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Peter Finch - Best 5 Golf Swing Tips | Golf Monthly
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Apr 18, 2025
In this video, staff writer Dan Parker is joined by PGA Pro and well-known YouTuber Peter Finch to provide his best 5 golf swing tips. Regardless of your ability, you're certain to benefit from the advice Peter offers in this golf tuition video - whether it's tips on how to aim properly, how to hit fairway woods sweetly every time or what your swing thoughts should be - Peter Finch has got you covered.
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0:00
Right, welcome Pete, Finch, we've got you back where it all began I guess. A bit of coaching
0:05
some tips for everybody at home at the beautiful range here at Formby Golf Club
0:09
We've got a couple of questions from readers we're going to get stuck into in a bit, but first a couple of basics I want to start with you. In your long time as a coach, prior to being a
0:17
content creator. I mean medium time, why are you trying to make me sound so old? You know
0:21
in the grand scheme of the history of the year. Why do you make me sound wise? I'm young, I'm
0:26
still energetic, I've still got it. So as a young hip content creator and formerly very young coach
0:32
what is the tip you sort of gave out the most? What's a real common thing that you taught people
0:38
that maybe people sort of forget back at home? Face, like understanding of where the face is aiming throughout the swing. So
0:45
I think a lot of people when they have a lesson and if they've seen their swing on video
0:50
they'll say, oh you know I'm coming over the top, I'm slicing it, I'm hitting a hook, I'm coming from the inside, flicking their hands. They'll jump to a technical explanation and big
1:00
major swing changes before they even look at the club face. So the amount of lessons I've given
1:05
where people are hitting a slice, they say, I'm coming over the top, I'm moving left, I'm hitting
1:10
a slice, I've tried to come from the inside or the rest of it. When you actually look at their
1:14
club face, throughout the swing, it's open, their grip is too weak, and they don't have control over
1:20
the actual thing which is hitting the ball. So with those guys and girls I mean if they're
1:26
swinging and that club face is open so pointing to the right of the target for a right-hander
1:30
and they would swing on play in nice neutral path and their impact would send the ball off to the
1:36
right-hand side with an open face. What the brain will do because it's a target orientated sport
1:40
is automatically try and send the club a little bit more out that way there's a way to try and
1:45
correct with paths. So before even getting onto any aspect of the swing
1:51
clubface. Clubface is key. Very good. I think something we could all take away
1:56
with us if you're struggling a little bit, think about that clubface, maybe think about that grip as well before we start major swing changes. Okay Pete, next up, what's the best piece of
2:07
swing advice that you think too many golfers ignore? Aim. Thanks for watching, appreciate that
2:15
So, I mean, there's a perfect example I had with a lesson of my Nigel
2:21
who we were seeing each other for a good 12 months, regular lessons
2:26
and he was swinging it unbelievable. Like his ball flight, you could aim him down a straight road
2:32
and he'd be middling it every single time. He was so consistent. But then he'd always come back and he'd say
2:38
Pete, I'm shooting eight over, nine over, I'm hitting a slice, I just can't find the fairway
2:45
It's always going off to the right-hand side. And this was very confusing for me, because obviously when we were coaching
2:50
everything was great. It looked great. So we had a playing lesson, and it pretty quickly became evident
2:56
right from the first hole, that he was aiming consistently 20 to 30 yards right at target
3:02
And then he was putting his normal swing on it that we'd been working really hard on
3:07
The ball was finishing 20, 30 yards right, and he was like, I'm slicing it, I'm pushing it
3:11
What's going on with my swing? Nothing, Nigel. and it's saying like that i let it go for a three hole so when i did come up with the explanation i
3:18
looked like an absolute genius but basically if you are playing golf there's something that you
3:26
need to remember and you need to take to heart this is a target orientated sport and yet aim
3:34
of club face of body is one of the is one of the few things that golfers overlook consistently same
3:41
with grip, semi-lifters like posture. If you think about this, if you were watching an archer
3:46
and an archer was consistently aiming 20 yards right of the target, would that not be a red flag
3:53
that this is not Robin Hood? This is the worst archer that you've ever seen. And yet, if you're
3:58
watching this, if you're listening to this, when was the last time you actually worked on your aim
4:03
in a target-orientated sport? And I'm going to guess that probably 70, 80% of you haven't worked
4:09
where they're aiming forever and it's it's a crazy thing and it's one of the reasons why golf is
4:15
such a crazy frustrating sport but to give you a very very quick overview of this you've got two
4:23
lines you need to be worried about target line which is the imaginary line going from your ball
4:28
to where you want it to finish now i'm going to do parallel alignment here so this is aiming your
4:33
body and your club along the same line well the same path what i mean by that is if you imagine
4:40
a train track here outer rail in a rail this is parallel alignment so your body doesn't technically
4:47
aim at the target it's parallel to your target line now this is an alignment if you want to hit
4:54
the ball relatively straight if you're someone who hooks the ball consistently this alignment
4:59
might switch over to the right it might switch over to the left but it's just understanding
5:03
your club face and how that interacts with your aim but my god please please please please work
5:09
on your aim before you start messing around with other things sounds like it's frustrated you quite
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a lot but it's just it's just so obvious it is we don't do it no i was the last thing you worked
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on your right be honest with me i'm in the 70 80 i don't do it at all i don't do it so what do you
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do out on course though is there a little rude like what's your pre-shot if i took all this away
5:27
right yeah yeah and we're on a hole here you've got whatever iron in hand what do you do on course
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to then help and make sure that's consistent and we don't do a Nigel as I'm going to refer to it
5:36
So first of all, we need to establish what target line is
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So let's say I'm aiming down here towards, well, let's keep it really simple
