Reading breaks. Every course is different. I've seen greens that don't bend the ball as much one would think; overdoing the breaks on those greens might leave one well past, but above, the hole. Such greens are typically shaggy and probably not well maintained. However, fast greens will be very obvious, as a slight nudge can start the ball zinging on a downhill lie.
More often than not, it's better err on the side of caution and play more break than one might think. Among other instructors, Hank Haney is a big advocate of playing more break than one believes is needed. Another way to think of it? Pros don't go low!! They miss above the hole on the high side.
Once a putt falls below the true break line, it has no chance of going in. So err on the side of overestimating the break. That way, even if you don't get the speed perfect, the ball still has a chance of finding the cup. Imagine if you had one putt to win $1 million: To give it every chance to go in, you would definitely keep the ball on the high side.
Adjustable drivers are all the rage these days; golfers can adjust various attributes of the club to suit their swings and help correct ball flight errors. My Nike SQ Machspeed driver is a square-headed, thud-making monster; I keep it adjusted to a flatter lie with a slightly closed club face position (because my ball flight error tends to be a slice).
However, I've noticed that on days when I'm making a good turn behind the ball and using a reasonably strong grip (slightly more than neutral), I can start pulling, hooking, and hitting really low shots off the tee with it. This is why it's important to be able to diagnose what's going on while playing. Two primary components of ball flight are swing path and club face; the two are joined at the hip and synergistic.
When I know I'm making a good turn behind the ball (full shoulder turn) and getting an inside-out swing path and the ball is hooking, pulling, or going low, I know that my club face is too closed to match that swing path. Suddenly, my adjusted driver becomes an enemy. True, I'm not slicing…I'm just doing the opposite, which can be disastrous too.
In those situations, a slight grip change may be all that's needed to correct the ball flight. I've noticed that the stronger grip I use for my other lower lofted clubs (like the 3-hybrid or 5-iron) can produce low and/or left ball flights with my adjustable driver, if I'm swinging on a good inside-out path. So (and every day on the golf course is different), I will slightly rotate my grip to the left (V's pointing between my neck and right shoulder as opposed to directly at my right shoulder) as a fix. Usually, this small change will straighten my ball flight and produce a higher draw shape.
However, go too far with the grip (or start making an incomplete turn) and the ball will start fading or slicing again. Golf is great, huh?
Stand behind the ball and picture where you want the ball to end up. Then (depending on the desired ball flight) pick a line on which you'd like to start the ball that makes sense (i.e., if you're trying to fade back to a target, pick an aim line to the left of the target). Now, align oneself as if trying to hit a straight shot along the aim line (completely neutral stance). If trying to hit a draw turn the back foot out more and the front foot perpendicular to the target line; for a fade, do the opposite.
This encourages either more shoulder and body turn on the backswing (draw with back foot flared out) or more shoulder and body turn on the downswing (fade with front foot flared out).
I initially read about this in Hank Haney's book, The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever Need, but it makes complete sense if you think about it. The cool thing about doing this to encourage a certain ball flight is that it seems to give just the right amount of inside-out or outside-in, providing slight draws and fades as opposed to more extreme hooks and slices that can come from the other methods (like the traditional setup method--link above).
For a straighter shot attempt (encouraging an in-out-in path), flair both feet out slightly.
Flare your right foot to 2 o'clock and position your left foot at 12 o'clock. Now swing the club for real and feel the increase in shoulder turn going back and the lessening of it into your follow-through.
As you do this, make sure you maintain your posture and forward tilt. Straightening up through impact only encourages a slice. This tricks also works if you hook the ball. In this case, position your right foot at 12 o'clock and your left foot at 10 o'clock. This will decrease your turn back and increase your turn through. You'll hit the ball more with your body and less with your hands so they can't take over and shut down the clubface through impact.
To increase your ability to turn back and through the ball, flare your feet between 15 and 30 degrees at address, depending on your flexibility. The less flexible you are, the more a flared back foot will allow you to turn behind the ball and then approach the target line from the inside on the downswing.
The correct amount of flare in your front foot at address makes it easier to rotate your front hip and knee correctly as you swing through the hitting zone. If your swing is too steep, use more flare; if it's too flat, use less.
Wrists play an important role in the swing, to be certain. But this is one of those areas, for me, where I can unconsciously start doing the WRONG thing and end up with that slice creeping back into my rounds. Ball flight is always a result of a marriage between club path and club face position at impact. This means it's easy to misdiagnose what's happening to oneself on the course if one suddenly starts hooking or slicing the ball. I've posted before about the various characteristics of different ball flights; it's up to each individual golfer to figure out his or her tendencies in order to diagnose correctly on the course.
