If you’re reading this, you’ve probably watched at least one pro golf tournament on television, filled with the many inspiring pros who play in them. If you haven’t, that’s okay; this blog might just convince you to watch them actively every weekend. The reason we say that is because the pros of the past and present can help you more than you think they can. 

PGA Tour golfers and other players who participate in other golf leagues are among the few who can compete on the big stage and shoot the best rounds you’ll see from anyone in the world. That’s exactly why watching them and understanding their swings can potentially help your own golf game.

In this blog, we will explain what the best pro golfers in the world can tell you about your golf swing.

How the Pros Are More Relatable To You Than You Think

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Wait… how can I relate to a pro golfer 100 times better than I’ll ever be?”. You’ll find that in time, the answer to that question will come very quickly, the more you learn about the game that the pros play daily. 

And by no means are we saying that anyone can become a pro if they do everything that a pro does. The pros on any one of the different tours practice for hours on end daily, weekly, and monthly, while also keeping themselves in tip-top shape with vigorous workout and recovery programs. Not even the most casual of golf players have the time for this kind of process, especially if they work a job, care for family, and have any other responsibilities that they have.

The pros did come from somewhere, and their stories are probably way more similar to yours with where you started playing golf than you think. That relatability stems from the game itself. Hitting the ball well, practicing as much as you can, and most importantly, having fun!

Comparing Your Swing to a Pros

The first place to start the conversation of relatability is based on the swing that each type of golfer has, pro versus casual. If you’ve watched any number of PGA Tour events, you’ll notice that there are some similarities to your swing in how a certain pro will do it. 

One of the most basic elements of a swing that might be consistent across both pro and casual players is when you can maintain a full shoulder turn and a proper release through impact. That would be an element of the swing that you would like to keep in mind whenever you go out on the course. 

Controlling the impact position is maybe the biggest aspect of a swing that differentiates a pro from a casual player. It’s brought through in full force by other phases in the swing movement, whether it’s your hip and body rotation, how much you fling your wrist, or transitioning from backswing to downswing.

Let’s look at a famous example for a pro golfer, arguably the best… Tiger Woods! Tiger’s swing has certainly changed over time due to his age, but also his injuries, which have made him change certain things in his swing. When he was in his prime, he had an unmatched swing that led him to many tournament wins.

As you see below in the video, Tiger’s older swing that he used when he was in his prime years has a lot more power to it with well-established mechanics. His newest swing form, as we just said, is more catered to his older age, even when you include his injuries, also changing the swing. Both forms have a unique style that can suit a more casual player if any of those circumstances fit with you as well. Younger players will favor a more powerful swing in their hip movement, while older players might focus more on control. 

In this case, you might substitute HOW FAR the ball goes for WHERE it lands, and that’s just a reality of how much it’ll change you if you get older or sustain an injury like the many that Tiger Woods has endured. However, that doesn’t take away the reliability of where a pro’s swing will compare to a casual player’s.

Finding Your Own Swing Through Golf Lessons

So what can you do to learn and replicate it? For one, start watching the tournaments! It’s fun, filled with exciting moments, and you can definitely learn something from them when watching the players. That, in its own way, can be a golf lesson by studying these players and their swings. Eventually, you’ll find someone close enough to how you swing, and from there on out, you can learn a great deal from it.

Finally, and most importantly, get yourself into some proper golf lessons. They will allow you to work through the motions of understanding your swing well enough to, let’s say, if you take lessons for a long enough amount of time, you might start looking like your favorite pro in no time (regardless of whether you want to go pro or just stay as a casual player). 

The great thing about getting lessons is that you might have a chance to work with someone who was either a pro or worked with the pros in and around any one of the different golf tours. If you want to find the best golf lessons in Buffalo, then Woods to Wedges has some great teachers. 
You can find them on our Golf Lessons page with bios that exceed the experience they have under them, working with the PGA. If you’re interested and have any questions, give them a call, and we can’t wait to teach you what makes for a great swing like how the pros do it!