Tricks of the Trade for Low-Handicap Players
Those of us who have ever played golf have undoubtedly had the experience of having the wheels come completely off. Or, you have found yourself in a pattern that kept repeating itself, such as topping or hooking. It might be confined to only one club, or every club in the bag. Here are some quick-fi x “tricks of the trade” that I have learned over the years that you can impart to your low-handicap students and players. A word of warning: These will probably not apply to mid- and high-handicappers, as they require a certain amount of skill to execute. When I say “low handicappers,” I mean people generally at a 5 or lower, although some players with a handicap a few strokes higher can maybe make them work.
Problem: hitting hooks with the driver
Many average golfers would kill to be able to hit a hook, but better players know that the old Lee Trevino line, “You can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen,” is very apropos. There are three excellent quick fi xes I have found that work very well. The fi rst is to stand slightly closer to the ball and lower the hands at address. This does two things: 1) Makes the swing plane become more upright, which helps to promote a straighter ball flight; 2) Helps activate the lower body. When we stand too far away from the ball, it’s easy for the legs and lower body to get deactivated and for our hands to flip over. The second is to weaken the grip, although care must be taken to not weaken it too much, because weak push-fades can result. Finally, the third is to open the clubface slightly. I have found, in my experience, combining fixes generally leads to the opposite problem, slicing. One fi x at a time, please.
Problem: hitting hooks with fairway woods, hybrids and irons
You might think all the fi xes presented for hooking with the driver would work for fairways woods, hybrids, and irons, and they may, but I have found that hitting the ball off the tee is a different animal than hitting the ball off the ground. That’s not to say the driver fixes won’t work for when the ball is on the ground, but I’ve found that these fixes work better. The first thing we can try is to keep our trailing elbow level with our lead elbow through impact. When we close the clubface at impact with an iron, generally the trailing elbow is farther away from our body and higher than the lead elbow.
Another way to feel this is to make a concerted effort to return the clubshaft at impact in the same plane it was in at address. A hook with a fairway wood, hybrid, or iron usually means that the clubshaft was far more vertical at impact than it was at address. This also serves to lower our hands at impact, which is a great way to lessen or eliminate a hook. While the shaft at impact is generally in a more upright plane than it was at address, even in a sound swing where no ball flight problems exist, overdoing this can definitely promote a hook in better players. Weakening the grip also can be effective for these clubs, but I have found that opening the clubface at impact works better (individual results may vary, of course). Finally, low handicappers can take the club slightly more outside in the takeaway, and once at the top, feel like they are pulling the handle of the club quickly inside. This can also be accomplished with a feeling of the lead shoulder moving down and behind the golfer.
Problem: Hitting fades or slices
Good golfers are not immune from getting into a spell of slicing. I find that this is most often caused by the shoulders flying open prematurely through impact. The best quick on-course fix that I have found is to imagine an arrow going into your trail shoulder and out your lead shoulder. At the top of the backswing, the arrow is pointed well right of the target (for a right-hander).
Starting down, the key is to imagine the arrow still being pointed out to the right with a feeling of swinging the arms down without the shoulders moving. Remember, this is a feeling, not actuality, so the shoulders will still rotate, but not as quickly. This fix works well for all clubs in the bag. Swinging slightly more slowly and smoothly on the forward swing can be effective, because hitting fades or slices can be the result of not releasing the club properly due to swinging too fast, which can make the hands tighten too much.
I really don’t recommend strengthening the grip as a quick fix, because I have found that the effect for most good players is to actually hold on more and not release, making the slice worse.
Problem: Hitting the ball fat
The best solution here is a very simple one: Choke down slightly on the grip.
Problem: Topping the ball
In all the years I’ve played golf and watched others in competition, I have never really noticed this to be a problem for good players.
Problem: Shanking the ball
On the other hand, I have seen good players shank…and I’ve done it myself. The best quick fix is to feel like you’re hitting the ball off the toe of the club. There is no need to adjust the setup position, although it may be true that the player is standing too close to the ball. That’s something to be worked out on the range, not on the course. Good players may especially be prone to shanking on pitch shots. In addition to the fix listed above, making sure the club is fully released through impact is critical. Many excellent players, taught to keep the hands out of the swing, may actually “freeze” their hands and wrists through impact on pitch shots, which can expose the hosel to the ball. Taking a couple of practice swings while focusing on releasing the club also helps.
Summary:
Knowing how to fix their swings when things go wrong on the course is critical to a good player’s success. Again, these fixes are not for the odd bad shot, but are effective when a pattern develops.
