How many golf products have promised perfection? Promised a golf swing you can count on? It’s a sad fact that despite new and innovative technologies and training aids, the average score for golfer has not improved in the last 15 years. Seems more likely that the new technology has allowed golfers to hit the ball further into the woods. The cornerstone to improving your golf game lies in proper instruction and understanding.

Push

Alias: Block

Club Face: Square

Club Path: In to out

Ball Flight Description: The ball will start to the right of the intended target line and continue in that direction.

Are you a Pusher?

• Do you hate dogleg right holes?

• Do aim way left to keep your ball on the proper target line?

• Do you hit the occasional snap hook or block off the tee?

• Do you divots point right of your target?

• Do you miss greens mostly short and right?

• Do you play baseball or hockey?

Is this your ball flight?

Possible Causes Why:

• Your grip is too weak.

• Your shoulders are closed at address.

• Your wrists release too late in your downswing.

• Your ball position is too far forward in your stance.

• Your swing is too flat.

• Your path comes from inside the target line, crosses it and finishes outside of it.

• Your lower body is too active.

• Your head tends to be too close to your chest at address.

• Your posture changes at impact, compared to address.

How to Fix Your Golf Swing

• Work on speeding up the unhinging of your wrists into impact.

• Increase your upper body movement while swinging.

• Do not get your weight ahead of the ball moving into impact. Make sure you are turning your lower body through impact, not sliding it.

• Reduce lower body movement.

• Check your aim and alignment.

• Move your ball position further back in your stance into a better position.

• Try to make your swing more vertical, rather than around your body horizontally.

• Make sure your lead shoulder isn’t too much higher than your trailing one at address.

Drills for Pushing

Push Hook

Club Face:Closed

Club Path: In to out

Ball Flight Description: The ball will start to the right of the intended target line and curve left.

Are you a Push Hooker?

• Do you hate dogleg right holes?

• Do aim way left to keep your ball on the proper target line?

• Do you divots point right of your target?

• Do you occasionally hit a high block?

• Do you have problems playing out of the rough?

• Do you often have wrist pain?

• Did you ever play hockey or baseball?

Is this Your Ball Flight?

The Possible Causes Why:

• You have an over-active lower body.

• Your stance is too wide, causing your hips to slide instead of turning.

• Your wrists release too soon.

• Your ball position is too far foward in your stance.

• Your hands get trapped behind your lower body on the downswing, to catch up the have to rotate too quickly.

• Your swing is in to out.

• Your head tends to be too close to your chest at address.

• You have poor rhythm and sequencing of your swing.

• Your posture changes at impact.

• Your swing tempo is too quick.

• Your backswing tends to get too long.

How to Fix Your Golf Swing

• You need to use a weaker grip. Rotate your hands to the left on your grip, until your grip position is closer to the ideal position.

• Work on slowing down the unhinging of your wrists into impact. See our distance section under lag for more details.

• Have your left wrists flat or bowed at impact, not cupped. Consider using the comb drill to feel this position correctly.

• Increase your upper body movement while swinging.

• Slow your swing tempo.

• Make sure you have proper body posture. Specifically, ensuring your spine is straight, and your chin is not tucked into your neck.

Drills for Pushing

Drills for Hooking

Slice

Aliases: Cut, Banana Ball, Fade

Club Face:Open

Club Path: Square

Ball Flight Description: The ball starts on your intended target line then proceeds to turn to the right.

Are you a Slicer?

• Do you hate dogleg left holes?

• Do your shots end up short and right of your target?

• Do you hate when there is trouble right?

• Do you hate headwinds and left-to right winds?

• Do you play other sports such as baseball or hockey?

• Do tend to hit your wedges right of the target, but relatively straight?

Is this your Ball Flight?

The Possible Causes Why:

• You have a weak grip.

• You have an open stance.

• Your left arm is too rigid at impact.

• Your wrists are cupped at the top of the backswing.

• Your swing consist of very little lower-body movement.

• Your swing center moves ahead of the ball, as your arms trail behind.

• Your wrists release too late.

• Your ball positioning is too far back in your stance.

• Your upper body and arms are very stiff.

• You tend to grip the club way to tightly.

• Your body posture tends to lean towards the ball at address.

How to Fix Your Golf Swing

• You need to use a stronger grip. Rotate your hands to the right on your grip, until your grip position is closer to the ideal position.

• Work on speeding up the unhinging of your wrists into impact.

• Do not get your weight ahead of the ball moving into impact. Make sure you are turning your lower body through impact, not sliding it.

• Increase your upper body movement while swinging.

• Loosen up your grip pressure, and relax before swinging.

Drills for Slicing

Straight Shot

Club Face:Square

Club Path: Square

Ball Flight Description: The ball starts out on the intended target and continues on that line.

Suggestions:

Your hitting the ball the way you want! The best advice I can give you is to videotape your swing at its peak. Then when you are down, after a bad game, videotape your swing again, and notice the difference from when you were playing your best, and your worse.

Pull Slice

Club Face:Open

Club Path: Out to In

Ball Flight Description:
The ball will start to the left of the intended target line and curve to the right.

Are you a Pull Slicer?

• Do you hate dogleg left holes?

• Are you a beginner golfer or have limited flexibility?

• Do aim way left to keep your ball on the proper target line?

• Do you lack distance?

• Do you hit the occasional pop-up with your driver?

• Do you tend to chunk the ball on your short shots?

• Do you divots point left of your target?

• Do you dislike tee boxes with lots of trees nearby?

• Do your misses tend to be short and right of the target?

• You are a decent greenside bunker player.

Is this Your Ball Flight?

The Possible Causes Why:

• Your swing approaches the ball at a steep angle, and your swing path is out to in.

• The ball tends to be too far back in your stance.

• The clubface is left open at impact, due to your over-active upper body.

• You tend to have a very stiff and rigid swing.

• Your shoulders are closed.

• Your grip is weak.

• Your hands are behind the ball at address.

• You start your downswing with your arms and shoulders, not your hips.

• You have a short, abbreviated finish, and you often lose your balance.

How to Fix Your Golf Swing

• You need to use a stronger grip. Rotate your hands to the right on your grip, until your grip position is closer to the ideal position.

• Narrow your stance.

• Move your ball position further back in your stance into a better position.

• Check your aim and alignment.

• Work on releasing your wrists earlier in the downswing.

• Try to flatten your swing, and make it more vertical rather than around your body.

• Make sure your lead shoulder is higher than your trailing one at address.

• Do not get your weight ahead of the ball moving into impact.

Drills for Pulling

Drills for Slicing