Working the Golf Ball

• Posted on Grant
• in Golf Fundamentals, Swing
• on February 14, 2012
• Comments Off on Working the Golf Ball

Did you know that the hardest shot to hit in golf is a straight shot? If you do not plan to work the ball either from left to right or right to left, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage even before you hit the shot. If you pick a target that is left of the flag and then try to fade the shot, your percentages of getting the ball close go up. The same can be said if you pick a target that is right of the flag and then draw the ball in to the flag. (These examples are based on a right handed golfer.)

Let’s just say that you have 150 yards to the flag and you decide to aim straight at your target. This method brings two misses into play, left and right. If your biggest miss from 150 yards is 30′, then your ball could end up either 30′ left or 30′ right.

However, if you decide to aim left of the flag and hit a fade, or aim right of the flag and hit a draw, your misses will end up much closer to the flag. Making a commitment to fade or draw the ball before you swing, tells your mind exactly what you want your swing to accomplish. I have found that if I plan on hitting a fade, I will fade the ball to some extent 99% of the time. So for me, I favor the fade.

Before I address the ball, I pick an aiming point and a shot shape. I like to hit the fade, so for this example I will pick a spot 15′ left of where I want the ball to end up. If I hit a 30′ fade, my ball will end up 15′ right of the flag. If  I happen to hit it straight, the ball will  end up 15′ left of the flag. Notice that my biggest miss will only be 15′ from the flag instead of the example above where the biggest miss was 30′, or twice as far from the flag.

Because I practice hitting different shot shapes and also because I consciously decide to work the ball a certain direction, I hardly ever hit a shot shape that I am not  expecting.

If you can identify the shot shape that you feel the most comfortable with and then aim accordingly, you will find that the ball will get closer to the hole and your scores will start to go down.

GB