| Students taking golf lessons often trigger | | | | |
| ideas for articles. Jim, a new student with a | | | | With the spine angle point away from the |
| good swing and a low golf handicap, wanted to | | | | target, his weight shifts toward his right |
| eliminate a bad case of "the pulls." A | | | | foot. From his starting position, his |
| right-handed player, everything he seemed to | | | | downswing now comes from inside the target |
| hit lately went left, whether on the tee or | | | | line and arcs back inside the line past |
| in the fairway. It was costing him strokes | | | | impact, with the club face square to the |
| and hurting his golf handicap. He had gone | | | | target at impact. Sometimes, this set up also |
| from a 4 to a 7 in just a couple of months. | | | | adds distance to your shot because you are |
| | | | hitting the ball at a better launch angle. |
| Slices and pulls, as I've written in my golf | | | | |
| tips, result from basically the same | | | | Jim address is now perfect. He sets uo behind |
| fundamental swing flaw. In each, the clubhead | | | | the ball, with his spine tilting away from |
| approaches the ball from and out-to-in swing | | | | the target. This address is what a golfer |
| path-one of the most common faults in golf. | | | | means when he says "sets up nicely behind the |
| Whether you slice or pull depends on the | | | | ball." It's where players must be to hit the |
| position of the clubface at impact. If it's | | | | ball squarely and eliminate pulled shots. |
| open at impact, you pull. If it's closed at | | | | |
| impact, you pull. | | | | Additional Causes |
| | | | |
| Jim's Problem | | | | Occasionally, your grip is the reason you |
| | | | pull. Make sure you grip the club properly at |
| Different flaws cause golfers to pull the | | | | address. Move both hands to the right side of |
| ball. In Jim's case, it was his spine angle. | | | | the club (left side, for left-handers) until |
| Jim had such an aggressive swing that he | | | | you can see three knuckles on the back of |
| would often lean toward target when he | | | | your left (right for left-handers) hand. Make |
| addressed the ball. His shoulders were nearly | | | | sure the V's between both thumbs and |
| level and his body tilted at an angle where | | | | forefingers are parallel. |
| his spine was parallel with his right leg. | | | | |
| | | | Improper body alignment also causes you to |
| This stance put too much weight on Jim's left | | | | pull. Close the overall alignment of your |
| foot, which promoted a swing path that moved | | | | body a little by aiming your feet, hips, and |
| from outside the target line during the down | | | | shoulders to the right of the target. Then |
| swing to inside the target line past impact. | | | | move the ball back in your stance. In some |
| As a result, he would frequently would pull | | | | cases, you need to straighten your right arm |
| shots left of the target. The key to fixing | | | | (left arm for left-handers) early in the |
| Jim's problem then was to adjust his spine | | | | swing. |
| angle. | | | | |
| | | | One drill to help eliminate pulls is to |
| Uphill Battle | | | | practice hitting shots from a sidehill lie. |
| | | | Position the ball several inches above the |
| Naturally, Jim's spine angle problem at | | | | level of your feet. Now, swing away. This |
| address had to be corrected. One way to do | | | | drill promotes a more rounded swing plane and |
| this was to imagine his ball was on an up | | | | a more powerful in-to-out swing path, |
| slope, and then address the ball with this | | | | eliminating pulled shots. |
| lie in mind. That would place the club shaft | | | | |
| at an angle. Jim could then match his | | | | A variety of flaws cause golfers to pull |
| shoulders to the shaft's angle. By getting | | | | shots. It could be your spine angle, as in |
| his left shoulder higher than his right, Jim | | | | Jim's case, your grip could be off, or you're |
| was in a perfect position to hit the ball. | | | | not straightening your right arm early |
| | | | enough, if your right-handed. To eliminate |
| Another way to teach a student to adopt the | | | | pulls learn to swing the club on a more |
| right spine angle in this case is to step on | | | | in-to-out swing path and square off the |
| the player's clubface. That tilts the up. Now | | | | clubface at impact. Practice hitting balls on |
| all the player has to do is match his | | | | an upslope to help eliminate "the pulls" and |
| shoulders to the shaft angle. Either | | | | you should see your golf scores and golf |
| approach, works well. | | | | handicap drop. |