How do you hit it STRAIGHT?

**ScottyCameron** · January 30, 2009

Do you have any tips, drills or any thing you do that helps you hit it straight?

**Snake** · January 30, 2009

I used to slice the ball alot - still do on occasion. The thing that helped me control it was practicing my swing over and over while holding something under my right arm (I used a spare glove). That caused my swing to go from outside in to slightly inside out. Now I probably hit straight 50% of the time with some pushes and pulls and the occasional slice or hook. Good enough for me.

**denver_nuggs_15** · January 30, 2009

Close your eyes and pray!

Alignment usually gets me, so I put clubs down for my line when I'm practicing.

It depends on what type of flight you are getting now. If I'm hooking the ball a bit too much, I'll concentrate on releasing a little later. And vice-versa.

It's so hard to hit a ball perfectly straight that I really don't try anymore. I like my 5 yard draw that I have with my irons. I weaken my grip a bit if I want a slight fade. Hitting the ball straight may be the hardest thing to do.

TigerWu · January 30, 2009

I find a mark on the ground in front of my ball and focus on following through with my swing when I hit the ball to the mark on the ground in front of the ball. Most of the time my ball goes straight.

**Dub** · January 30, 2009

Extend down the line after impact....a full follow through down the line.

I've found that wherevery my right forearm goes....so goes the ball. Somewhat exagerated but true.

**PEZGolf** · January 30, 2009

Do you have any tips, drills or any thing you do that helps you hit it straight?

Yes, practice your swingaway so that the clubhead comes back low, slow and straight from the ball, until the shoulder turn makes it go up into the right position at the top. Do not rush the downswing and lead with the lower body. The club will drop into the slot,and you will not loop. It works for me and my normal ball flight is very straight. When I want to draw or fade a shot, I close or open my stance and let the clubhead go inside or outside. Then I swing down the same path. I am capable of moving the ball in different directions as a result.

**Shindig** · January 31, 2009

Do you have any tips, drills or any thing you do that helps you hit it straight?

I have a question: why do you want to hit it straight? So many things have to be right to hit it straight, whereas you can get things close to right and still have a predictable ball flight.

**flopdarock** · January 31, 2009

you have a 3.8 handicap and you are asking for tips on hitting a ball straight?

when i get the slices/hooks... its usually because of how im turning my wrist over(or not) during my follow thru... so i go thru some L to L drills

RC · January 31, 2009

Been debating whether to post this or not...

The swing is mostly circular but you want the ball to go generally straight while you hit it hard... sounds like a tough problem.

The thing that squares my clubface (or so I think) is my lower body and hips. As long as they keep turning and driving, the club squares at impact by itself. The moment I try to do something with my hands or arms things go squirrelly. If I slide into the shot, things go haywire. If I hang back, things go badly. So, once you get the grip right, I think you just turn through the ball and finish in the modern release and the ball will go pretty darn straight.

The problem for most is the lower body does not keep going to pull the arms and hands around through impact, and if the upper body arrives at impact with all the lower body's energy already spent, then all kinds of things can happen -- and only great timing can make a few of these possibilities any good. I'm not saying it cannot be done -- it can. I just don't have the timing to do it.

Notice, I don't claim to hit it straight, but when I do, the body caused it to happen.

**mrserv0n18** · January 31, 2009

Next time your at the range tee up with your driver and do a swing without lifting up your back foot, plant your feet like its a sand trap. You MAY hit a draw but if you have a nasty slice its gonna go straight, obviously you dont want to make this your permanent swing but it will teach you not to shift all that weight till impact. If your slicing your turning your body past the ball before impact. It works.

**mirv** · January 31, 2009

i've always heard that you should put hitting it dead straight out of your mind and just figure out what your natural swing produces - a draw or a fade - and go with the flow. too many elements have to fall too precisely in place for the clubface come in completely square and traveling straight at the target at speeds approaching or exceeding 100 mph. ben hogan played a power fade. so did jack nicklaus and jimmy demaret. sam snead and tiger woods and arnold palmer's swings were/are draw swings. the only players i've ever heard of hitting it dead straight consistently are byron nelson and moe norman.

