Instruction

Squeeze And Let Go

Over the years, much has been written about grip pressure and what this level of pressure feels like. This has been a difficult task for instructors because how can you aptly describe what something feels like?

In this lesson, I’ll give you something more than a description of what correct grip pressure feels like. Take any club and squeeze it as tight as you can. That’s it–strangle that club handle. Give it the death grip. Take your normal address position, continuing to give the club a good squeeze. Now, just before you feel ready to take the club back to start your backswing, relax your hands. Let all the tension run from your fingers and your arms. Do you feel a softness in your hands now? If you do, that’s what correct grip pressure feels like. This tension-free grip is what allows good golfers to swing with rhythm and in good tempo. It results in the golfer being able to snap, or sling, the clubhead at the bottom of the golf swing, which is how a golf ball should be struck.

If you have tension in your hands and arms, you’ll end up dragging the clubhead through the hitting zone. Adopting a tension-free hold is the way to grip every club in your bag. Use this tip on the course the next time you feel tension setting in. Soon, you’ll again sense the release and power in your swing. Tension is the number-one killer of the golf swing–let it out with a good squeeze.

Professional golf instructor Barry Goldstein is the director of golf at Polar Shot Golf Center in Johnson City, N.Y. He also instructs at the Coral Springs Golf Range in Coral Springs, Fla.

The New Basics

In this article, we’ll take a look at what I like to call the get set position, or what’s more commonly referred to as the top of the backswing. Properly achieving this position supplies the power. Most amateurs make the mistake of never getting set, instead shifting into a reverse pivot or simply sliding laterally away from the target. Either of these moves will result in a great loss of power. In order to unload and_Ê properly return the club back through impact with balance and rhythm, you must have a good get set position.

If you follow the steps and perform the drills outlined in this article, you’ll find yourself set up to generate a stronger, more powerful golf swing.

Upper Body
_ÊAt the top, the left shoulder should be turned under the chin and hover above the right knee. Allow the left arm to extend naturally and fully.
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Lower Body
Your weight should be on your right side and on the inside of the right foot–over the arch, not the toes or heels. Point your left knee at or behind the golf ball.

Perfectly Set
Notice how I’ve maintained the spine angle I established at address. This is key, along with an extended left arm, a folded right arm and a shaft that lies above the right shoulder.

Batter Up
A solid, loaded get set position should feel very much like you’re about to skip a stone across a lake. Getting into this stance will allow you to deliver the club properly into the back of the ball.

Incorrect “Get Set” Positions
Unnaturally extending the left arm or overly bending the right can lead to big problems in trying to make solid contact. Trying to keep the left arm too straight will lead to lifting or spine angle changes on the way back. Over-folding the right arm invariably leads to an early casting of the club. Both moves sap power.

“Get Set” Drills

Umbrella Drill
Not only must you make a good body turn during the get set phase of the swing, you must also make sure that the arms and hands swing properly and in harmony with your rotation. The arms and hands supply the radius of your swing and control on which planes it travels back and through.

Try the umbrella drill to check that your arms and hands are in the right positions throughout the swing.

Step 1: Place an umbrella in the ground on a 45-degree angle, or one that mirrors the shaft angle at address.

Step 2: Swing the club away, allowing your body to make a good turn. Once your left arm is parallel to the ground, the wrists will have cocked into position. What you should notice is that the clubshaft now parallels the angle of the umbrella, and that the butt of the grip points toward the target line.

If you’re successful in swinging the club into this position, you’ll find that the club will travel perfectly up the swing plane and help you more easily attain a solid, loaded at-the-top position.

Rotation Drill
Assume your regular address position. Place a club across your shoulders. Now, start to turn your shoulders back until your left shoulder is over your right knee. Notice that the hips have turned half as much as the shoulders, that the right knee is still flexed and that the left knee points behind the ball. That’s a good turn. Starting from the ground up, transfer your weight back to the left side as you uncoil toward the target. You should finish with your chest facing the target, your right toe supporting your balance and still with a slight tilt to your spine. Ingraining a solid turn is that easy.

Canadian PGA professional Jeremy Taylor is the head instructor at the Arnold Palmer-designed Whistler Golf Club, located at the world-class Whistler Resort in British Columbia, Canada.

Maintain The Bend

There are many important facets to a good golf swing, but maintaining the bend in the right knee is one that simply can’t be overlooked. When a student comes to me with a common complaint (slicing, poor ballstriking or a general lack of consistency), I always take a close look at his or her body angles, and make certain that their posture and knee position are constant throughout the swing. If the student is having problems with posture or knee position, it’s not worth spending a lot of time working on other aspects of the swing. Solid results just can’t be achieved without correcting these problems first.
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Typically, golfers who straighten the right knee suffer from a sliding or swaying of the hips in the backswing.

Of course, these problems, along with the reverse pivot, are extremely common faults for recreational golfers, so it’s no surprise that a straightening of the right knee is also very common. The only way to prevent right-knee straightening is to keep the lower body centered and acting as a base of support. This way, the upper body will have the freedom to get behind the ball without affecting the angle or bend of the right leg.

It’s important to understand that trying to restrict the movement of the right leg while making your regular backswing won’t remedy the problem. The ideal situation is one in which the swing works without mechanics that affect the bend of the right knee.

The key to achieving this effortless backswing is keeping the spine angle you establish at address a constant. The spine angle and right-knee bend are closely related, and it’s necessary to maintain both angles for a solid golf swing.

