Common Junior Golf Swing Faults and How to Fix Them

Juniors are building a swing with strength, flexibility, and coordination that are all still changing. Many of the “faults” below are really compensations for a body that has not caught up yet to what a full golf swing asks of it. That is normal, and it does not mean a player is doing anything wrong.

Most of these compensations resolve naturally as a junior grows and gets stronger, but only if they are practiced correctly in the meantime. A compensation grooved for a few years can calcify into a habit that outlasts the growth spurt that originally caused it. The goal for a parent is not to fix every fault immediately, it is to recognize the common ones early enough that they do not become permanent.

The checkpoints below are meant to be spotted with the naked eye, no special equipment required, and paired with simple fixes a parent can reinforce between lessons. Our development resources hub has more on how physical development and swing mechanics interact at different ages.

Checkpoint. At address, look at the lead hand. If the player can see zero or one knuckle of that hand rather than two or three, the grip is likely too weak. A weak grip tends to leave the clubface open through impact, which commonly shows up as a weak slice or a push out to the right for a right-handed player.

Fix. Build a simple grip check into every practice session: rotate the lead hand slightly so two to three knuckles are visible at address, then hold that grip through a few slow-motion swings that stop right at impact to confirm the face looks square rather than open. Repetition at slow speed builds the feel faster than a single correction on the range.

Checkpoint. At address, watch for a rounded upper back, standing unusually upright with the arms stretched far from the body, or standing noticeably too close to or too far from the ball. Any of these limits rotation and makes a consistent strike location harder to repeat.

Fix. A mirror check, or an alignment stick placed along the spine, can show the actual spine angle compared to a good reference position. Reinforce an “athletic posture” cue before every practice shot: knees slightly flexed, chest over the toes, arms hanging naturally from the shoulders rather than reaching. This is one of the easiest faults for a parent to spot and correct without any technical swing knowledge.

Checkpoint. Many juniors try to hit the ball farther by swinging longer instead of faster. Watch for the lead arm collapsing at the top, the arms disconnecting from the body, or a backswing that travels well past parallel with no real control at the top. This usually costs both distance and consistency rather than adding either.

Fix. Shorter, controlled backswing drills, where the club stops around parallel to the ground, paired with a tempo cue like counting the swing out loud, reward a controlled top position over a long one. Distance usually returns on its own once sequencing improves, since a well-connected, controlled backswing that transitions smoothly produces more speed than a loose, over-long one.

Checkpoint. Casting is releasing the wrists too early in the downswing, and scooping is trying to lift the ball into the air with the hands at impact instead of letting the club’s loft do that work. Both add unwanted loft and reduce compression, and both are extremely common in juniors who are instinctively trying to help the ball up. The usual result is thin or fat contact and a loss of both distance and control.

Fix. An impact bag or a rolled towel to hit into gives immediate feedback on hand position at impact, since hands should arrive ahead of the clubhead, not behind it. A “cover the ball” feel drill, where the junior focuses on keeping the chest over the ball a beat longer through impact, helps delay the release without needing a complicated swing thought.

Checkpoint. Juniors frequently aim with their body rather than the clubface, so a body that looks well aimed can still leave the clubface pointed well off target, or the reverse. The most common miss is aligning the feet and shoulders parallel-right or parallel-left of the actual target line, since the eye is easy to fool without a reference line to check against.

Fix. Lay two alignment sticks on the ground during practice, one along the target line and one along the foot line, so the junior can see and feel a correct setup repeatedly until it becomes automatic without the sticks present. This is a checkpoint worth revisiting periodically even for experienced juniors, since alignment tends to drift slowly without anyone noticing.

Parents can spot and help correct most of the checkpoints above with basic drills, a mirror, and an alignment stick. But a fault that persists despite consistent, correct home practice, one connected to any pain or discomfort, or a scoring plateau that will not budge for a full season are all signals that it is time for a trained eye rather than more repetitions of the same fix.

A coach can also confirm whether something that looks like a fault is actually a normal, age-appropriate compensation that does not need fixing at all, which is just as valuable as catching a real problem. Our coaching options guide covers the different lesson formats available, and the coach directory is where to find one nearby. If you are also working on drills at home between lessons, see our at-home drills guide for ways to reinforce a coach’s fix without needing a range.