Golf Tip – Stay over & move forward in 2023

We all would like to play better than we did in 2022, so this year we are going to focus on simple skills that with a little bit of practice will help you transform your game. This month we are going to address two of the most common reasons for less than solid iron shots (thin & heavy shots) and then give you some basic exercises and swing thoughts to prevent them from occurring.

Fault 1 – Standing up – when we address a golf shot our upper body is tilted over the ball so our arms can hang freely. This posture we create at address needs to be maintained throughout the backswing, downswing and through impact to allow us to strike the golf ball consistently. Any lifting motion of the upper body (standing up) before impact will make it virtually impossible to hit solid iron shots.  

Drill to fix – to improve maintaining posture hit balls off a slope where the ball is below your feet or if that’s not accessible hit shots with your hands at the bottom of your grip. Both exercises will make you aware of the need to stay over the ball

Thought – on the golf course try to focus on your nose staying out over the ball throughout your swing. If your nose doesn’t come away from the ball you’ll be maintaining much better posture when you swing .

Fault 2 – Hitting off the back foot – this would have to be the most common mistake amongst all club golfers and it’s also one of the easiest to fix with a little practice. Apart from putting, all golf shots should see the golfer transfer their weight to their left side and finish up on the right toe (opposite for lefties). Unfortunately a lot of golf shots are struck with the foot furthest from the target stuck flat on the ground and the golfer’s centre of gravity behind the ball resulting in the clubhead contacting the ground before the ball and moving up through impact. Less than ideal for striking a solid shot

Drill to fix – go to the practice fairway and hit some balls. After each shot your goal is to instantly tap your right toe on the ground 2 times whilst balancing on your left leg (opposite for lefties). You’ll soon see yourself striking more solid golf shots off the front foot

Thought – on the golf course have one practice swing before each shot where you hold a balanced finish position on the left leg with only your right toe touching the ground.. And when it comes time to hit the shot, focus on finishing in the same position.