![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/andy-murray-golf-swing.jpg\")
From a slice to a draw<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tAndy Murray has swapped tennis for golf \u2013 and he\u2019s already down to a 1 handicap after less than two years. The three-time Grand Slam champion reveals how he\u2019s improved so quickly, the equipment changes that have helped, and why putting remains his biggest frustration. <\/p>\n
Andy Murray has spent much of his life trying to find ways to get better at sport.<\/p>\n
From becoming world No.1 and winning three Grand Slam tennis titles to claiming two Olympic gold medals, the Scot built his career on relentless practice, an ability to analyse his weaknesses, and a refusal to settle for anything less than progress.<\/p>\n
Now 39 and having hung up his racket two years ago, he\u2019s now applying that same approach to golf, with hugely impressive results.<\/p>\n
In less than 24 months, Murray has already reached a 1 handicap. It\u2019s a remarkable achievement, even if he\u2019s the first to admit that his journey has been rather different to that of the average amateur golfer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m quite different to most amateurs in that I don\u2019t have a job,\u201d Murray tells TG. \u201cSo sometimes, during the week, I\u2019ll go to the range and practise for four or five hours a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like most people\u2019s 20 months of playing where they\u2019re playing maybe once a week or every couple of weeks, and maybe not playing through the winter. I\u2019ll play in all weather as well, so no breaks during the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Murray, it\u2019s no chore. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love practising, I love having lessons, and just trying to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
That dedication has helped Murray make rapid progress, but he admits that his initial approach to practice was not necessarily the most effective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started, I would just go to the range and smash balls around,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd after four months of doing that, I wasn\u2019t really getting much better.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realised, \u2018OK, if you\u2019re going to be here for a few hours, let\u2019s have a bit of structure to it, let\u2019s get some lessons, and let\u2019s actually work on things.\u2019 And then quickly I started to improve a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a familiar lesson for golfers of all abilities. Hitting hundreds of balls might feel productive, but without a clear purpose, it\u2019s easy to reinforce the same mistakes.<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s improvement has come from combining his enthusiasm for practice with a better understanding of what he needs to work on. And the more golf he has played, the more he has realised that the game is about considerably more than hitting the ball as far as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more rounds I played, the more I started to understand the things that are actually really important in golf,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not always just smashing driver as far as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
From a slice to a draw<\/p>\n
Like many beginners, Murray battled an unwanted shot shape \u2013 particularly with driver. <\/p>\n
He says he traditionally played with a fade that could sometimes turn into a slice, largely because of an over-the-top move in his downswing.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, I would have played with a bit more of a \u2013 let\u2019s call it a cut, but it can turn into a slice,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the problems with my swing was that I would always swing over the top, which would make the ball go left to right, generally.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut recently I think my swing has improved a bit and that\u2019s not happening quite as much, so it\u2019s going a bit straighter and sometimes a bit of a draw.\u201d<\/p>\n
That change has been particularly useful when playing in the wind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for me, particularly if I\u2019m playing into the wind, because I don\u2019t always hit the ball well, if I cut or slice it too much, I just lose a lot of distance,\u201d Murray explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas when I draw the ball, I feel it stays under the wind; it doesn\u2019t shoot up as high, and it maintains my distance a bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray is still trying to find a reliable shot shape with his driver, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m hitting my driver well, I hit it quite straight, but I actually don\u2019t love that because I can miss both ways,\u201d he says. \u201cI actually want to start having a bit more of a shot shape with the driver because sometimes I stand on the tee, it might be a narrow fairway, and I could miss it either side. I end up trying to control my swing and swing slower, and then because of the over-the-top move, I can hit it straight left sometimes.<\/p>\n
Like all golfers, Murray is on an endless journey to improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have many issues in my game, but I\u2019m trying to work on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That last sentence sums up Murray\u2019s approach to golf. He\u2019s already achieved a handicap that many amateurs spend decades chasing, but he\u2019s still focused on the next improvement.<\/p>\n
![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/andy-murray-golf-clubs.jpg\")
The equipment changes helping Murray improve<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s equipment has evolved alongside his swing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel quite embarrassed to say this, but I had four different sets of irons in my first 18 months of playing golf,\u201d he says. \u201cBut, like I say, my 18 months is not like the average first 18 months of playing golf.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019ve loved that whole process of doing all the different fittings, but because I\u2019ve improved in that time, I\u2019ve had to change the clubs to go with that.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally I had much more forgiving clubs and that helped me a lot, but as I\u2019ve improved I\u2019ve needed something a bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n
