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If you're serious about improving your ball striking you first need to know what you need to focus on to improve. So that's what is covered in this article. I am going to share with you what you need to focus on to become a great ball striker.
This is the start of you becoming the great ball striker you've always wanted to become. Because you're going to discover exactly what you need to focus on to improve and in the correct order too. That's very important.
OK, let's make a start by looking at..
Great Ball Striker
Part 1 - The Setup
The way you setup to a golf ball has a huge affect on the way you hit the golf ball. But don't believe me listen to what a couple of great golfers say about this…
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"All the finest players learned early in their careers that the quality of the swing is dependent about 80 percent on preparation and 20 percent on execution. Reverse those proportions and you'll always be a hacker."
Jack Nicklaus
"If you don't set up correctly, it is impossible to improve. Impossible."
Deane Beman |
So if you want to become a great ball striker you must setup to the ball the best you can and you must do this consistently.
And seen as how you've got to grip the club first to play a game of golf I think it would be wise to look at that.
(Please click on any of the topics to read more)
I know the golf grip is not the most exciting place to start but it is the BEST place to start. And I want to make sure you never, ever underestimate the importance of having a good grip. The great players don't.
"The basic factor in all good golf is the grip. Get it right, and all other progress follows."
Tommy Armour
"Poor ball position is a silent killer. If you don't place the ball precisely in relation to your stance, the ball will be playing you instead of you playing the ball. You'll have to conjure up some type of weird swing movement just to get the club on the ball, and because of that you'll never be consistent."
Tiger Woods
"Addressing the ball in the proper position is the most important fundamental because it determines the kind of swing you will make." Peter Thomson
The posture you assume when you setup to a golf ball has a huge affect on your golf swing.
Yes, the posture you set at address really is that important!
"You need to be in an athletically ready position so you can respond to movement quickly, smoothly and without losing your balance." Tiger Woods
"It goes without saying that it is no good having a perfect setup, perfect grip and perfect golf swing if the whole thing is misaligned. It sounds obvious but many players simply do not spend enough time getting themselves on target."
How you align your body is critical for your long game golfing consistency and success.
Everyone can have as good a setup as any pro. It just takes the right knowledge and then some time and effort to make it into a habit. The rewards for doing so are great, i.e. consistent ball striking. Alright, let's now look at a….
"In terms of its influence on the golf swing, the pre-shot routine is underestimated - hugely so in my opinion."
Ernie Els
For your golf game to be more consistent and more like a top golf pro you must create and habitualize a consistent physical pre-shot routine.
"My most important lesson in course management began with Pop's insistence that I have a preshot routine.
Tiger Woods
Not only do you need a physical pre-shot routine to become a great ball striker BUT you also need a mental one.
If you only get one thing out of part 1. The Set up. I hope it's this: The setup has a huge affect on the way you swing the club and your ball striking success. So perfect it and learn how to setup perfectly every time and your ball striking results will improve!
Part 2. The Backswing
In this part we cover the backswing, and we'll start this by looking at…
The take away is super important because how you take the club away largely determines how consistent your ball striking will be.
Once you've mastered the one piece take away you then need to combine that with the movement of shifting your weight to your right side at the beginning of your swing.
To hit the golf ball as long as possible you MUST create a wide swing arc on your backswing.
Swing Plane
When you take the club away your hands and club should move very close to the plane line. This will happen if you take the club away with a one piece take away and along the correct swing path.
OK, let's have a look at the clubface angle during the backswing.
Clubface Alignment
At the start of your swing the club should point directly at your target. Then at the point in the swing when the club is parallel with the ground your clubface should be slightly closed. At the top of your backswing the clubface should remain slightly closed.
OK, I've covered a lot of things that should happen in the backswing. But here are the three main things that are essential:
1. Right Knee: Your right knee must maintain some flex in it during the backswing. If it completely straightens at any point in your backswing then you'll be in trouble.
2. Lateral Body Movement: During the backswing you must move your entire body laterally to the right by at least a couple of inches. If you don't do this you'll run the risk of doing a reverse pivot, which is a swing wrecker.
3. Swing Plane: When you take the club away you need to have your hands and shaft very close to the plane line. Then at the half way point in your backswing the butt end of your club must point either at the ball or to the inside of the ball. If it points outside the ball your swing is much too flat.
That concludes Part 2. In Part 3 we're going to look at the transition from backswing to downswing. There's some very important information I share here.
Part 3. The Transition, Downswing, and Impact
In this part we're going to cover transition, downswing and impact.
The transition is the START of you finding amazing power in your golf swing that you never thought existed or was even possible!
It's all about the "Late Release!" ....
Now I want to discuss something that is very important and very misunderstood in the golf swing. But before I do that here's a quote from quite a good golfer ...
"As far as applying power goes, I wish that I had three right hands!" Ben Hogan
Did you read that quote ?
I hope so because it's very important. Now don't get me (or Ben Hogan) wrong, I don't think that golf is a right sided game. Because during the golf swing your right hand plays an important role and so does your left. And for you to become a great ball striker you can't focus on one hand more than the other.
