As a woman golfer with a 1 handicap, I can tell you I have heard both good and bad advice through the years.

Many times women golfers are looked at as entirely different players because of their perceived lack of swing speed. The good news is this is not the case, and there are plenty of ways that women golfers can improve and compete against anyone!

Here are 11 of my top tips for women golfers.

1. Low and Slow on The Takeaway

The golf swing takeaway should be low and slow.

So many women golfers try to push this and make it faster to gain clubhead speed. Trust me on this one; a nice low and slow takeaway will not cause you to lose your clubhead speed.

Get that speed by being strong and being in the right position at impact. Keeping it low and slow allows the hips to turn back and the wrist hinge to happen at the proper time.

2. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Aggressive

Many women golfers have incredible tempo and rhythm in their swings that can significantly help with consistency.

However, there is something to be said for being aggressive as well. Don’t be afraid to go after the ball when the situation allows. Swing confidently and finish your shot with your hands held high, facing your target.

This is especially important on bunker shots. So many women slow down on these types of shots, and the result will be a golf ball still left in the bunker. Of course, you will need to learn the mechanics of the bunker shot, but once you have that down, don’t be afraid to swing with full confidence.

3. Consistency Is Key

If you can swing out of your shoes and get five extra yards or swing with consistency and hit it five yards short but down the middle, choose consistency.

Women golfers get a bit of a break by getting to play from the ladies’ tees; your goal is to become a consistent and accurate player from here, don’t worry about driving the green.

In addition, make sure you are consistent in your putting stroke. If your putting stroke is a bit inconsistent, there will likely be issues with confidence and your ability to make putts. Instead, try to focus on making a consistent stroke each time and improving the overall roll of your putts by doing so.

4. A Wider Stance Is Not Always Better

Many women golfers are told to take a wider stance by others in their golf game or even some family or friends that are trying to help.

The proper posture is essential for women golfers, and if your stance is too wide, it becomes challenging to get your weight off the back foot and generate enough club head speed.

I used to ask women golfers to stand with their feet together and hit shots, and the results were really surprising; many had much better success than you may think from this position.

5. Use Weights to Increase Clubhead Speed

If you want to hit the ball further and get stronger, the equation is simple. You simply need to learn to swing the club faster, meaning you may need a little more strength.

Learn the basics of the golf swing and get them down, and then start swinging with a weighted club to make things a bit easier. A female golfer can make big changes to their total distances by working with weighted clubs.

This is one of my favorite products out there to help improve your clubhead speed:

6. Women’s Golf Equipment Isn’t Always Better

Women’s golf equipment isn’t always the right choice for all women golfers.

If you’re a faster swing speed player or a taller woman, senior golf clubs and even men’s golf clubs can be a good fit. Don’t get stuck on the idea that you need women’s golf clubs.

This also applies to women’s golf balls. Not many ball options for women are considered premium golf balls. Most are distance or soft feel, but very few offer high spin (which I prefer).

Don’t worry about the woman’s version of the ball – simply switch to something you can get the performance you need.

7. Look for High Ball Flight

Some women golfers have the wrong idea about ball flight and the impact it has on their swing.

You need a higher ball flight if you want to get more distance. That fairway wood that you’ve had all these years that is a bit heavy and won’t allow you to get the ball up in the air has got to go!

Find golf clubs that allow the ball to soar up high in the air and then use these to capitalize on distance and total carry.

8. Course Management Is Key

Golf course management is a huge part of playing great golf. If you’re not sure the best place to hit your next golf shot, don’t even swing!

Women golfers should plan out every hole they play and be smart about where they’re playing their shots. Sometimes, this means aiming away from a bunker or laying up before a water hazard on a par 5.

In addition, women golfers should be especially careful to manage their typical ball flight and how that will play into the golf course management decisions. If you typically have a bit of a slice as a miss and there is water down the right, aim your drive down the left side of the fairway.

9. Find a Great Instructor

It’s great to work on your game and get better through lots of drills and self-driven practice, but finding a great instructor makes this entire process so much more fun. With a great instructor, you can have something you count on and enjoy working with.

