Short irons to left

[Chris]

I have a very frustrating problem, when I am within 160 yards and down All my shots go left. Their trajectry is good but to the left. I check my allignment and I am actually aiming a bit right and I am sure that my club is aiming correctly if not right also. Doe this have anything to do with my swing?

And another problem is that when I just started I thought that to hit to the intended target you have to line up your feet in line with the hold and the club also lined up with the hole, this seemed to work ok but now when I try to line my feet parrallel with the club line I keep changing directions where I go. Is this also something In which I changed my swing to adapt to my way of alligning. Thanks alot I really need to know this.

[Golfbald]

Hi Chris,

Alignment is a hard concept to grasp inthe begining. You have probably heard the term lining up paralel left of the target. This is important to straight shots. What you see behind the ball and how you setup to the ball changes. This happens because from behind your are face on to the target. At address you are looking sideways and at an angle.

To really see what I'm talking about try this on the range the next time out. You need 3 clubs and friend to help you. Take club #1 and place it on the ground aimed it at the target. Set the ball next to this club. Take your setup position and stand still, have your friend put club #2 behind your heels. Then have your friend take club #3 and put it on your setup position shoulder line. Make sure he can stand still and not change the position. Step back and look at the 3 clubs, they should be paralel to each other. If any clubs cross, you must adjust your setup to be paralel. This setup drill will get you adjusted fast.

Keep it in the short grass,

GolfBald

[Chris]

Thanks Ill go try it as soon as I can get out to the range

[jscerbo]

You are pulling your shots because you are aligned right of the target

I agree with golfbalds assesment somewhat

However the fundamental called ball position can affect this also just as alignment can effect this

If the ball is of your left foot, and when I say this I mean off of your left toe forward of sternum.

This will make you pull the ball

And if you are aligned right of the target it will only make the problem more severe


Write back with your success

Jordy Scerbo
Golf Instructor

[Cliff]

Setting up a practice routine with 3 clubs i.e., one parallel to target just below the ball to target and one parallel to your feet (like tram lines) and the third 90 degrees to the tram line pointing at your golf ball will help remind you of your alignment.

To help set the shoulder try this tip.

A forth club will be used to align your shoulders hips and knees,

1, After setting out your tram lines and ball position, take your 6 iron and set up to hit the golf ball, you must be in the pre take away position with full concentration on hitting your shot to target.

2, Stay in that position body wise and re-grip the club along the shaft with your arms hanging down and your hands about 6 inches apart in the same prepared starting point, (your hands and arms should be relatively similar to the set up position and comfortable)

3, Now look down at your forth club (6 iron) and see the position relating to the club on the ground next to your feet. If you are facing right, then re-align shoulders (Not arms) to bring you inline, you could try an experiment and turn your shoulders slightly open then re-grip the club and hit your shot if it fades to the right you know you are on the right track and can make your final adjustment on the next swing.

The above will only prove your alignment of Feet/Knees/Shoulders and not the swing itself, but will give valuable information on your preset routine.

Regards cliff

Final note

1... With the ball to far forward, your shoulders align left of the target promoting a slice.
2... With the ball back in your stance, your shoulders align right of the target, the prelude to a hook.
3... Depending on the club, the ball moves about three ball widths from your left cheek, to your shirt logo and finally to your armpit.
The bottom of your arc:
With an iron, your clubface contacts the ball just before it reaches the bottom of its arc. When the ball is teed with a wood, contact takes place at the bottom of the arc or slightly on the upswing. Since your left hand is higher on the club than your right hand and you are on your left leg at impact, the bottom of the arc is opposite your left armpit. Thus for your driver, the ball will be positioned opposite your left armpit, guaranteeing that the club will travel level to the ground at impact. With your long irons and fairway woods, locate the ball off your shirt logo and with the medium to short irons, the ball will be positioned farther back opposite your left cheek.
Don't use your feet:
Always relate your ball position to your upper body: feet are a poor reference, since most golfers use their toes to judge ball position and they can give the illusion that the ball position is correct when, in fact, it is not.
You can see how easy it is to be fooled by trying out the following: place a ball in the middle of your body. Now when you draw your right foot back about five inches the ball appears to have moved forward. When you open your stance the ball appears to "back up" just as it does when you flare your left foot out.

