Got a bad slice or hook? Want more power in your drive?
Learning the game of golf is a process that never ends.
Golf pro shop lessons - Golf swing flaws
The most common swing flaw has to be swinging to hard. The next is probably too long of a backswing.These flaws create control problems and are not directly related to slices or hooks. The path of your swing and your wrist action could cause either to happen.
- Feel the bottom of your swing
- Keep your balance
- Shorten your backswing & follow through on impact
The Drill
| Over the top (slice) | Down the line (straight) | Inside swing path (hook) |
There are a number of things that cause a slice.
- Swinging to hard
- Reaching back to far
- Jerking from the top
If you are sure that the top three isn't your problem then most likely you have an over the top swing or never close the club face.
The Drill
Right handers- Keep your right shoulder low on the downswing
- Practice 1/2 speed swings with an inside path
- Make sure your left side is firm This means don't sway your left hip toward the target too much
If you have trouble hitting the ball cleanly then get the ball off the ground. Tee it up low.
Left handers
- Keep your left shoulder low on the downswing
- Practice 1/2 speed swings with an inside path
- Make sure your right side is firm This means don't sway your right hip toward the target too much
If you have trouble hitting the ball cleanly then get the ball off the ground. Tee it up low.
Usually a hook is caused by too much wrist action and an extreme inside path on the downswing.
Either way, the club face is obviously closing quite well as the point of impact is reached for a hook result.
Good swing speed with control requires adequate wrist cock but the point of impact should happen without the lead wrist being cupped. This means that the lead wrist should not be bent backwards at the point of impact
The Drill
Right handers- Don't dip your right shoulder too much on the downswing
- Practice 1/2 speed swings bringing the club straight back and through
- Keep your lead arm moving through impact to reduce cupping of lead wrist at impact
- Don't dip your left shoulder too much on the downswing
- Practice 1/2 speed swings bringing the club straight back and through
- Keep your lead arm moving through impact to reduce cupping of lead wrist at impact
This one is simple to understand but hard to implement.
Jack Nicklaus said it best:
"When I want more distance I slow down my swing."
Without putting words in his mouth I have to believe that his goal was to "time the release" (of his wrists) at the exact point of impact with the golf ball.
Here are the swing thoughts for more distance:
- Relax your grip and forearms
- Hit the ball in the middle of the clubface
- Make sure your swing speed peaks at the point of impact
Tight muscles don't move as quickly as relaxed muscles
2 Hit the ball in the middle of the clubface
If you hit the ball on the toe or too high on an iron clubface the ball will not go nearly as far as a center hit.
3 Make sure your swing speed peaks at the point of impact
A no brainer here. Hard to fix though since most people have an ex-wife grip (or ex-husband) on the club and swing way to hard when trying for more distance. Jerking from the top and casting are the two biggest problems when swinging too hard.
The best ball flight for a long drive is a draw. If you are slicing or hooking the ball too much work on straightening out the ball flight.
Do this by exercising the drills above for correction of your ball flight.
Once you feel muscle memory take over (feels more natural) you are ready for distance drills.
The Drill
- Grab a pitching wedge and work on 1-3 above
- After 5-10 balls move to a 6 iron
- After 5-10 more balls go to the fairway wood
- After 5-10 more balls move to the driver
Don't wear yourself out or get frustrated
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Golf instruction - swing flaws |
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