice session and check.

Grip wear in the heat

An Australian summer hardens rubber grips faster than anywhere with a milder climate, and a slick grip makes you hold on tighter, which locks the forearms and undoes everything above. Wash grips with warm water and a brush every few weeks and replace them when they stop feeling tacky, usually once a season for a regular player.

Have it checked, because you cannot see it

Grip, posture and alignment are the three things a golfer cannot self-diagnose. An hour with a PGA of Australia professional, or a phone video shot from behind, shows all three in a minute. Players who take one lesson a year and spend it here improve more than those who take five on the swing itself.

What to check before your next round

• Two knuckles on the lead hand, Vs pointing at the trail shoulder.
• Hips back, arms hanging, weight in the middle of the feet.
• Clubface aimed first, body second, checked against a club on the ground.
• Grips clean and still tacky.

None of it is glamorous and all of it is free. It is also where most amateur ball flight problems begin and end.