Typical Shots

The typical mishit with fairways woods or hybrid clubs off the ground is a topped shot or a low and thin shot that spins out to the right.  Obviously, these shots can be extremely frustrating because they either end up far short of your intended target or they get you into some pretty serious trouble.

When Do You Hit Fairway Woods?

Before I teach you how to fix these these shots, it’s important to understand a little more about them.  Think about when you actually hit a fairway wood or a hybrid off the ground.  You usually hit these shots when you are:

1. Trying to hit a par 5 in 2 shots.

2. Trying to get it close to the green from the fairway on a Par 5.

3. You’ve hit a poor drive and now you’re trying to make up for for it.

In these instances, you’re either trying to do something you probably shouldn’t be doing or you’re trying to make up for a mistake.  The problem is, if you’re not certain you’re going to hit a half decent fairway wood or hybrid club off the ground, you shouldn’t be trying to hit it at all.  Also, hitting a fairway wood or hybrid may actually be the wrong club because it will get you too close to the green leaving you with a tricky pitch shot.

Now I’m not saying I want you to stop hitting your fairway woods altogether.  All I’m saying is, you should be picking your opportunities to hit these clubs wisely and you should learn how to hit your them more consistently so they’re more dependable in pressure situations.

Why You Don’t Make Solid Contact

There are 3 main reasons you’re not making solid contact with your fairway woods.  They
are:

1.  Buckling Arms (Chicken Wing)

If you’re trying to hit your shots too hard, your forearm muscles will contract which causes them to buckle or chicken wing through impact.   This buckling of the arms makes the shaft of the club not only fall behind the clubface but  it can also lift the club off the ground.  The picture below shows what happens if the shaft leans backwards a mere 10 degrees.

2.  Raising Up

If you’re trying to hit the ball too hard, you will probably look early to see the result.  This is because human nature is saying, “the harder you hit, the more you will look.”  This hitting raises your body up which lifts the club off the ground. If you couple this lifting with the buckling of your arms, you’re certain to hit topped fairway wood shots.

3.  Hanging Back on Right Side

If you’re hitting the ball solely with your arms it means you’re not using your lower body. This causes you to hang back too much on you right foot (flat footed) through impact which makes the clubshaft lean backwards even more and creates a severely ascending path as the club approaches the ball.  This hanging back coupled with any of the above flaws, will also guarantee a severely topped shot.

As you can see in all of the pictures above, the leading edge of the club will make contact higher up on the ball thus causing the thin or topped shots. In order to make clean contact, you have to allow the club to come through with the sole more level to the ground.  Here is the what it looks like:

If the club comes through flush, the ball will ride up the face and get airborne instead of hitting it with the leading edge of the club.

How to Fix It

All you have to do to make great contact with your fairway woods is to allow your arms to stretch out as you hit the shot.  As the arms get longer, the club will make a wider arc plus the shaft will not lean severely behind the ball at impact.  These 2 things will lead to much better contact.

How to Work On It

Before you even get to the course, do some practice swings at home in the backyard.  As you do them, allow your arms to loosen up and try to make a wide arc when you swing the club down and through.  This will allow your arms to stretch out so you get used to this new feeling.  HINT: If your arms are relaxed enough, the club will start to feel heavy.

Once you get to the course and are about to hit a fairway wood or hybrid off the ground, make sure you do 2 -3 easy practice swings feeling your arms and wrists relax and the club making a wide arc (especially through and past impact).  Once you have this feeling in practice swings, apply it to your actual shot.  If you do it right, it will feel different.  In actual fact, it will feel like you are barely hitting the ball at all yet when you look for the result it will be longer and more solidly than ever before.

After you start making better contact, I know you will want to hit the ball even farther.  If you get to this point DO NOT hit harder with the arms.  Simply keep them relaxed and turn your body a little faster and the club will whip faster.  Just read this tip to learn how to use the lower body to hit you shots:  What Starts the Downswing?

Conclusion

Hitting solid fairway woods is easier than you think.  You just have to understand that trying to swing out of your shoes is not going to allow the club to sole itself properly and get the ball airborne.   So the next time you  are faced with one of these shots, do a few easy practice swings feeling a wider arc.  This will  stop the shaft from leaning backwards and create the solid contact you’re after.

