"HIT it, don't kiss it"

[ph_kingston]

I've made quite a few swing changes recently to improve my consistency as I was a very much a "hands" player, relying on sweet timing with my hands to achieve a good shot - fantastic when it worked but not exactly reliable!

Now I'm hitting the ball straighter and sweeter and much more consistently but I still have on nagging problem that I'd love to hear people's thoughts on.

If I dont attack the ball in the downswing, if I'm a little timid and try to caress it, instead of hitting a long, straight shot with a hint of draw I tend to still get a good, clean contact but block the ball out to the right. I understand why I'm blocking it at impact but I'm just wondering why I'm getting in that position in the first place when my backswing is still sound (I think) but I'm just not committing fully to the shot.

My coach gives gives me the advice "hit it, don't kiss it" and it works! I just can't work out why.

Be grateful for your thoughts and ideas.

[TeachingPro]

Re: "HIT it, don't kiss it"

The situation you're trying to figure out is related to a devation from your normal swing and tempo. As soon as you try to "caress" the ball, your timing is out and you don't release fully ...

If you want to "caress" the ball you need to slow everything down by the same rate. In a golf swing your club head travels 50 times (in a driver) further than the hips - to keep everything in synch you need to slow the club, hands, arms, hips and weight transfer down.

Not difficult with practice...

[ph_kingston]

Re: "HIT it, don't kiss it"

Thanks Graham, is it worth me actually practising with different tempos in order to keep my hand and body movement coordinated, or is that likely to cause more harm than good to a golfer that shoots in the 90s?