Your Golf Swing

What is the problem with your golf swing? That is usually the first question I ask of new or prospective students. As you would expect, I get a variety of responses to the inquiry. Most of the responses do not directly address the question. In fact, they are almost always wrong. They often tell me what they think is the problem, but rarely the problem itself. Here are some common responses: 

And on and on…I am always quick to respond, “You have not told me the problem,” which often provokes a quizzical look. No, the problem with any golfer’s swing is identifiable in one of only three ways: THE CLUBFACE WAS NOT SQUARE, THE PATH WAS NOT CORRECT, THE ANGLE INTO IMPACT WAS NOT CORRECT. That’s it. Those three things are the only problems any swing has. One of those three things will misdirect and/or mishit any golf shot. It matters not if it was you, me, or Tiger Woods. The golf ball is an inanimate object and responds only to IMPACT, nothing else. Everything in golf comes in threes.  

Clubface can be: 1. Square; 2. Open; 3. Closed. 

Angle can be: 1. Correct; 2. Steep; 3. Shallow. 

Path can be: 1. Correct; 2. Out-to-in; 3. In-to-out. 

Contact can be: 1. Center; 2. Toe; 3. Heel. 

Ball flight can be: 1. Straight; 2. Curve right; 3. Curve left. 

We can go on and on with this explanation, but youget the point. There are a finite number of things that can go wrong at impact. Our job is to know what went wrong and why. Without impact knowledge, your chances of correcting it are not good. Where do you start to look? There are, you guessed it, three places to look before you even swing 

So, before we even take the club back, we have things to check in the setup to find the problem. If grip controls clubface, we might consider a grip change to help square the face (if the slice is habitual). If posture controls the angle into the ball (attack angle) we might need an adjustment if thin shots and fat shots are part of your arsenal. Finally, if aim controls swing path, check your alignment if your swing direction is consistently left or right of the intended target. 

Dynamic swing issues are more complex, but these, too, can be addressed if the cause is known. In a practice session, stop and consider these impact realities. These are not my opinions. They are the immutable laws of golf club, golf ball collision. They have been around since the game was created, and they will always be true. It can be no other way.