Ask almost any golfer what they would like to improve on and they will say they would like to have a more consistent swing. That’s a great goal. What they don’t realize is that they already have a consistent swing. It’s just one that delivers inconsistent results.

You get inconsistent results because you are not able to put your best swing on the ball time after time. You don’t have to be off by much for a good swing to turn into a bad one. Most of the time it’s not a technical flaw. It’s because you’re not paying attention to the fundamentals of the golf swing, which are: a calm mind, setup, tempo and rhythm, and impact. Let’s go over each one.

The mind leads the body. The state of your mind is reflected in the condition of your body. When the mind is calm, the golf skills that you have practiced will come out. When there is worry or doubt or distraction in your mind, your body will not perform the way you trained it to. You take a calm mind to the course if you have one in your daily life. Practice not getting easily upset, distracted, or stymied by obstacles. Getting good at this takes as much practice as any golf skill does.

Any pro will tell you that the setup is the entree to a good golf swing. They work on their setup constantly and the setup is the first thing they check when their shots start going awry. Good shots flow out of a good setup. The only thing that comes out of a bad setup is luck. See a pro learn the principles of a good setup and practice it continually.

I watched a professional clinic on TV once, that featured major championship winners, and every one that talked about the swing said what they were working on at the moment was their tempo. Not their backswing, not some esoteric swing detail. It was tempo, and every pro said that. Tempo, and the rhythm that emerges from it, is the glue that holds the swing together. Most recreational golfers swing too fast, and speed up especially on the downswing. If you think to swing at the ball rather than to hit the ball, you’ll likely be all right.

Square, in-line impact is what the swing is all about. Every good golfer gets there in his or her own way, but they all get to the same place. And impact isn’t an effect. It’s a cause, and you can practice it as well as any other part of your swing. Take short, three-foot swings through the impact zone, memorize what your body feels like when everything is just right, then build that feeling into your full swing.

To get consistent results, be consistent in how you apply the fundamentals. They’re easy to learn, easy to maintain. When you hit a shot that’s not to your liking, go through the list and see which one you didn’t apply, because odds are that’s what caused it.