Swing your club toward the target
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By Kim Jeong-kyoo
Golf is a target game. You always need to put your undivided attention on target. No matter how solidly you hit your ball, it is worthless unless your ball travels to your intended target. Wayward shots will leave you in trouble, making it hard to reduce your score. Of supreme importance is to hit your intended target. You need to swing your club toward your target.
To achieve this end, you need to fix your mind's eye on your target during your entire swing. Take care to focus on your target from the start of your pre-shot routine till the end of your follow-through. Don’t stay engrossed in swing mechanics. To be a great player, you need to concentrate on your target. Always be clear about the eventual purpose of hitting your ball. The sole purpose of your golf swing is to send your ball to your intended target.
Unquestionably, you need to exert strenuous efforts in order to hit your ball solidly. Still, you can improve your ball-striking simply by concentrating on your target. Thinking of hitting your target lets your feet and legs come into play first, your shoulders unwinding last. To achieve a good downswing, you need to let your body unwind from your feet.
Typically, an action sets off a reflex action, which naturally causes another like a domino. A domino effect is a feature of the golf swing. A good thought or move brings about another good move. If you concentrate on your target, all good moves will look after themselves. Importantly, your body can achieve only what your mind sees.
You need to focus on hitting your target rather than striving to swing your club correctly. Critically, you must purge your mind of negative thoughts. If you have negative thoughts, you’ll rarely hit your ball successfully.
To put you in a positive frame of mind, you need to rid your mind of how to swing your club. That also helps you create confidence. Toward this end, you need to give priority to your target. Focus on your target throughout your entire swing -- from the moment you start your pre-shot routine until you complete striking the ball. Critically, you need to picture your shot traveling to your target with pinpoint accuracy every time before you pick up a club. That will simplify your swing, helping you begin to hit your target more accurately and consistently. Indeed, a simple swing boosts confidence.
Don’t start your swing before you purge your mind of any worries or anxieties. To this end, you must start to swing with your mind's eye fixed on your target. You need to separate your physical eye from your mind's eye. You will see your ball with your optic eye. But you must make sure your mind's eye sees your ball flying to your target.
Avoid getting obsessed with hitting your ball. Granted, you need to hit your ball. But still, let your ball just get in the way of your swing as you swing your club through toward your target. You can then hit your ball as it is found in the path of your club.
Hitting your ball is not your eventual goal. Concentrate on swinging toward your target. Don’t try too much to look at and hit your ball. That can play havoc with your ability to make a fluid swing toward your target.
Looking differs from focusing. Similarly, striking your ball differs from sending it to your target. You must hit your ball to send it to your target. To this end, you need to avoid getting engrossed only in striking your ball. You must focus on your target and then send your ball to the target.
That makes it easier to carry out necessary body motions properly. Hitting a ball at the target is the most important in golf. Never, ever make light of or forget your target. Focus on hitting your target. Your body can achieve only what you want to do.
To hit your ball better toward your target, you need to start your backswing properly. To this end, you need to grip your club with a soft grip. If you hold your club lighter, you will automatically increase the speed of your club to the maximum. A light grip allows you to release your club freely and extend it fully toward your target. You will enjoy hitting your ball longer and more accurately with less effort.
Too much grip can restrict your wrist hinge. Too soft a grip can cause you to risk losing control during the swing. To hit your ball successfully, you need to keep your grip consistent throughout your swing. Set your grip roughly at two on a scale of one to five. More importantly, try to keep it constant during your entire swing.
Stand a little far away from your ball when you’re hitting your driver. Set your right thumb and forefinger roughly under your eyes. That allows you to swing your club around your body, helping you hit your ball with an upward blow.
You’d better stand a little closer to your ball when you’re hitting your irons. Place your hands beneath your chin. This helps you swing your club back on a steeper plane and hit your ball with a downward blow.
Also, set up with a slightly closed stance. This will help you deliver your club from a touch inside the target line, promoting straight shots or soft draws.
Make sure you are in a position ready to hit your ball either upward or downward. You need to hit your driver with an upward blow and hit your irons with a downward blow.
Also, stick your rear end out and cock your right knee toward the ball. This will help you preserve your address posture and point your right knee toward your ball when you hit it.
Critically, you’d better let your address posture resemble your impact posture. That makes your swing simple and easy to repeat. All you have to do to whack your ball solidly is return to your address posture.