Every golfer wants to "hit" the fairway with his or her golf shot. Golfers are always excited when they put it right down the middle of the fairway off the tee, or right at the green with their second shot. The reason we get excited is because too many times we spray the golf ball left or right off the tee - hooking or slicing the golf ball into the rough...or worse. We don't golf talk much about those shots, and sometimes we can't shut up about the one down the middle.
The question is: Why do I hit some shots left or right, and others down the middle of the fairway or right at the target? Recently,I discovered the answer, and it turned out to be pretty simple.
When I hit the ball left, it is usually because I have taken the golf club back at too steep an angle. Then, when I start the down swing to hit the ball my brain knows the club is off plane, and automatically tries to get back on plane by taking the club head outide past the target line and back in again to hit the ball. That means the club face is sweeping from the outside of the golf swing to the inside to hit the ball - sending it left.
Hitting it to the right is usually caused by me turning my body ahead of the club head, which causes the club face to open on contact with the ball...sending the ball to the right.
It really comes down to what way is the club facing when it actually contacts the ball. No matter how you got it there, that is the direction the golf club is going to send the golf ball. That's why even PGA pro's who have strange looking swings can hit the ball to their target. Guys like Jim Furyk, for example. Sometimes he looks like he is swinging a rope rather than a stick, but he is able to get the club face to point right at the target when it hits the ball. Guess where it goes most of the time: Right at the target.
So, not long ago I began to concentrate on getting the club face to point right at the target (middle of the fairway or the green, for instance) when it makes contact with the ball. In that process I discovered a simple, but very effective, way of doing just that.
I reminded myself that I should be swinging the club on a single plane that actually travels from the inside to the outside of the target line, striking the golf ball in the process. In order to accomplish this, I began to focus and concentrate on hitting the ball at five o'clock on the back of the ball instead of three o'clock. I swing right handed, so if you think of looking down at the ball as if it was the face of a clock, three o'clock is the spot at the exact center of the back of the ball. That's where I have always tried to have the club strike the ball.
What I discovered, however, is that by aiming at and striking the ball at the five o'clock mark, which is just a bit toward me on set up, the club contacts the ball during an inside-out arc during the swing plane. Magically, the club is facing directly at my chosen target, sending the golf beautifully right at it. Even more amazingly, my percentage of clean or pure ball strikes has increased dramatically, giving me more distance with almost every golf club.
Now, when I set up to hit the ball after selecting the target out front, the only thing I try to think about is swinging inside-out at five o'clock. No more thoughts during my swing about taking the club back correctly or not too steeply. It is all about hitting five o'clock. Beautifully simple...amazingly accurate.
Hit ‘em long, straight and often!
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Tags: golf, golf talk, golf ball, golf club, golf swing, natural golf, talk about golf, golf talking
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