All the best,

Paul Wilson
Creator – Swing Machine Golf

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Over the past few weeks, I’ve received numerous of e-mails from people wanting more information on how to hit the driver.  I could go on forever about each one of the topics I’ve listed below but for now I’ve kept it short and sweet.   Click on a link below to cure your problem:

1.  How to Cure Your Slice

2.  How to Cure Pulling or Pull Hooking

3.  How to Cure the Push or Push Fade

4.  How to Get More Distance With Your Driver

5.  Stop Hitting Driver Too Low

6.  Stop Hitting Driver Too High

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

The first thing you have to do is stop trying to hit the ball so hard.  The harder you hit, the tighter your wrists, the more open the club face through impact and the more over the top you will swing.

Next, out of the 2 things you’re doing wrong, you’re going to fix the SPIN first. Why? Simple … if you stop spinning the ball to the right you’re no longer a slicer!

To to fix the spin, you should be trying to loosen up your wrists and allow your right-hand to cross over your left earlier through the impact zone.  By crossing your hands over one another earlier, it DOES NOT mean you’re trying to hit perfect shots.  If you pull it or pull hook it that’s great!  Why?  Well … it’s like I said before, if you’re hitting pulls or pull hooks you’re no longer a slicer!

So how do you roll your wrists over one another?   Well … an easy way to understand what to do is to stand up, take your set up and put your palms together. With your palms together, they represent your clubface in a square position.

Now, take the club into the backswing and come down to impact looking at the top of your left hand. This is a representation of the face being wide open at impact (this is what you’re currently doing). Do it again but this time come down with your hands even.  This is like the clubface being square.  Finally, come down and see the back of your right hand.  This is like the clubface being closed.

What I want you to do is to come to impact looking at the back of your right-hand.  DO NOT try to get both hands even.  Yes, I realize this is overdoing it but if you’re trying to bring the club face back to square there’s no way you’re going to do this perfectly every time.  So within no time, you’re going to come through with the face wide open again.  The idea is to overdo it by rolling them over more than what’s necessary.

Now that you see how the right-hand crosses over the left, do this with the club in a few practice swings. Just take it to the top and come down to the impact looking for the back of your right-hand. If you do it right, you will see the clubface really closed.  Remember, this is a good thing because you’re trying to overdo the wrists rolling over one another for a while.   In order to master this, keep doing it over and over again every day, every night, every time you play and practice. In order to stop spinning the ball out to the right, it’s going to take some work on your part. So … get to work!

Once you’re able to cross the right-hand over the left and eliminate the spin to the right,  it’s time to straighten out your pulls and pull hooks.  All you have to do is forget about the hands and arms and focus ONLY on starting the downswing by turning your hips. If your hips start before your hands and arms start to come down, you will hit the ball on target. I’ve proven this time and time again. The idea is simple … if you move your body before the club, the club will want to swing at 90° to your body. This means the shaft angle will flatten on the way down as opposed to steepening which occurs when you swing over the top.

To get the feeling of using your body, do this drill:

Simply hold the club off the ground at approximately knee high.  Then, do practice swings up in the air.  By holding the club in the air, there’s no ball to hit. This means you will be able to feel your body making the club swing as opposed to your hands and arms. Once you get the feeling of using your body, apply it to your shots.

Watch Your Ball

If you pull or pull hook it – you’re not starting the legs and hips soon enough

If you push or push fade it – slow down you’re driving the lower body too hard

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

All you have to do to fix the direction is to get your hips starting first in the downswing. This doesn’t mean you’re bumping them or sliding them laterally to start the downswing. You should be turning them in a circular motion. To get the feeling, just pick up a ball and throw it over and out in front of you. If you do, you will see that you didn’t slide slide or bump your hips. You turned them. This is the same move you want to do in your golf swing.

To get the feeling, hold the club up in the air at approximately knee high. Then, do practice swings while still elevating the club in the air.  As you do them, feel your legs and hips making the club swing. Once you get the feeling of using your body, apply it to your shots.  In doing so, it means you’re not thinking about your hands and arms at all.  You’re ONLY thinking about applying this feeling of using your lower body as you start the downswing.

Watch Your Ball

If you still pull or pull hook the ball to the left - start your hips sooner.

