So the one thing about getting into golf and investing in clubs and buying the correct attire, is actually getting playing golf! I haven't played in almost 2 months, apart for the odd driving range visit. And now that I have my own clubs, I need to start using them.
Let me tell you something, the pro's make it look so easy, even when the game shot doesn't go their way and get 4-5 boggies a round. What I have learnt at the driving range is that actually hitting the ball where you want it is tough. Then when you do actually get hold of one, recreating it is the challenge. Consistency is key.
As mentioned in my previous post, still haven't figured out how to create a hyperlink to it, I have no formal training worthy of a mention so all my guidance and tuition is through YouTube and the good 'ol interwebs! And to be honest, I have been able to recreate some of the drills I have seen and have seen an improvement. For example; the slice is, apparently, the most common issue in amateur golfers, and guess who falls into that club? Your's truly! Their are a 2 main reasons for it;
- The way you hold the club could be too far left, for a right-handed player, resulting in an open club face when hitting the ball causing massive spin on the ball from right to left. There are a couple other areas here that contribute including the angle of your wrists at the top of your swing as well as when the club hits the ball
- The path the club follows when swinging down to hit the ball . This is also known as coming over the top of the ball. To paint a picture, when you swing the club down after your back-swing, the club comes from too far away from your body, striking the ball furthest away from your body and then through too close to your left side. Uhhm, lets consider the ball is a watch face on the ground with 12 o'clock pointing at your target. You would think that you need to hit the ball at 6 through to 12 to go straight, and you would be correct, however the tendency is more of a 4 o'clock through to 10 o'clock. Slight exaggeration, but I am sure you get the idea.
Found this image online, credit to bbgolfblogger.com:
So one of the drills is to tee-up a ball and then place an object, water bottle, tee or ball, slightly further away from you than your ball and then about a foot back towards 6 o'clock. (I a think I will continue to use this description as a visual reference), and then another of the same object a little closer to you than the ball, but around a foot and a bit towards 12 o'clock. Essentially creating a gate in which the club head needs to travel. This drill forces you to now swing the club in a 7 o'clock to 1 o'clock path. So in to out and "under' the ball VS out to in and "over" the ball.
Did it help? I have to say that it did! But again, it is keeping it consistent and incorporating various other techniques with your stance, shoulders, hips, head and rotation. But it helped.
As luck would have it, I am playing a round of golf tomorrow with some colleagues in Irene, so I will have a chance to put my learning into practice.
Let's hope there is a lot less "FORE" shouted after every shot... including putts. Ok no, I am not that bad. :)
I will take some pictures and load them up on how it went.