Plant Your Left Foot
In order for the downswing to be a perfectly timed chain reaction, you must replant your left heel as soon as you reach the top of the backswing. This is an unorthodox movement of the body, but doing the following drill daily will make it feel like second nature.
Stand on your right leg only, and swing the club to the top. Pause for a split second. Next, replant your left foot on the ground, heel first, and then swing the club down. Finish the swing on your left foot only.
|  |
Give It a Belt
Because I stress the importance of replanting the left heel and clearing the left hip on the downswing, I don't want you to get the impression that the right side plays a passive role in the golfswing. On the contrary, once your left side triggers the downswing, it's the right side that must rotate briskly through the hit zone for your clubface to powerfully compress the ball.
To promote a good release, try to finish with your belt buckle or belly button facing the target.
Cure for Your Hook
If your problem is hitting drives that fly on a severe right-to-left hook pattern, the clubface is definitely closing at impact. However, your swing may not be the root cause. It could be that one of the following two problems with your equipment is the root cause of your hook:
- The grips on your clubs could be too thin, which means you'll exaggerate wrist action in the hitting area and close the clubface.
- The shafts on your clubs could be too flexible, which means that the head of the club is flexing too far forward and closing the clubface in the impact zone.
|
Cure for Your Slice
If you're delivering the club into impact with an open face and hitting a slice with the driver, you might want to check with your local pro to see if your equipment is properly suited to your natural strengths and tendencies:
- The shafts on your clubs might be too stiff for you, which means you lack the strength and clubhead speed to whip the clubface squarely into the ball.
- The grips on your clubs might be too thick, which inhibits the releasing action of your hands and causes the clubface to open at impact.
|
|
Clear The Way for The Club
In making the transition from the backswing to the downswing, many club-level golfers make the mistake of pulling the driver down hard with their hands. Pulling the club down is okay when playing a short iron from the rough. But since a tee shot demands that you hit with a sweeping action, you must create a shallow angle of attack by rotating your hips to your left at the start of the downswing. This clearing action of the hips allows your arms to swing away from your body and whip the club powerfully through the ball.
|
|
High Tee
When hitting a driver, the club should contact the ball on the upswing. To encourage the neccesary "uppercut" at impact, pretend that there is a second ball teed up extra high about an inch in front of the ball you are about to hit. Knock that forward ball off its perch and watch the one you hit sail off into the sunset.
| |