If you push the ball or push fade the ball out to the right - you’re driving the hips too hard or you’re sliding laterally so slow down and turn.

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Typically, these shots are hit by better players.  If you’re an average player and think you’re hitting these shots, you’re most likely hitting a slice and you don’t realize it because you alignment is too far out to the right (check your alignment to see if you are, in fact, pushing or push fading).

Better players hits pushes and push fades because they’re sliding laterally to start the downswing and they’re trying to hit the ball too hard.  Here’s how it works.  The lateral slide causes the upper body to tilt a little too much to the right in the downswing.  Titlt to the right too much and you will hit the ball right.  Hitting the ball too hard causes the writsts to tighten and it makes the player want to look to see the result.  The more they look, the titghter the wrists so the ball ends up tailing off to the right.

The first thing you have to do is loosen the wrists.  To do this, just do some ¾ practice swings allowing the right hand to cross the left earlier.  Basically, you want to overdo the release a little to get the wrists loosened up.

Next, slow down and quit trying to hit the ball so hard.

Finally, to cure the direction, you need to turn better as opposed to sliding.  The best way to work on this is to put an object like a broken shaft, pointed end of an umbrella, back of a chair etc. 3 inches off your left hip. Then, do practice swings trying to miss the object off of your hip.  The only way you can miss the object is to turn therefore, eliminating the slide.  Once you get used to turning, try it in a real swing.

Don’t think that you’re going to do this drill and in 5 minutes cure your slide forever.   Eliminating the slide takes time and effort.  The best thing to do would be nightly practice swings at home or do them at the range as much as you can.  Keep a broken shaft or umbrella in your golf bag and bring it to the range with you so you can use it when you practice.

Watch Your Ball

If you still push it – turn more

If  you push fade it – your wrists are still too tight and you are not turning enough

If you pull it – turn the arms off and start the body first in the downswing.

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

I realize that you want to hit the ball 300 yards but you’ve tried hitting the ball as hard as you can and it only seems to go to 250 with a huge slice.  At what point do you recognize that this DOES NOT work? From now on, think to yourself, “something that is looser will swing faster than something that is tighter.”

In order to increase your power, you just have to loosen up your wrists. This DOES NOT mean you’re letting go of the club. To get the feeling, hold onto your club securely and do three quarter swings feeling your wrists loosen up as you swing the club back and forth.  Once you feel them loosen up, try hitting a few easy shots.

If you do this right, you will see that with very little effort you can hit the ball pretty much as far as you can when you try to rip it. This is because your wrists are looser which allows the club to swing faster with less effort. Once you get used to this loose feeling, DO NOT try to swing harder! All you have to do is turn faster! If you turn faster with looser wrists, you will hit the ball farther than ever before.

Here’s a drill to get your body moving:

For this drill I want you to do practice swings up in the air at knee high.  As you do, I want you to listen to the “whooshing” sound of your club as it swings.  The first practice swing you do is slow.  Then, you use your body to swing the club a little faster.  Finally, you use your body to make the club “whoosh” even faster.  By doing this, you will see the relationship between the effort you are using with your body and the sound of the club.  This is proof that using your body will make the club swing faster.  Knowing this should tell you that you no longer have to keep hitting hard with your arms.  Keep them loose and use the body.

Watch Your Ball

If you do not gain distance – you are using your arms again.

If you push or push fade the ball – you are driving the body too hard

If you pull or pull hook – you are starting down with your arms

Go Here For Another 2 Part Tip on How To Get More Distance

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

The first thing is that you may be setting up with your hands too far ahead of the golf ball. In doing so, the back end of the club is elevated off the ground a little which is reducing the loft on the club. If this is the case, let the club sit flush on the ground behind the ball. Then, gently place your grip on the club making sure you don’t move it in any way.  Now carefully take the club back and hit your shot.  This takes immense focus because it’s so easy to go back to what’s comfortable.  I would suggest video taping your set up and takeaway or have a friend watch to see if you’re not longer moving your hands too far ahead of the ball.

