Two sure-fire ways to hit your ball solidly

By Kim Jeong-kyoo

You can hit your ball solidly in many ways. I have selected two tips to help you hit it further and straighter without much effort.

1. Let your weight shift naturally

The words “weight shift” can confuse you, pushing you to commit diverse swing faults. You need to let your weight shift naturally as you turn your body properly. Avoid manipulating your weight shift from side to side. That is a serious swing fault you need to avoid if you want to hit your ball solidly.

If you forcibly shift your weight to the right during your backswing, you cannot achieve a good body turn. On top of this, you need to slide your body back to hit your ball. To do this, you will usually slide too far forward, only to hit your ball poorly. That is, sliding your body back and forth excessively to shift your weight, you won’t hit your ball solidly.

To hit your ball powerfully, you need to stop swaying off your ball on the backswing. Picture two lines extended straight up from the ground -- one from your ball, the other from your right instep. Swinging your club back, make sure you keep your body and its weight between the lines. You will feel your shoulders turn on top of your hips rather than drifting back to the right.

To start your downswing, shift your weight to your left foot and extend your arms fully through your ball. That promotes a full release of your club so your clubhead speed peaks through your shot. Your head will naturally move away from the target to preserve balance as your lower body shifts forward. But keep your body center between the lines. When you’re hitting your driver off the tee, keep your body slightly behind your ball. That allows you to catch your ball on the upswing.

Conversely, if you restrict your natural weight shift on the backswing, you’ll have a reverse pivot. That forces you to shift your weight to the right on the downswing, making it impossible to hit your ball solidly.

A proper weight shift means placing your weight right on the backswing and left on the downswing. As you turn away from your ball, your body weight will shift naturally to your right leg. As you unwind correctly on the downswing, your weight will shift naturally to your left leg.

Succinctly, you need to let your weight shift back and forth, without forcing your body to slide sideways.

Place about 55 percent of your weight on your left leg at address when you hit a mid-iron. You need to place 80 percent of your body weight on your right leg at the top of your backswing. You need to place about 80 percent of your weight on your left leg through your ball. You need to make sure more than 95 percent of your weight is on your left foot at the finish.

Shifting your weight properly will improve your ball-striking ability, allowing you to hit your ball as far and straight as you want. Critically, you need to feel your upper body staying centered, your weight shifting in the direction your club is moving.

You need to let your weight move toward the toes of your left foot as you start your downswing and to your left heel at impact. This allows you to deliver your clubface squarely to your ball and rotate powerfully around your left leg through your shot. Importantly, this means you need to swing your left arm left through your shot.

When you hit your driver, however, focus on keeping your weight back on the downswing. Prematurely shifting your weight to the left, you can pull or pull-slice your shot. You can even top your ball. You need to let your weight shift and body rotate just a touch later than when you hit an iron. Make sure your body weight does not move off your right side until your hands come roughly halfway down. After all, this will happen if you let your body weight shift naturally as you turn your body.

When you practice hitting your drivers, hit them with your left heel up at address and your right heel down. Stay that way throughout your swing, at least until well after you hit your ball. When you’re swinging for real, try to re-create the feeling.

2. Keep your club behind you on the downswing

If you get your club stuck behind you on the downswing, you will have pushes or push-slices thrust on you. You will often incur push-hooks, too. However, forget about it. You need not worry about getting stuck unless you are a top-class player.

Work on fixing your opposite problem: the over-the-top move. To produce solid strikes, you need to avoid too early a release of your hands and premature shoulder rotation. These two faulty movements cause the over-the-top move, forcing you to cut across your ball. You will have to swing your club from outside to inside the target line through your shot.

To fix the nasty over-the-top swing, get your club stuck behind you on the downswing. Try to keep your back facing the target as you begin your downswing. Just allow your body to shift to your left side before you bring your club down to your ball. Don't rotate your body too early. Also, don’t allow your clubhead to come in front of you too soon.

Let your clubhead stay behind you. That will help you swing more from inside to outside the target line, enabling you to rotate your body through the shot. That way you will enjoy a straight shot or beautiful draw every time you swing.