My favorite drill for developing a solid backswing is the two-club drill. To practice the drill, you need two extra clubs and the help of a friend.

First, assume your address position, and have your friend stand behind you, placing the head of one club against your left shoulder and the head of the other club against your left hip. Then, take a backswing. If your hip moves off the club, then you’ve swayed, and your right leg and knee have straightened to some degree. Instead, you want the left shoulder to move off the club to the inside of the right foot, and the left hip to rotate while staying in contact with the club. This will ensure that you’ve maintained your original spine angle throughout the backswing, while also helping retain the original angle of the right knee.

Continue practicing this drill until the proper position feels natural. It might take some time, but if you can learn to maintain your right-knee flex and spine angle throughout the swing, you’ll be well on your way to developing a more solid, consistent golf game.
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Losin’ It
Losing your right-knee flex during the backswing usually results from a straightening of the right leg, a move that also generates a reverse-pivot. From this position, the likelihood of producing a slice increases dramatically.

No!
When performing the two-club drill, it’s important to turn correctly while maintaining your spine angle. If your left hip moves off the club on your backswing, you’ve swayed or tilted your spine–disaster.

Yes!
A solid backswing turn, one in which the right knee retains its flex and the spine angle doesn’t change, is evidenced in the two-club drill–at the top, the left hip is still in contact with the club while the shoulder has moved off the other.

Veteran instructor Carl Rabito is a two-time ECC PGA Teacher of the Year. His Rabito Golf Schools are based at the Diamond Players Club in Orlando, Fla.

A Call To Arms

Every golfer will experience periods of inconsistent ballstriking, low confidence and a general sensation of swinging out of sync. For these times, I offer a quick fix: Quiet your lower body, and concentrate on swinging the golf club with only your hands and arms.

Timing issues that can wreck a golfer’s confidence tend to crop up when he or she makes too many gyrations with his or her body, like turning and twisting the upper torso or overworking the legs. When golfers try to use their whole body to move the golf club, often they have no chance of making consistent contact or creating ample clubhead speed.

One of my favorite drills provides an immediate remedy for an overactive body. Make a few practice swings at quarter-speed and half-speed, slowly working up to full speed, keeping body movement to a minimum. Internalize the sensations created by the simple motion of the arms swinging the club back to the top and dropping into place on the downswing. As Charlie Sorrell, a former PGA teacher of the year, likes to say, The hands are for holding, the wrists are for hinging, and the arms are for swinging.

In the process of relearning the importance of the hand-and-arm swing, you’ll be building up clubhead speed. Try this drill, and you’ll find yourself back in rhythm, and regaining lost distance and confidence in no time.

Senior Instruction Editor Art Sellinger represents the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas, Texas. He’s the creator of the popular Power Guarantee training program and home video, available at www.artoflongdriving.com.

See Spot Putt

When the pressure is on, I’ve found spot putting to be especially effective. In fact, two of the great pressure putters of all time, Dave Stockton and Jack Nicklaus, employ the spot technique.

One of the main benefits of spot putting is that it helps you maintain your putting posture throughout the stroke. Most golfers tend to rise up out of their posture prematurely, usually because they’re anxious to see the results of their efforts. Rising up from your stance usually forces a stroke that strays off-line and sends the ball away from the intended target.

Spot putting can help you beat this flaw and improve the quality of your putts. Try this: Choose a spot on the green an inch or two in front of your ball and directly on the line you’ve chosen to roll your putt. I typically look for an unusual blade of grass or a colored spot on the putting surface. When you’re set to putt the ball, focus your eyes on your chosen spot—not your golf ball. Now, make your stroke with the goal of rolling the ball right over the spot. Remember, don’t rise up from your putting posture until your putterface has passed your spot.

Spot putting effectively takes the hole out of your mind, which typically translates into a smoother stroke. Also, by focusing on the spot rather than the ball, you’ll tend to properly accelerate the putterhead down your intended line, which will result in more putts finding the hole.

Professional golf instructor Barry Goldstein is the director of golf at Polar Shot Golf Center in Johnson City, N.Y. He also instructs at the Coral Springs Golf Range in Coral Springs, Fla.

Staying On-Plane

A major fault of both accomplished and recreational golfers alike is taking the club too far inside on the backswing. This inside position generally leads to the club getting stuck behind the right hip (for right-handed golfers) on the downswing, preventing the desired, down-the-line release. Getting stuck too far inside creates a number of problems, the most serious of which is a compensatory flipping of the hands at impact, a move that creates nothing but glancing blows and non-compressed golf shots.

Swinging the club too far inside on the backswing and flipping at the ball not only affects the quality of impact, but can also greatly affect accuracy. Because the club can’t pass the right hip in the downswing and release down the target line, shots can go both left or right, without predictability or consistency. Playing golf with this type of move isn’t a lot of fun.

The best way to eradicate the inside takeaway for good is to learn to swing the club on-plane and down the target line. To accomplish this, lay a club on the ground in line with your hands and parallel to the target line. Take the club away by moving your hands along the shaft on the ground. Don’t allow them to float to the inside of the shaft. A great way to check yourself is to take some swings and stop at the waist-high position in your backswing. If your hands are inside the club (and your right hip), then your backswing is still traveling too far inside._Ê

Another great practice drill requires the use of two alignment clubs. First, place a club above the ball, parallel to the target line. Then place a second club eight to 10 inches inside this line. You’ll notice the two clubs form a path, which should be your track on which to swing the club. At first, it will probably feel like the club is moving to the outside of the target line, but after a number of repetitions, the proper swing path will begin to feel normal. Practicing this drill will help keep your shoulders, hips and feet in alignment, and promote a more on-plane backswing.