So, what's the correct wrist action at the top? First, let's define what's an incorrect wrist action. For the left wrist, an improper wrist cock would be where the knuckles move more backward towards the forearm (in essence, a left wrist hinge). This is what is defined as a cupped or dorsiflexed left wrist, and it's a move that opens the club face. If timing isn't perfect coming back down, the wrist will not fully flatten and the face will likely be open at impact, causing a slice or fade of some kind. It's important to note that this cupped position at the top might be useful for greenside bunker or flop shots, where an open face at impact is desirable. All of this is related to one's grip as well (a stronger grip can be more cupped at the top of the backswing and still allow for a reasonably straight ball flight). When the wrist is too cupped at the top, it opens the club face and lays off the club. At the same time, a left wrist position that is too bowed (like Dustin Johnson uses) could result in a club face that's too shut and could put the club in an across-the-line position at the top (associated with hooking the ball). Good players can get away with either if their timing is good and they can incorporate manipulations to return the club to the correct impact position.
Now the right wrist is really the opposite of the left. An improper right wrist action would have it too straight at the top of the backswing (knuckles moving away from the forearm), which, if you think about it, mirrors what the left wrist does in an improper action. And for both, there are variations in between. Much has been written and taught about the wrists in golf, and wrists actions among golfers will vary by individual. Some professional golfers, like Tom Watson and Shawn Clement, teach that you should have a slightly cupped left wrist at the top to get the maximum wrist load, wrist cock, or radial deviation (Watson says: 'with as strong a left hand grip as you can use without hooking the ball'). Others, like Hank Haney, teach that the left wrist should be flat at the top (like it should be a the bottom), which means the right wrist would be hinged backward more. The right wrist associated with a left wrist that's too bowed would have the right palm pointing to the sky at the top (like holding a tray or pizza). A flatter left wrist at the top is associated with a more neutral grip. In reality, the right wrist should be more dorsiflexed than the left; this would be kind of like holding a slanted tray--where anything on it would slide off onto the ground.
When I make a club face error these days, it's usually because of a left wrist that's too cupped at the top or not rotating or bowing it fast enough coming down; when I fail to lead with the left wrist, it leaves my club face too open. My outside-in path error is usually an incomplete shoulder turn.
Here's what I've found is a good wrist and grip drill to teach the correct wrist positions at the top. I take my address position with a club and then raise my body into an upright position. From there, I simply move the club straight up and down in front of me using only my wrists. The wrists should cock upwards and downwards, raising and lowering the club; Shawn Clement describes this as hinging on the 'anatomical snuff boxes.' Using the same drill, cupping the left wrist would result in the club moving left of one's head, and too bowed a left wrist would move it right of one's head. The proper movement using this drill would have the club moving upwards right between my eyes. The club face should return to the same position when lowering the club back down using the wrists; if it doesn't…the grip is either too strong or too weak. Once the feel of this is ingrained, it's simply a matter of keeping the arms in front while going to the top, turning the shoulders fully, and hinging the wrists along the same axis practiced in the drill. As with all things in golf, too much or too little can be a very small standard deviation: Too much cup or bow in the left wrist will lay off the club too much or put the club over the line too much (respectively) and will contribute to a slice or hook (respectively), if not corrected coming back down using some artificial manipulation.
I usually don't have much trouble with two particular shots: fairway bunkers and punch shots out from under trees. And these two shots are very similar: grip down on the club (except in the sand one should dig in the feet as much one grips down), ball back of center, steady lower body, armsy swing. The goal is ball-first contact.
But greenside bunkers have been a problem for me; I've been very inconsistent. A greenside bunker shot is an intentional fat shot--albeit a slightly fat shot. My primary error is to take too much sand with the heel digging, and I fail to get the ball out in one shot. In other words, I hit the ball TOO FAT.
But there's a fairly failsafe method for escaping greenside bunkers. On the backswing, break the cardinal rule and REALLY cup the left wrist!!! This is going to feel so goofy and wrong (because on regular shots from the tee or fairway, it would be), but used with a full swinging motion that doesn't decelerate after contacting the sand, the ball will come out high and onto the green every time! The reason is that this ensures the club face remains open through impact and that the bottom of the club (the bounce) will be used to move sand. You can hit lower shots simply by digging the feet in more to take more sand.
There's also a good tip from Shawn Clement helps me ignore the ball more and get it out more easily. Do all of the traditional setup and swing fundamentals for a greenside bunker (or a pitch shot) but then think of this one thing: Think of hitting the sand a few inches behind the ball to the target. And being exact in WHERE you enter the sand isn't so critical, so long as you hit sand first. So the goal isn't the ball; it's the sand behind the ball that must be put in the hole. This changes the focus, because that image will help splash sand toward the target and take the ball along as an added benefit.
