For example, Ben Hogan battled a snap hook early in his career. It affected his game so badly that he developed a very weak left-hand grip, a cupped wrist and an open face at the top in order to offset the hook. Not only did Hogan learn to negate his hook, he also managed to win nine majors and notch 63 victories—not a bad effort considering the flaws inherent in his swing.
Like Hogan, you, too, can learn to use swing flaws to your advantage. The key is to identify your flaws and make sure you have an even number with which to work. I believe you can play great golf with an even number of mistakes by balancing them out. With an odd number, however, you're in for a long day.
Slicers A slicer's golf swing is inherently too steep relative to the ideal swing shape. When you're too upright, generally the effects are:
1) Deep divots. 2) Toe-first contact with the golf ball. 3) An open clubface at the point of contact.
DRILL: Roll the Ball for More Width Set a golf ball about a foot behind and just inside the target line from where you would normally place a ball at address. With your left arm only, gently use the back of your iron and roll the ball away from the target line. Use a cap or a basket to catch them. The ball should roll slowly, not quickly, into the basket. So long, deep divots!
Sometimes there are certain equipment tune-ups that can help you lessen a slice without making a single change to your swing.
2. Get More Flex Slower swingers who slice tend to do so because they haven't the speed to get the shaft to release through impact. The result often is an open face. To help get some closure through impact, try a more flexible shaft that releases sooner. Also, a lighter shaft may help you better rotate the club for squared contact. Don't be hesitant to try lighter, more flexible shafts in your irons, too, as today's iterations of both steel and graphite come equipped with lightweight options. More flex also will help add a few extra yards.
Open Clubface If the clubface is opening too much and stays open at impact, the means for balancing things out is to adopt a stronger grip where both hands are rotated well to the right on the grip at address. In most cases, this grip is considered to be too strong, but for a slicer, it's the perfect remedy. If you're concerned that a strong grip will turn your slice into a hook, consider the swing style of Fred Couples. Couples has a stronger-than-usual left-hand grip, but uses a cupped left wrist at the top and a fast turn to the target to keep the clubface in check. Keep in mind that cupping the left wrist usually promotes a slice, while flattening or bowing the left wrist generally will produce a hook. Another common balancing act for slicers is to simply preset the clubface closed at address. This helps the golfer who chronically slices to maintain a square clubface through impact.
DRILL: Front Loader Another one of my favorite drills that tends to work beautifully is what I call the Front Loader. This drill is designed to help you feel a postimpact hand rotation for more of a hooking shot. Set your ball on a medium-height tee. Hold your club a few feet past the ball as if you were about 1__ã4 of the way into your followthrough with the toe of the club turned well past the heel. Swing back (don't contact the ball in the backswing) to about a 3__ã4-length backswing then through, striking the ball with the front-loaded rotated feel. You should see the ball easily holding its line and perhaps even hooking a little left.
Hookers A player who hooks the ball has a golf swing that's flatter and more rounded than that of a player who slices, leading to the exact opposite impact and flight characteristics.
1) No divot or divot well behind the ball. 2) Heel-first contact. 3) Clubface closing too much through impact.
No Divot Or Divot Behind A flat swing tends to travel along the ground for longer than it should, and when this happens, the face is likely to close and sweep across the ball with a hooking motion. Here, width is the enemy.
Try to balance things out by staying centered, with your backswing resisting movement away from the target. Ben Hogan, a very flat swinger, was able to steepen his hit by reminding himself to keep his weight on his left side as well as narrowing his release angle through the ball. Hogan also visualized his arms wrapped tightly with rope, indicating the importance of keeping his arms tight to the torso, another means of narrowing the arc.
DRILL: Left Foot Right Toes Stand solidly on your left foot with your right foot back and your right toe down for balance. Hit some shots from this stance. You'll feel extremely centered over the ball, with little or no head movement. Any lateral movement will result in a loss of balance. Staying more centered will effectively narrow the width of your swing, leading to crisper contact. It's that simple.
Heel Hits Often, heel hits are the result of standing too close to the ball. The fix is to actually try a technique that Fuzzy Zoeller uses. Zoeller sets up the ball well off the heel (don't be afraid), then works his arm close to the body through contact to deliver a solid blow. This address position forces Zoeller to do two things: 1) it prevents too much lean into the ball at impact, which can lead to a shank or heeled shot; 2) it keeps his arms close to his body, which is another means of adding speed, much like an ice skater spinning faster as the arms work closer to the torso. This drill absolutely forces you to stay a comfortable distance from the golf ball. With practice, you'll grow accustomed with a stance farther away from the ball resulting in fewer heel hits.
DRILL: Be Like Vijay Most of you have seen by now some of the interesting drills Vijay Singh does to work on his game. One of the most common is hitting shots with a glove tucked under his arm. If you're hitting shots off the heel, then your arms are swinging too much away from your body through impact. Hit a few shots with a glove or headcover tucked under your right arm. You'll feel more harmony between your arm swing and body turn leading to on-center hits. Caution: Your arms will require some room to float and move as your swing size increases, so keep these swings small at first for best results.
Clubface Closing Too Much If you hook the ball too much, in some cases, it's due to excessive hand and wrist rotation through the downswing. One of the best ways to beat this flaw is to adopt a slicer's (weak) grip. Instead of the two folds in the hands between both thumbs and index fingers pointing at the right shoulder (left for lefties), try pointing both folds more toward your sternum. This will help you not only prevent a closed face at impact, but also to get more of your body involved in your swing. Another cure for a closing face is to speed up your turn to the target. Increasing your body's rate of rotation will delay the closing of the face, leading to less hooks and straighter shots. A good example of someone with great target-side body action is Sergio Garcia. Notice how his hands are in front, and his shirt buttons are facing the target in this postimpact shot.
Turn And Burn! When you don't turn your body, the clubface closes too fast, causing a vicious hook (top, far left). To avoid this position, be like Sergio and make sure you clear your hips through impact (top, left). This will make closing the face more difficult and help you hit the ball straight. Also, if your shoulders are level at impact, you'll come over the top, so keep your front shoulder up!
_Ê EQUIPTIP
Many golfers argue that a hook is easier to fix than a slice. A couple of ways to get your hook straightened out is to make a few simple modifications to your equipment.
1. Fatten Your Grips Hooked shots often are the result of excessive hand rotation. Midsized and oversized grips help lessen hand action, making it more difficult to over-rotate and hook the ball.
2. Shortened Sticks If you hook the ball, try a shorter-length shaft. Shorter shafts tend to make your stance more upright, helping to steepen your swing and prevent a flat, hooking move. You may lose a couple yards of distance, but a few yards shorter in the fairway is always better than a few more in the rough.
There you have it. Practice these moves and you'll see much faster improvement than you ever will trying to grind out swing flaws from your natural swing. Remember, all swings have flaws, and the key to improvement is getting those flaws to work as effectively as possible for you. Do this and you're sure to see some amazing results.
PGA teaching professional and instruction editor Jeff Ritter is the director of instruction at the ASU/Karsten Learning Center in Tempe, Ariz.
Resource: golftipsmag.com
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