Correcting an inside takeaway is a surefire way to improve both your shotmaking and scoring. The next time you’re at the range, lay two clubs on the ground, one to the outside and forward of the golf ball and another to the inside and behind the impact area. As you take the club away, use the track formed by the two clubs to guide your clubhead along the proper backswing plane. For most amateurs, swinging along this plane may feel as if the club is traveling too far to the outside, but it’s not. It’s on-plane and in perfect position to lead the golfer to a solid position at the top. More importantly, it negates the need to make compensating, difficult-to-time moves on the downswing, i.e., flipping the hands at impact.

PGA professional Paul Hahn is the head golf professional at Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif.

Why Factor

In a recent poll on the Golf Tips_¨ Website, we asked you what swing flaw you’d most like to correct. More than 5,000 readers responded, with the majority citing slicing (27%) as fault number one, with a lack of distance and poor putting following close behind. To the question of why golfers can’t beat that one flaw that keeps them from their scoring potential, we asked teaching professional Brady Riggs to develop simple answers and provide key drills to eradicate your most common flaws once and for all. Whether your golfing Waterloo is bunker play, chipping or navigating obstacles, our Why Factors have the answers you need.

Why Can’t I Hit Longer? You dont achieve full extension.

The surprisingly simple answer: lack of extension. That’s right, you don’t have to be built like Tiger to hit the ball long, but you do need to avoid the dreaded chicken wing.

This bent front-arm position can sap power from even the strongest golfers.

Believe it or not, lack of extension is without a doubt the biggest power-related mistake in golf. To remedy this problem, try my headcover drill. Simply place a headcover under your left arm (for right-handed golfers) and begin taking full swings. The goal is to hold the headcover in place until the weight of the swinging club pulls your arms off your body through impact. If you shorten your front arm (chicken wing), the headcover will fall out prematurely. By practicing this drill, you’ll learn to achieve full extension and create maximum power.

Quick Fix
Though I don’t believe there are a lot of shortcuts to a solid golf swing, a good quick fix for the chicken wing is the palm to the sky drill. By ingraining the feeling of getting the palm of your left hand to the sky past impact, you’ll learn to properly rotate your forearms and quickly improve your extension and distance._Ê

Why Can’t I Cure My Slice? Your body is too open at impact.

To eradicate the banana ball, try my parallel foot drill. Assume your address position, then turn your front toe back, so it’s pointing away from the target. Place the ball in line with the middle of your front foot and begin swinging slowly. Your body will feel closed, and it will be almost impossible to open it too quickly. You’ll most likely begin hooking the ball, due to your closed shoulder position. With regular practice, your slice should disappear for good.

Quick Fix
For a quick slice fix, try strengthening your grip by rotating your hands clockwise, or to your right. Most golfers have a tough time squaring the clubface through the hitting zone, and a strong grip can help achieve a square or even slightly closed clubface at impact. This will both fight the slice and promote crisper contact.

Why Can’t I Be More Accurate? Your clubface isn’t square at the top of the swing.

Clubface Angles
1. A square clubface angle at the top of the swing is a key for straight shots. Notice how the toe of the club points toward the target–this promotes the desired square clubface angle at impact.

2. Closing the clubface at the top of the swing is a common cause of smother hooks and fat shots. This position can also cause a lack of rotation in the arms and hands._Ê_Ê

3. This laid-off or open clubface position at the top of the swing will, for the majority of recreational golfers, be a surefire way to create severe slices and thin shots.

The wrist hinge drill is an excellent way to learn the feeling of a proper, square clubface position at the top. At setup, simply hinge the club up in front of you, then turn your shoulders and lift your arms. Eventually, your body will learn to create this position on its own, without conscious effort. Practice this often enough, and your accuracy will improve.
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Quick Fix
If you want a quick method for improving your clubface angle at the top of the swing, try concentrating on feeling the majority of the club’s weight in your left thumb at the top. When the clubface is too open or closed, it’s usually because the hands are rotated is the wrong direction. When the left thumb is under the club, you know the clubface is square.
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Flex
Overly stiff shafts can have a negative effect on your accuracy. Instead, try shafts with a softer flex that you can swing smoothly. Your tempo will quickly improve, and so will your accuracy.

Why Can’t I Make Solid Contact? You’re not pivoting correctly.
_Ê
An improper pivot is a common cause for poor ballstriking because it causes the low point in the swing to be too far behind the ball. To improve your pivot, try the heel up drill. Start by assuming the proper impact position, with your left hip kicked slightly toward the target, but lift your right heel off the ground. Hit short shots at first and then gradually add some power to your swing. This will help move the low point of your swing forward and induce a proper, descending hit on the ball.

Quick Fix
If you’re having trouble with your ballstriking, try this simple trick and you should see some immediate results. At setup, place the majority of your weight on your left leg. This will help pre-set your impact position and get your body weight forward. By placing your weight in this way, you should be able to compress the ball more effectively.

G.I.
Also known as game improvement, GI designs include offset hosels, wide soles and large cavities. The offset hosel, in particular, can be a huge help to anyone who struggles with ballstriking.

Why Can’t I Play Around Obstacles? You have the ball too far back in your stance.