And how to do this (sounds easy, eh)? Setup is so important for bunker shots and high pitch shots. Really exaggerate the forward ball position, open the club face, and assume a weak left hand grip.
Elements of a good greenside bunker setup: I want the club face opened (more open for a higher shot) and club positioned in the middle of my stance; but I want the ball positioned off of my left big toe (in other words, exaggerated really forward). The more forward the ball position, the less sand you'll take and the shot will be longer and higher (go to far and you'll catch it clean and take no sand). The more back the ball position, the more sand you'll take and the shorter and lower the ball will travel. I ensure my left hand grip is very weak so that I won't close the club face coming through. I also really cup or dorsiflex my left wrist on the backswing. Then, I just make a full swing with a complete turn back and then turn through. Making a full turn and normal swing IS important. Also, stay loose through this shot and feel the club head; tension will kill the shot. Done correctly, even a slow tempo will blast the sand and the ball out of the bunker towards the target.
Another way to think of the greenside bunker shot is to setup and swing as if you're hitting a driver. This means the ball is off the front foot and the swing going back and through is shallow (more around the body rather than up-and-down)--the way it needs to be to keep from taking too much sand.
A lot of these same principles will work for pitch shots as well. You can even play the ball off your big toe for pitch and flop shots and not fear hitting fat. With the weak left hand grip and opened club face, you'll usually slide the club along the grass before launching a high piercing and spinning shot.
1) Get good footing: Grind your feet firmly into the sand. This will help promote a solid stance and good balance. It's also a way of doing some detective work, to determine the texture and consistency of the sand. Since the Rules prohibit you from grounding your club in a bunker, you should try to learn as much as possible about the lie as you take your stance. 2) Choke up about an inch on the club: When you grind your feet down into the bunker, you bring your hands closer to the ball, so you need to slide them down the grip. Otherwise, you'll tend to hit well behind the ball and dig too deeply into the sand. 3) Open your stance: Most bunker shots require a steep downward attack on the ball; an open alignment, with the feet, knees, hips, and shoulders pointed well left of the target, will facilitate this type of impact. You'll need to open up various degrees for the different shots, but it's safe to say that 90 percent of bunker shots are played from the open stance. 4) Don't keep your eye on the ball: Instead, watch a spot about an inch to an inch and a half behind the ball, because that's where your impact should be. Since you don't need to hit the ball on this shot, there's no reason to look at it. Again, the precise spot will vary, but suffice it to say that the spot is never on the top of the ball.
Most amateurs swing the club into the sand, and when they feel the resistance, they quit on the shot. Plus, they're fearful, so they tend to lock their bodies in place and just wave at the ball with their arms. Commit to turning to a full finish, and you'll get the ball out every time.
I've posted already about setups to hit the fade and draw and the D-Plane (which explains the ball flight laws). My big fall flight error (like most amateur golfers) is the slice. Sometimes I set up to hit a draw and still end up hitting a slight fade (works out okay sometimes), or sometimes I'll set up to hit a fade and it will become a slice. That tells me that I'm compounding the left-to-right ball flight with my setup. And I've done the same thing with the draw too--setup to hit a draw and then end up hooking the ball off the course. Unfortunately, there are times when I've set up to hit one and hit the opposite (I'd rather not talk about those times right now).
Recently I was hitting fairly straight tee shots with a slight fade and was trying to figure out why I couldn't hit the tight draw that I was hitting a few days before. Everything SEEMED the same, but it obviously wasn't. Then I hit on it: I was NOT turning my shoulders back fully to 90 degrees. I noticed that my left shoulder pointed in front of the ball at the top of my backswing, which was giving me a slight outside-in swing path. That path along with a square club face should produce a fade; if the face was open, it would produce a slice (basically a severe fade from which it's hard to recover). Anything used on top of that to exacerbate the outside-in swing path would produce a more severe fade or slice, even with a relatively square club face.
Golf is really about trying to diagnose and repair what's screwed up during a round, because it's easy to get lazy and let bad habits or old tendencies creep in without realizing it (e.g., partial shoulder turn, right leg straightening to much, not keeping the arms in front, etc.). If you're getting a slice, it can be a lot of things, but I know I have a tendency to get lazy with the shoulder turn (which can cause a laid-off position at the top). I have a tendency to let the arms get too much across my chest (too inside leading to outside-in), and I have a tendency to get too handsy with my takeaway (too inside on the backswing that can lead to OTT).
The reason it's tough to diagnose why one might be fading, slicing, hooking, pulling, pushing, or drawing when it's not intended is that ball flights are a marriage between swing path and face at impact. If you KNOW your path is inside-out but you're push-slicing then you have an open club face. I believe this was more my issue when I first started golf--I simply was blocking the club face open and would often end up with a push-slice. Sometimes (unless you're really paying attention to yourself compared against the fundamentals), you may have trouble diagnosing what you're doing wrong.
