Hitting your shots with control and power

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

You will have difficulties hitting the ball a long distance as well as accurately. You need to sacrifice accuracy if you want to increase your distance. Granted, you need to sacrifice some of your distance in order to increase your accuracy. Several tips here will help you hit your ball longer and straighter.

Set up your downswing by moving your left shoulder

To hit your ball far and straight, you need to swing your club on a plane and on the correct path. But you have difficulties swinging your club back on an ideal path. Often, you cannot stop swinging your club too far outside or inside your target line no matter how hard you try.

Failing to swing your club on the correct path, you will have diverse poor shots. If you swing your club from outside the target line through your shot, you’ll incur pulls and pull-slices. Sometimes, you will hit your ball on the hosel of your club, hitting a shank shot.

Swinging your club from too far inside the target line through your shot, you’ll push your shots to the right. You will often incur push-hooks or push-slices. If you’re a novice golfer, however, you’ll throw your club too far outside the target line, coming down. When you make that mistake, you will have pulls and pull-slice shots.

However, if you cannot stop swinging your club back outside the target line, don’t strive to fix your problem. Keep swinging your club back the same way, and just move your left shoulder upward as you start your downswing. That way you will swing your club down on plane.

Similarly, if you cannot stop swinging your club back too far inside, you need not exert yourself to fix it. Just focus on pulling your left shoulder down toward the ground as you begin your downswing. Then, you’ll swing your club down on the correct path, hitting your ball far and straight to your heart’s content.

After all, you don’t need to strive in vain to fix what you cannot handle. You can still hit your ball to the best of your abilities even if you don’t perfect your less-than-ideal backswing. Instead, just set up your downswing by moving your left shoulder upward or thrusting it downward. That will allow you to slot your club into a downswing path.

Don’t snatch your club back too much inside

Snatching your back too far inside, you’ll incur poor shots including pushes, pulls, slices, topped shots and duck hooks. To fix this problem, take your address position with your bottom nearly touching a wall behind you. Then, simulate your backswing in slow motion until your arms reach waist height. If your clubhead touches the wall, you’re moving your club too far to the inside.

This drill will help you stop getting your club laid off.

Similarly, to take your club back on plane and on the correct path, you may imagine railroad tracks. Picture your hands hanging over the inside rail, the toe of your club resting on the outside rail. Your goal is to let your hands move along the inside rail, whilst your clubhead moves along the outside rail. If you can swing your club back that way roughly hip-high, you’ll swing your club back on plane and on the correct path.

Keep the back of your left hand staying square to the target

Ideally, the back of your left hand needs to stay square to your target when you hit your ball. You will have trouble hitting straight shots when you roll your hands over to release your club and square the clubface. That could help you stop hitting slices. Still, you cannot expect consistency unless you have perfect timing.

To hit your ball consistently well, you’d better focus on getting the logo on your glove to face the target at impact. That way you will hit your shots straight toward the target more consistently.

Learn to release your club powerfully

To cure your slice, or rather to hit a draw, you need to release your club powerfully at a timely moment. To this end, try to get your clubhead to your ball sooner. That helps you speed up your release and square or close your clubface just a fraction when you hit your ball.

Also, to hit a powerful shot, you need to keep your right arm tucked close to your body through impact. You will incur slices if your right arm flails outside your left arm. This usually happens when you come over the top. Thinking of keeping your right arm close to your body will help you avoid an over-the-top move.

Your shoulders will naturally be a little open when you hit your ball. But if you drag your club down with your body turn alone, your shoulders will be open too much. Keep your head behind your ball and feel your arms swinging past your body through the hitting area. You need to release with your hands and wrists. That way you will square or slightly close your clubface through your shot, hitting straight shots or draws.

Also, to swing your club with enough speed, think of letting your club shaft tap the back of your neck when you finish your shot. That way you’ll swing your club freely and release it fully. You’ll speed up your club to the full through your shot.

You can also hit your ball farther and straighter by getting your clubhead reaching your ball sooner. That allows you to release your club fully, helping you hit your ball your potential distance. Don’t try to keep your clubhead lagging behind your hands through your ball. Just snap your left hand as you hit your ball toward your intended target.

Similarly, you need to extend your right arm fully and rotate it over your left through your shot. About waist-high during the follow-through, the palm of your left hand needs to be facing upward toward the sky. Toward this end, you need to let your left forearm, wrist and hand rotate. This shows that you will have achieved a powerful release through your shot.