Slicing
A ball curving to the right is usually a result of the
club swinging on an outside to inside path with the
clubface square or slightly open. This may be caused by
many errors or a combination of errors. First, check
your grip. It could be in a weak position. Playing the
ball too far forward in your stance is another check
point. Shoulders and/or your hips could be too open or
aimed to the left. Aiming more to the left in an effort
to counteract the slice only worsens the problem.
Hooking
A ball curving from right to left is usually a result of
the club swinging on too severe of an inside to outside
path with the clubface square or slightly closed. Here
again, check your grip. It may be in too strong of a
position. Playing the ball too far back in your stance
can be another check point. Shoulders too closed can
also be a problem. Hooking tends to be a problem with
better or lower handicap players.
Fat Shots
Fat shots are always a problem of the club head leading
the hands into the impact zone for the moment of truth:
club head and ball contact. There are many reasons fat
shots occur. Ball position is too far forward in the
stance. Reverse pivot, where your weight does not
transfer on the backswing to the right foot then on the
downswing transfers to the right leg causing one to be
moving away from the ball on the dwonswing before
impact. This causes the bottoming out of the swing to
occur well behind the golf ball. Another problem can be
"casting" or throwing the club from the top of
the backswing.
Topped
Shots
In many cases, topped shots occur for the same reasons
as the fat shots except that the player missed the
ground behind the ball and the club is moving up when it
reaches the ball. Ball position could be too far
forward, reverse pivot, casting the club from the top of
the backswing. Another common problem here is losing
your spine angle at address or lifting up on the
downswing. This is when some well-meaning person will
tell you that you "looked up." Believe me, you
did not "look up." You're whole body raised
up.
Shanks
A true shank is a shot that rockets of the hosel of the
club on a 90 degree angle to the right. It is almost
always caused by the golf club swinging on a sever
outside to in path. The severe outside to in path may be
caused by a combination of things. Those could include a
weak grip and a ball position that is too far forward.
One could also be aligned too far to the right of the
target and swinging the club outside and across in an
effort to hit the ball at the target.
Lack of Power
A lack of power is symptomatic of one who does not
release the club properly through impact. In other
words, the right forearm crossing over the top of the
left arm past impact. This problem has many faces and
the errors may be numerous. Most common is a weak grip,
too much tension in the arms, trying to hit the golf
ball very hard, lack of proper weight transfer, not
retaining spine angle, poor ball position and many more.
Looking
Up
Let's get this "wives tale" out of the way
right now. No one, I mean no one, has ever "looked
up" on a full swing. What happens is you will raise
up, or straighten up your spine angle on the downswing
for a variety of reasons. When your spine straightens up
on the downswing, your head will follow, but your head
will not move independently of your spine or upper body.
Keeping your head down excessively in the golf swing
will cause a multitude of swing faults and extremely bad
ball flight. Not to mention some physical problems such
as a bad back, pulled hamstrings, shoulder problems and
many more. Keep your chin up and your eyes down and
follow the ball with your eyes. You will strike the ball
much better.
Submitted
by Jack
Seltzer (Michigan)
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