Golfers are always looking for ways to improve. Whether it be scouring the internet for quick-fix swing videos or discussing swing feels with your playing partners, we’re always searching for ways to shoot lower scores.
I know I’m guilty of this. I could be doing something completely unrelated to golf, and then BAM … a new swing feel pops into my mind. Some might call that an obsession (or even a sickness), but I know I’m far from the only one who’s experienced these sorts of epiphanies.
If this sounds like you, read on below where a few of our GOLF staffers shared the swing tips that worked best for them in 2025. Who knows, one of them might be just the thing you need to take your game to the next level.
Changing trajectories made simple
Tommy Fleetwood taught me his very simple trajectory tip.
Imagine five golf balls are laid out in the hitting zone, running parallel with the tips of your shoes. The center ball is the center of your stance, just as it would be for your 7-iron. If you want to play a low trajectory, align yourself to hit the ball one back from the center ball (the fourth ball in the 5-ball line). If you want to really play it low, hit the last ball. If you want to hit it higher than stock, play the lead ball. From there, use your stock swing — don’t lift or lean back or even crank down on the ball like you normally would. This change in ball position should be enough to knock 20-25 feet of loft off your trajectory. —Sean Zak
More speed for better bunker play
I was paired in a pro-am with former U.S. Open champ Michael Campbell, who, when he wasn’t making fun of my swing, managed to chime in with some useful green-side bunker advice for getting the ball up higher and softer.
For that, he said, I needed more speed, which I could get by feeling as if the handle of the club was stopping at impact while the club head continued whipping through. The feeling was that of the club moving swiftly past the hands. It’s also key, he said, to address the ball with the blade wide open – not by manipulating it with your hands at address but by gripping it more openly. Too many amateurs, he said, address the ball with the club square in the sand, which prevents them from taking advantage of the bounce. That’s the gist of it, I think. Campbell has a Kiwi accent, and I was so busy talking smack back to him that I’m not sure I heard him right. But my sand play has gotten better, so I’m willing to believe it wasn’t just a placebo. —Josh Sens
Move the ball back for more in-to-out
Conventional wisdom says that you should move the ball slightly up in your stance for driver swings to promote an upward angle of attack. That may be sound advice, but over time, I learned this year (albeit via self-diagnosis), my ball position had been creeping too far forward in my stance, leading me to reach out for the ball and leave the face open. The result: blocks and slices.
The solution: yes, move the ball back! I’m still not hitting it like Rory, but a further-back ball position has helped me attack the ball with a squarer face and also from the inside, for more solid contact. It works. Usually. For now. —Alan Bastable
A quick and easy grip check
Next year is going to be the year when I stop topping/thinning the ball. To get there, I spent an afternoon with GOLF Top 100 Teacher to Watch Kelan McDonagh, who said one move I needed to make was to use a weaker right-hand grip. And how would I know whether it was in the correct spot? With a simple check. McDonagh said he picked it up from his mentor, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Hall of Famer Mike Adams. McDonagh had me release my right three fingers from the club — and if they were pointing to the ground at a 45-degree angle, I was in the correct position. —Nick Piastowski
Hit the gym for more speed
This year, I started getting in the gym for the first time in my life — and the gains I’ve made on the course have been noticeable. With the help of a PGA Tour trainer, I’ve been working my “golf muscles” three times a week, and the gains have me hitting it longer than ever before (You can read about it here!). I know it can be easy to point to the John Dalys of the world as a reason that you don’t need to hit the gym to play great golf, but the truth is, most golfers will play much better with a little time in the gym. Give it a shot, and you’ll be amazed at the results. —Zephyr Melton