In addition, they’ll celebrate your wins with you, making this entire journey and process much more enjoyable. Golf tips from other beginners, your spouse, or friends are sometimes not all that helpful, and it’s crucial to get good feedback from those that know the game well.

Don’t feel the need to take weekly lessons if it is not your preference, but going to a lesson from time to time is a great way to improve your overall game and check in on your progress.

10. Short Game Shots Are Not All The Same

All chips and pitches are not the same, and as soon as you learn to design shots around the green, the better your chance will be of scoring lower. I’ll say this – most women golfers are not carrying enough wedges in their bags.

Women players very often only carry a pitching wedge and a sand wedge. Most professionals have a pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge. With each of these individual clubs, they’re able to hit a variety of golf shots.

This means that accomplished players know how to hit shots that are low, high, quick stopping, long rolling, and more. Essentially learning how to hit a variety of shots around the greens will make you a much more competitive player. Not all chips are the same!

11. Get Involved in Golf Tournaments

If you don’t like competitive golf as an individual sport, try to find a friend to play some partner events with. Golfing with friends is incredibly fun, and it will teach you so much about the game.

Women’s golf events are sometimes just scrambles or team better ball events. You may not feel the pressure you think you will, and sometimes our games play really well with this extra pressure.

Getting involved in tournaments also allows you to practice for something and prepare. Having a goal to work on is really important and getting involved in tournaments is a quick and easy way to do it.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children. Current Handicap: 1

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I started playing golf tournaments when I was about 10 years old.

Through the years, I’ve competed in hundreds of different events at the amateur and professional levels. I can tell you without a doubt that there is some skill involved with preparing for a golf tournament.

Golf tournament preparation goes beyond just working on your shot game or knowing how to master that first tee shot. There is a deeper level of thinking here and some mental work that needs to get done in addition to these basics.

If you are wondering how to prepare for a golf tournament, be it a friendly competition or something a bit more substantial, here are my 10 best tips.

1. Practice Rounds Are Key

If you have the chance to get a practice round at the golf course where your tournament is being held, it can help. Playing the golf course before competing in your tournament will ensure you have a better idea of where to hit the ball and which clubs to use.

I understand that this is not always possible as many golf courses are out of town or too difficult to schedule a practice round. If this is the case, you can use google earth or a golf yardage book to get a better look at the holes you will be playing.

Some golf GPS units also allow you to go through each of the holes on the course to see what you may be up against.

2. Nerves Are Normal, Expect Them

One of the things that I struggled with as a young player was being extremely nervous before an event. At one point, I went to a sports psychologist and explained that I was apprehensive about the event and was having difficulty even showing up for the first tee shot.

The psychologist asked what would happen when I did play, and I told him my game was always the best it is and that I would pull off shots that I couldn’t even think of doing in non-tournament rounds.

We eventually discovered that the nerves were there because I cared and because it mattered to me to play well. These are all things that you want when playing in a golf tournament. Of course, they need to be controlled enough to allow you to swing and participate, but you should have some.

3. Spend More Time on The Practice Green

Before a tournament, you are going to want to know the speed of the greens.

The greens are typically rolled to the same speed that the practice green is. Even if you watch professional players, they will spend the majority of their time warming up on the practice green and not on the driving range.

The driving range on the day of the event will be filled with people doing last-minute preparation and working on getting ready for their event. However, there won’t be much you can change on the day of the event on the driving range.

Hit a few balls to warm up your body, and then head over to the practice green and get the speed down. This is what will help your scoring.

4. Fuel Your Body

Be smart about what you eat before a golf tournament day. Have some small snacks like granola or a power bar.

Save the big meal for when you are finished with your round. The last thing you want to deal with is a stomach problem as you are trying to focus on your game.

In addition, make sure that you stay hydrated. With all of the other things that you are thinking about, forgetting to drink water is a major mistake that many first-time tournament golfers make. Always keep a water bottle in your bag and take a sip or two after each hole.

If it is warm out, start drinking water the night before so you never reach a level of dehydration.

5. Take The Day of The Tournament Slow

When preparing for a competitive round, you will have some tension, and your muscles may get tight.

One of the best ways to deal with this is to take deep breaths and allow plenty of time. Don’t run to the tee box with half an energy bar in your mouth, waving at your playing partners and apologizing for being late.