A ball position that is too far back in the stance will make varying the trajectory of your shots very difficult. To improve, find a spot on the range that has an upslope and practice hitting shots with the ball forward in your stance. Concentrate on keeping your body behind the ball throughout the swing, and you should see your trajectory improve right away.

Quick Fix
The 60-degree wedge is one of the best tools ever invented for hitting utility shots around the course. Though improving your faulty ball position should be your goal, putting a lofted wedge in your bag is a quick and easy way to make hitting the ball over obstacles a reality.

Why Can’t I Get It Out Of The Bunker? You don’t understand the technique.

Although the bunker shot is one of the easiest plays in golf, many golfers still struggle with it. The reason is because they don’t understand that, for solid bunker shots, you have to strike the sand, not the ball. A good drill is to simply draw a line two inches behind the ball (while it lies in the sand) and repeatedly practice slapping the line with the sole of your club. Once you can do this consistently, you’ll see the ball flying out of the bunker on a wave of sand every time._Ê

Bounce
A wedge with more bounce displaces more sand at impact. Get a wedge with plenty of bounce, and your bunker shots will get easier.

Why Can’t I Pitch It Close? You’re scooping under the ball instead of hitting down on it.

Crisp pitching requires an abrupt takeaway and relatively steep downswing. To learn this technique, try laying a headcover down a couple of feet behind the ball at setup. Practice taking your backswing without making contact with the headcover. This will force the desired, abrupt takeaway and steep downswing, leading to better contact and increased spin.

Quick Fix
One of the reasons so many amateur golfers are unable to spin their shots around the green is a ball position that’s too far forward. This generally leads to scoopy pitches and thin contact. Instead, try moving the ball back in your stance, just off your right heel (for a right-handed golfer). By moving the ball to this position, you’ll help promote a downward hit on the golf ball, which is the only effective way to create spin. Keep in mind that moving the ball back will create a lower trajectory, so adjust your club selection accordingly.

Urethane
If you want Tour-like spin, get yourself a box of urethane-covered golf balls. The pros swear by them.

Why Can’t I Control My Distance On Long Putts? You’re focusing too much on the ball instead of on the target–the hole.

Inconsistent lag putting is a common problem that has a simple cause: Most golfers spend too much time looking at the golf ball and not enough time looking at the hole. If you’re having trouble with your lag putting, try this drill: Set up to the ball and begin concentrating on the hole while making practice strokes, all the while trying to feel the stroke. Then hit the putt without taking your eyes off the hole (don’t look at the ball). You’ll be amazed at the results._Ê

MOI
Putters with a high MOI, or Moment Of Inertia, provide added forgiveness due to extreme perimeter weighting and an enlarged sweet spot.

Why Do I Miss So Many Short Putts? You’re taking the club too far inside or outside.

Short putts are typically missed due to a putting stroke that travels inside or outside the target line. To straighten out your faulty stroke, construct a track with string that runs from the ball to the hole, no longer than five or six feet in length. Take your stroke and concentrate on keeping the putterhead within the track on the backstroke and throughstroke.

Teaching professional Brady Riggs instructs at Woodley Lakes G.C. in Van Nuys, Calif.

My Favorite Drills

If you want to truly improve your golf game, it’s going to take practice. By that, I mean good practice. A great way to ensure your practice time is useful is to incorporate some drills into your regimen. This will not only help train your golf swing and cut out faults, but also make for a more interesting session out at the practice facility. In the following few pages are a few of my favorite drills, each designed to help fix your game in a hurry.

1. Baseball Drill

The Baseball Drill is a great way to practice both leveraging your body against the ground through the hit and ensuring you make a proper turn. To start, address the ball normally. Then, as you take the club away, lift your left foot just as a baseball player does before making a swing. This will force your weight to your back foot on the backswing. Once you reach the top of your swing (middle left photo), plant your right foot (middle right photo) and initiate the downswing with the arms.

Because you made a good turn on the backswing (you had to because only one leg was on the ground), you should feel as though your left leg is planting force into the ground through the downswing. Because of that, you want to keep your left leg firm at impact to ensure that you not only hit the ball consistently, but also prevent any power leaks. If you practice this drill often, you’ll kiss that dreaded reverse pivot goodbye and hit better shots in no time.

2. Backwards Drill

Can’t stop duck-hooking and/or slicing it? You’re probably swinging from too far outside the target line to back inside the target line. This means the clubface swipes across the ball, producing either a big slice or a wicked duck hook (if the clubface is closed.)


As you can see here, because I’m swinging with an extreme inside-to-outside swing path, my hands must work overtime to be square to the target at impact. When you give this drill a try, stick with ¾ swings and allow for an abbreviated finish. The goal is to feel the clubhead moving from inside to outside and to get the hands to rotate more effectively.

To practice the fix, try the Backwards Drill. Simply set up to the ball as normal, then adjust your right foot so it’s well behind you (relative to the target). This’ll situate your body in an extremely closed position. As you take the club back, at the top of your swing, your back should be facing the target. Make about a 3__ã4 swing, and work on both swinging from inside to outside the target line and letting the hands rotate as much as possible. The ensuing ballflight should be a huge draw that starts way to the right and draws back toward the target.

