Graham Benson, originally from the United Kingdom, moved to Hendersonville eight years ago after meeting his wife Meagan, who is from Nashville, while they were attending the University of South Eastern Louisiana.
He started playing golf in college, before going back home where he toured professionally with the PGA Euro Pro Tour for four years. After which, he came back to the states to become Director of Instruction at Richland Country Club in Belle Meade. The club is private and member owned since 1901. For the past five years, he has worked with their 600 members from beginners to elite juniors and LPGA players.
Graham’s top tips for new golfers:
Learn the grip, three knuckles showing on the left hand (for right handed golfers) is a good place to start for accurate and powerful shots.
To practice the correct position for your left (top) hand, I’d like you to think about picking up a suitcase with a little weight to it. You will notice that the handle will be in line with the knuckles at the base of the fingers and the thumb and heel pad hand positioned on top, try to mimic this position while holding the club.
Next up, Graham says it is important to learn to create club head speed, so many new golfers try to be too careful swinging at first. Developing club head speed is not only a good thing for hitting the ball further, but it often creates the correct dynamic body and arm motion for improving direction too.
To practice this, go ahead and turn the club upside down, holding the club near the club head with the grip end pointed to the ground, keeping the club a few inches off the ground, swing back and forth 5 times. You should hear a swishing sound at the bottom of the swing. Do this a few times and try to make the swish a little louder with each swing.
For more information:
Richland Country Club
1 Club Drive
Nashville, TN 37215
615.370.0036
https://www.richlandcc.com
Graham Benson
Instagram: @grahambensongolf
Twitter: @gbensongolf