This is not the way to show up for your first golf tournament, and we can guarantee you that the start of this tournament will be less than ideal.

Show up at the golf course about an hour before your tee time. Create a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Having a game plan as to how to prepare for the tournament will only help eliminate those first few bad holes that cost you too many strokes.

6. Set a Goal

Playing in a golf tournament is a big accomplishment in and of itself. However, you should set other goals for yourself.

Be careful to set a goal of winning the tournament; to be honest, we all want to win. This is a challenging goal to put on yourself, and it could cause unnecessary pressure.

Instead, you will want to set smaller goals that are attainable and that you can check on throughout your round. Something that I have used in the past would be a goal to never three-putt or try to hit the center of the greens at least 10 times.

Sometimes a goal could be to par every par 3. The key is to pick something that you can focus on that you have a bit more control over. Winning the golf tournament is likely something you don’t have much control over.

Even if you play the best round you have ever played, you won’t necessarily be the winner of the event.

7. Have a Plan For a Bad Shot Situation

Bad shots happen. When they happen, you have to be prepared to accept the consequences. Any golfer who goes into a tournament thinking they will not experience a bad shot is doing themselves a disservice.

There are hazards and bunkers and sand traps all over any golf course, and if you hit the ball into them, you must know how to recover. Learn the rules of golf, and have a rule book on you to help in any situation where you may have questions.

The key here is to ensure that your plan is something that you can stick to and that you have the skills for. Learn how to hit a knock down or punch shot to get yourself out of trouble. In addition, work on bunker shots and get up and down from difficult locations.

In a golf tournament, you may get into some bad situations, but if you recover quickly, your score will likely not be overly impacted by it.

8. Expect Some Adrenaline

If you are playing a tournament, it may amp you up a little bit. This is a natural reaction that many golfers have and something that can actually be helpful. Some adrenaline in your body will increase the distance you can hit the golf ball.

As long as you are expecting this, then it should not do much harm. Expect your irons to go about half a club longer if you have some adrenaline going. Be aware that this does not increase your tempo.

Sometimes when your adrenaline is running strong, you can get a little out of balance or lose your tempo. Deep breaths and sticking to your pre-shot routine should help to slow things down and keep you in control.

9. Remind Yourself of The Prep You Have Put In

One of the most helpful mental tips I’ve ever used on the golf course is to remind myself of the prep work that I have put in through the years. When standing over a golf shot in a tournament, you may start to doubt yourself and your ability.

However, if you can remind yourself of all the work that you have put in to get there, the chance of you pulling off a great shot is considerably higher. Don’t stand over a four-foot putt and hope to make it.

Instead, stand there and remind yourself of the thousands of four-foot putts you have made in the past.

10. Don’t Over Practice The Day Before

The day before a golf tournament is not the time to put in months or even years of work.

This is a time to get yourself into a good mental place, ensure your body is loose and ready to swing, and take care of proper nutrition and water requirements.

You may put too many thoughts into your head if you try to get a bit too aggressive the day before a golf tournament. These thoughts lead to trying to change your golf swing, and that’s a mistake the day before an event.

Instead, work on creating some awareness of the course, maybe even a game plan for the first few holes. Practice putting and chipping, and if you have the time, play a leisurely 9 holes of golf.

These are all good ways to prepare and ensure you are saving your focus and energy for the day of the event.

Brittany Olizarowicz

Britt O has been playing golf since the age of 7. Almost 30 years later, she still loves the game, has played competitively on every level, and spent a good portion of her life as a Class A PGA Professional. Britt currently resides in Savannah, GA, with her husband and two young children. Current Handicap: 1

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When used correctly, a hybrid can be one of the most versatile weapons in your armoury. They’re great tools to help you navigate tight lies, edge yourself closer to the green on longer holes, escape the rough or even tee off on shorter holes.

But they’re very much the Marmite of golf clubs. Some swear by them, whereas others rue what appears to be an inconsistency of outcomes. If you find yourself in the latter category, constantly wondering how to hit a hybrid, you’re in the right place. Here are six tips to get to grips with hybrids and add another string to your golfing bow.

What are hybrids?

