Published Date
Dec 08, 2017
New year, new golf game! For this week’s blog post, Mark Moffatt PGA, Director of Instruction of the Shadow Wood Golf Academy has provided some excellent golf tips for you to strengthen your golf game as we head into the new year. He has elaborated on three deadly misconceptions that hurt your golf game, and how to better understand them as well as how to avoid them. These tips are sure to improve your game, increase your enjoyment, and allow more opportunity for success.
The First Misconception is: “YOU LIFTED YOUR HEAD”
This is by far the worst advice you can receive. When you top the ball or chunk behind it people will say “you looked up.” Everyone says it, but it’s not true. Then, on the next shot you make an effort to keep your eye on the ball. But often, your weight falls to your back or rear foot at impact, the wrists flip at the ball and you skull it over the green. Keeping your head down didn’t help. Remember David Duval or Annika’s swing?
Here’s the Drill and the Feel:
Take your 9 iron and hit some short shots about 20 to 30 yards. What I’d like you to do is make some practice swings bushing the grass. Try and hit the ground in the same spot every time. At impact and just beyond, make sure your left wrist is flat and the right wrist is arched at and through impact and your right heel is slightly off the ground. Those are your check points. Make some practice swings then hit some balls. Remember, just practice short shots.
The Second Misconception: “SWING STRAIGHT BACK & STRAIGHT THROUGH”
If you swing the golf club straight back and straight through you will hit the ball straight. That is only true for on-line Games. On-line games are games where we are standing on our target line, such as playing shuffle board, playing pool or throwing darts. Golf, however, is not an on-line game; golf is a SIDE-ON GAME. With side-on games, the ball is beside us and we’re standing to the side of it. Besides golf, other side-on games include tennis, baseball and hockey. The image of your golf swing to have in your mind is that of a Ferris wheel tilted on a 45 degree angle.
Here’s the Drill & the Feel: Hold your arms and club out in front of you at chest high and make baseball swings back and forth. Feel how the club-face opens on the back swing squares up and closes and rotates in the forward swing. Then bend over into your golf posture but don’t ground the club and make some more practice swings. With side-on sports such as golf, there should be a certain amount of up, down and around in our golf swing. Remember the “around” element of your golf swing.
The Third Misconception: WHEN YOU MISS A CHIP SHOT, “YOU DECELERATED”
When you chunk behind the ball or skull it, often people blame that on decelerating the club at impact.
Here’s the Drill and the Feel: First, make some practice swings again brushing the grass with the club-head. Then as you hit chip shots, after brushing the grass and as you follow through, let the grip/hands arc up and swing the grip around to the left. You want to swing on a tilted arc, a circle, even with the short shots. So in the backswing the club swings up and then you arc the club up in the forward swing as the club-head swings back to the inside.
Our Shadow Wood Golf Professionals are always here to help you improve your game. Never hesitate to stop by the Golf Pro Shop or the Shadow Wood Golf Academy with any questions or concerns you may have. To contact Mark Moffatt directly, he can be reached by phone at 239-992-6000 (extension 4601) or by email at mmoffatt@shadowwoodcc.com!