**Three Putt** · January 31, 2009

I prefer to hit a fade, I can hit a draw also from about 8 iron and down (not as well as the fade). The only time i try to hit it straight is a punch shot.

**ks8829** · January 31, 2009

practice chipping not above your waist with your follow through not above your waist and once you make solid contact and the ball travels straight go to the next level and bring your arms up to 9:00 o'clock and bring your follow through also the same distance at 3:00 o'clock. now you are ready to hit any iron even your 3 iron and watch the ball travel with solid contact and straight. If the ball does not travel straight you will find that sometime you will not follow through with your wrist and the club will not point up behind your or in front of you.

Once you mastered the above you can try hitting longer irons, fairway woods and now your driver.

Another trick during your round if you can not hit it straight is too keep you club face square throughout the swing never opening or closing at impact.

**MiniMoe** · January 31, 2009

My natural ball flight is a pretty straight ball. I can fade it with a driver, but it is hard for me to draw a driver.

For me to hit is straight, I control the swing with my forearms and shoulders. The wrists and club follow what they do as one unit. The palm of my right hand faces the target, so it is the same as the club face. Where my right hand faces is where the ball goes. I use that feeling to extend down the target line, my right hand only turns over when it can no longer extend. To help my extension before rotation, I keep my trail foot (right) on the ground until after impact, and I keep my left knee flexed throughout the swing. I have also found through trial and error that if I grip the club real tight with my left hand (i'm right handed), that helps the hands not rotate too fast. You will not hit it as far, but it will go straighter. One last thing. I have the visual image in my head that my swing is the same as if I'm trying to skip a rock. That means I swing more under myself than around myself.

Hope this gives you a few ideas to tinker with things and learn to hit it ..."as straight as you can point". heheh

**ebough** · January 31, 2009

Let me use an analogy from skiing. Unless you are racing straight downhill, it is always better to be turning slightly (on one edge or the other) to remain in control.

In golf, I think one should always play to the flight your most natural swing consistently produces (assuming it's not a wild slice or hook). So I agree with the folks above who argue for not attempting to hit a ball perfectly straight--it requires too much fortuitous swing perfection.

Having said that, for me personally, switching to a mixed grip (slightly strong left and weak right) helps with my driver swing, which is very slightly out-in at contact. Paradoxically, the weaker right grip helps me get my right arm through and released better, preventing any tendency to slice. So my ball flight ranges from slight straight pull to slight fade. This keeps me on most fairways.

**jb1982** · January 31, 2009

I have a question: why do you want to hit it straight? So many things have to be right to hit it straight, whereas you can get things close to right and still have a predictable ball flight.

Good point. I usually try to hit my chips and puts straight. Everything else is a slight draw. I find that when I try to hit full shots straight, then I have two way miss. When I play a draw my miss is always straight, so at least it's somewhat predictable. I do wish I could hit it dead straight though!

**PEZGolf** · January 31, 2009

The thing that squares my clubface (or so I think) is my lower body and hips.

You are right. With my golf students, I call it "lower body lead", and that is critical in the downswing. The backswing simply sets things up, and the lower body lead makes the downswing happen correctly. Result: should be a relatively straight ball. It works well for me, and my students.

**DavidFehertysBike** · February 2, 2009

I have a particular swing thought that helps me hit strait. Its not much, but it keeps me target focused instead of mechanically fouced while I play.

Swing at the target for a strait ball. For me, that swing thought usually produces a square to sqaure swing path and the ball will go dead strait. My usual swing thought is "swing out" to target, and that will usually produce about a 2-10 yard draw with any club longer than a 9 iron for me.

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How do you hit it STRAIGHT?

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