The Worst Swing Flaws in Golf and How to Fix Them
By Paul Wilson
Here are a few of the worst swing flaws in golf with a
description of why they occur and how to cure them:
Topping the Ball
This is the typical shot of a beginning player but there are
times when even the average player tops the ball. Let's
understand why you top the ball. There are a couple of reasons
you would top the ball. The first, is because your body is
raising up through impact. In other words, you started with your
body tilted when you assumed you setup position, then you hit
the ball on less of a tilt. Because of this raising up, your
club comes off of the ground higher than your pre-determined at
set up. This raising up causes you to hit the top of the ball.
The next reason a ball is topped is because you set up with your
arms extended, and by the time you hit the ball, you do so with
your arms bent. This bending of your arms (aka: chicken wing)
shortens the swing arc versus the one you started with and again
the club comes into the ball higher than when you started.
So how do you stop topping the ball? Answer: Swing easier!!!
Think about it for a second. If you are a beginner, wouldn't you
rather get the airborne than hitting it along the ground.
Obviously you said, yes! If you get every ball in the air, you
are hitting shots with more consistency than if you roll them
along the ground. Once airborne, you will gain confidence. Then,
you can start to work on distance and accuracy. So for
beginners, this should be priority one. Your thought shouldn't
be, "I'm going to crush this one". Your new thought should be,
"I'm just going to get this ball in the air". Trying to crush
the ball is like running before you can walk. Why would you
think that you can do something that it took a better player
years to master?
For the average player that tops the ball, you have to slow down
a little and allow your arms to relax throughout your swing.
Again, those topped shots are coming from you trying to hit the
ball too hard. Your thought should be that you are never going
to swing over 80% of your ability. You are no longer going to
try to impress your friends, keep it up to the long ball hitter
in your group, reach unreachable par 5's in 2 shots or take less
club and try to overpower the shot. For you, slowing down and
swinging easier will eliminate these topped shots. Once you
eliminate the topped shots from your game, you will reduce your
score giving you more confidence that will take you game to the
next level.
Slicing
This shot not only has your swing path to the left but it also
has you with your clubface open at impact. This means you
actually have 2 flaws when you hit a slice. Now, if you are
someone who hit this type of shot, you have to get the clubface
squaring first. Think of a pro for a second. When a pro hits a
ball, the clubface is not coming through wide open, it is
relatively square. So the next time you go to the range, do some
practice swings rolling the clubface closed through impact.
Then, keep rolling your wrists over earlier in the downswing
until the ball hooks to the left consistently. I know that
hooking the ball is still a bad shot but If you can consistently
hook the ball ... you are no longer a slicer!
Once you get it hooking consistently, it's time to work on the
direction of your shots. So forget rolling your wrists and focus
on turning your body to start the downswing. As you turn
properly in the downswing, you body will tilt to the right
through impact. If your body tilts right, your club will swing
out at the ball thus changing your swing path. If you couple
this outward path with a squaring face, you will now hit the
ball straight or with a slight draw. Now the slice is gone
forever!
Skying
If you're skying your drives, your head is moving ahead of the
ball at impact. This is because you are shifting onto your left
leg too soon, thus, forcing the club to descend as it hits the
ball. If the club is descending, and the ball is up on a tee, it
will go right underneath the ball popping it up in the air. To
cure this type of shot, just feel like your head is behind the
ball upon impact. An easy way to fix this flaw is to tee the
ball up with the logo facing right where the club is going to
make contact with the ball. As you take the club back and swing
down, keep looking at the logo. If your head moves forward it
will be impossible to see the logo as you hit it. So, try this
simple tip and you will stop skying forever!
Shanking
Typically, a more experienced player will see this type of flaw
creep into their game. A shank is caused because you are rolling
onto your toes when you hit the ball. This puts you closer to
the ball than you were at set up. If you start with the ball in
the middle of the clubface at address, then move closer by an
inch or 2, the ball will hit the hosel of the club. To remedy
this problem, all you have to do is slow down and relax your
arms. Then, take the club to the top of the backswing and stop.
At this point, feel 80% of your weight load into your right
instep at the top of the backswing. Once you feel the weight
loaded, gently swing down and though finishing with 90% of your
weight on the outside of your left heel. Keep relaxing your arms
and doing this "stopping at the top" drill for a few minutes.
After you get the feeling of where the weight should be, hit
some easy shots without stopping. Keep doing easy shots until
you gain confidence. This confidence will allow you to slowly
build your swing speed back up and eliminate the shanks forever!
Hitting Behind the Ball (Fat Shots)
This shot can be quite depressing because not only does the ball
fly way shorter than normal, but hitting this shot at the wrong
time, can cause you to hit the ball into the water, bunker or
long grass. Now you're faced with trying to hit a recovery shot
with little to no confidence.
To understand why the club hits behind the ball imagine you have
an arc swinging around an axis. This is your club swinging
around your body. Now if you tilt the axis closer to the ground
the swinging arc will not have enough clearance thus causing it
to hit the ground behind the ball.
In tilting your body too much to the right at impact, you will
feel that you have a ton of weight on your right foot as you hit
the ball. So all you have to do to remedy this shot is allow
your weight to come off of your right heel sooner through
impact. You should not be flat footed when you hit the ball. If
you can get the weight off of the right heel, your body will
have the correct tilt through impact allowing your arc to clear.
Those are a few of the worst shots in golf and how to fix them.
It's really not that difficult to apply the correct fix and
start making great contact again if you understand "why" they
are occurring and what fix to apply. The next time you play,
just take note of what your flaws and refer back to this article
to apply the correct fix.
Paul Wilson
Creator - Swing Machine Golf
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