I want to be more consistent, this is the number one comment I hear from my new students and when they do hit a straight shot it does not not go far enough !

To be more consistent you need to know what you are really doing in your golf swing right now, not what you feel you are doing.

Where is the the ball going and why is it flying there ?

Is it the clubface or path the club travels on, or a combination that is making your ball fly anywhere but at your intended target.

Why is your clubface not correct at impact ?

Could be grip, could be alignment, but I believe more often than not, understandng how the hands and wrists work during the golf swing is the main fault.
Most amateurs do not know how their hands work during the swing, or what they are doing with their hands as they swing.

Your hands need to be educated, to sense and feel where they are in the swing and of course they give you the information and feedback of where that clubface is throughout the swing. A vital component.

The first must have is.

The hands must be educated to have a consistent swing.

 
Why is your path incorrect ?

The path is wrong because the body movements during the swing are wrong , the club is out of a good alignment and the arms and wrists try and recover the shot somehow.

This is what I see the most..

Mainly arms and wrists are not controlled, shoulders are too dominant in the downswing, the hips do not work enough at the start in the downswing, and the sequence the upper and lower halves of the body are used in are incorrect. .

Most handicap golfers do not understand  what the upper body and lower body have to do in the golf swing.

A few key areas  the body needs to achieve to be consistent  are maintenance of posture during the swing, learning to rotate the upper body and lower body in the correct sequence, both back and forwards and maintain balance throughout.

So the second of my must haves is.

You must have a good pivot working in the correct sequence to deliver consistency and that will create more power..

If your body works in the correct sequence and your hands know their job, your club will be on plane, you will have more power, and you will be more accurate and consistent .

Why not become more consistent now ?

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf

Last week I met a new student his name is Derek Shao, a young man who has worked in London and now is going back to work in Hong Kong in two weeks time.

He told me he had played for one year, and had a few golf lessons, his average scores are around the one hundred mark.

I asked him what he wanted out of his golf lesson, he told me he wanted to fix his slice and hit the ball further.

Not an unusual request down on the driving range!

He hit a few golf shots and yes, they all sliced a long way, very high, losing a lot of distance.

The Cause

Derek  had put so much effort into moving, to try and get more clubhead speed, he moved his whole upper body way too much, both going back and through.

The reason this was happening was because he thought incorrectly that he had to use the strength from his arms and shoulders, to generate more distance, so he then gripped the club to tightly and made his upper body dominate his downswing, making the club wipe across the ball from out to in.

Derek was so keen to work with me and improve we had six sessions in five days working on full swing, chipping, putting, and bunker shots.

He was very focused and asked many questions. He was a great student to work with, and he got great results.

The Correction

I worked on getting him to hold the club in a more relaxed way, getting the tension out of his shoulders, forearms and wrists, he was so tight!

A key thought for Derek was to feel softer in his wrists, this took some getting used too as before he had no wrist hinge to speak of, because he was so tight, just a massive turn of his upper body on his backswing, and a corresponding twist on his downswing.

Also, having a feeling of letting his arms just fall down at the start of his downswing, this helped him keep the club on the desired  plane into the impact zone, and helped him resist pushing with his upper body, creating that twist.

During our last session Derek was hitting his eight iron, six iron and his 17 deg hybrid either straight or with a slight draw, his ball flight was lower.  He had increased his distance considerably and was not exhausted after hitting sixty balls! 

I was very impressed with his results, his striking of the ball was much crisper, and a good twenty five yards longer, and there was more to come. 

As Derek left I congratulated him on what he had achieved and asked him when he was going to play next & try his new swing?

He replied I am playing tomorrow at St Georges Hill, and playing Walton Heath a few days later!

Great stuff Derek.  Enjoy your golf!   

David Bown PGA AA Golf Professional

Authorised Golfing Machine Instructor

contact david@bowngolf.com

07973746872

To view my website. www.bowngolf.com

Youtube channel Bowngolf