3 CHECKPOINTS FOR STRONGER SHOTS
If you’re a golfer struggling with the high miss to the right, chances are good that the clubface is getting twisted in an open position throughout the swing. When the face is too open, like it would be for a bunker shot or high lob, it’s very easy to suffer from poor contact, slices, and weakly hit shots. These three checkpoints will help you understand the difference between an open clubface, and one that’s in a more closed position for a stronger ball flight.
Checkpoint 1 - The Top
The first checkpoint is the top of the swing, or the point where the clubhead starts moving down towards the ball. At this point in the swing, the slicer often has the toe of the club pointing downward, towards the ground. To check your clubface, stop at the top of the swing, and observe the direction the toe is pointing. If it’s towards the ground, in an open position, get the feeling of twisting the club more closed, so the face of the club points more up to the sky.
Checkpoint 2 - Halfway Down
The second point in the swing to examine is the halfway down position. This is the point in the swing where your lead arm is parallel to the ground. In this position, imagine you’re looking back at yourself either in a mirror, or you’re being filmed from the standard “down the line” camera view you often see on TV, or in a golf lesson. Slicers tend to have the back of the club showing to the camera in this position, rather than the grooves of the club. If this sounds like you, practice stopping the arm parallel to the ground, and observe the face of the club. If it’s too open, practice twisting the clubface more closed, so the face or grooves of the club looks back towards the mirror, or the imaginary camera.
Checkpoint 3 - Last Parallel
The last checkpoint is pretty simple. Go ahead and bring the club down from the top of the swing, until it’s parallel to the ground. From this position check to see where the clubface is pointing. If it’s pointing up towards the sky, that’s an open position. From there, simply twist the face down, so it’s pointing slightly towards the ground. This feeling will definitely help get the face closing more near impact, giving you a stronger ball flight, and less slice. Also notice how your wrists feel as you twist the face more closed. This is often a great feeling throughout the swing to stop the ball from curving to the right.
Checkout the video to better understand the three checkpoints, and to get a visual understanding on what is open versus closed. If you can understand this concept, and start changing the clubface based upon one or two of these checkpoints, you can kiss that slice goodbye.
