Fix Your Swing Series Table of Contents 1. Hit More Fairways 2. Fix Your Setup 3. Fix Your Ball Position 4. Fix Your Takeaway 5. Fix Your Backswing 6. Fix the Top of Your Swing 7. Fix Your Downswing 8. Fix Your Impact Area 9. Fix Your Release 10. Fix Your Finish 11. Fix Your Slice 12. Fix Your Hook 13. Fix Your Fat Shots 14. Fix Your Thin Shots 15. Fix Your Alignment
Hit More Fairways 1 Incorrect: Option 1 You may have been told to tee the ball as high as you possibly can. If you do this, however, the clubface needs to move upward to impact at the center of the face. If the clubface doesn t move upward, you will hit the ball at the high part of the face. This causes the ball to travel high in the air, making it very difficult to manage the direction of your ball flight. Incorrect: Option 2 The next ball height is halfway above the clubface. This is a bit lower than the first option, but it still allows you to hit the ball on the high part of the clubface. Just like with option 1, if you hit the ball too high, it will be difficult to control the direction of your ball flight. Correct: Option 3 The lower you tee the ball, the more likely you are to hit the ball on the bottom of the face. This will produce less spin so that your ball flight is straighter, allowing you to hit more fairways. The tour players with the most success always tee the ball about an inch and a quarter above the ground.
Fix Your Setup 2 Too Far Away Standing too far away from the ball means that your arms are overextended. This gives you too much bend in your upper body, forcing the club to come to the inside on the backswing. Too Close To It When players stand too close to the ball, the body is vertically too upright. This setup position makes you stand up too straight and doesn t allow for enough knee flex. The Perfect Distance Make a fist with your left hand. Slide your fist back and forth between the club and your body. You should have just enough space to do this without touching the end of your club.
Fix Your Ball Position 3 Ball Position 1: Midpoint This is neutral ball position in the middle of the stance. Elite players usually play this position because it gives you a straighter ball flight and the ability to work the ball left or right. Ball Position 2: High Point Players play this ball position exceptionally forward, off their left foot. You might be playing this ball position if you find yourself slicing the ball a lot. Move the ball back to hit the inside portion of the ball and have more control of ball flight and direction. Ball Position 3: Low Point This is a ball position that is further back in the stance. Players who play in this position have the tendency to hit the ball lower and turn it right to left. If you find yourself hooking the ball too much, move the ball in the middle of your stance to straighten the ball flight.
Fix Your Takeaway 4 Takeaway 1: Too Much Inside In this takeaway, the club goes too much towards the inside. There s a good chance that you will go over the ball coming down, creating pools and slices. Try moving the club outward as you will see in Takeaway 3. Takeaway 2: Straight Back In this takeaway, the club goes straight back. This is a better takeaway since you will have the tendency to hit the ball inside coming down. It will give you a better ball flight and the ability to control its direction with solid impact. Takeaway 3: Outward If you have the tendency to move the club towards the inside on your takeaway, try moving the club outward. This will give you the ability to loop the club towards the inside coming down. It is better to work the club outward in front of you because it allow you to come from the inside going back. Avoid the inside going back to lessen the chance of slicing the ball.
Fix Your Backswing 5 Step 1 Use a tour stick as a guide for your backswing. Put it on the ground based on how you would set-up. Make sure that the shaft angle is relatively the same angle at address. Step 2 When you turn back on your backswing, keep the club in front of the tour stick. Step 3 At the top of your backswing, the angle should be parallel to the tour stick line. This creates your backswing plane line. Keep the club on plane by being mindful of the angle of the tour stick. It will help you understand where your backswing is and keep it on track.
Fix Your Top Swing 6 During setup, there is a certain distance between your hands and shoulders. As you turn your shoulders, maintain that distance, or what we call width. This width allows you to hit more centered shots, helps with the swing path and influences the plane. There is a tendency for players to take the width out of the backswing and collapse their arms. This position makes it difficult to come out from the backswing. Players who do this tend to create a casting move that creates slices or pools. To create the width, bring the club above the ground from address. Turn to create that width from the top of your swing. This will make it easy for you to get the club to start dropping down on plane at impact.
Fix Your Downswing 7 Common Error 1: Hitting The Ball Over The Top If you are coming over the top of the ball on your downswing, that means the club is too much on the inside on your backswing and too far behind on the top of your swing. This will cause you to hit slices. Common Error 2: Right Shoulder Starts Downswing There is a tendency for the right shoulder starts the downswing. This will cause the ball to cut in an oblique direction towards the left. Correct Downswing: Let the Handle Fall At the top of your swing, hold the shoulders and let the handle fall. The club shaft should be falling over the right forearm. It allows your downswing to fall back on the inside. This will result in good impact and great follow through, producing the desired ball flight.
