Stop Hanging Back
Here's how to learn to shift into the ball
By Butch Harmon
Photo by Dom Furore June 2009
If you have too much weight on your back foot at impact -- two signs that you do are slicing and hitting behind the ball -- practice swinging on a downslope.
Gravity will pull you down the hill as you swing through, so you'll naturally shift to your front foot.
Swinging downhill should also improve your swing path. Players who hang back tend to cut across the ball because their arms pull inward or flip the club to the left. With your weight moving toward the target, your arms are free to extend down the line (right).
So find a downslope -- the front of the practice tee or when you walk off a tee box -- and groove that forward shift. You'll start hitting all your shots more solidly.
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How To Pitch It With LoftMake a full wrist hinge, and accelerate through
By Phil Mickelson, Golf Digest Playing Professional
Photos By J.D. Cuban June 2009
Some pitch shots require a high trajectory, either to carry a bunker or to get the ball close to a tight pin. A common mistake I see among amateurs is cutting across the ball on an outside-to-inside swing path (inset), as if they're playing a bunker shot.
Don't Cut Across It
You can create plenty of loft swinging toward the target (top), instead of cutting across the ball (above), as long as you don't turn the face over.
It rarely works, because the hosel comes into the ball at a steep angle ahead of the clubface, often resulting in a fat shot or the dreaded shank. Even if you make clean contact, the ball rarely starts on line.
The key is to aim your most lofted wedge at the target, and then swing directly down the target line (above). Make sure you hinge your wrists fully on the backswing, and then accelerate through with your arms. Don't "release" the club, because you'll ruin your smooth rate of acceleration and have trouble keeping the clubface aimed at the target through impact. Just slide the clubface under the ball, and it will pop up nicely and fly straight. Don't count on a lot of run -- the height of the shot and the spin you impart from the clean contact will cause the ball to settle quickly.
The instruction in this article was adapted from "Phil Mickelson: Secrets of the Short Game." The DVD will be available in April. For more information, click www.golfdigestshop.com
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Think Of Freddie's Path
To stop coming over the top
Out Then In Fred Couples' downswing path (orange) is well inside his backswing path (yellow). This image can help the over-the-top swinger.
By Jim Flick
Photo By Dom Furore June 2009
If you've aimed correctly but your shots start left, you're probably "coming over the top" on the downswing. What causes this? You likely start back by overusing your shoulders, causing the club to go sharply inside the target line. Starting down, you fire your right shoulder too soon, causing your arms and clubhead to come down on an outside-in path. If the face is square at impact, you'll pull the shot; if it's open, you'll slice it.
Here's an image I give to my visual-learner pupils: Think of Freddie Couples' swing. This image works for two reasons:
(1) It helps you feel your hands and arms swing the club straight back and up, not to the inside. This puts you in a solid position at the top so your arms can drop down on an inside path, your right shoulder staying quiet. Swinging down from the inside promotes releasing the club and closing the face at impact for a better compression of the ball.
(2) Imitating Couples' rhythm also helps those who get too quick starting down -- another cause of the over-the-top. Fred's transition looks almost lazy. He builds speed through impact, not before, a secret to his distance.
Ranked No. 5 among Golf Digest's 50 Greatest Teachers, Flick is based at the TaylorMade Performance and Research Lab, in Carlsbad, Calif. Click here for more tips from Flick.
Give Your Slice A Face-lift
Check your clubface in these two spots
NOT OPEN To fix a slice, don't rotate the clubface open. It should point to the ball then to the sky.
By David Leadbetter
Photo By Stephen Szurlej June 2009
The reason you're hitting a lot of slices is because your clubface is open at impact. The problem might be in your backswing.
Many slicers fan the face open during the takeaway, resulting in a weak, open position at the top. This forces them to swing down from outside the target line in an effort to square the face, but the result is a slice. Sound like you?
To help square the face at impact and hit straighter shots, keep the clubface looking at the ball when you start back. Then, as you reach the top of your swing, have the face point to the sky.
Getting in these two positions will greatly improve your chance of swinging down from the inside and squaring the club at impact -- you might even start hitting draws.
Weather Dictates Par
Consider the conditions when planning your round
PLAYOFF WIN Changing my expectations to fit the weather allowed me to force a playoff with Jack Newton (white shirt) and earn my first British Open victory. It was so windy during the fourth round, spectators used umbrellas as windshields.
Photo: Bob Thomas/Getty Images
By Tom Watson
with Nick Seitz June 2009
When I think about winning my first British Open, I credit adjusting my target score because of changing weather conditions. Scores were low the first three rounds at Carnoustie in 1975, and I trailed leader Bobby Cole by three shots. Then the wind came up for the fourth round.
I warmed up and then went to say hello to Byron Nelson, who was working for ABC. I asked him if he had a word of advice. He said, "Tom, this course is different today. If you shoot 72, you're going to be right there."
I focused on that thought going to the tee. And the course did play the way he'd predicted. I shot even-par 72 to get into an 18-hole playoff with Jack Newton the next day. That was the last 18-hole playoff at the British Open.
Before you play, consider the weather and adjust your target score accordingly. Nowadays, you can get detailed forecasts that predict such weather changes as high wind so there will be no surprises when you come to critical holes. You can practice the shots you'll need in your warm-up.