5:44
So I'm going down here towards this first yellow flag. Got you. Now imagine this was 200 yards in the distance. Yeah
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It's a lot easier to line up to something just in front of the ball than it is a long way away
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So behind the ball, I'd establish what my target line is. So from my ball to this yellow flag here
6:02
usually I just lift my shaft up, I draw it down straight line
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and then I pick something just in front of my ball So this little worm Worm cast very good Yeah Worm cast everybody Yeah David Attenborough I come for your job So I go with this worm cast here I start with my feet together
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I'd aim my club face at the worm cast, which I know sits on my ultimate target line
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And because my feet are together, my toes, my knees, my hips, my shoulders are all square
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and they're all parallel to my club face, all I need to do then is separate my feet the appropriate amount
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and I know that I'm in a line parallel to my target line with my body
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Easy as that. Simple as that. But again, it's just routine. It's doing it again and again and again
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Again, that's something I don't do on course enough for every shot, and I definitely don't work on my aim
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So I think you're pretty frustrated by this, and I get it. But just think about it
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Just. Just think about this. I'm getting told off at school here
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Think about it. But in any other target-driven sport, you would be considered crazy if you didn't work on where you're aiming it
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Being golf, it's like, ah, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It does
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It really matters. If you want to get better, you've got to know where you're aiming. OK, next up, Pete
7:18
We all have swing thoughts. We have lots of thoughts. Sometimes it can get a bit busy
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But when you're working on something and have to go out on the course and play, how many swing thoughts would you suggest people have actually on the golf course
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and then know a shout about what you're thinking about at the minute to help people kind of identify that
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So in an absolute ideal world, you shouldn't have any. Yes, I'm very true
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That would be nice. You shouldn't have any. The simplest way of doing this
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and the simplest way of demonstrating this, and I'll need a willing volunteer
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Thank you so much. I believe you're one of those left-handed people. I am, yeah
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I do it all the wrong way around. In every culture, there are some
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So we have basically very simple here. So target down towards that first yellow flag
8:01
This guy here, yeah. Just give it a chuck and kind of... Just throw it. Yeah, try and hit it if we can
8:05
He's got to throw right-handed. Oh, you throw right-handed? Of course, of course he does. Why wouldn't he
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So throw it right-handed. Down we go. Okay, cool. Same again. Just throw it down towards the target
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This time, try and keep your elbow at a 90-degree angle towards the floor
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And throw it. And throw it. That's going to look great on camera. Look at that go in
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That's wonderful. Great accuracy. I'm just throwing it. How wonderfully awkward did that feel
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Awful. All I could think of that was my elbow and how silly I looked. So the point that I'm trying to get across here
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is you are playing a sport which involves pretty much every single part of your body
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It is moving in a synchronized or sometimes a non-synchronized manner, trying to propel a golf ball down towards your target
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The whole motion, whole operation, takes usually a second or less. The chances are of making an effective swing on the course
9:01
while you're thinking of these different aspects of your technique are almost zero
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Because you don't have time, you have different whys, you have different wins, you have different conditions
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The chances of actually making a swing change whilst you're playing are so small that it's almost not worth it
9:21
Now, you may be thinking, well, Pete, you're a golf coach, you give lessons on how to change technique
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What on earth are you talking about? Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to something called the driving range
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This is a part of a golf course, or hopefully in your local town and area
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where you can come and practice and work on your technique in the safety, surroundings
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and comforting manner, which doesn't involve keeping a track of a score
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The whole point of practice is that you work on your swing here, you ingrain changes
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like that first throw you did that was natural, but you weren't thinking of it because you've done all your life
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then you take it out of the golf course and you trust the fact that you've practiced enough
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to make that change right because as soon as a target's introduced that's where your thought
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needs to be yeah not on the process if you're out of the golf course the chances are the chances are
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you will have a swing thought yeah golf is such a hard sport and when you see and when you interview
