When golfers are asked which skill they would love to have, consistency ranks the highest. Well above more distance, a better short game and solid putting. Why? Because a consistent swing is reliable and repeatable; this creates the confidence and trust in your swing to take your game to the next level. A confident swinging golfer will beat an unsure one any day. Use these suggestions below and really turn your game around guys.
Golf Drills
Follow-Through Releasing Drills
I’ve received many questions and e-mails regarding drills to help release the club more effectively. To all those readers, listen up!
How to Hit your Driver off the Deck
On those windy days on your long par 4 or when trying to reach that par 5 green in two, you often need a couple more yards than your fairway woods can muster. Learning how to hit your driver off the deck can give you a major advantage over your competitors. The lower trajectory and higher ball speed should give you those extra yards you need to reach the green.
Shank It, To Fix It.
The dreaded shank – hosel rocket, el hosel, shankapotamus, socketing, shanks for the memories. Many consider it the worst shot in golf. Arguably, most golfers admit that it is not technically a “golf shot” because it’s an unintentional action not a purposeful shot.
Answers.com defines the shank as:
“Hitting the golf ball with the heel of the club, causing the ball to veer in the wrong direction.”
And Brent Kelley on About.com’s Golf Guide defines it as:
“….a mis-hit that is so bad the golfer makes contact with the ball with a part of the club other than the clubface….someone who shanks a lot might be said to “have the shanks” or be “shanking it”. A shank is one of the worst mis-hits in golf; in fact, many golfers don’t even like saying the word out loud”.
Extra Strong No-Slice Grip
One of the most common causes of a slice is a weaker grip… now remember, the term “weaker” has no reference to grip pressure… it simple refers to your hands positioning on the grip. Your grip is considered weak when your trailing hand is on top of the club at address, or as it is more commonly described as having your wrists turned to the left (right-handers only).
How to Hit from an Uphill Lie
Some of the toughest shots to learn how to perform properly are those from sidehill lies. There are many compensations you must make to ensure you keep your ball on the proper line. Take a look below at the 5 essential steps needed to hit balls that lie above your feet, and learn the fundamentals that will help you on all sorts of lies out on the course.
Top 5 Most Common Faults Causing You To Come Over-The-Top
The hack shot, coming over the top, rushing the downswing… all of these sayings are used to describe the same out to in downswing path that affects millions of golfers. This dreaded fault has many causes, which makes curing it difficult as drills will help some players but not others. I highly recommend video taping and analyzing your swing on a weekly basis. Most faults even beginners can spot. Here are the top 5 causes of the over-the-top move… each is coupled with an appropriate drill. Let’s get to it…
Cart Lag Creator Drill – 20 Extra Yards Now!
The key to gaining distance and to begin creating a more effortless, repeatable swing is to understand and incorporating lag into your golf swing. Creating lag, which is done by retaining your wrist release on the downswing is what separates high and low handicappers. On the downswing, when your arms reach 9:00, the club should be pointing to the sky – when looking front on your lead arm and club should make an “L”. Casting, the opposite of creating lag, is the number one reason why players lack distance. In the same position described above, you’d see more of a “”.
So now what’s the best way to delay your wrist release on the downswing? Practice! First of all, you need to loosen up on the downswing, most people tend to tighten up, your wrists must be able to move and rotate during the swing. Second, practicing drills like this one will help you understand how the movement is supposed to feel. Set up with a cart as shown in this picture and video. When you perform your backswing, the cart should make slight contact with your club. On the downswing, if you perform the incorrect move (casting) you should make contact with the cart. If you retain your wrist release even slightly, you will swing through to finish missing the cart entirely.
I found that nicking the cart on the backswing disrupted my swing a fair bit. If this happens to you as well, try this modification. Instead of starting your swing as usual, cock your wrists up first from your address position – the club should be pointed at the sky right in front of your chest. Next, fully turn your shoulders – this should bring you into your normal “at the top” position. Swing down normally, and remember to retain your wrist cock.
Give it a try!
The One-Piece Takeaway
There are several characteristics that are paramount in contributing to the success and efficiency of a golf swing. After solid fundamentals, a good place to start is the one-piece takeaway.
At address, your arms and shoulders should make a slightly tilted triangle. This tilt is caused by a slight leaning of your spine angle away from the target at address, and the fact that your trailing hand is lower on the grip at address.
This tilt is what helps to determine your ball trajectory. This fact is important to remember anytime you wish to fiddle with your ball trajectory – this is where it all starts.
But anyways, moving onward… your arms and shoulders must behave as a unit. The first few movements away from the ball should be initiated by the turning and shifting of the upper body. Not your arms, not your wrists and not your shoulders. This is what the one-piece takeaway is all about – the body moves as a unit to initiate the golf swing. This triangle should be maintained until the arms reach the height of your trailing hip pocket. Afterwards, the wrists and arms kick in, the wrists starting cocking the club upwards to finish the backswing.
Extra body movements before this position only disrupt the rhythm and tempo of the backswing. Doing this properly sets up the proper sequencing of your swing.
A poorly initiated backswing occurs when either the hands do all the work, which leads to a loose, handsy swing, or when the shoulders start the swing, which can lead to extra unwanted body movements. The correct sequence of the backswing is initiated by the turning of the body, followed by the arms, shoulders and wrists acting together. Keep this in mind, and try incorporating the one-piece takeaway into your swing.