Given that I noticed (this time) that I wasn't getting my back to the target at the top, I hit on the idea of using a variable shoulder turn to try to hit cuts, straight, and draws, especially since the traditional setup ideas to hit them usually give me severe slices and hooks instead of the intended flights. What if I simply used less shoulder turn for a fade and more for a draw? Then I could aim left of my intended target and hit the fade and vice versa for the draw. I wouldn't have to worry about all the other aspects of hitting fades and draws. If you think about it, it's the equivalent of opening or closing the stance to hit a fade or draw, but adjusting the stance requires the same full turn on both.
Here's something to try: To hit a fade, try turning the shoulders so that the left shoulder points in front of the ball at the top (from your perspective looking down); you shouldn't be able to see your left foot because your left shoulder will be shielding it from view. For a draw, turn more fully so that the left shoulder points behind the ball and covers the right foot from view. A straighter ball will be somewhere in between. Don't do anything else differently (except for where you aim)…use the same grip, square stance, takeaway, and ball position. The point here is to manipulate only one variable: swing path (and to do so as simply as possible).
How many times have we heard the various descriptions of grip tension? Sam Snead said that one should grip the club "like you're holding a bird" and Bobby Eldridge says that one should hold the club "like you're holding a child's hand." These produce images of extremely relaxed arms. Hank Haney, on the other hand, seems to advocate a slightly firmer grip (but still relaxed), and many pros state that relaxed is better because our unconscious minds will automatically apply the right amount of tension during the swing.
Tension creeps into our swings and setups when we're not paying attention. Nothing good comes from tension. Tension in the hands at address can produce tension in the wrists, arms, and rest of the body, and vice versa. Tension in the arms can happen when one tries to consciously manipulate the arms through the impact zone, such as "rolling the forearms," "turning the knuckles down," pushing the arms "out towards right field," and so on. Grip tension can block the club face from closing and produce slices, pushes, and pulls. Arm tension (from grip tension) can pull the arms in towards the body, leading to chicken wings, tops, and skulled shots. Grip tension can hinder full wrist action, which can lead to fat shots and loss of distance.
A method of relaxing grip tension is the waggle, which seems to be used less and less these days.
Tension even creeps in during the putting setup. A relaxed grip in putting is very important for feeling the putter head.
My final swing thought (before I turn my shoulders, use my back to the target, and lift my arms in front of my chest and then over my right shoulder to the top of my backswing) is to consciously relax my grip and forearm tension. Putting: Same thing--I relax my grip. I do this because grip tension can increase without awareness; one must constantly monitor it. Ironically, relaxing the grip tension relaxes the arms and the rest of the body, leading to a more flowing, smoother swing. If golfers would do this then they could save themselves a few strokes per hole. It's that important.
A light grip pressure, with your arms relaxed at address and throughout the swing, allows you to release the club freely and with full extension. The result will be more distance with less effort. Johnny Bench and I guarantee it.
...practice more relaxation in your grip, stance, and swing. Check the tension level in your grip. The hand pressure on the club should be light. If it is too tight, your takeaway will tend to be jerky and too fast. If your are not sure of the amount of pressure, let your hands feel the difference by squeezing tightly and then releasing to a very light grip.
Notice that when you squeeze tightly, your forearms are tense. This generates tension throughout the body. You want just enough grip pressure so that you won' t lose the club during the swing. No white knuckle! What little pressure you do feel should be in the last three fingers of the let hand, and the third and fourth fingers of the right.
First, try producing less pressure and tension in your grip. Gripping the club too tightly will cause your forearms and shoulders to become restricted, thus resulting in a shorter turn in the backswing. The grip pressure is similar to taking a banana, peeling it, and gripping the banana without putting any fingerprints on it. When done properly, you will feel more relaxed in your arms when gripping the club in your set up.
I would like you to believe for a moment that to play to your greatest potential, you must understand what your golf club is doing throughout the golf swing. Most of us cannot due to excessive grip pressure. By choking the golf club, you lose all sense of where the clubhead is and what it's doing.
I suggest that to play your best golf next season and reach your potential, you must concentrate on your grip pressure and when it changes. You can get incrementally better by working on mechanical problems with your swing, but you can get exceptionally better by learning to feel your clubhead.
Hold tight onto the club and the golfer has to use a great deal of effort and the ball often ends up being pulled, pushed, sliced or hooked – going two thirds of the required distance. Relax the grip maintaining directional control and the ball flies straight to the full distance of the club and swing used.
Keep your grip pressure light and constant throughout the stroke to avoid snatching or casting the putter, abrupt transitions in the stroke, or tempo fluctuations, as this promotes a smooth stroke, with good accuracy in the stroke path, and consistently solid contact.