3. Flat-footed Drill

A great way to ingrain a proper turn is to practice making a few swings with your feet planted on the ground. This will prevent you from lifting your body upward as some golfers do when they lift their left heel off the ground on the backswing. In addition to that, golfers who lift instead of turn the body also tend to lose the needed forward spine tilt in the upper body, which results in all sorts of inconsistencies. If you fall into that group, consider making some normal swings (go as far as you can without lifting your left heel) and keep both feet on the ground. This will force you to turn without lifting, and might also help you add some flexibility along the way. Also, keep the right heel planted as you finish to feel a centered rotation.

4. One-handed Takeaway

Looking for more power? The perfect drill for you is the One-handed Takeaway Drill. Assume your setup as normal, then remove your right hand and initiate the backswing with just your left arm. As you rotate back, you should be able to keep your left arm fairly straight, as long as you keep turning. If you aren’t turning enough, you’ll have a difficult time extending the left arm and keeping it taut. Once you’ve maxed out your turn without any left-arm breakdown, take hold of the club with both hands and make a forwardswing all the way through to the finish.

This is a great drill for adding width to your arc and more turn to your backswing. As for trying it with a ball, give it a shot (though, it’s an effective drill even if you don’t plan on making any hits).

5. Visualization Drill

Be honest with yourself: How confident are you during those few critical seconds before you hit a golf ball? Most amateurs swing with a hit and hope mentality, where fear tends to be the overriding force in one’s swing. Don’t hit the water. Don’t slice. Don’t hit it fat. And so on!Instead, as you practice (and play for the matter), try to visualize the best possible result you can think of. Rehearse the outcome in your mind a few times, and let yourself totally relax and build confidence in your shot.

seeitgolf

To really ingrain a positive mental picture, consider taking advantage of some of the best players in the world and watch as they demonstrate perfect mechanics for you. That’s the thinking behind the innovative seeitgolf system, which began its initial effort with the rhythmic mechanics and near-flawless putting stroke of the PGA Tour’s Aaron Baddeley. Using a series of slow-motion imagery and graphics, golfers can spend about 15 minutes watching a video of Baddeley’s stroke from various angles, with a smooth music track, bold graphic overlays and repetitive views of the golf ball being struck, rolling and dropping into the cup. The goal, according to seeitgolf, is to ingrain a positive mental picture in the mind of the golfer before he/she heads out onto the course, and cut out all those negative thoughts and doubts before and after you make a stroke.

Sounds cool, right? It is. And perhaps the coolest part is that the seeitgolf video can be viewed on portable devices such as an iPhone or iPod, as well as on a computer or via DVD.

More seeitgolf videos are in the works to, again, enhance a player’s positive mental picture and cut out negative swing thoughts and doubts. In other words, See it. Feel it. Trust it.

To learn more and/or to buy the seeitgolf system, check it out online at www.seeitgolf.com.

Jeff Yurkiewicz, PGA, is the head instructor at the Grayhawk Learning Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. Find info at www.grayhawkgolf.com.

Battle Of The Bend!

The great thing about bending your ball in a consistent direction is that it makes navigating the golf course a heckuva lot easier. One example is simply being able to take advantage of the entire width of the fairway. A common fairway might span 30 yards or so in width and many golfers might be inclined to aim down the middle. Knowing that nearly every shot will have some bend, the player who opts for a straight line direction essentially will be reducing their landing area to only 15 yards. In contrast, a consistent fader of the golf ball understands the best play is to aim down the left-hand side. In the unlikely occurrence of a straight shot, the ball still lands in the left side of the fairway. A perfect fade lands in the middle, and even too much slice now settles to rest in the short grass down the right side. If you can play a predicable curve, you can surely have more fun playing any course.

In golf, there are really two kinds of players: those who bend the ball predominantly to the left and those who bend it to the right. Either is fine, as long as the pattern is reasonable and repeatable, and the ball consistently lands in play. Unfortunately, though, many golfers have inconsistent and unreasonable shot patterns, leading to lots of lost balls and rocket-high scores. Why? Because we try too often to hit the ball perfectly straight, which, frankly, is much more difficult than it is to hit consistent fades and draws.

In striking a golf shot, the components of swingpath, clubface, angle of attack, solidness of contact and speed all work together to produce a given ballflight. As it relates to curvature, we look mostly at the combination of clubface and swingpath and how they relate. To hit a ball perfectly straight, both the clubface and swingpath must be looking in the exact same direction at the moment of impact. Any difference in path and face, and the ball will exhibit curvature. When dealing with a game comprised of such complex movements as golf, this occurrence rarely happens and isn’t even worth trying to repeat. So what we’re left with is being able to produce a nice, predictable bend (aka a fade or draw), which, when executed properly, is a great way to efficiently manage your game from tee to green.

For this story, we’re going to assume that you slicers out there are sick and tired of that banana ball and would love to get rid of it. If you’re in the hooking category, we’re also going to assume that you’d like to change things up and feel what it’s like to be able to hit a nice, reliable fade. What I’m hoping is that you’ll learn so much, you’ll be able to do both whenever you want or, at the very least, get all of those wildly curving shots back within reason.

Let’s get started, shall we?

SLICE SLAYERS: TEE IT HIGHER

To cure a slice, a great place to start is setting the intention to shift your angle of attack. In general, most slicers are hitting down on the ball too much, in conjunction with a swingpath that travels too much to the left (swingpath left/clubface open to path). To hit a high, bombing draw, you have to think of striking more “up and out.” This means delivering an ascending attack with a swingpath that travels more to the right (swingpath right/clubface closed to path).

