Ball Flight Tells All!
By Kelli Kostick,
PGA/LPGA
 Helpful tips for those days when you catch a virus on the golf course.
We have all had those days when we feel very confident that today will be the day we play our best round of golf. We have practiced diligently, we are striking the ball well, and we have worked out all of the kinks. Then suddenly, we tee off on the first hole and slice our drive, top our second shot and don’t hit behind the ball on our third. We ask ourselves what is going on! We haven’t hit shots like that all week! Then the confidence starts to fade, we lose our rhythm, and the anticipation of that great round of golf turns into a day of grinding on the golf course. We quickly try to decipher what it is we are doing wrong, deciding that it must be a flying right elbow or that our hips aren’t getting through fast enough, or maybe the weight shift is off, or that we need a bigger backswing.
LET THE GOLF BALL TELL YOU WHAT IS HAPPENING!
The golf ball gets the feedback from the golf club you are swinging. Whatever happens to the shot, be it a slice, a hook, or a top, happens because of how you apply the golf club to the back of the ball. Too many times we try and correct bad shots with changes to our body when we should be making changes to the golf club.
The following tips will help you analyze just what you are doing wrong and enable you to self-correct on the golf course.
THE SLICE - If you are slicing the ball you must. . . Do a better job of squaring the club at impact. An open club face will produce ball flight to the right (for a right handed player), and the degree to which the ball fades or slices will depend on the path of the golf club. This path is difficult to self-correct, especially on the golf course, so concentrate on the club face instead.
Try hitting a shot with the clubface slightly closed at address. You should hit the ball straighter. Relax your arm pressure. You may be keeping the face open because you are holding on too tightly....
THE HOOK - If you are hooking the ball you must. . . Do a better job of squaring the club face at impact. A closed club face will produce a hook, a shot that curves to the left (for a right handed player). Hooks can also come from a strong grip on the golf club which closes the face. A hook can also come from the golf club traveling on an incorrect path. Grip and path are difficult to correct on the golf course, but you can change the club face.
Try hitting a shot with the club face open at address. This should straighten out the shot and help keep you in play....
THE TOP- If you are topping the ball you must...Do a better job of letting the golf club get to the bottom of the swing arc. Often we try to hit at the golf ball rather than swing the golf club. When we try to hit, we shorten the muscles and the swing actually pulls up instead of bottoming out. If you are not brushing the grass at the bottom of your golf swing, chances are you will top the ball. Think about it: if you top the ball, you actually hit the top of the ball! Let your club drop at the bottom of the swing so it can get all of the golf ball. Check your ball position. It may be too far forward in your stance. Most importantly, check your grip pressure. Are you keeping the club from doing it’s job?
Try making several practice swings where you brush the grass with your club, each time relax your grip pressure on the club....
These tips are only quick fixes. Quick fixes do not last.
The KEY to success is to get to your LPGA/PGA teaching professional to diagnose why these problems are happening in your game. Work out the kinks on the practice tee!
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