What should I implement to square up the club face everytime?

[chris_284]

What things can I do to square up the club face everytime on my swing?

I'm a hack golfer. Typically I shoot right around the mid 90's.

Inspired by the book about breaking par in a year by john richardson who says something along the lines of 'golfers go out and will spend $600 on the new R9, and get caught up in all the marketing around distance etc... but a golfer wont spend money on the thing that will actually help their game. Lessons.'

So I signed up for a 3 lesson package for $100. The first lesson was great, but afterwards I seemed to forget it all. I couldn't take it to the course or even back to range. During the second lesson, I really got it. He continually praised my new swing, and I was hooked. Before, I had a very prominent outside to inside swing which was always causing straight ball flights but to the left of the target, or a ball that would slice, starting up left of the target and ending up at its destination. Now my swing is quite nice, usually inside-square-inside.

I'd say at the range I'm hitting 60-65% inside-square and the ball is going dead straight. The other 35-40% I either don't release properly and hit a slight fade, or release to much and hit a slight draw. Nothing as extreme as before but something I want to work on now.

Should I add a pre-shot routine, or something i say to myself during my backswing and swing, to help mentally bring about the same inside-square swing more often?

Is this just a matter of getting out there and hitting thousands of balls? If so, instead of trying to hit them straight all the time, should I try to intentionally hit a bunch of fades, and a bunch of draws, so I know what each extreme feels like and in turn that will help my feel with hitting straight shots more often?

[JackLee]

Hitting dead straight consistently is very hard to do. I think most pros hit a slight draw or slight fade for their normal shot.

[chris_284]

I guess what I am asking is how can I become more consistent hitting the shot that I am trying to hit. If I try a straight shot, it'll probably go straight 60% of the time. If I tried to fade it, it would probably do so 60% of the time as well. The other 40% a more severe slice, or straight.

I've heard things about using a pre-shot routine to stimulate the muscle memory of the 1000's of swings you made before using that same pre-shot routine. I've also heard of saying something (a small sentence maybe), or visualizing something when you begin your swing to help arouse the muscle memory of the shot.

Is there something I can add to my game to become more consistent?

Also, when hitting range balls working on your swing, is it better to work on the whole thing at once, or individual aspects? I.E. Should I go to the range and work on 'my swing', or is it better to head there and spend my whole bucket working on just 'my back swing' or just my 'right side release'?

I'm trying to think up some ways to increase my swing consistency.

[ohiolefty]

Also, when hitting range balls working on your swing, is it better to work on the whole thing at once, or individual aspects? I.E. Should I go to the range and work on 'my swing', or is it better to head there and spend my whole bucket working on just 'my back swing' or just my 'right side release'?

One of the big this is, when working on things on the range, you have to be willing to work through bad shots in order to create the swing changes you need to make.

Also - while it IS important to tinker away and/or make changes when necessary, you still have to hit golf shots. I split my buckets up, depending on how many different things I'm trying to accomplish, and always spend some time hitting pure old 'golf shots' where I'm really working on crisp contact and alignment and not reinventing the wheel.

[melchior]

You definitely want to work on something specific when you go to the range, so work on backswing, shoulder turn, whatever.

To be more consistent... well, be more consistent! I know it sounds like terrible advice; but since you obviously know *how* to hit the shots (since you do it more than half the time) you just have to ... do it.

Along the "saying something" lines, I have a swing thought. After deciding what shot I want to hit, I think about something that will get my mind off all the distractions and just allow me to swing. It could range from "rotate the left shoulder down" on the backswing to "keep my right elbow close" on the downswing to "drive the ball into the ground" at impact to "tuck the butt" on the follow through. You just need to find something that will allow you to get out of your own way and hit the shot that you want.

As for me, I always have a fade with my driver; and don't normally try to shape it and a draw with my irons without really trying. I just play to my shot shape instead of switching it around all the time. Yes, sometimes I'm left with longer shots since it curves to the wrong side of the fairway or whatever but I'd rather have that than trying for something that's not my normal shot shape and possibly spraying into the deep stuff.

tl; dr version:
Pick a shot shape you want.
Work on doing just that shot shape 100% of the time.
When you go to the range work on specifics.

After you know you can do your shot shape 80%+ of the time, then you might want to try to work your shots more. But work on making one shot, working all your parts one at a time to really be consistent with that shape so you know where your ball is going, then you can work on making your ball go the other way.

