Are you Mishitting Critical Shots?

Do you mishit shots when you really WANT to hit the perfect shot?  Henrik Stenson shanked a shot in the final round of the PGA Championship (and placed 3rd). The pros all shank shots but you rarely see these shots replayed on TV. Knowing what causes this unexpected mishit will help you minimize your shanks. We also found a simple practice swing that will help you recover your perfect swing.

First you need to understand that your mind and your intensity to hit the perfect shot can cause you to freeze up. Yes, you are actually missing part of your swing when you mishit the ball. Your practice swing may be perfect but that pause before you commit to hitting the ball tends to clutter your mind with too many bad thoughts. Memories of past mishits tend to freeze up your muscles (especially the big one between your ears).

You are actually missing part of your perfect swing. When your mind and body tighten up (in preparation to hit the ball) you may be rushing your backswing, minimizing shoulder rotation, forgetting to shift your weight to your forward foot or falling back before you reach a full balanced finish.

YES: You just messed up your shot. [Mispronouncing “mishitting” is more like it but I’m not going there.]

I see this happen in my swing and also when I watch every golfer mishit their ball. The practice swing is perfect. Why does a little white ball in front of you cause a disaster?

Winning pros like Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship, practice relentlessly to build confidence in every swing.

Winning pros like Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship, practice relentlessly to build confidence in every swing.

SOLUTION: When you know that you have an important shot and you are waiting for others to hit, just relax your body by completing a few Spit Grip Swings with a slow speed swing. I picked this up from the Jim McLean Golf School. It gives you the correct backswing rotation, the correct feel for wrist lag and the correct release through the ball to a balanced finish position.

For the Spit Grip Practice Swing, just place your leading hand on your club as you normally would grip it. Then place your lower hand with a separation of about 2 inches lower on the grip. Now complete your back swing with a straight arm & full 90 degree wrist lag and swing rolling your wrist through the hitting area to a balanced finish. You can feel a full shoulder and chest rotation as you make this mid-air practice swing.

Use this practice swing to break out of your failure mode. Of course you need to do this practice with a straight leading arm just the way you practice with your GOLFSTR+. If you don’t have one, please check it out on www.golfstr.com and don’t leave home without it.

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