The next thing could be that you have a strong grip.  If you have a strong grip you will tend to be in a closed position at the top of the backswing and you will will most likely cross the hands over one another through impact.  Both of these things are going to de-loft your club.  Typically, a person who is releasing the club with a strong grip would hook the ball.  In your case, your hands are coming into impact in a strong position but you’ve added a lateral slide with your body in the downswing to counteract the ball hooking too far left.  So not only are you going to have to fix your grip but you will have to stop sliding as well.  Here’s what to do:

When you look down at your left hand you should only see two knuckles as opposed to three. Also, the letter “V” on your right hand created between your thumb and index finger should be pointing between your right ear and shoulder.  Neutralizing the grip like this will make you hit the ball higher but keep in mind if you’re still sliding you will hit the ball to the right. So not only do you have to fix the grip, you also have to turn better as opposed to sliding laterally (read the push fade tip to cure your shots going right)

Another thing that may be causing your low shots is a shifting of too much weight onto your left foot either as you go back or as you start the downswing.  By shifting to the left too much, you will end up angling your body to the left on the way down.  This means that the club will be severely descneding as it comes down which will put your hands too far ahead of the ball thus de-lofting the club.

If you feel that you’re shifting to the left in the downswing to early, do some practice swings facing a mirror and watch your head to see if it’s moving left in the initial stages of the downswing.  Also, watch yourself load your weight better into the right inste/heel as you hit the top of the backswing.

Another thing you can do is take you ball and as you tee it up, turn the label so it faces to the right.  Now, as you go to hit your shots, watch the label.  If you shift too much left, you will loose sight of it.  The only way to see the label is if you stay behind the ball as the club swings through impact.

A final thing you can do are practice swings “feeling” more weight on your right foot as the club swings through.  By feeling more weight on your right, it will stop you from shifting to drastically to the left.  Once you get the feeling in practice swings, apply it to your shots.

NOTE: It’s not that I want to weight on the right foot at impact, it’s just a drill to stop the weight from shifting to the left too soon. So, do a bunch of practice swings feeling more weight on your right side into the downswing. Then, apply this new feeling to your shots. After you start hitting your shots higher forget favoring the right leg like this.

Watch Your Ball

If your ball flies too high – don’t feel as much weight on the right foot

If it flies too low – check your grip to make sure it’s neutral and feel more weight on your right foot when you swing.

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Okay, the first thing I want you to do is take your set up and hold club with your arms stretched out. Then, look down at the clubface. Now, while still looking at the face, buckle both of your arms by pulling the club closer to you. When you do, you will see the shaft lean backwards. In this process, more loft is added to your club therefore, buckling arms will make your ball fly too high.

The next thing I want you to do is take your setup again.  Buckle your arms again like you just did. Now, take your weight and feel it fully on your right foot. What you’ll notice is that the clubshaft will angle even more to the right and adding even more loft onto the club. To cure shots that are too high, you not only do you have to allow your arms to fully stretch out but you also have to get your weight off of your right foot at impact.

In order to get the arms stretching out more, you have to loosen them up by not trying to hit the ball as hard as you can. I wish I could snap my fingers and instantly get you to do this but the desire to hit the ball a long way is far too great. If I were you, I would start off doing easy practice swings and get used to the arms stretching out as opposed to buckling. Here’s a clue that you’re loosening them up.   Clue: the club will start to feel heavy when you swing it.  So when you swing the club from now on, try to make it feel heavy.

Another thing you can do is watch yourself do practice swings in a mirror.  As you swing the club bring it down to a point about 2 feet after impact with irons and 3 feet after impact with woods.  At this very point, look to see that both of your arms are perfectly straight.  Once you see that they are go back to the top and come down again.  Doing this drill over and over again should get you used to allowing the arms to stretch out.

Once you get the arms loosened up, you have to get your body moving. To do this, just do the drill I mentioned above where you elevate the club off the ground at approximately knee high. Once the club is elevated, start doing practice swings. This drill is effective because holding the club in the air takes the ball out of the picture. If there’s no ball you won’t try to hit with your arms because there’s nothing there to hit. This means that you will be able to feel your body making the club swing. This is what’s needed to get you off of your right side impact.

What you may also want to do is focus on your right heel and feel it come off the ground 2 - 3 inches with irons and 4 – 5 inches with woods at impact. So do the practice swings and keep coming down to impact feeling this heel off the ground. As you get used to it, apply it to your real swing.

