Q & A

Following is a piece from the Discover South Carolina website I did last year.

 

Q: How do I make sure my body isn’t getting ahead of the club?

Answer: Having the body, arms and club all working toward the same cause is essential to consistent play. One of the simplest ways to assure this is to swing with your upper arms remaining close to your chest. This so called “connection” keeps the arms and body together so one doesn’t outrace the other. This is why you see many tour players practicing with something tucked under their arms such as a glove, towel or a credit card. Some will even bunch up a sleeve on their shirt and stuff it under their arm, especially under the left arm.Q: Is it true that slowing your swing can result in more power?

Answer: “Swing easy and enjoy the extra distance!” There is some truth to this; however, when we slow down it’s usually more a feeling of slowing down rather than truly slowing down. When you feel that you have slowed down you’re actually allowing your body and arms to work together so that you get the same “connection” as mentioned in the response to the first question. Your swing becomes more efficient and feels smoother and easier because of the cooperation and coordination between your body and arms. While you may have slowed down, your club head may actually have gained speed. Baseball pitchers throw their fastest when experiencing this same sensation. When they try to throw harder, their ball speed actually slows because their arms and body get out of synch.

Q: I hit all my irons on the toe or near the outer edge of the iron. What can I do to change this?

Answer: Welcome to my world; and most everyone else’s too! You’ll likely notice the problem is more severe with longer irons although there are certainly exceptions to the rule. There are many reasons this happens, so let’s go over some of the possibilities. First, make sure your irons are the correct length and lie angle. You’ll need a good club fitter for that, and you may have to spend a couple bucks, but it’s well worth it. Next, check your set up. Bend primarily from your hips so your arms can hang freely. Your hands will be about a hand span from your body. Avoid “reaching” for the ball at address. During your swing, try to maintain your posture throughout, especially your spine angle. If you deviate greatly from your starting position during your back swing it’s very difficult to consistently get back to where you started. Finally, be sure the left arm and shaft form a straight line at impact. Many players work hard to keep their left arm straight on the backswing but then it bends at impact. If there’s one point in the swing where the left arm should be straight, it’s at and through impact.

Q: How can I fix or eliminate a pull-hook tendency?

Answer: Simply put, your clubface is closed at impact. If the ball is starting left and continuing left, you’re probably cutting across the ball with an out-to-in swing path as well. Let’s start with the clubface. First check your grip and make sure it isn’t too strong. Also make sure the clubface is square at address and aimed at your target. At the halfway back point, make sure the toe of your club points skyward and not toward the target line. It’s not easy to tell exactly where the club is at the top of the backswing, but if you position the shaft either parallel to the target line or even point it a bit left of the target line (laid off) you’ll be less likely to hit to the left from these positions. If the ball still goes left, work on your swing path by approaching the ball more from the inside and sense you are following through out to right center field to start the ball on a line more to the right. 

Q:  How do I stop hitting the ball fat? 

Answer:  You arc is bottoming out prior to impact so somehow you need to move the bottom of your arc more to the left. You may be hanging back on your right side too long so make sure you rotate through to a full finish. You could also be moving laterally and or vertically too much on your backswing. Most of all, work on getting your club to bottom out to the left of the ball, after impact. To do so, position a head cover about a foot to the right of the ball, on the target line. Your mission is to miss the head cover but still get under the ball. This will train you to approach the ball at the ideal angle to contact the ball on the downswing. If you bottom out early, you’ll hit the head cover. Sometimes I’ll paint a stripe with course marking paint perpendicular to the player’s target line then place golf balls directly on the line. The drill is to take a divot to the left of the line and leave the paint that was under the ball intact.