Avoid Thin Shots to Drop YOUR Score

We all hate to hit the occasional thin shots. Those dreaded shots where you blade or top the ball and it skids along the ground to nowhere. There really is an easy fix for this. Every professional golfer has learned it and you should too. The solution is easy but the permanent fix is all in your head.

There are 3 issues that you need to be concerned about: Your head bobbing, your bum bending and your swing on uneven ground.

1/ Head Bobbing: If your head remains relatively still during your swing then the distance from your shoulders to the ball is controlled by the bend of your elbows. A bent leading elbow will shorten the distance to the ball and create thin shots. A great drill is to stand with the sun directly behind you so that you (or a friend) can see the shadow of your head. It should not be bobbing up and down during the swing.

Swing without bobbing your head and with a straight leading arm for a consistent distance to the ball.

Swing without bobbing your head and with a straight leading arm for a consistent distance to the ball.

Train with your GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading arm straight in your backswing AND in your downswing. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE SWING FOR CONSISTENT HITS.

2/ Bending your Bum Toward Your Ball during the downswing will lift your head and shoulders up causing a topped ball or slice. To get more power and accuracy off the tee I saw a simple drill by PGA Professional Eric Hogge (PGA Village, Port St Lucie, FL). He suggested putting a chair (or golf bag) behind your bum and swing by keeping your bum in contact with the chair. Of course there will be lateral movement as you thrust your hips slightly forward up the target line [but never out]. Keep your waist bent at the hips to keep your head and shoulders at the same level.

3/ Ball Above or Below Your Feet: Your body naturally tries to balance in an upright position to avoid falling over when you swing your club. If your ball is above your feet you should choke up on the club to avoid burying you club before you hit the ball. If the ball is below your feet you should take a wider stance with more knee bend to avoid topping the ball. You need to keep your natural posture with a vertical balance. In both cases you will lose distance so take a lower lofted club to compensate.

NOTE: Taking a higher or lower swing plane to hit the ball which is above or below your feet is not as easy as it seems. You practice hitting most of your shots and drives on flat ground so your mind is not programmed to accept an instant swing change. This is also why we tend to miss more greens in regulation as we are hitting from an uneven lie on the fairway or in the rough.

Always practice when you can with your GOLFSTR+ to program your mind for a straight leading arm. Get your swing rotation from your shoulders and hips not from your bent arm.

Remember to do your takeaway with both arms straight to force your shoulders to rotate before you start bending your tailing elbow to pull your straight leading arm and wrist lag to the top of your swing. Rickie Fowler even does this as his practice waggle. It works for him and it will work for you too. Buy a GOLFSTR+ today on our website: www.golfstr.com

Share

Comments are closed.