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the very best players, when you ask them about like a monumental round that they've had, often
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they'll talk about not really remembering much of it, being in the zone because they've got their
10:35
technique and they're trusting it to the extent that they're just going out and playing golf in
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its purest form. You know, they're not thinking about anything. However, to get to that point
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often having a swing thought which is as simple as possible and often which is orientated around
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target is the best thing to do. So extending arms down towards the target, that's a bit of a
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weird funky drill. There's things which you can do about tempo, about trying to keep yourself on an
11:04
even keel mentally. There are things and thoughts that you can have. What you don't want to be doing
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is getting on the golf course and thinking, oh I need to have a little bit more pronation in my
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elbow, I need to tuck my right shoulder and external rotation. These kind of things won't
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translating to better shots it might feel like it's making a difference it's like a call it's
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like a comfort blanket if you go out on the golf course which is a big scary place but you think
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i haven't got this swing thought yeah this swing thought i can cling to more often than not if you
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would watch your video on the golf course of your swing the changes aren't there which is why you
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need to practice it here so if there is a swing thought that you have on the course something like
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just a tempo drill that's why there's something like you said something to grasp on to to keep
11:50
yourself i don't know yeah it's going through the swing during a game like having something which
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allows you a little bit of a feeling of smoothness of being in control that's fine but
12:04
try and keep it away from those big technical thoughts and really work on them on the range
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before you go on the course that's that's the only way you're going to improve that's the only realistic way you're going to change your swing i think good tips there let's clear that mind
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and let's just throw it like I did first time, I guess
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Yes, it's the hardest thing to do though. Yeah. So if you do have swing thoughts on the course you can do slip into it It not you very much not alive Like 99 of golfers are there with you Try and drift it a little bit though Good stuff
12:35
Right, Pete, last two bits. We've got some questions from readers. Actually, the first one's from Dan in Solihull
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which is from me. I want to work on compressing my irons better
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I can hit it okay, but I'm not getting that nice fizz and that bump into the ground that we spoke about
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the sort of all-turf contact on Reeder. have you got a drill for Dan in Solihull who can help him work on that well Dan thanks for
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calling uh yes I do I kind of caveat this very slightly because if you want to compress your
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iron so we're talking here about the feeling of compression of squeezing that ball first and then
13:11
hitting the turf not compression of the golf which is a very different thing so if you are a golf nerd
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out there don't get on the keyboard and get excited we're talking about the feeling of
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compression. Thanks very much. There was somebody halfway. Oh, there was someone there. There was
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someone there. I remember doing a video on this a while ago. Talk about compressing the irons
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It's not compression, now is it? Which in my head is the voice that all kind of internet
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knowers have. That's the comment voice. Yeah, yeah. Well, sure, I think everyone understands
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So, compressing the irons. Two things I do need to say about this. Now, it's perfectly possible
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to hit the ball and then the turf from a multitude of different positions
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coming into the ball. However, having said that, I do have a lot of lessons, really
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of people trying to hit the ball first in the turf but consistently hitting fats and thins
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Now, something which is a common occurrence with those golfers is that the club for a right-handed golfer
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or your left-handed, so we can flip this around for a mirror edit if you want, will move into the ball
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from this position, so coming over the top and then moving down. Now this is a steep position
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Now you would think, okay, if it's a steep position I can get down and it is perfectly
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possible to do that. However, if you come down and steep and you're trying to send the ball
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straight but the club is moving in this direction, with a target orientate sport you're naturally
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going to react to that because if you're stuck in that position the ball's going to go over here
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super low so what tends to happen is when golfers move in this position they will back up so the
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body will start to move towards the back foot and then they will try and open the club face to try
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and get ball back to target which is why you hit thins and facts now and hit it clean at times