[The Recreational Golfer]

I'd say at the range I'm hitting 60-65% inside-square and the ball is going dead straight. The other 35-40% I either don't release properly and hit a slight fade, or release to much and hit a slight draw. Nothing as extreme as before but something I want to work on now.

It sounds like your lessons worked, up to a point. Keep getting lessons to keep refining your swing, and practice what you learned, A LOT.

[$2 Nassau]

The "flying wedge" without a doubt. There's a thread on the first page about it, check it out. working on it myself.

[CalBoomer]

Although people typically try to have a ball always move one way or the other, having a ball that goes straight a lot and sometime fades or draws slightly is actually quite good. The so-called "power fade" frequently goes straight and even occasionally draws slightly. What it does not do is hook or slice uncontrollably. So with what you describe, just aim down the middle of the fairway. Neither a mild fade or draw should have you far off the short grass.

[uttexas]

The problem usually isn't the clubface--studies have shown that most slicers (and most golfers) hit the ball with a clubface that is square to the target.
The main problem is swing path.

I'd say, your first step is to understand the ball flight laws. See this article http://thesandtrap.com/playing_tips/ball_flight_laws
Basically, clubface determines the initial direction of the ball, and swing path determines the shape of the ball flight.
If you understand the ball flight laws and the reaction a golf ball has to a club face and swing path, you will be able to acurately diagnose and fix swing issues.

[david_wedzik]

Great answer...love it!!

Dave

The problem usually isn't the clubface--studies have shown that most slicers (and most golfers) hit the ball with a clubface that is square to the target.

[JohnQVegas]

The problem usually isn't the clubface--studies have shown that most slicers (and most golfers) hit the ball with a clubface that is square to the target.

If the clubface was square, it wouldn't really be a slice, it would be a fade. Out-in with a square clubface produces a fade. Out-in with an open clubface produces a slice. I dont think most golfers are hitting slices with square clubfaces, or they would be pretty badass.

[O.B. Right]

If the clubface was square, it wouldn't really be a slice, it would be a fade. Out-in with a square clubface produces a fade. Out-in with an open clubface produces a slice. I dont think most golfers are hitting slices with square clubfaces, or they would be pretty badass.

I think he means square in relation to the swing path. It will be open in relation to the *intended* swing path and target. Although . .I don't know if most golfers are really square or not . .I know from hitting off a simulator that I very often combine out to in swingpath with a face that is open even relative to the path. That shot in real life is the one that goes out about 50 yards and right about 100.

[zeg]

If the clubface was square, it wouldn't really be a slice, it would be a fade. Out-in with a square clubface produces a fade. Out-in with an open clubface produces a slice. I dont think most golfers are hitting slices with square clubfaces, or they would be pretty badass.

The distinction between slice and fade is mostly of degree. I've seen relatively few slices that both start off right and slice further. I know mine often started more or less on target but very quickly veered off. That's the signature of a square (to *target*) face with a strongly out-to-in path.

However, I don't think I've ever seen an authoritative statement dividing fades from slices. It seems to be a combination of magnitude of the curve and whether the golfer meant to do it or not...

[Zeph]

If the clubface was square, it wouldn't really be a slice, it would be a fade. Out-in with a square clubface produces a fade. Out-in with an open clubface produces a slice. I dont think most golfers are hitting slices with square clubfaces, or they would be pretty badass.

I'd put it this way:

Ball starts straight and curves to the right: Straight-fade or straight-slice Ball starts right and curves more to the right: Push-fade or Push-slice A fade is a shot moving left to right, a slice is a shot moving more to the right. To use some words, a fade might curve 10 yards in the air, while a slice curve 30 yards. We don't define the difference between them, both shots are a result of clubface angle being outside the swingpath angle. You can't define a fade or slice with the swingpath relationship only. I've sliced most of my golfing career, and most of the time I did it with a somewhat square clubface. Sometimes it was a pull-fade, sometimes a straight-fade, sometimes a straight-slice and sometimes a pull-slice. A slice is just a more severe fade. And you can hit a fade with an in-out swingpath, you can hit it with any kind of swingpath. It will be a push-fade with an in-out swingpath though. The first word on a ball flight tells us where the ball starts out initially. Pull = to the left, straight = straight, push = to the right. Check the graphics on this page: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/entries/61-The-Big-List It is difficult to see the initial direction on your own shots. Having someone behind you watch, hit at a screen or something, or set up a stick some yards in front of your ball. Notice which side of the stick the ball pass on. Make sure you are aligned properly to the stick. When it comes to release, I'll just redirect you to this thread: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...-the-Club-quot