Swing Change

Why would you need a swing change? It’s an easy question, right?

You would consider changing your swing because the results of your current motion are producing poor golf shots. Slicing, hooking, topping, hitting it fat, shanking—whatever the problem may be, you recognize that something has to be done.

Where would you start?

Depending on the severity of the problem, you might decide to take a lesson. Or perhaps you would try to fix it on your own. Either choice is fine. Whatever gets you started on a path toward better golf is worth considering.

Whichever route you choose, the correction will probably begin in the same place: identifying the swing issue and finding a way to change it. Here, I will take the liberty of suggesting my approach.

Let’s use the most common miss in golf as an example: the slice.

A slice can be caused by several things. But whatever the original cause, your current swing has developed into a pattern that produces—and attempts to accommodate—that slice. You are REACTING to the ball flight. Most likely, you are doing it subconsciously, without realizing it.

The first thing you must do is:

LEARN TO HOOK THE GOLF BALL!

This I can assure you: You will not escape an anti-slice pattern simply by trying to “straighten out” the slice. A straight ball is not different enough to change a deeply ingrained pattern. You must do everything possible to hit the ball and watch it curve dramatically in the opposite direction.

You need to hit a REAL, LIVE HOOK!

Not once, but over and over again.

Begin in slow motion. Hit small shots of perhaps 50 yards. Tee the ball up to make solid contact easier and concentrate entirely on producing right-to-left curvature.

How can you learn to hook it?

First, set up CLOSED to your target, especially with your shoulders. Radically strengthen your grip by turning BOTH hands as far to the right as necessary. Learn to roll and release the clubface, with the palm of the left hand turning upward and the palm of the right hand turning toward the ground.

If you cannot feel the clubface rotating, use a SPLIT GRIP. Separating your hands on the handle will exaggerate the motion and help you feel the face turning over.

Continue practicing these motions until you can see the ball begin to curve to the left. It must CURVE left—not simply start left because you pulled it.

Next, check your divots. You should begin to see them pointing more to the RIGHT of your target. That is another indication that your swing direction is beginning to change.

Remember your goal: You are trying to eliminate a nagging, lifelong slice that has cost you distance and accuracy for years.

You are likely swinging “over the top” for one reason: You are trying to play your slice and keep the ball somewhere on the golf course. That creates a self-perpetuating problem:

Slice, swing left. Swing left, slice.

To break that cycle, you must first experience the opposite ball flight. Only after you have learned to hook the golf ball can you begin working your way back toward a more functional and predictable shot.

These suggestions will help, but the change will not happen overnight. You have probably played with your slice for a long time, and it will take some patience to replace that familiar pattern.

The wait—and the work—will be well worth it.