But the reason Ben Hogan wished for three right hands is because he found out that the right side is the power side in the golf swing. Because when you start your downswing your lower body moves toward the target and your right side moves aggressively down to the ball (more aggressively than your left).
And it's very clear to see the big influence the right side has on the golf swing when you look at a good golf swing from side on. At the half way point in the downswing the right arm should be visible under your left. A position in the golf swing like this can only be achieved if the right side is working more aggressively than the left side.
However, a lot of golfers have been taught to subdue their right side, which is wrong!
You want to aggressively swing down into the ball with your right side so you get the most power and distance possible. But…and this is important: doing that is only going to be of benefit to you if you combine it with what the left hand should be doing.
You see, it's all about team work!
Because you can't hit good consistent shots while having one hand dominating the swing.
OK, let's now look at what should be happening at...
The position you arrive at impact in is the result of all the positions that went before.
And finally for this section, here is a summary of the six main things that are critically important in your transition, downswing and at impact.
1. Weight Transfer/Hip Slide/Rotation: At impact about 90% of your weight should be on your left side and you hips should be open by about 45 degrees to the target. Also, at impact your hips should be about 6 inches in front of where they were at impact.
2. Shoulders: At impact your shoulders should be slightly open.
3. Head: At impact your head should be in a position very close to the one it was in during setup.
4. Late Release: When your left arm is parallel with the ground the shaft and your left arm should form about a 45 degree angle (or less).
5. Hands: At impact your hands should be well in front of where they were at impact and your left hand must be flat and your right wrist must be flexed.
6. Shaft Plane: At the halfway point in your downswing your shaft should be pointing at the ball or to the right of it.
So that's the six most important aspects of the transition, downswing and impact. Get them right and everything else will almost certainly fall into place.
Part 4. The Follow-Through and Finish
In this part we're going to be looking at the follow-through and the finish of the golf swing. So let's start by looking at...
Now before we begin I want to clear up what the follow-through is and to help me do this I'm going to say what it isn't!
The follow-through is NOT the end of the swing.
That's called the finish.
Makes sense, eh?
So the follow-through is everything that happens after impact until you finish the swing.
OK, that's the main parts of the follow-through covered. Let's now look at…
The first thing I want to discuss about the finish of your swing is your head. .......
Part 5. Rhythm. Timing, Tempo, and Swinging Automatic
In this part we're going to be discussing tempo, rhythm, timing and an automatic golf swing. So let's start by looking at...
Rhythm and Timing
If you watch any great golfer's swing they will have great rhythm and timing. But "trying" to swing with great rhythm and timing is wrong. You shouldn't "try" to force these things to happen in your swing because trying causes tension.
Important Note: Unnecessary tension in the golf swing destroys timing, and rhythm.
Instead, I think it's better if you simply observe great golfers swings over and over again to get a sense of the rhythm and timing needed in the golf swing.
To do this you can record swings of your favorite golfer that have great rhythm and timing, e.g.
§ Ernie Els,
§ Davis Love III,
§ Fred Couples etc.
...and watch them swing over and over again. But I must say, that's a good starting point but I've found a much better option than that which I share with my students. OK, let's now look at...
Tempo
When I started looking into the tempo of the golf swing and how to practice it I found that professional golfers swing a lot faster than most people think. But the reason their swings look so rhythmical, smooth and slow is because everything in their swings flows smoothly. There's no jerking movements, and that smoothness gives the entire swing an appearance of being smooth and slow.
Anyway, to improve my tempo I first tried swinging to a metronome but I found this very, very difficult. You just don't have enough time to react to the beeps. So after trying that I read the book Tour Tempo...
....and I started using the audio tracks supplied with that book to swing to the tempos suggested. From using this audio CD myself to practice with, this is what I've found.
The faster the tempo I used the shorter my swing became. I think my natural tempo is 24/8 but when I practiced with that tempo I found my swing was too short. So I've now gone up to using 27/9 tempo and this is working well for now.
So if you get this book, and I highly recommend you do, I think you should work slowly into these tempos by starting at 27/9 and then trying the other quicker tempos after that tempo is comfortable. That's just a suggestion however.
BUT no matter what you do, you'll probably find that the tempos on that CD are a lot faster than you're used to. So when you get this book just experiment with the different tempos.
Now the best thing about the audio CD that comes with the Tour Tempo book is that the tones or words are spaced so you have time to react to them. As I said, I've tried swinging to a metronome and that's really tough. You simply don't have the time to react to the beeps and change directions from the backswing to the downswing.
All right, let's now look at...
Swinging The Club Automatically
Now there are two ways to mentally swing a golf club...
1. Consciously, or
2. Subconsciously
Conclusion
All right, that’s it!! Obviously I've shared a lot of information with you on what you should do to become a great ball striker. I sure hope I got to shed a little light on what you need to focus on to become a great ball striker. Now the matter turns to doing it.