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By Jack Moorehouse
Golf is replete with myths. Covering everything from driving
to
course management, these myths are passed down from father to
son, some in the form of golf tips on swing mechanics, others
in the form of wise advice on how to do things. Unfortunately,
many of these myths are just plain wrong.
Below are three popular myths I like to debunk in my golf
lessons and golf tips. One or two of them may have an element
of truth in them. The other may have no truth in it at all.
Regardless, all of them embody ideas that can elevate scores
and boost golf handicaps.
1.Aim at the Target
We’ve all heard this statement before. Maybe even said it. The
statement isn’t so much mythic as it is confusing. The
question
is, aim what at the target? Your clubface? Your shoulders?
Your
body? The statement doesn’t really say.
The problem with this myth is that it can cause people to
misalign themselves in one of two ways, hurting his or her
golf
handicap.
• aiming the feet, hips, knees, and shoulders directly at the
target, leaving the clubface following a line well right of
the
target; or,
• aiming to compensate for ballflight errors, like when you
aim
left to compensate for the ballflight error of a slice (for
right handers).
When aimed correctly, the leading edge of the clubface sits at
a right angle to the target line while your body aligns
parallel-left of the target line. This set up establishes
perfect parallel alignment. This position doesn’t come
naturally. So you need to work on it on the range to recognize
when you’re aiming correctly on the course.
Here’s a drill I use in my golf instruction sessions. First,
pick a target and lay one club down on the ground a few feet
in
front of the ball, but on the target line. Then, take a second
club and lay it down parallel to the first but along your toe
line to indicate body alignment. Make adjustments as
necessary.
Finally, hit a few balls and see what happens. After awhile
you’ll have trained your body and eyes to accept this new
alignment.
2.As the swing gets longer, it gets faster
If you’re like most golfers, you swing the driver faster than
the 7-iron or 8-iron. Most of us invariably ramp up our swing
speed with longer clubs because we envision hitting the ball
harder and driving it farther. It’s a natural tendency, one I
often see when giving golf lessons.
Unfortunately, when you ramp up your swing speed, you destroy
your natural swing tempo—the total amount of time it takes to
create your swing from beginning to end. That’s not good. When
you start varying your swing’s tempo from club to club, you
destroy the timing required to hit consistent golf shots. It’s
one reason why you feel that you can hit your irons well
one-day but not your woods, and vice versa.
All of us have our own swing tempo. Some of us have a fast
tempo, like Nick Price. Some of us have a slower tempo, like
Fred Couples. Either way is fine, as long as you keep the same
tempo for each club in the bag. It’s not something you
control.
If it takes two seconds to hit the pitching wedge, it should
take you two seconds to hit the driver. Practice consistent
tempo with all your clubs and you’ll hit consistent shots.
3.Play the ball back with shorter clubs
Most of us vary ball position as we change clubs. The shorter
the club, the farther back we position the ball. But incorrect
ball positioning can create major problems. With the ball
positioned too far forward, our shoulders tend to align too
far
left of forward. Since your club swings where our shoulders
point, we slice. With the ball positioned too far back, our
shoulders tend to close, encouraging a push or a hook.
While you should position the ball more forward for the driver
than the pitching wedge, you should never place the ball
farther back than center for any normal shot with a level lie,
regardless of the club you’re using.
Remember, for normal shots on level lies, there are just three
basic ball positions;
• Short iron: one inch left of center
• Mid-irons: two inches left of center
• Long irons & woods: three inches left of center.
In addition, always relate the position of the ball to your
upper body, not your toes. Using your toes can create the
illusion that the ball is positioned correctly when in fact it
isn’t. For example, if you use your toes to position the ball
with your foot flared out but then close up your foot, the
ball
seems to move forward in your stance, when it actually hasn’t.
These are just three of the more popular golf myths that
exist,
many of which I address in my golf lessons and golf tips.
There
are lots more. Unfortunately, many of them are just plain
wrong.
So be wary of them. And don’t be afraid to challenge them.
Even
if you’re wrong, the worse thing that can happen is that you
can
learn something valuable about the game of golf.
About The Author: Jack Moorehouse is the author of the
best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros
www.howtobreak80.com.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a
working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all
seven
continents lower their handicap immediately.
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