Learn to do the opposite

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I spend a lot of time with my students on teaching them to understand ball flight. For example, what are some causes that make a ball fly high and to the right, or what are some causes that make a ball fly low and to the left?

These are important things to understand, and this understanding will make it easier for you to make the proper adjustments in your game.

I’ve found that the best way to cure a common problem with your ball flight is to learn to do the opposite. If my student is hitting the ball high and to the right, we practice learning to hit the ball low and to the left.

If my student hits big slices, we work on learning how to hit big hooks. It’s not quite as easy as it may sound, but you should get the idea.

When working on ball flight, it is important to pay attention to the position of your club head as it strikes the golf ball.  Most players strike the ball with a club head that is slightly open, thus causing a high slice.

When this is the case, we focus on trying to feel the club head turning down and de-lofting the club at the moment of impact.  Rather than spend so much time focusing on swinging the club differently, I instead try to get my students to establish better feel in their hands by recognizing the club face angle as they strike the ball.

Generally, these initial shots are hit at a very slow swing speed to help incorporate that feel.

Jack Nicklaus once said that the hardest shot to hit is a straight shot.

Most players are always working on hitting the ball straight. I encourage you all to work on learning to get your golf ball to turn one way or another.

Once you learn to curve your ball to the right, then try to curve your ball to the left. Your hands will develop tremendous feel, and you will enjoy the challenge of practicing this exercise.

Have fun.

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