You’ve heard the mantra, “Tee it high and let it fly,” right? That’s exactly what I’m asking you to do. Tee the ball higher, so at least two-thirds of the ball rests above the crown of your driver. It may look strangely high at first, but that’s a good thing. The visual will hopefully force you to swing up and out, not down and left like so many slicers do. And, by the way, if you’re not comfortable with the high tee height at first, try using some Ghost Tape (ghosttape.com) on the crown as you’re getting used to hitting up and not down on the golf ball. Kiss that slice goodbye!

SLIDE OVER

The concept of swingpath is huge in this story, as the path of the swing is the main influencer in which way your golf ball bends. If your ball is slicing, the swingpath is traveling more to the left than where the clubface is pointing at impact. To flip your flight, you have to shift the swingpath. In this case, that means creating a swingpath that travels more to the right of the clubface at impact. A big key is learning to properly use your hips. The more lateral your hips move in the downswing, the more the swingpath will be inclined to swing to the right.

To set the stage, address the ball and then shift your hips well toward the target. You’ll feel a little more weight on your front foot as your hands push a little forward. For chronic slicers, setting the hips a touch closed is helpful, as well.

ROUND: IT OUT

Producing a reasonable position at the top of the backswing is critical in facilitating a proper downswing path into the golf ball. To get a little more right-to-left curve on your shots, swing your left arm more across your chest, so that the forearm is lined up with or slightly below the back shoulder. I’m doing this in the photo below. In the black-and-white photo, my hands are much higher, which will steepen my swing, making it more difficult to swing up and out to the right.

A more rounded swing arc demands that your body moves in a circular fashion. To facilitate this, allow for a free release of your hips to create the best combination of position and power. In addition, take note of the shot of my lower-body action (above far right photo). See how my trail leg has slightly extended or lengthened from its original position. The knees are always changing positions in an efficient golf swing. As the hips rotate back, allowing the back leg to lengthen supports the lower-body turn. As the back leg extends, the front knee exhibits a little more bend, as well. A lot of golfers have been taught to brace the back leg. Most players don’t have the flexibility to do this and still produce a reasonable arc to the swing, however. Look at a great ballstriker of the past such as Sam Snead, and you’ll see plenty of this leg action.

TRACKMAN SAYS SO…

For a long time, we had things mixed up. Noted golf instructors, club pros and even some of us in the Golf Tips Top-40 Instructors are guilty at some point in their career of teaching that the clubface is what generates spin and the swingpath is the direction the ball flies.

Trackman data has revolutionized what we thought we knew. New data has revealed that it’s the clubface that predominantly dictates the initial direction the ball flies and the swingpath is what mostly influences spin.

Knowing this is very exciting because it means golf instructors are better equipped to help their students fix their swing problems more effectively. For instance, if you slice the ball, you may have been told that closing the face will fix the problem. While that’s partly true, it doesn’t really fix the problem you likely have, which is a swingpath that’s too outside-to-inside. Trackman data can help golf instructors see problems in the golf swing faster and more efficiently than ever before.

PUSH THE ISSSUE

Golf is a counterintuitive game, meaning a lot of the things you would assume to be logical and correct are usually just the opposite. For example, let’s say your ball continually curves toward all the trouble on the right-hand side of the course–trees, bunkers, out-of-bounds, the ocean, whatever. In seeing a ball curve to the right, your instinct becomes swinging more away from the trouble, in this case, to the left. Being that golf is a counterintuitive game and swingpath is a key determinant related to curvature, your intent on creating more of a leftward path actually makes your golf ball slice even harder toward all of the things you’re trying to avoid. Crazy, huh?

The secret? Embracing the nature of the game and trusting the idea that, if everything your instincts tell you to do is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.

So what do I want you to do? I want you to swing in the direction your ball is missing. To do this, start by setting the proper intention through vision and look down the right side of the fairway. This little tip is a big help in breaking those left-swinging instincts. As you transition into the downswing, approach the ball from an inside path that really feels like you’re trying to drive or push the ball into the trouble to the right. As long as the clubface is just a little closed to the swingpath, your ball will easily draw away from the danger, landing safely in play. Trust it!

BALLFLIGHT BOOSTER

To really pump one out there with a little right-to-left curve, it helps to catch the ball on the “money” spot for this flight. Although you’d assume your best hit will come from a center strike, you’ll actually create the best combination of distance and curvature just above the club’s center line and a fraction toward the toe. Even though it may reduce your ball speed a tiny bit, hitting the ball here will add loft and reduce spin for a longer tee shot.

HOOK KILLER: FEEL LIKE FREDDIE

GET LEFT!

When trying to cure a hook, you have to do everything you can to start influencing your swingpath more to the left. A great way to do this is to model great faders of the golf ball. Here, I’m trying to model Fred Couples at address (who, by the way, could bash a fade farther than just about anyone in his prime, so don’t think that hitting a fade means hitting it shorter than a draw; that’s not necessarily true). Anyway, my feet and shoulders are aimed well to the left, making it much more plausible for my club to swing in that direction. This is a key component in getting my ball to bend opposite of its current flight pattern. Finally, when aligning the clubface for a fade, don’t assume that the clubface needs to be set open relative to the target at address. An open clubface at address and, subsequently, at impact, will lead to pushed tee shots. So even though you’re trying to cut it, align the clubface slightly left of your target. The trick is making sure your swingpath is slightly more left of the clubface at impact to produce a left-to-right ballflight.

INCH IT UP!