Watch Your Ball

If you are still hitting the ball too high – loosen up even more and get off of your right side

If you hit the ball too low – you are getting off your right side too much which is putting you ahead of the ball.

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

The End of the Golf Season - A New Plan

The long and short of it is, I wanted you to assess the season that had just ended and come up with a plan so you don’t repeat the same thing the next year (unless you’re already playing the best golf of your life and feel you cannot ever get any better).

I’m sure you’ve heard the Einstein quote before:

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

This rings true in golf.  If you do the exact same thing you did last year you’re going to get the same result so why even bother playing?  If you currently have a 12 handicap you will be a 12 when this season ends as well.  If you currently slice the ball, and you do nothing worthwhile to fix it, you will still slice the ball at the end of this year.  If you 3 putt all the time … guess what? … you’re going to keep 3 putting.  I think you get the picture.

So … what can you do?   Simple, you have to immediately change what you normally do!

Set Your Goal

Change starts with setting a goal.  In order to do this right, I want you to write it down.  I know you’ve heard that one before right?  Well … have you ever done it?  Some people write their goals down but never look at them again.  I want you to see your goal every day so you don’t forget what you are trying to accomplish.

Here’s what you do:

Let’s say you’re a 12 handicap and you want to get down to an 8 handicap by the end of the year.  You take a magic marker and literally write you goal on:

1.  Your golf bag.

2.  Write it on your glove.

3.  Write it on your ball.

4.  Write it on the brim of your hat

5.  Create shaft band labels and put them on your clubs.

Now don’t get me wrong here.  You don’t have to write it large enough for the world to see and you don’t have to write it on everything.   Maybe you write “8 HDCP“  or “8H” you just write the number “8” so only you know what it means.  Whatever you decide, just write  it somewhere so you can see it an be reminded of it on a regular basis.

If you take the time to write your goal down on your equipment you might as well write it down in other places as well.  Then, you’ll be constantly reminded of it even when you aren’t at the course.  All you have to do is get some small labels or print it out on small strips of paper.

You can put it:

1.  On your desk at home or at work

2.  On your computer

3.  On a mirror you look at frequently

4.  Somewhere in your car

5.  In your wallet

6.  Anywhere else you can think of that you will see it

I know it sounds crazy but you have to write down your goals and put them where you can see them so you don’t forget them.  If you have a goal and truly believe you can reach it …  you will!

Keep a Notepad or Use Mind Mapping Software

Now that you have a goal (and you will be reminding yourself of it everyday) you have to get serious about accomplishing it.  To do this, I want you to keep a notepad just for your golf stuff or use the mind mapping software that I mentioned in this tip:  Improve Your Golf Game By Mind Mapping

Here is the link to the free mind mapping software

What you do is create a plan, have it at you fingertips and track how you’re progressing so you can make adjustments (if necessary).   This notepad or mind map will also be what you’ll be referencing at the end of the year so you can set your goals and create a plan for the next year.  It’s vital that you do this right away.

In your plan you should have things like:

1.  Information from any lessons that you have taken and what you are working on

2.  Equipment measurements, what equipment  works for you etc.

3.  Conditioning and stretches that you should be doing (your routine step-by-step)

4.  Stats – track what parts of your game needs work

5.  Things that have worked for you in the past

6.  Any other goals you may have – example  reduce 3 putts, cure slice, learn to hit my 3 wood etc.

7.  The steps you are going to take to reach your goals

8.  And anything else you can think of that is golf related

Now that you have your goals tracked, here are the other things you need to do to make this your best year yet:

1.  Choose a qualified teacher or study a qualified teachers method

2.  Set Up a practice station at home

3.  Create a stretching Program

4.  Create a workout program

5.  Use a Software program to track your stats

6.  Consult a sports psychologist (if necessary)

7.  Have Your Equipment Checked by a Professional Clubfitter

Conclusion

I know that some of these things sound a little crazy but if you are serious about improving your game you will take a serious approach.  As I said, you cannot think that doing the same things you’ve always done is going to make you better.  Be sure to set your goal(s) and think about reaching them everyday.  Then when next year comes around, you can reach for even higher ones.

All the best

Paul Wilson
Creator – Swing Machine Golf

 Powered by Max Banner Ads