[Chris]

thanks everyone but I have another question not really related to this, should I take a divot, I practice taking the right amounts but I cant get the right divot, I always hit the ground and it stops all my clubhead speed how do you take the proper divot. THanks

[Golfbald]

Chris,

Yes you should take a divot. The problem I believe your having is hitting the big ball before the little one. In other words, you have to hit the ball first, then the ground. Doing the reverse will cause the abrupt stop before you strike the ball.

A mental picture would be to see a nail sticking out of the back of your ball. The clubhead would be a hammer head. You want to drive the nail into the ground. The club head will drive into the back of the ball, the ball compresses on the clubface then rebounds, this happens in a fraction of a second. the ball is essentially gone when the divot has begun. It looks like the divot happens first, but the strike and compression do.

GolfBald

[Chris]

Thanks but I have another question, From the SW and up where should the divots stop, eg: Sw-5 maybe. and with the longer clubs including woods should you compress the ball into the turf? Thanks golfbald

[Golfbald]

Chris,

3i - Lw take a divot. Sometimes I pinch one off the top of the grass. It looks like you give the grass a haircut but don't take grass out. Anything that resembles a straight peice of bacon is pretty good. You can learn alot by the shape of your divots. Opening and closing the clubface is like a photo in the grass. Just retrace your swing and you will see how the clubhead went through at impact.

The fairway wood, I carry a metal 3 wood and a persimmon 5 wood, I try to hit both at the bottom of the swing arc. I also put them an inch back in my stance to compensate for the tee height. I hit it solid there. Some people can sweep it. I guess it's a matter of preference and what works for you.

The only question I won't answer is the one not asked or I don't know or can't find out the answer to.

Hope this help you,

GolfBald

[Cliff]

Hi Chris.

Re the Divot thing.

I'm sure your green keepers would prefer you and all golfers not to take a divot!!

But as long as the divot starts after impact and not before then you can be assured that you are taking the ball off the turf first.

If you look close at some great tour players you will notice they hover the club, prior to take away, this particular start to the swing can when perfected reduce any divots taken and also reduce the lag some players get when they start the take away.

If you think about it for a second, why use up quality energy gardening with a golf club.

Try to practice striking sweeping the ball off the turf; I think you would enjoy the feedback from the ball hitting the clubface.

Taking a divot to promote what some players feel is required to gain maximum stop on the ball, due to the steepness of the attack behind the ball. Is quite understandable in some circumstances.

Johnny Miller adapted the swish feeling to great effect. Just nipping the ball off the turf. He was and still is a great teacher of that practice.

[Chris]

Just wanted to thank you all. It was a great help.

[gord962]

swish vs. divot

Hi Chris,

I was just reading all of the comments and I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I agree witheverything that everyone has posted - they all make very good points. What it comes down to is what feels best for you.

From my own personal experience, I hope I can help you out a bit as well. I used to do the 'swoosh' thing, but this year, I have started taking divots. The biggest difference I have noticed is when using the sweep method, my miss-hit shots were either fat or thin, but always straight. Now, when taking a divot, my miss-hit shots are either left or right, but always the right distance. The biggest difference I noticed between the two methods is that I gained approx. 20 yards per club (9 iron used to be 125, now 145). I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

[Cliff]

Divots are fine as long as you guys replace them!

But to be fair most pros and armatures alike strike the ball first and grass second, mainly on the sand iron through to 7 iron, then due to the position of the ball that creates a swing arc that is further forward in the swing, the divot becomes less noticeable. So if you take a beaver out of the floor while hitting a 0ne iron check your ball position and angle of attack.

Poor old green keepers