Professional golfers spend most of their lives swimming in a sea of golf. Hitting balls on the range, navigating courses, training in the gym and thinking, thinking, thinking about the game. Naturally, they learn a lot along the way. When you ask just the right question, they’ll share some nuggets of wisdom with the rest of us.

Here are a few of those things I learned from pros this year …

1. Multiple swing thoughts are good (but not at the same time)

At the Players Championship in March, Rory McIlroy said he had two swing thoughts—one with his irons, and one with his driver. At the same event, Max Homa says he has different swing thoughts for different shots he wants to hit. Having a bag of multiple swing thoughts is a good thing—the key is making sure you only use one of those swing thoughts at a time. Two is one too many.

2. Use the line—but only sometimes

This was the year I learned that most golfers use the line on the ball when they putt in some way, shape or form. It’s rare you’ll find a player who never uses it or always uses it. Most players aim the line on flatter or shorter putts, then don’t for longer or more breaking putts. Try the same method.

3. You’re never too good for fundamentals

Scottie Scheffler is the clear World No. 1, and still practices with a molded grip on his 6-iron. Stance, posture, ball position … as Brooks Koepka says, if you do that right, you’ll probably be pretty good. So why aren’t you taking it more seriously?

4. Find a mirror, and use it

If you want to undo a bad move in your swing (or groove a new one), you’ll need to practice the motion you want, correctly, lots of times. Viktor Hovland said at the Masters that he spends a lot of time doing slow motion reps in front of a mirror. It may not feel like it, but that stuff can actually help.

Leonard Kamsler/Popperfoto

5. Get extreme with your feels

To land your golf swing in the position you want, you need to over-exaggerate the feel. PGA Tour player Dylan Wu said something that stuck with me: “If you can feel it 100 percent on your practice swing, you’ll be able to do it 50 percent on the range, 10 percent on the course and maybe 1 percent in competition.”

6. Your takeaway is a long putting stroke

Jake Knapp has one of the silkiest tempos on tour. He’d often work on the tempo of his putting stroke with his longtime coach John Ortega and gradually learned to transfer that same feel into his full swing.

“I feel like I’m taking a long putting stroke on my takeaway,” he said. “That keeps my tempo smooth.”

Jake Knapp has an extremely sick fairway finder.

Moves ball a little back, feels like his upper body stays more on top of it and swings more left. Full on divot with a mini driver here.

Fiery little fade that comes out low and runs. pic.twitter.com/SYcNXAzFx4

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) June 12, 2024

7. Create a lane for your arms

In his youth, Ludvig Åberg wasn’t a range rat. He preferred playing. The problem was, growing up in Sweden, for most of the year he didn’t have a choice. It was a blessing in disguise, because it meant he hit thousands of golf balls with his backside up against a chair. It’s an anti-early-extension drill that keeps your body back, and therefore creates a lane for your arms to swing through.

8. The swing speed sweet spot

Yes, the faster you swing, the longer you’ll hit it—but only if you hit it well. Swinging a little slower can help you find the sweet spot, but going too slow isn’t great, either. Where’s the sweet spot? Some stats suggest about 95 percent of your maximum clubhead speed.

“I use TrackMan to make sure I’m swinging 95 to 97 percent of what I know I can do,” Jake Knapp says. “I hit it better there than at 100 percent.”

9. Set your arm structure

“Arm structure” was a buzzword among players and coaches this year. What does that mean? It means, basically, the position of both your arms at the top of the backswing. Everyone may have different variations, but Min Woo Lee and his coach like the following checkpoints:

• Arms stretched wide away from his body
• Right shoulder stays low
• Right forearm perpendicular to the ground

Photos: Chris McPherson

10. Bad habits creep in when you go faster

Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Stephen Sweeney is a putting coach to numerous tour players, and he’s noticed something interesting: The most common place for bad habits to creep into your putting stroke or golf swing is when you start trying to move the club fast. So, if you’re coming over the top, that issue may be caused (in part) by getting jerky in transition. The solution to some of your golf swing woes may be, in part, to smooth it out.

11. Know how to even out your swing

Brooks Koepka hits balls off a side slope to swing more around his body, preventing himself from getting steep. Others adapt this by hitting an iron off a high tee. Chris Kirk tends to swing too much around his body, so he practices hitting shots with only his left arm, to get the club moving more in front of him. To do this yourself, you first need to understand what your tendency is, then hit balls doing something that will force you to do the opposite of that.

12. Lock it out to eliminate the lefts

Bryson DeChambeau’s putter grip is on backwards. Do you know why? It’s because it forces him to turn his left arm all the way to his left, which locks it out and prevents him from pulling putts. He uses a similar feel on his full swing: He wants to feel his left elbow pointing toward the target. It’s a great feel if you’re struggling with hooks, or pulled putts. Lock your lead elbow out, and the clubface won’t be able to whip shut.

Jason Butler

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com