Here’s an easy way to get a sense of what a square club face feels like and how to get back to it every time.

To start this, set up to your ball and take the club back so that it’s parallel to the ground AND parallel to the target line. When you do this, what you should see is that the club face angle should match relatively closely to the angle of your spine.

Now, if you were to set up with your club parallel to the ground, you should see that the club face is perfectly vertical and still matches the same angle as your spine.

When you move around in this position, your spine should actually match the club face if everything else stays the same and this is a great reference point to understanding squaring the club face.

We actually want to try to keep the club face square to the arc of our swing. Which means that we really don’t have to “control” the club face much, just allowing it to move along with the centripetal force. In order to get a good feel for your club face being square to your arc, think of your club face matching the angle of your spine throughout the swing.

I once had a golf student that I took out on the course and I told him “whenever you think you should chip it, you should probably putt it.” The bottom line is that you want to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible. If you can putt it, you should putt it. If you can’t putt it, you should chip it. And if you absolutely can’t chip it, then you might have to pitch it. It should be the last option though.

Here’s the reality. Most amateur golfers if they are just off the green and they have a decent amount of green to work with, they are probably going to go to their golf bag and grab their wedge and their putter. If you are a higher handicapper or you don’t play a ton of golf, your wedge more often than not will get you into trouble. If you hit it well, most of the time it will not be exceptional. When you don’t hit it well, it can often be catastrophic. In order to hit the shot well, I need to have good technique: weight forward, hands forward, square club face, etc as well as the experience and skill to make decent contact (not to mention the mental fortitude to hit the shot under pressure).

On the other hand, if I grab my fairway wood or my putter and hit the same shot, the only thing I really need to focus on and figure out is how hard to hit it. So that means that all I need to practice is how hard to hit it. Even myself, who is fairly skilled, knows the technique, and practices, I still will always opt to take the shot that requires the least amount of skill especially if the stakes are high. In order to play your best golf, you need to play to your skill level. You should also be practicing the shots that require the least amount of skill.

I have played with a lot of higher handicappers and I can’t tell you the number of times they have hit their tee shot into the woods. All they would need to do is punch out of the woods in order to make a bogey and they can’t seem to get out of the woods. These are easy shots and you should be able to execute these shots most of the time.

And always remember around the greens, the less loft you use, the less skill you need!

A couple weeks ago, we talked about why the high handicapper slices. This week we are talking about why the low handicapper has a tendency to hook the ball.

Our high handicap golfer tends to swing the club a bit out to in. Conversely, the lower handicap golfer knows that he or she should be swinging more in to out; however, that golfer may swing a little too much in to out. In other words, if you tend to hook the ball, you are probably swinging out to the right (for a right handed golfer) with a closed club face.

If you are struggling with hook shots in your game, a way to correct this or to work on this would be to

1. As you start your downswing, try to feel your hands moving away from you.

2. Feel like you are unwinding your body in a way that’s going to get the club working more toward the target line. Your hands should be more out in front of your chest in the downswing as opposed to back behind you.

3. Try to feel like you are swing more to the left (for a right handed golfer).

4. Work on these drills mostly with a mid iron; it’s much easier to work on your swing with an iron than it is with a driver. The drill will translate to the driver if you work at it.

We have a lot of recreational golfers coming to us who are frustrated about slicing their driver. Ultimately what is going on when someone is consistently slicing is that their club face is open relative to the path. This is sometimes called and out-to-in path or and over-the-top swing.

It’s pretty easy to see when you are slicing your driver and the need for a launch monitor isn’t really necessary. However, when you are working on “fixing” your driver, it’s MUCH easier to work on these drills with a shorter iron like a 7. So for this fix, grab a shorter club.

First of all, it is IMPERATIVE that you set up with good alignment. It’s pretty tough to figure out what’s going on in your swing if your alignment is bad. 99% of people who don’t practice with alignment sticks do not have good alignment. Make sure when you set up with the alignment aids, they are parallel.

Second, make sure you are setting up with a proper grip. Now you can focus on your swing path. If you are swinging the club out-to-in, chances are you feel like you are swinging the club straight at the target. So start trying to swing the club more in to out or to the right for a right handed golfer.

Chances are, the first couple of times that you try to swing the club more to the right (for a right handed golfer), you won’t make great contact. Part of the reason for this is that when you try to swing the club out to the right, you may throw your hands out away from you. However, when you do that, your entire club will be farther away from you and it’s really hard to connect with the center of the club face. So another way to think about this is to try to keep your back pointed at the target a little bit longer in your backswing as you unwind toward the target. This will help you unwind with your lower body first. This will help you shallow the club under the previous plane. Try this without a ball first to get the feel for it.

Another thing you can do is start to get more aware of the club face and feel like you are moving the toe of the club past the heel.

I’ve been playing the game a really long time and chances are, if you are new to the game, this will not come easy to you. However, if you keep working at it, it will become easier and will definitely help to fix that slice!

In today’s blog post, we are talking about uneven lies! If you have gotten super comfortable hitting balls on a driving range or a practice mat, you know that when it comes to playing in a practical setting, you are unlikely to encounter perfect lies 100% of the time. While it’s really important to hone your skills when it comes to your full swing, it’s also really important to understand that managing this course is another huge component to lowering your scores and reducing your handicap. So here’s a complete (yet concise) guide to helping you deal with uneven lies.

Sidehill lie - ball below feet

While left handed golfers make up about 10% of all golfers, I personally don’t like to say “just do the opposite of the right handed golfer”. Because it’s important to understand the difference for right and left handed golfers, I have broken it down to more easily understand (hopefully).

• Sidehill Lie - Ball Below Your Feet

  • For a right handed golfer:

    • Club face will point to the more to the right

    • You will need to aim further left of the target

    • Normal Ball position and grip

  • For a left handed golfer:

    • Club face will point more to the left

    • You will need to aim further right of the target

    • Normal Ball position and grip

• Sidehill Lie - Ball Above Your Feet

  • For a right handed golfer:

    • Club face will point to the left

    • You will need to aim further right of the target

  • For a left handed golfer:

    • Club face will point right

    • You will need to aim further left of the target

• Uphill Lie

  • This will increase the loft of the club and the ball will go higher in the air

  • Play the ball in normal ball position or slightly further forward in your stance.

  • Match your shoulders to the slope of the hill

• Downhill Lie

  • This will decrease the loft of the club and the ball will go lower in the air

  • Play the bal further back in your stance

  • Feel like your spine is more upright; matching your shoulders to the slope - this will help you hit down on the ball

Uphill lie

Mike showing how the Pitch Assist training aid can show you exactly what your club face is doing. Here, he shows the club face pointing to the left on a side hill lie where the ball is above your feet.

As always, try to find a place to practice these shots. We don’t often get to practice these shots at the driving range or practice facility so it’s important you practice them when you get a chance.