| How to
hit the ball Farther & Straighter
Learn the value of the clubhead
lag
Many golfers lose much of the swinging power by unlocking
their wrists much too early on the way down. To maximize
your speed, delay the unlocking of the wrists until right before
ball impact. Learn to increase your clubhead lag with this simple
drill... Hold the fingers of your right hand in a locked position
as you slowly swing your arms down. As you approach the impact
position, release the fingers to snap the right hand forward.
That's the feeling you want to experience as you hit the club
through the ball.
Know the value of driving up on
the ball
Many golfers mistakenly set up with the driver the way they
do with an iron and it causes them to hit down on the ball. Instead
of doing this, learn to sweep the ball off the tee by practicing
the correct setup position on the upslope of a
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5x5 Driving Mat shown |
hill. Place more weight on your right side,
with the left hip pushed slightly forward and your spine tilted gently
to the right.
Always round out your swing
The most common direction for bad ball flight is left to right, also
known as the dreaded slice. Usually, the slice is caused by an over-the-top
swing motion in which the clubhead approaches the ball from outside
the middle target line and on an angle. To straighten out your ball's
flight and to establish a good draw, practice swinging the clubhead
on a rounded swing so that it passes a foot over the ball. This "baseball"
swing will help you promote a more shallow plane, which encourages you
to swing down from inside the sweet spot, instead of with an unhealthy
outside to in swing.
Make sure your clubface is on the right
path
Most players with ball direction problems contact the ball with the
clubface wide open. This leads to shots that finish well right of your
intended target. To remedy this problem, practice hitting shots in which
you try to close the clubface about two feet before impact. Closing
the clubface this early in the downswing prevents a last minute move
at impact to try to get the clubface square. This will result in a further
and straighter ball flight.
When all else fails...
take a lesson!
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