I have gone through many different swing errors, but my most recent ones with my driver have been: high slice, low straight shot, and the most upsetting is a hook that goes 10 feet into the fescue with a divot 5 inches left of the tee. With my irons, I don't hit any fat shots, but hit the ball thin, or low straight shot. I am usually 2 clubs down from what my teammates use, due to unsolid iron contact. With my wedges, I find myself sculling the ball, or coming up short. Help in any three of these subjects would be greatly appreciated.
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Golf Swing Errors Help?
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
A
avptv
Guest
Drives:
From what I can guess based on your description, your biggest problem with your drives is probably that you are swinging too far outside to inside. If your path is out to in but your face is open to the path, then you'll hit a high slice. If your path is in to out but your face is left of the path, you'll get a massive pull hook. (If your divot is left of the tee, which btw you shouldn't be hitting the ground on your drives, that is a clear sign that your path is too far left.) So I would recommend you focus on keeping your hands in on your backswing and on the first half of your downswing. Think about returning your hands to where they start, maintaining spine angle through contact (so you don't stand up during your swing and have your body pull the club left), and hitting up on the ball (the pros hit 2 degrees up on a drive).
Irons/wedges (hitting it thin and skulling the ball would be caused by the same problem):
There are several things that can cause you to hit the ball thin. If you find that you are hitting a thin shot on the heel of the club, then you are swinging too horizontally. So think about trying to get more vertical with your swing, particularly on the second half of the downswing. The first half of your downswing should be smooth, and the second half should be a vertical "whip" through the ball. In addition, you might be shifting your weight too far to the right on your backswing. While you want to shift your weight some, your weight should be on the inside of your right foot, and your head should go back no more than 2 inches. A drill to see your weight shift is to swing in the shadow. Stand with the sun behind you and place a tee on the ground in the center of your head (the shadow of your head) and on either side of your hips. Then take a practice swing and see what your shadow does. The tee should stay inside your head shadow, and your shadow should stay between the two tees on your hips. If you transfer your weight too far right on the backswing, you'll have to hit up on the ball in order to make contact. Finally, you might hit thin shots if your shoulder plane is tilted to the right. In order to make a solid contact into the ground, shift your weight onto your left foot at impact, keep your left shoulder down and right shoulder high, and hit down on the ball (the pros hit about 6 degrees down on their 6 irons). Once you get solid contact, you'll gain better distance and accuracy.
From what I can guess based on your description, your biggest problem with your drives is probably that you are swinging too far outside to inside. If your path is out to in but your face is open to the path, then you'll hit a high slice. If your path is in to out but your face is left of the path, you'll get a massive pull hook. (If your divot is left of the tee, which btw you shouldn't be hitting the ground on your drives, that is a clear sign that your path is too far left.) So I would recommend you focus on keeping your hands in on your backswing and on the first half of your downswing. Think about returning your hands to where they start, maintaining spine angle through contact (so you don't stand up during your swing and have your body pull the club left), and hitting up on the ball (the pros hit 2 degrees up on a drive).
Irons/wedges (hitting it thin and skulling the ball would be caused by the same problem):
There are several things that can cause you to hit the ball thin. If you find that you are hitting a thin shot on the heel of the club, then you are swinging too horizontally. So think about trying to get more vertical with your swing, particularly on the second half of the downswing. The first half of your downswing should be smooth, and the second half should be a vertical "whip" through the ball. In addition, you might be shifting your weight too far to the right on your backswing. While you want to shift your weight some, your weight should be on the inside of your right foot, and your head should go back no more than 2 inches. A drill to see your weight shift is to swing in the shadow. Stand with the sun behind you and place a tee on the ground in the center of your head (the shadow of your head) and on either side of your hips. Then take a practice swing and see what your shadow does. The tee should stay inside your head shadow, and your shadow should stay between the two tees on your hips. If you transfer your weight too far right on the backswing, you'll have to hit up on the ball in order to make contact. Finally, you might hit thin shots if your shoulder plane is tilted to the right. In order to make a solid contact into the ground, shift your weight onto your left foot at impact, keep your left shoulder down and right shoulder high, and hit down on the ball (the pros hit about 6 degrees down on their 6 irons). Once you get solid contact, you'll gain better distance and accuracy.