YouTube/Steve Bratgolf
Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you play smarter and better golf.
Since I started playing golf, I seem to have a natural slice – or so I tell myself. In fact, I’ve just learned to control the slide as best I can, knowing I’m always in danger of going road Right if you pass my driver.
The reason this happens is pretty common: My club face is open by impact.
Ask 100 amateur players what they want to fix in their game, and a high percentage will answer, “Fix my chip.” And while it may seem impossible to do, learning how to fix a slide in golf is actually quite simple—as long as you have the tips to change a few things in your swing.
In today’s Smart Play lesson, Coach Steve Pratt He reveals how to fix a chip in just three minutes, and whips out some easy tweaks that will result in straighter drives in no time. Check out his tips below!
How to repair a chip in 3 minutes
Turn your fist far to the right
The first slide stabilizer that Pratt mentioned is a reimagining of the way you hold your golf club. This means rotating your hands and making sure your right hand is far enough to the right of the racquet handle that you feel “your left palm is down toward the ground, and your right palm is facing up to the sky”.
Adds Pratt, “This will give us more possibilities to get the club’s appearance back on track.”
Practice going 180 degrees over the top
As Pratt mentioned in the video, more than 80 percent of the influence of the ball’s direction comes from the position of the club surface. This is why squareness of the face on impact is critical to getting straighter shots.
One way to practice this is to take the racquet by the new handle, and spin it back and forth 180 degrees over the top of your head.
Hold the club at eye level, [one] palm straight down, [one] Pratt says. “That’s going to give you the proper grip… Now we’re just going to do a 180-degree drill over the top.”
“This is a way to get the feel of activating the appropriate muscles that will balance the club face through the impact.”
Implement these changes by taking an easy half swing
Finally, Pratt says it’s important not to immediately pick it up, grab it, and try to rip it off—emphasizing that the new grip and swing settings will take some getting used to.
“Take a few easy half-swings, and see if you can get the ball to go left,” he says. Keep in mind that the forearm movement has started again [behind the hip in the downswing].
Don’t be surprised if the first several shots of the hook are kind of ugly; maybe [even] On the ground. Keep at it, and you’ll get better. “
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