A hybrid golf club is a combination of a long iron and a fairway wood, designed to replace the former and offer a simpler technique.

Hybrids were first released in the late 1990s and are particularly useful if you struggle with long irons. They really gained popularity when TaylorMade introduced its ‘Rescue’ clubs in 2003, which are all but synonymous with the clubs to this day.

Though they look like woods with their seemingly open club faces, hybrids are really irons and are generally used in their place. That said, you can tee off with them instead of your trusty drivers, and it’s versatility like this that has made them popular with pros and amateurs alike.

6 essential tips for using a hybrid

Keep reading, and you’ll see the steps necessary to maximise the effectiveness of these jacks of all trades.

1. Treat ball positioning a little like an iron 

First things first, the position of your ball is going to have a big impact on how well you’re executing your shots with hybrids.

Imagine where your ball would be if you were using a mid-length iron. Your feet are shoulder-width apart, and the ball is about as central as it can be. Now, move it ever so slightly forward – but not quite as far as if you were using a driver.

This is where it’s easy to go wrong with hybrids. Just because it bears the resemblance of a wood while largely having the characteristics of an iron doesn’t mean you can treat it as either club. A hybrid is an iron – you’re trying to compress the ball to maximise distance, so you don’t want to position the ball as you would for a wood. A sweeping swing might initially feel natural, but you risk hitting thinner shots.

So, your ball is located slightly further forward than a mid-length iron, but not so far as a driver.

2. Get your body positioning right 

As already mentioned, your feet should be shoulder-length apart. Your grip on the club itself should be neutral, and you should lean forward slightly so your sternum is a little in front of the ball.

The point of this is to create as steep an angle of attack as possible. This is a really versatile stance too – wherever your ball is on the course, it’s an appropriate and effective way of preparing for your shot.

3. Compress the ball

As you would when striking the ball with an iron, the best way to maximise the strengths of a hybrid is to compress the ball. In layman’s terms, this means using the ground as a third party in your shot.

This is why the correct technique is to hit down on the ball, not to sweep it. By delofting the clubface and hitting down (first the ball, then the ground), you’re squeezing both surfaces against the ball and compressing it, so it shoots off and travels farther. There are few feelings in golf quite as satisfying as getting this right and watching the ball rocket off into the distance.

If your technique is correct, you’ll make a divot in the ground.

4. Trust the clubface

Though the clubface of a hybrid looks quite open and lofted, it’s important to let the club’s design serve its purpose. Your goal is to compress the club, so even though a hybrid doesn’t entirely look like an iron, you should still trust it to behave in a similar way.

5. Perfect the swing

Like with any golf club, you’re not going to reap the benefits of using a hybrid if your technique in the swing is incorrect.

A smooth, consistent swing is necessary to get the maximum out of your hybrid. It’s important to keep the speed and power the same throughout your swing, but don’t rush it.  

Really commit. Get that clubhead down and compress the ball.

6. Know where to use your hybrid

The rough, the fairway, or tight lies. You name it. If it’s outside the green, a hybrid will likely be a viable option.

There’s a reason TaylorMade called their hybrids ‘Rescue’ clubs. After all, even if you’re in a fairway bunker, a hybrid offers you a way out and back into the game.

Additionally, teeing off – particularly on a shorter course – is an option with a hybrid, though it’s important still not to treat the club like a driver.

In many ways, a hybrid is best at setting up the shot, which will get you into the green, not necessarily getting you there itself. In some cases, rushing your way to the green from miles out can have negative consequences, so a methodical extra shot with a more forgiving club like a hybrid can pay dividends – even if it’s not quite as exciting.

Ultimately, these clubs were designed for fairways, and that’s where they’re particularly effective. That said, one of the great things about hybrids is that they can be used just about anywhere except on the green itself.

Key takeaways

If you remember to treat your hybrid like an iron and not a wood, you’re already making steps in the right direction. Swinging down, maximising that angle of attack and really compressing the ball are the keys to making hybrids work for you.

But, like everything, practice makes perfect. Hybrids may have been designed as an easier option than a fairway wood or long iron, but that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to thrive with them from the word go. Spend time practising, perfect your technique, and you might never have a bag without a hybrid ever again.

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