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so a lot of golfers will be really trying to hit down but they're not allowing themselves to do
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that because they just be a scuttler across the left hand side so you need to make sure that if
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if you do want to compress the ball properly, is you need to be moving a little bit straighter
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a little bit more in a neutral kind of pattern plane into the ball
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First thing to say, so if you are trying, but you are struggling, it might just be a path plane issue
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rather than an actual impact issue. So. Good. Having said that. Having said that as a caveat
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Having said that. So a drill that you can use. Now, this. T-peg. T-peg. Congratulations
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We've got a golfer with us, ladies and gentlemen. This is a tee, I think this is a tee peg
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Is that the Whistly? Looks like it. What a Whistly. I've never actually played that
15:52
It's just a swan. It's just a swan or a goose. We're not, you know
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Canadian goose. You know, we're not, geese are fine animals as well. I'm not going to presume what that bird is
16:01
Exactly, just because you like swans more than geese. If you are a goose watching, it doesn't mean any offense. Sorry
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So what we're going to do with this tee is we're going to place it in the ground just after the ball
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Now, if you want to work on path as well, let's say our target line here is again
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towards this first yellow flag. If I put the tee peg in the ground
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slightly towards the outside of the golf ball, this is gonna help path as well
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Okay, I see. So it's just doing two things at once. Exactly, because the idea of this drill
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is to get set up, hit the ball first, and then hit the tee
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However, the thought process is to take the ball out of this completely
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Your idea here is to hit the tee and not the ball
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Yes. That makes sense? I think so. So if you manage to forget about the ball, which is the problem with golfers
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I think about hitting the ball. If that's out of the way in your mind's eye and you're focused on the tee peg
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if you manage to hit that tee peg out of the ground, your club will have to be moving down through the point of impact yeah so you'll be hitting the ball
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first collecting it during the downswing and the club will continue to move downwards if it wants
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to make contact with that t-pack that makes sense it all makes sense i would could i see it can i
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see it with my own eyes you certainly can i'll go a little bit straighter down the range go for a straight one yeah just because of the uh position of the cameras and we don't want to don't want to
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confuse everybody so there's a long time to set up now we're not we're not putting it that far in
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I've actually moved it a little bit further in front than really is necessary here
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Like it can only be an inch or so. And like I said, you can do this without a ball to begin with
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But we're swinging here and we're just focused on trying to get that T-peg out of the ground
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See here? There it is. Look at that. Beautiful little snappage. That means the Swan's dead
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The Goose is dead. That's what we're going for. Now, my target here was to get that T-peg
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Like I said, it was a little bit far forward, but managed to make contact, snapped the T-peg
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So if anything else, I know there that my club has been moving down through impact
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So I've managed to make contact with the ground and hit the T-peg. I wasn't really aiming at anything particular there, but the sound and the strike
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I also knew that it was that kind of contact. Very simple drill, but it also allows you to kind of play a trick on your mind as well
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because you're taking away the ball, which is a big issue. I know this sounds really silly
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but there's so many golfers watching this and understanding that they can have great practice swings You know they can hit the ground with their practice swings As soon as the ball is introduced it gets a bit weird things things start to go wrong what if someone practicing on a map and we got a beautiful grass range here for me but is it like you know is that when we put a
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towel in front of it or just some kind of object it's an object that you can hit away okay so it
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could be a broken tee yeah for example right just something that you're not going to miss
19:02
I don't use 20 pound notes. It depends who you are. Start what, just distributing them out onto the range
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I mean if Jeff Bezos is watching this. Probably hit 20 pound notes to be fair, but something that can be moved after the ball
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Exactly, because that's what you want to focus on hitting. Got you. The ball is just very much getting in the way
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Well, down in Solihull, I hope that was really useful and you can take that away with you and get better hitting those irons
19:27
Right, lastly then Pete, Howard and Peterborough got in touch in touch and he is topping his fairway woods both off the tee and off the deck. Need some help with
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it, it's a valuable club in the bag, something to get right. What are some tips and some general
