Hitting your ball far and accurately
.jpg?w=728)
By Kim Jeong-kyoo
To hit your ball far and accurately, you must swing your club on plane and on the correct path. Toward this end, you need to keep your center of gravity steady during your swing. But even more important is picturing the shape of your shot before you select your club. See your shot gently curving from right to left in your mind’s eye before you start your swing. Drawing your ball, you can send it farther than when you hit straight shots or fades.
Keep your center of gravity
To be a top-class ball-striker, you need to keep your center of gravity steady during your swing. Letting your center of gravity move around, you can’t be a consistent ball-striker. Typically, playing other sports, you need to move your center of gravity to keep your balance. When you play golf, however, you need to keep your center still. You need to place it properly at address and keep it staying still during your swing. Your ball does not move.
Focus on placing your center of gravity behind your ball at address, keeping there until well after you hit your ball. To do this properly, you’d better swing your arms around your center of gravity. Your center of gravity is several inches below your navel. To swing your club gracefully, you need to let it serve as a pivot during your entire swing.
Critically, if you keep your center of gravity steady, your head will remain still.
A proper and well-formed golf swing resembles the motion of a pendulum. For a pendulum motion, you need to keep the suspension point ― your head staying still throughout your swing. To let your pendulum work properly, you need to fix its pivot point to make it remain stationary. You need to make the same happen in your golf swing to hit your ball consistently.
Just imagine what would happen when the fixed central point of your pendulum wobbles sideways or bobs up and down.
To hit your shots far and accurately, you need to keep your head steady. Put differently, you need to keep your center of gravity still behind your ball throughout the arc of your swing.
Picture a beautiful draw
See a soft draw in your mind’s eye before you address your ball. You'll hit your ball much better when you entertain your shot shape rather than getting bogged down in swing mechanics. Don’t wonder why you can hit great recovery shots, missing your green when you hit from the fairway. It’s about picturing your shot shape.
Once you’ve imagined a beautiful draw, you need to begin your swing smoothly. Toward this end, you need to keep in motion before you start swinging your club back. Starting your backswing from a static position leaves you with little chance of avoiding tension. Tension deprives you of your rhythm and tempo. You need to stay in motion to keep tension at bay, or rather to swing freely and gracefully.
Watching a tennis player ready to return a serve, you’ll find him or her staying in motion. To purge your mind of fear and anxiety, you should avoid starting your backswing from a motionless position.
Worse yet, standing still over your ball before you start your swing causes your grip pressure to change. That also deprives you of your chance of keeping your balance. For a graceful, well balanced swing you need to stay moving before starting to swing. Incidentally, under pressure, you are apt to tighten your grip without realizing it. You need to keep your hands tension-free before starting your swing. That is the short cut to achieving a fluid, graceful swing.
Loosen your grip on the handle of your club before you start swinging your club back. That way you can increase your feel for the head of your club. To swing your club properly, you need to feel the weight of the head of your club in your hands. If you stop squeezing your grip, you’ll take your club smoothly away from your ball.
A smooth takeaway allows you to swing your club back on the correct path. To start swinging your club smoothly, you need a good triggering movement. To this end, you need to waggle your club before you start.
Waggle triggers a smooth takeaway, allowing you to swing your club on the correct path. Waggle helps you avoid tension and lets you set up good rhythm. A good waggle shows you the proper swing path and plane called for. During the waggle, you can see the preview of your takeaway. A good takeaway spawns a great swing. Waggle your club several times so you can hit your ball toward your target. Picture yourself hitting a beautiful draw as you waggle your club.
To hit a draw, you’d better waggle by moving your left shoulder slightly down so your right arm rests on top of your left arm on the backswing. Importantly, you need to fix your mind’s eye fixed on your target. That way you’ll keep your clubface square or slightly closed going back.
Also, keeping your right arm on top of your left during your takeaway promotes your swing width and good pace. You’ll enjoy more solid, powerful ball-striking.
Swing your club back the way you’ve waggled. That is, move your left shoulder down, allowing the knuckles on your left-hand to turn to face the ground. Doing this, you may feel you’re pressing the head of the club down into the ground.
Starting your backswing correctly, you’ll naturally get the knuckles of your left-hand and the palm of your right-hand facing the ground about waist-high. That leaves your clubface closed to your swing path but square to your swing plane. That increases your chances of hitting draws.
Complete your backswing by turning your left shoulder fully, keeping your hands passive. Critically, keep your left wrist flat or slightly bowed.
Just start your downswing and picture you are curving your ball gently from right to left. Whack your ball by turning your left shoulder, keeping your hands quiet. Feel your clubface close as you swing through your ball. Avoid trying to manipulate your club with your hands. Just imagine a draw, and your body will turn properly, closing your clubface through your shot.