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I was playing with a friend last week and got some good advice from him: Do not FLAIL at the ball, it is good to strike it, stroke it and meet it but trying to flail at it will not work. This is in line with the perennial advice from the pros: don’t try to hit the ball, swing through it.

So after placing this thought in my mind my round got better. Trying to produce a replicable swing finishing with good balance on your left leg (for a right hand player) will do more for your game than having too many thoughts in your mind.

Many times we need to hit shots that travel left to right (fade) or right to left (draw). These ball flights are very useful in dog legs or when you want to go around hazards. There are several ways to do that. One is to purposely open or close the club face. I found it too difficult. I prefer Justin Rose’s method with establishes a starting line and a target line and use your regular swing. The swing path determines where you want the ball to start and the club face dictates where the ball finishes. Justin thinks that it is pretty easy…  do you ?

Take a look at Justin showing how it is done in this video.

It is important that your arms are extended although not locked at address. This will allow the club head to travel in the longest possible arc and thus achieve the maximum club head speed. Speed equals distance. The club needs to reach the fastest speed when hitting the ball. Extending the arms is one key element to attain this objective. Take a look at this video that explains it well.

The important thing about the backswing is the torque you generate in the upper body. You need to feel tightness in the torso while keeping you lower body relatively stable. If your shoulders rotate 90 degrees, your hips rotate 45 degrees, your knees 22.5 degrees and your feet are the base. When you uncoil, you turn your lower body first, which uncoils your upper body which gives speed and lag to your swing. The thought you need to have when uncoiling your lower body is to have your right knee touch your left knee. the arms will follow the rotation. This is something you can repeat consistently and therefore have similar results shot after shot. Here is a video that explains the mechanics and showcases how the coiling and uncoiling of the body work.

When you are close to the green but not too close to chip, you pitch. Use the sand wedge, open the club face a little, set the ball forward in stance and slide the club underneath the ball. This is a very important shot to lower your score. Take a look at this video that shows you how it is done.

Definitely the most important part of the golf swing is the impact. The backswing, turning of the shoulders, unwinding, and all the other parts of the swing are enablers to a good impact. Hitting down on the ball is key with irons. Because the impact occurs in a fraction of a second, hands-eye coordination is impossible. The swing happens and the ball is just in the path of the club face. However, you can train your body to produce a swing that hits down on the ball, using a very good drill. You can do it in the driving range or in a practice round. And you don’t need any expensive gear or sophisticated mechanical aid. You only need those broken tees you find on the tee areas. Put the broken tee about 6-8 inches in front of the ball and try to hit the ball and the broken tee at once. I guarantee you that this will improve the impact and enable a very good contact, that will make the ball airborne all the time.

Here is a video that shows you how to do it: crisp contact