We've all heard the old expression that "A miss is as a good as a mile." Well, yesterday Jack Challender- my good friend and professional Natural Golf coach - taught me that 1/4 inch equals a miss of 8 feet.
We were at the practice green , and Jack was observing my terrible chipping performance about 60 feet out from the hole. I have been playing well off the tee, and my second shots have been solid and pretty straight. When I pull a wedge out the bag to go to the green, however, it's an entirely different story. Sometimes the ball squirts right, sometimes left...and usually burns the grass on its way. The result has been a complete lack of confidence when I set up to chip or pitch, giving back the precious ground conquered with a solid drive. The word "frustrated" just doesn't describe that feeling.
After Jack watched me hit 20 or 30 golf balls, he called my attention to the way they were sprayed 8 to 10 feet to the both sides of the target hole. He suggested that I try two things in my swing. The first was to make sure that I was not only bringing the club straight back from the ball, but that it was also pointing or facing right at the hole after watching the golf club strike through the ball. As I paid close attention to that process, I realized that sometimes the club face was pointing left of the hole at the end of the swing, sometimes right - depending on whether or not I turned my shoulders during the swing.
Keeping my shoulders square to the target line, the ball would consistently travel about 8 feet right of the hole. That was when Jack taught me that 1/4 inch equals 8 feet. He asked me to set up to hit a ball, so I addressed the ball, soled the club behind it and looked to the hole. Jack then asked me to look where the club face was pointing. When I did, it looked alright to me, but Jack pointed out that the face was open just a little, as he turned the wedge in my hands about 1/4 inch toward the left. I must admit that I thought he was just being knit-picky, until I struck the ball. It flew right toward the hole, settling about 6 inches to the left. I said "You've gotta be kidding me!" He just smiled and said "How sweet is that?"
Jack explained that the first thing he does when addressing the ball is to place the club behind the golf ball, making sure it is pointing directly at the target. Then, he steps into position to hit it - the opposite of how I had been setting up. As I practiced that, it was amazing how I could catch myself wanting to open the club a bit. The simple step of aiming the club first produced amazing results.
Old habits die hard, so I will have to pay close attention to keeping the club face straight. Who the heck would think a 1/4 inch turn would produce an 8 foot miss? Actually, it wasn't a miss, at all. The golf ball just went where I was aiming.
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