His current irons are Callaway Apex TCB with S400 shafts, a change he says has really helped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the X100 shafts before that, but I was finding it at times just a little bit hard to swing, whereas that just feels easier for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not just his irons that have changed.<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s favourite club is the 7-wood. \u201cI don\u2019t know why, I just seem to hit that club well,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like I make fewer mistakes with it. I feel like it gains me shots. When I\u2019m hitting into par-5s for my second shot, that club just seems to work for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A driver tweak has also made a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to have 9\u00b0 of loft on my driver,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m now at 10.5\u00b0, and I much prefer it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was slicing, with the 9\u00b0 loft I felt like it would sometimes go quite low and right; it was just not nice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas with the 10.5\u00b0, at least when I hit it badly, I feel like it doesn\u2019t look bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tweak hasn\u2019t eliminated Murray\u2019s slice, but it has given him a ball flight that instils more confidence, even when his swing isn\u2019t quite right.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a useful reminder that equipment changes don\u2019t always need to produce dramatic improvements in launch monitor numbers to make a difference on the course.<\/p>\n
Putting remains one of Murray\u2019s biggest frustrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI practise my short game more than anything else, but I feel like it\u2019s something I could do better. My putting is very inconsistent, and that really irritates me. I\u2019ve found putting probably the hardest thing, just because of my alignment. I do not know where I\u2019m aiming. And I\u2019ve been in the putting labs, but what looks straight to me is like a foot left of the hole, and it makes putting problematic.<\/p>\n
A putter change has helped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a slightly longer putter before, and I wasn\u2019t standing properly,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the more upright I was, the more I was aiming left.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy new one is a little bit shorter than what I had before, so I\u2019m more over the ball and I feel like I see the line slightly better than I used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s another example of equipment helping to improve technique, rather than just covering flaws in it.<\/p>\n
![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/andy-murray-wimbledon-2016.jpg\")
What tennis taught Murray about golf nerves<\/p>\n
Murray has experienced the pressure of elite-level sport throughout his career, but even he isn\u2019t immune to first tee nerves, particularly when playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an event that combines professional golfers with amateurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nervous, particularly when I played in the Dunhill, because there were quite a lot of people there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re playing with professional golfers who are in the middle of a competition; you don\u2019t want to be ruining their round by hacking the whole way round.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a situation in which his tennis experience has helped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think from years of playing sport, nerves are generally a positive thing,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I don\u2019t feel anything, that is not usually a good sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to feel a bit of nerves and a bit of pressure. Yes, it makes it a bit harder on the first tee, but it helps me to concentrate better and focus a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray says the mental skills he developed during his tennis career have helped him deal with the negative thoughts that can arise before and during a round.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has negative thoughts and worries about what\u2019s about to happen,\u201d he says. \u201cBut from playing professional sport for a long time and using sports psychology and stuff, you can work your way through that a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why golf is easier than tennis<\/p>\n
Murray was known throughout his tennis career for wearing his emotions on his sleeve.<\/p>\n
Golf, he says, has given him more time to manage those emotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as much as I did when I played tennis,\u201d he says when asked if he\u2019s as expressive on the golf course.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the hard things about golf, that you have a long time between shots to think about situations, but it also allows you \u2013 well, for me, anyway \u2013 to calm myself down.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might have two or three minutes between shots, so you get an opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith tennis you get a really high heart rate at the end of a hard point, sometimes it\u2019s baking hot, and you\u2019re frustrated, and you need to then play a point 15 or 20 seconds later,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to bring your heart rate down and calm yourself, whereas with golf, yes, I hate hitting a terrible drive or a duff chip or whatever \u2013 it\u2019s frustrating, but at least you have a bit more time to calm down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying I\u2019m perfect at it, but I do think that that\u2019s something\u2026 I probably do that better in golf than I did in tennis, just because you have more time to calm yourself down and then focus on the next shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s biggest lesson for amateur golfers<\/p>\n
For all his progress, Murray knows that golf can be a frustrating game.<\/p>\n
And he believes one of the biggest problems for amateurs is the expectations they place on themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem with golf is that we set our expectations way too high,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to remember I\u2019m not a very good golfer. Just commit to every shot, and deal with the consequences of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a suitably honest assessment from someone who always tells it like it is.<\/p>\n
Murray might have the time, resources, and sporting experience to make rapid progress, but he\u2019s still learning the same lessons as every other golfer: practise with a purpose, understand your weaknesses, find equipment that works for you, and accept that even the best-laid plans can go wrong.<\/p>\n
For a man who spent his tennis career chasing perfection, golf has offered a different kind of challenge. The handicap might already be impressive, but Murray is still enjoying the process \u2013 and that may be the most important thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Murray has swapped tennis for golf \u2013 and he\u2019s already down to a 1 handicap after less…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-773051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}