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Drop 10 Strokes In 10 Minutes

Score your best in 2011, quickly!

This Article Features Photo Zoom

STROKE 5:
5. FAT SHOTS


Hitting it fat? Like a thin shot, you’ve got to stop trying to lift the ball into the air! Allow the club’s loft to handle the lifting, and concentrate on getting your weight off your right side on the downswing. To do this, initiate your downswing with a slight bump of the hips toward the target. By doing this, you’ll center your body’s rotation more over the golf ball, helping to avoid hitting the turf before the golf ball. If you’re hanging back, you’ll be hitting it fat! And by the way, let’s say you’re making a good swing and still hitting it fat. Sometimes a simple adjustment in ball position (move it back) will make all the difference. Get that ball just in front of the lowest point on your swing arc.


STROKE 6:
6. NASTY SHANKS

Hitting a shank is one of the worst shots in golf. It not only can send the ball a mile offline, but it reeks havoc on one’s confidence, often causing the golfer to tense up with the yips—thus making a shank even more likely. Most shanked-pitch and short-iron shots can be avoided if you remember one simple tip: Keep the head and upper body from leaning too far toward the golf ball during the swing. Because you’re using a shorter iron and your spine angle is greater than with a longer iron or wood, excessively leaning toward the ball becomes a lot easier to do. When this happens, you have little to no hope, as the clubhead is most likely to strike the ball on the heel, or worse, on or near the hosel. The next time you find yourself shanking the ball, try standing more upright at address, and retaining a more upright upper-body posture through the shot. This may steepen your swing a bit, but it will also keep that hosel away from the golf ball at impact.

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