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Is your swing broken, or are you just missing the sweet spot?

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For the majority among us who often struggle to hit fairways, watching a good driver of the golf ball can seem like a magician pulling your card. How does he do that?!

“If only I could drive it like that, the game would be so much easier,” you think to yourself. And you know what, you’re right. Driving the ball consistently long and straight does make the game easier. Just like the rest of the game, however, it’s a skill you need to learn. And a good place to start is figuring out exactly why you’re hitting drives offline.

Big hooks and big slices can either be caused by a problem with your swing (an inconsistent face-to-path ratio) or something as simple as missing the sweet spot of your driver. Your job is to figure out which one is the culprit before you take any drastic measures such as changing your swing or equipment. If it turns out that you have a repeatable swing, then your wild hooks and slices are likely due to something called “gear effect.”

Related: Learn more about gear effect

Basically, here’s how gear effect works. I’m using right-handed golfer terms, so if you’re a lefty just reverse them.

  • Toe hits usually make the ball move to the left or reduce the amount a golf ball will move from left to right.
  • Heel hits make the ball move to the right or reduce the amount a golf ball will move from right to left.

Let’s look at one of the best drivers of the golf ball I teach here at the Vidanta Resort in Mexico. Jesus Torres played professionally for 10 years all over the world and hardly misses a fairway, so I figured I’d use him for this sample test.

OneWayLeft

Above is a chart of 10 drives he hit. If you look at the Trackman screen shot, you’ll notice he hit one shot way left. It was his first shot, and the rest of his drives were basically center cut. I told you, he’s a very good driver of the ball.

Below is a list of the face-to-path ratios for his swings, which are highly consistent. His variance only moves from 2.6 degrees to -1.9 degrees, which is very tight.

  • -0.4
  • 1.2
  • 0.4
  • 0.1
  • -1.9
  • 2.6
  • -1.2
  • -0.2
  • 0.4
  • 1.5

His average face-to-path ratio is 0.2 degrees, which shows that his “normal swing” has a face-to-path average that won’t cause the ball to curve offline too radically… that is, unless he hits the ball off-center. Now let’s examine the swing that caused his huge left miss.

OneWrongSwing

Looking at the Trackman screen shot above, you can clearly see that Jesus hit the ball off the toe of his driver. With a slightly negative face-to-path ratio (-0.4 degrees) this ball should have moved gently left. The ball had a -11.7 degree spin axis, however, and you can see it moved way left. How? Gear effect from the toe hit, NOT his face-to-path ratio.

This example shows that Jesus should focus first on hitting the ball in the center of his club face before going out to the range and “working on his swing.” His swing is fine as you can see from his 10 drives; it was just a funky toe hit that caused the big miss.

Many golfers who struggle off the tee may face a bigger problem, but the only way to know for sure is to get on a Trackman or another launch monitor that measures face-to-path ratio and see how drastic your swing variance is. If it’s a fairly tight tolerance, then get yourself some foot spray and see where you’re hitting the ball on your club face.

Remember, let’s not worry about “fixing your swing” until we determine that your swing is actually the problem.

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Tom F. Stickney II, is a specialist in Biomechanics for Golf, Physiology, and 3d Motion Analysis. He has a degree in Exercise and Fitness and has been a Director of Instruction for almost 30 years at resorts and clubs such as- The Four Seasons Punta Mita, BIGHORN Golf Club, The Club at Cordillera, The Promontory Club, and the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. His past and present instructional awards include the following: Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher, Golf Digest Top 50 International Instructor, Golf Tips Top 25 Instructor, Best in State (Florida, Colorado, and California,) Top 20 Teachers Under 40, Best Young Teachers and many more. Tom is a Trackman University Master/Partner, a distinction held by less than 25 people in the world. Tom is TPI Certified- Level 1, Golf Level 2, Level 2- Power, and Level 2- Fitness and believes that you cannot reach your maximum potential as a player with out some focus on your physiology. You can reach him at [email protected] and he welcomes any questions you may have.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. golfomatic

    Feb 26, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    The great thing about using foot spray at the range is that you can begin to guess pretty accurately where on the face you contacted the ball and associate that with both a feel and a ball flight. After awhile, you don’t need the spray any more to know how you’re contacting it. Thanks, Tom, for the tip about the RiteAid spray – I swear by it; I had another brand in the closet that didn’t work.

  2. Skip

    Feb 24, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    With TrackMan, it’s just a guess that gear effect caused the hook. GC2 with HMT or the new GC Quad, it’s actually measured where on the face contact was made.

  3. Jerry C

    Feb 24, 2017 at 12:15 pm

    Here’s the question. If you can’t find the center of the clubface does that not point out a swing flaw? I agree you need to hit the center before you go fixing something that’s not broken, like path. Tip: Get your foot spray at the $0.99 store. Works just as good as the Dr. Scholl’s for this at 20% of the cost.

    • TR1PTIK

      Feb 24, 2017 at 12:51 pm

      My experience has shown me that if you play and practice frequently enough, that you probably have a repeatable swing. Whether the swing is good, bad, or somewhere in between is anyone’s guess, but chances are with a repeatable swing and a consistent setup you can strike the same spot on the club (or close to it) every swing. If you can then make the necessary adjustments (often in the setup) to find the center of the clubface, you can examine ball flight to tell you what your swing is doing. This is essentially the point of the article as I interpret it.

      Ball flight from a centered strike will tell you more about what your swing is doing than anything else if you don’t have a launch monitor available.

  4. Scott

    Feb 24, 2017 at 9:44 am

    What are some good drills to practice hitting the middle of the club face more consistently?

    • Eddie

      Feb 24, 2017 at 12:23 pm

      Impact tape or athletes foot spray and a large bucket of balls. Slow your swing down until you find the center consistently and slowly work your way back up to full speed.

  5. david

    Feb 24, 2017 at 9:44 am

    why don’t you first check your grip and alignment?

  6. TR1PTIK

    Feb 24, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Good article. I struggled to believe I had a very consistent swing for a long time and would always hit the range to try and fix things that were never a problem. Even after having some lessons with a FlightScope handy I still didn’t really grasp what was happening. It wasn’t until last month when I did a full bag analysis on Trackman that I learned just how consistent and repeatable my swing actually is. Now, I pretty much just focus on ball striking using foot powder spray to detect impact location.

  7. Don M

    Feb 24, 2017 at 9:14 am

    It’s funny to me that club designers seem to be making clubs that don’t have the proper amount of bulge. In theory, if the bulge is proper, Jesus’s toe hit would have started more to the right, and come back to center. In the 460cc era, this type of correction seems to be lost, so we get hooks from toe hits.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Instruction

Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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