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striking tips I guess for these quite tricky clubs? So first thing to say it is a difficult club to
19:44
hit, there's not a lot of loft on there and that automatically makes people try and lift it up in
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the air. Now if you're topping your fairway wood most likely as you're coming through impact the
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The body is backing up and away. The club head overtakes the hands in this kind of motion
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And that's where the club is ascending through impact on its angle of attack
20:09
Well, not angle of attack, angle of attention. And that is why you're catching the top of the ball and not hitting it flush
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It's something that a lot of people struggle with, as said. So don't worry
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You're going to be okay. And we're all here for you. It's a safe space
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It's a safe space. Now, we used in a drill previously, we did use a teapag
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I've got another teapag. I can see what's coming out of different tees out of your pocket
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Now, this teapag's from the Nest. Now, the first teapag I've used from the Wisley, I've never been there
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And I don't know where the Nest is either. Where are these coming from? I don't know, it's definitely my bag
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I've not picked up a random one in the car park. Of course. I don't know, someone's obviously gifted me some tees
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Now, I'm going to put the ball to the side for just one second
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I'm going to pop the tee in the ground. and I'm just going to leave just a little bit of it showing
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Just a little bit of it showing. Now, very, very simply, we want the club to be moving through impact
21:03
with the fairway woods, hitting the ball, and then just bruising the ground
21:09
Just giving it a little caress. That's a nice tone of phrase. As it goes through
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Bruising the ground. Just bruising it. We just want it skimming along here
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We don't want a big, deep divot, even though you can still hit a successful shot like that
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We just want that briefest moment of contact. Okay. Okay. Bruising. Bruising the ground
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I'm learning. The way to do that is to control low point. Okay
21:34
So as the club moves through impact, it comes down and then eventually it'll start rising up
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It's this middle bit right at the bottom, which is what you need the control of. Okay
21:44
So with this T-peg, all you want is setting up to it as you would a fairway would
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So the ball is going to be just inside that left heel. Just going to take half a swing back and as we move through, you just want to get the
21:57
feeling that we can just click that tee peg. Okay? So it's only a little bit out of the ground
22:03
You just want that feeling that we can just click it as we go through
22:08
That is controlling low point. Now you might say, well Pete that's really simple
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Yes, it is. And that's the key, because this is a hard club to hit
22:19
We don't need those complicated tools, okay? If you can clip that T-peg and you can control low point
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you're halfway there, okay? Now, second thing, if you want to have something technical to think about
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is all about where your sternum position is. Mm-hm. Okay? Now sternum, right here, middle of the chest
22:40
Pretty much keeps the ribcage together. Very important. If you don't have one, consult your doctor
22:44
But I'm presuming most of you will. We're doing well to sat up watching this video
22:48
Listen, if you're topping your farewells, you don't have a sternum. Wow
22:52
You've got to be, your priorities are in the wrong place. All right, get this checked out first
22:56
So when we talk about low point, what this is referring to is the imaginary circle
23:03
that the club takes around the body. It's not a circle. It moves into different shapes
23:08
If you think about the swing going around the body as a circle, okay
23:12
Whatever you want to think about it. Clock face, the aurora of the sun, I don't know, whatever
23:17
A circle. Yeah, I can't do it in a circle of things. Now the circle, basically the centre
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if you think about it being in the sternum, the bottom of the circle is gonna be here
23:27
which is right in line with that sternum on the ground. Now if you move through and you back up
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the circle shifts to the right, and the bottom of the circle, the bottom of the swing arm
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will be before the ball, which is why you hit the tops and all the rest of it
23:44
So we can use that tee-peg drill, but really simply, as you move through the ball
23:49
try and keep the sternum position over the top of the golf ball, okay
23:53
In reality, with a fairway ball, with a driver, as the clubs get longer and the ball move further forward
23:58
the sternum will often be slightly behind the ball. Don't need to worry about that too much
24:03
There's a swing thought, try and feel like the sternum stays on top
24:08
If your sternum stays on top of the golf ball, you will not be able to move in this direction
24:13
Now, you can combine those two feelings, T-peg drill, sternum over the top of it
24:18
But I think set up as far as getting the ball position right as well
24:23
Just sternum on top. And just get the feeling of clicking that T-peg
24:30
as you go through. But it's the same. It's simple. It's the same without a T
24:34
if the ball's on the ground. Same feeling, same drill. Look how I'm running my breath
24:38
Good work. That was it. I thought it was really clear. So, Howard in Peterborough, thank you for that
24:42
That's really simple. Some really great drills there Pete, some really great pieces of advice
24:47
As the young, vibrant coach that you are, thank you for coming on the channel
24:51
I don't feel it now. I'm out of breath. Thanks for sharing some tips with Pete
24:55
All right, guys. Catch your breath. Let's go get warm. Thanks for watching. Cheers
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