.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
Top-class players feel their shot at address. They feel standing behind the ball, with their legs and hips firmly braced.
If you stand braced at address, you won't feel like you want to lift the clubhead. You will feel you want to swing your club back around with your body.
You need to feel you're grasping the ground with your feet. This allows your legs and feet to play a strong, active role in swinging your club. If you feel the ground with your feet, your legs and feet will work properly without conscious effort. You will feel your body carrying your club back along the ground, the clubhead staying down.
Also, keep your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders loose. Let your arms hang naturally from your shoulders so your hands are under your chin. If you set your hands under your chin, your bottom will act as an anchor as your swing reaches maximum speed. This allows you to swing your club on a constant arc and whack your ball full tilt.
Critically, keep your back flat with your shoulders pulled slightly backwards. Let your arms and hands hang naturally from your shoulders. This helps you swing your club freely, without your body getting in the way of your free arm swing.
You need to make sure you bend your legs after sticking out your rear end. Flexing your knees first before tilting your spine forward causes your back to curve. To turn freely and fully during the swing, you need to keep your back flat.
Equally important is tilting your spine to the right. At address, your right hand sits lower on the grip than your left hand. That leaves your right shoulder staying lower than your left shoulder, with your right forearm resting lower than your left. Put differently, you need to lean sideways.
This sideways tilt of your spine allows you to put your center of gravity and your head properly behind the ball. This helps you shift your weight to your right foot without excessive lateral body movement.
Leaving your right shoulder mistakenly high at address, you are prone to take your club back outside the target line. You will lift your hands and club rather than swing your club low to the ground. This inflicts revolting pulls and slices on you. To remove slices, you need to swing your club back straight along the target line roughly a foot.
To hit your ball longer, you need to increase your power and swing speed without losing your balance. To this end, you need a stable base from which you swing your club full tilt without losing your balance. Remember you need a narrow stance for short shots, but an extra-wide stance for big shots.
Place roughly 60 percent of your weight on your right foot when you hit your driver. This helps you turn your body freely and create a wide swing arc. When you hit a middle iron, place 60 percent of your weight on you left foot.
You need to stay clear of putting too much weight on your left foot when you hit your tee shots. Too much weight on your left foot causes you to pick your arms and club straight up, making it hard to shift your weight properly to your right side.
Lifting your arms also causes your body to tilt to the left towards your target at the top. That leaves your head and center of gravity in front of the ball. Eventually, you will come down steeply, cutting across the ball. Worse, you will shift your weight wrongly to your right side. With a reverse weight shift, there is no way you cannot hit your ball decently.
Critically, you need to place your weight between your toes and heels. To address your ball in balance, feel your weight under your shoelaces.
Don't stand too far away from your ball. You may feel more powerful when you reach for your ball. But that pushes you to place your weight on your toes. Once you start your swing, your weight will rock back toward your heels, forcing your body to straighten up.
Address your ball so your right thumb rests above the ball of your left foot. This will help you stand the correct distance with your irons. Of course, this will vary a little, depending on your build. But when you take your proper address position with an iron, this will happen naturally. With your driver, just make sure the butt end of your club handle points toward your left hipbone. Granted, your hands need to be under your chin. Your hands will obstruct the view of your left foot if you look down your left foot before starting to swing.
Adjust your tee height. If you're struggling with weak slices, consider a higher tee height to hit your ball from inside the target line. If you have a tendency to hook your ball, go for a lower tee height. Adjusting your tee height properly, you will let your ball fly straighter and longer than before.