Another great way to facilitate a leftward swingpath is to consider the role of ball position. Imagine your swing as a tilted arc that travels from in-to-in, meaning any point behind the golf ball is inside the target line, and any point in front of the ball is, again, inside the target line. A ball positioned well back in the arc (toward the right foot) would encourage a swingpath too much from in-to-out, lending itself to a hooking ballflight. Conversely, a ball positioned more forward, at or even beyond the left heel, encourages just the opposite. Inch your ball up and you’ll have one more tool for breaking your right-to-left bend and promoting a fade. And don’t forget to tee it higher, as well!

LATE IS GREAT

Curvature is all about swingpath relative to clubface. If the face is closed to the path, the ball will hook, and if the face is open to the path, the ball will fade or slice. Since you’re now setting up to swing the path to the left, it’s imperative the clubface finds the ball a little open to the swingpath. A great way to encourage this is to be aware of the position of the clubface into the transition. Your clubface moves in conjunction with the swing arc. A clubface that turns down early or out of sequence is in danger of delivering the face left of the path at impact leading to a leftward curve. To hit the fade, feel as if the face is “late” or behind its natural rate of movement. Here, the toe of the club will feel as if it’s tilted back, lagging behind the heel as you go in for the hit. As long as the face is delivered open or right of the swingpath, you can say sayonara to that hook.

TURN + BURN

Another great way to get that club swinging left is to get your body actively turning in that direction. To fade it, you have to encourage both the upper and lower halves of your body to open up and turn to the left. Notice this image from up the target line. Both my chest and hips are rotated well left of the target at impact. Where are you at impact? If you hook it too much, I guarantee you aren’t here. Turning left makes the path go left. Get the path left of the clubface and watch your ball fade its way back to your target.

CINCH YOUR CIRCLE

Think of your swing as being comprised of a series of circles. The “outer circle” represents the arc of the clubhead and the “inner circle” is represented by the path or arc of the club’s handle. Most people get fixated on the outer circle and ignore the inner circle, when, in fact, the inner circle is what influences the outer circle! Golfers who traditionally hook get the clubpath swinging too much “in-to-out” because the hands and handle (inner circle) separate and run away from the body through impact. In the black-and-white photo, I’m demonstrating what that looks like. It’s not that it’s a horrible position, per se, but if you’re trying to fade the ball or stop hooking it, this separation between the hands and the body isn’t what you want.

To keep your path swinging more around your body, think of cinching or tightening up your “inner circle.” Notice here how the grip end stays close to my left leg as my arms, hips and torso influence the path of the club back around to the left. This is what you want to see and feel to produce a fade.

MAKE THE TURN

Playing better golf is more than just learning the proper mechanics of the golf swing. The Make The Turn initiative incorporates the golf swing, mental game, fitness and nutrition into the mix to help you not only play better, but live better, as well. Check out the website, sign up and watch the videos. They’re some of the best instruction videos I’ve seen.
–Ryan Noll

Jeff Ritter, PGA, is the CEO/Founder of MTT Performance. The program operates out of Poppy Hills GC in Pebble Beach, California. Learn more at www.mttperformance.com.

Drop Strokes From The Green

Here’s the weird thing about the game of golf. As you get better and your handicap goes down, it actually becomes more difficult to cut strokes from your score. I can usually help a high-handicapper improve pretty quickly, but the better my students get, the tougher it is to whittle strokes off their scores.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, though, quite the contrary. If you want to make a dent in your scores and shoot lower numbers, it’s imperative you work on your putting abilities. In the next few pages, I’ve outlined five different ways you can drop strokes by improving your performance on the putting green. Just remember, these tips aren’t designed to produce easy, immediate results. And no matter what, you’re probably going to miss more putts than you make. But with diligence, patience and determination, these tips will help you drain more putts and drop strokes from your scores.

1 GET BEHIND THE BALL

When you’re assessing your putts, always do so from behind the ball and track where you think the ball will roll with your eyes. Don’t just stare at the cup; look at the entire length the ball will roll. Do this for long and short putts alike.	If you practice from the side like this, you won’t see all the break and your distance perception will suffer. I see this error a lot, and often my students are looking at the cup and nothing else as they make practice strokes.
If you have a breaking putt (I placed a tee for you to see the apex of this short putt), consider evaluating the putt from behind the apex, not the hole. The apex is your aim point anyway, so you may as well get the true picture of the break.	If I look at this breaking putt from behind the hole, my mind’s eye won’t know where to aim when I set up over the ball. It’s always better to get behind the point where you’re aiming (the tee) and align to it rather than get crisscrossed.
Finally, whether you’re facing straight or breaking putts, always look up as you make your practice strokes. Get your eyes off your putter, and start sensing the motion, length and tempo of your putting stroke.	Don’t develop the habit of watching your putter move back and forth! You’ll do the same when you actually putt a ball, and rarely will you produce good results. Get your eyes on the line as you get ready, then on the ball when you execute the putt.

2 SQUARE THE PUTTERFACE

If you’re struggling with accuracy, you’re probably not hitting your putts with a square putterface. To narrow your focus and start squaring up that face, consider what I’m doing here. Using an ordinary yardstick, align the putterface on one side of the yardstick, which should be pointed at a hole. From here, hit the end of the stick with your putter as you would with a golf ball. If you do it correctly with the putterface, making square contact with the end of the yardstick, the yardstick will scoot straight toward the hole. This is a great drill when you want to hone in on your accuracy, and also on maintaining the ideal loft of the putterface and contact with the ball at impact. More on that at the bottom of this page.

