1) The Correct Takeaway
Many weekend players take the club away with their arms only, while their lower body lags. This "disconnect" throws the rest of the swing off, forcing you to compensate in other segments of the swing. If you can't, your shot goes awry.
The key to a good takeaway is taking the club back with your hands, arms, and body unified, starting the swing off properly. For most golfers the tendency is to start the backswing with the arms so it is helpful to imagine the backswing being "kickstarted" by the shoulders rather than the arms to get them rotating properly. The drill below ingrains the correct takeaway in your swing. You may have read or heard of this drill by other names, but I call it the:
Belly Button Drill
Select a club from your bag. Put the butt end of the club against your belly button and extend your arms down the shaft. Grip the shaft as you normally would grip the handle of the club. Now make your back swing, retaining the right angle formed by the shaft and your body intact. This keeps the club, your arms, and your body moving together.
Once you get to about one-third of the way through your swing, the club naturally separates from your torso, at which point you should point the butt end of the club at the ball. At the top of the backswing, the club should start pointing at an imaginary line running parallel to the target line. It should still be pointing at the line at the top of the swing
This drill creates the feel of a one-piece takeaway. Once you've ingrained that feeling, you'll hit fewer bad shots, even if you only play once a week.
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2) Hitting Long Iron Shots That Stick and Won't Roll
Ever hit an approach shot with a long iron only to have it hit the green and skip past the hole? Being able to hold a green with your long iron approach shots, or any other shot for that matter, is a must, if you want to break 80, 90, or even 100.
A key to holding a green with a long iron approach shot is backspin. It works best as a "stopper" when the green is somewhat soft and contains some moisture. When a green is hard, dry, and slick, however, the ball often skips forward a long way on landing, even when spinning heavily, so check out the green before hitting your approach shot.
Here are 5 other keys to hitting shots that hold the green:
Holding the green starts at address. Position the ball a little farther forward in relation to your feet, and place your hands even with, or slightly behind, the ball. Open the clubface slightly to take advantage of the club's loft. All of this puts your head a little farther back than normally, which is where you want it to be.
Swing the club pretty much as normal, although maybe a little more upright, if you really want to deaden the ball on landing with a touch of fade spin. Swing under, not around, your body, releasing the clubhead freely with your hands but without the right hand climbing over the left until well beyond impact. When I say swing "under" I mean that your swing plane is going to be a tad more upright than flat or "around."
Next time you're at the practice range, pick out a shot and then try hitting it with a few shots. After hitting six shots, try doing the same thing with another club. Keep working on this until you have it down pat.
This technique works well with long irons and short irons, which are somewhat easier to hit when it comes to approach shots that hold the green. Regardless of the club, holding the green with your approach shots is critical if you really want to slash your golf handicap.
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3) Correcting "Pulled" Shots
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Pulling the ball is a common swing fault. It comes from swinging the club on an out-to-in swing path. If it's closed (or square), you'll pull. If it's open, you'll slice. To eliminate pulling, first swing the club on an in-to-out swing path and second, change the position of the clubface through impact.
Here are some suggestions on how to make these changes.
You can eliminate pulling by trying one, all, or a combination of the 5 tips. It's often a case of trial and error but the cure is here somewhere. Good Luck.
Hit Them Straight,
JJ
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