Fix Your Impact Area 8 Tour Player s Impact When it comes to how far tour players hit the ball, the impact position is more important than clubhead speed. As a tour player reaches impact, they deloft the golf club by using their hands in a forward shaft lean. In fact, the average tour player delofts the club 4 degrees at impact. Single-Digit Handicapper At impact, the recreational golfer releases the club too early. Single-digit handicappers do not deloft the club like tour players do. Instead, they simply square the clubface with a slight forward shaft lean. Double-Digit Handicapper Higher handicappers do not deloft the club at impact and are unable to square the clubface. These players typically add loft to the club because they release too soon.
Fix Your Release 9 Common Release Errors A player s body and head need to come up during release or it will cause the arms to flip and close too much in one direction. Another common error is hanging on to it too much. Common Release Errors If you re hitting too much turf or hitting it off the toe and slicing the ball, the club faces out and cuts across on contact. Release direction tends to go towards the left. Correct Position Let the arms rotate to square the clubface. Rotate after contact so the back of the left hand matches up with the clubface. Follow through all the way up to finish. Avoid squaring the clubface and holding it down the line. Club should come down more from the inside to release it out to the right. Players should finish by circling it around and through.
Fix Your Finish 10 Incorrect Finish 1: Ball Flight That Fades Players that slice the golf ball have the tendency to angle the right arm. This will make the ball flight to curve way towards the right. Incorrect Finish 2: Ball Flight Draws Players who hit balls right to left draw the ball with this finish. Both arms cup to the left with the right hand over the club. Players who do this have the tendency to hook the ball. Ball Flight 3: Straight Ball Flight Players who hit the ball straight have the club right on plane and finish with their club behind their ear. Try practicing with a mirror. This is how you should look at finish.
Fix Your Slice 11 Back of the Left Hand As you turn back, make sure the back of the left hand is flat. Slicers often cup their left hand at the top of the swing, opening the clubface. To get a straighter ball flight, avoid cupping your hand at the top. This will help square the clubface at impact. Don t Get Too Steep Having a golf swing that is too steep means you are off plane and probably are slicing the ball. The best way to avoid a swing that is too steep is by working on creating a more rounded swing. Round out your swing by swinging the club like a baseball club. This squares clubface as it works around and through.
Fix Your Hook 12 Why it happens Players who work the club too much from the inside are the ones who hook the golf club. The club comes too much off their right hip, and they are unable to square the clubface at impact. The Fix Step 1: Hold the shoulders On the backswing, turn back and feel like you are holding your shoulders at the top of your swing. The Fix Step 2: Club Parallel On the downswing, the club will fall in front of your body, parallel to the feet, ground, and target line. Notice how the club is no longer behind your body. Now, you can easily square up your clubface at impact without hooking the ball.
Fix Your Fat Shots 13 Step 1: Move closer to the ball! There is a good chance you are standing too far away from golf ball forcing the club to work too much in on the backswing. If the club works in on the backswing, it will stick into the ground at impact. Check to see if you are the proper distance from the ball by placing a fist between the end of your club and your body. Step 2: Work on your takeaway! On your takeaway, try to keep the club out and in front of your body. If the club works too much to the inside on the takeaway, you will have trouble coming from the inside on the downswing. Step 3: Round out your swing! Bring the club above the ground to shallow out your golf swing. The goal is to get the club going around your body. Take a few practice swings 15 inches above the ground. Then practice at 10 inches above the ground. Repeat this drill at 5 inches above the ground, and then practice hitting the ball off a tee.
Fix Your Thin Shots 14 The Problem: If your ball position is too far forward in your stance, you will catch it thin. When the ball is too far forward in your stance, your weight shifts back as you turn back, and the club bottoms out before it reaches the golf ball. After it bottoms out, the club moves up and through impact. The Solution: Move your ball position back to the center, just right of your belt buckle. Try out this new ball position and look where the club reaches impact. If you start taking too much turf, move the ball up one position to your middle of the stance.
Fix Your Alignment 15 In this lesson, Shawn uses tour sticks to fix common alignment issues. Using 3 tour sticks, line them up parallel as shown in the picture above. This setup will give you a visual and help get your alignment on track. Place the first stick on the left side, closest to your setup position. This stick marks your feet line. Place the second stick farther away from you but still parallel to the first stick. This outer stick, or what we call rail, will help you gauge your way down the fairway. Square your knees, hips and shoulder parallel to the sticks. The club should follow the ball line as you begin your takeaway. Use the same line to guide you back at impact and follow through down the line until finish. Place the third stick parallel to the two sticks, directly behind the ball. This will be your ball line.