Let your handle point toward the target line

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

If you were able to hit your tee shots 15 yards longer, you would shout with joy, enjoying your game more than ever. It is a matchless pleasure to bang your driver far in the middle of the fairway. Better yet, that makes your approach shots easier. You can hit your favorite 7-iron instead of a harder-to-hit 6-iron. The simple tip here will help you hit your ball farther and straighter. It will bolster your ability to make more solid and powerful shots, lowering your scores.

To increase your distance off the tee, you must swing your club on plane. To do this properly, you need to avoid swinging it back too far inside or outside the target line. Toward this end, you need to hinge your wrists properly.

Swing your club back about hip high so your club shaft gets horizontal and parallel to the target line. Your club shaft will be running directly along your foot line. Then, hinge your wrists so your grip end points toward the target line, your hands remaining on your toe line. Make sure the butt end of the handle of your club points toward the target line when your left arm gets horizontal.

You’d better use the area behind you to create enough power and swing your club down on plane. The golf swing is a circle, and to swing your club in a circle, you need to swing around your body. So you need to let your club shaft slant toward the target line about halfway back.

Complete your backswing so the butt end of the handle of your club keeps pointing toward the target line. That shows you have swung your club back on the ideal plane.

Your swing plane is the angle you swing your club on. Swinging your club back on too steep or flat a plane, you need to adjust it on the downswing. Typically, you will have less-than-solid contact thrust on you, adjusting it correctly. You cannot hit your ball as far and accurately as you want.

Getting your handle end pointing at the target line or slightly inside it, you have swung your club back on plane. If your grip end is pointing too much inside the target line, your swing plane is too steep. If the butt end of your handle is pointing outside the target line, your swing plane is too flat.

Your swing will naturally get flatter with longer clubs and a little steeper with shorter clubs. You will have a flat swing with your driver and a steep swing with your wedge.

If you complete your backswing correctly, your left arm will rest even with your shoulders. Put differently, your left arm will be horizontal to the ground or just a touch higher.

Aim to complete your backswing with your left arm across your shoulder line rather than high above your head. That will help you point your handle toward the target line.

The popular theory dictates you need to shift your weight left by moving your hips left to start your downswing. That helps you swing your club down from the inside. That also allows you to start speeding up your club correctly after your arms have dropped about waist high. You will also avoid a wrist or hand-dominated downswing. Using your wrists or hands too much as you start your downswing, you are apt to incur inconsistent results. To hit your ball longer and straighter consistently, you must keep your hands and wrists quiet or passive. Importantly, you will shift your weight properly to the left as you begin your downswing.

Still, don’t try to start your downswing with your lower body shifting left. Instead, focus on keeping your head steady as you start your downswing. That promotes proper weight shift, allowing you to begin your downswing properly with your lower body without any extra effort.

When you are hitting your driver, keep the line of your left ear behind your ball at impact. That will allow you to hit your ball with an upward blow. When you are hitting an iron, keep your left cheek in line with your ball at impact. That way you will hit your ball solidly with a downward blow. A simple motion is easy to carry out repeatedly. You will eventually hit your ball longer and more accurately.

Incidentally, to improve your accuracy and distance, you need to set up properly. For a perfect setup, you need to keep your left arm pressed against the top of your left chest rather than the side of your chest. That way, your left arm will stay connected to your chest throughout your swing. You will eventually move your arms and upper body in tandem with your lower body. You will get all parts of your body working harmoniously, thus swinging to your best.

Put differently, you will swing your club on plane so your clubhead speed peaks through your shot. Indeed, there is no way you can add distance to your tee shots unless you swing your club on plane. Failing to swing your club on the correct path, you cannot speed up your club to the full. Worse, you cannot hit the ball on the sweet spot of your clubface.