I just played one of my final rounds of golf for this year. It was a perfect autumn day, the sun was shining and there was a light breeze. How could I ask for more? Well as it turned out this was the day that my body decided to hook my drives. I just couldn’t shake it until I finally discovered the magic in my swing.
We arrived at a par 5 dog-leg to the right. I watched carefully as each player setup and executed their best fad. One hooked his shot, one completed a dead straight shot beyond the bend in the fairway and one sliced into the trees. It was my turn and I was concerned that I had been hooking most of my drives. The moment of truth had arrived.
I setup with a slightly open face on my driver and took and open stance. My backswing was wide and looping at the top so that I could nail that shot dead center up the fairway. A fad would have been nice but a hook would have been deadly. As it turn out I hit the longest drive of the foursome and with a slight fad. I pared that 512 yard hole with a 5 foot putt. Success!
Get Out of Your Rut
When your game is going sideways, why not setup for change:
1/ If you are mishitting your shots, slow your backswing down by counting 1, 2, 3 as you (1) start your takeaway, (2) as you rotate your hips and spine and (3) as you set your wrist lag.
2/ If you are hooking, setup for a fade and check out the results.
3/ If you are hitting your chips fat, put more pressure on your leading foot
4/ If you can’t control your approach chip with a wedge, try punching your shot with an 8 iron for a chip and run.
5/ If you can’t reach the green without risking a shot in the water or sand, just select a club for the perfect layup and then pitch or chip it close for a 1 putt.
6/ If your lag putts or chips are missing to the left or right, spend more time checking out the slope of the green and pay more attention to the roll from the shots by others. Get in the game!
If you find yourself complaining out loud about your consistent bad shots, do something about it. Break out of your slump. Get back in the fairway. And make your next shot count.
Turn every round of golf into a learning experience. Learn from your mistakes and change your swing or your club selection to improve your game. Enjoy your great shots and stop trying to hit the longest shot in your life with every club in your bag. It so much easier to layup and then hit the perfect short iron shot. Practice with your GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com .
Golf Truism #30: Always limp with the same leg for the whole round.