If you hit the yardstick with an open face, the yardstick will veer out and away from you. If you hit it with a closed face, it will veer to the left. Now, don’t interpret this tip the wrong way. The putterface will and should open and close relative to the targetline (as simulated by the yardstick), but it should stay square relative to the path the putterhead travels on, which is actually a slight arc. Only at impact with the ball will the putterface, putter path and target line line up. So don’t try and hold the putterface square as you take the putter back. Allow it to arc naturally. As for the forwardstroke, some golfers like to hold the face square through impact, others allow the putterface to close relative to the target line after impact. Do whatever you prefer in that regard.

In addition to helping you square the putterface at impact, this drill helps you maintain a good position of the hands and shaft at impact. You want to have a slight forward shaft lean to maintain a consistent loft at impact. This is crucial if you want to have speed control.

3 DIAL IN YOUR AIM

Once you determine the line of your putt, it’s time to take dead-aim. I like to pick a target on my line 6 to 8 inches ahead of the ball, and I use a line on my golf ball to get dialed into that target. (To illustrate this in the photo, I put a white ball mark on my intended target.) As a drill, I then take two tees and separate them so a ball barely fits between the two tees, and I start putting. The goal is obviously to get the ball to roll through the tees and make the putt, but in my mind, I’m also training myself to pick intermediate targets for better aim. If you can do this drill successfully and repeatedly and get the ball in the hole, then you have both good aim and a good stroke. But let’s say you’re hitting the ball into either tee. What does that mean? It means you probably have some inconsistencies in your stroke, and you need to fix that first before you worry about how you aim.

Okay, so let’s say you’re able to putt the ball through the tees consistently, but the ball isn’t going in the hole. In this case, you probably don’t have a stroke or an aim problem. You have a green-reading problem! I’ve seen this dilemma from some of my better students. Some of them come to me and ask what’s wrong with their stroke; they want me to look and see if they’re doing anything that causes them to miss putts. In fact, they have very good mechanics, and the simple truth is that they’re misreading their putts. Don’t always assume your putting stroke is at fault when putts aren’t dropping in the cup. How you read the green is equally important. If you can’t read the greens well, no matter how good your mechanics are, you’ll miss a lot of putts.

4 TRIANGULATE + FEEL

To get better at reading greens, always look at your putts from more than one angle. I tell my students to look at the putt from behind the hole/apex of the break and again from the actual apex. This will help you get a better sense of the elevation change of your putt, if any, and also help you see the length of the putt more clearly. For instance, from behind the ball on an uphill putt, it may look shorter than it really is. Just don’t overdo it. Two vantage points ought to do it.

When was the last time you really took a moment to feel the break of your putts? Usually, we use our eyes, and with long putts, I suggest you do that. But, sometimes, with putts that are around 7 feet and in, we focus more on the way a putt looks than how it feels. What does that mean? Simple. Next time you have a putt inside 7 to 8 feet or so, stand behind the golf ball and get a sense of whether you’re standing level, to the left or to the right. Close your eyes and sense which way your body wants to lean. Is it to the left or right? If so, your putt likely will break in the direction you feel your body lean.

It doesn’t stop there. In the two pictures on the left, I’m still behind my intended target line, only I’m sensing whether I’m leaning uphill or downhill. The point is, especially with short putts, you need to be aware of any subtle breaks in the green that the eyes sometimes can’t see. Feeling the ground with your feet and using your balance point are a great way to “see” the slight breaks and curves on the green with your feet. When you rehearse behind the ball, be aware of your balance in every direction.

5 REHEARSE A CONFIDENT STROKE

Often, a hesitant, yippy stroke is the cause of missed putts inside 5 feet. One of my favorite drills to encourage a confident and accelerating stroke is outlined here. First, line up five balls–the first about 6 inches from the cup, the next ball about 2 feet, the next 3 feet, then 4 feet and finally 5 feet from the hole. The first step in the drill is a simple one. Knock in the short putt and finish with the putterhead directly above the hole to indicate a square face at impact.

With the 2-foot putt, push the ball into the hole with no backswing. This will help you maintain a slight forward shaft lean and consistent loft through the stroke. It’s also a great drill to wipe out the yips and promote an accelerating stroke and finish through the ball, not at it.

On the 3-foot and 4-foot putts, I want you to putt as usual, only now concentrate on not making too long a backstroke. When the backstroke gets too long, not only do you run the risk of swinging the putter on a faulty path with a putterface that isn’t square at impact, you lose your ability to feel the length of the putt. With both putts in this drill, there’s a ball about a foot or so behind the one you’re hitting, meaning you’ll be forced to make a shorter backstroke and stroke your putterhead through the ball.

If you miss any putt up to this point in the drill, replace all the balls and start again!

MAKE IT!

The last ball in this drill is your gamer. The drill is over and you need to make this putt as you would out on the golf course. You should feel some of that pressure you’ve applied on yourself by making the preceding four balls, and you don’t want to repeat this drill again. This is a must-make putt, so putt confidently with proper aim and a solid stroke.

Try this drill, and with all these tips, I hope you find better success on the greens and save more strokes!

Glenn Deck, PGA, is the Director of Golf Instruction at Pelican Hill Golf Resort in Newport Beach, Calif., and Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, Calif. Visit pelicanhill.com for more information.