The majority of recreational golfers, and even some better players, suffer from chronic slicing. Anyone who has experienced this problem knows how frustrating it can be and how difficult it can be to overcome.
On September 4, 2004, the golf world lost a true, if not mysterious, legend. His name was Moe Norman, a shy, introverted man mostly known for his unorthodox swing. Standing wide at address with his arms stretched away from his body, his club some 12 inches behind the ball, Norman’s swing was unconventional. It defied all modern teaching. Yet this reticent man held more than 40 course records, recorded 17 holes-in-one and won 24 tournaments.
Like all members of the PGA Tour, I play a lot of rounds with recreational golfers in various pro-ams and charity tournaments. If there’s one thing I notice during these rounds, it’s how inconsistent most weekend players are off the tee. Obviously, the driver is the most difficult club in the bag to hit consistently, due to its long length (most off-the-rack drivers measure about 45 inches) and low degree of loft.
Bunkers are the only place on the golf course where you’re not always
required to hit it perfectly. It’s okay—even encouraged—that you
sometimes hit it fat, hold the face open through impact and minimize
your weight shift and rotation. So why, then, are golfers terrified of
what seemingly should be one of golf’s easier shots? Astonishingly, the
top player on the PGA Tour through 20 rounds of golf this year—Luke
Donald—has nearly a 90 percent success rate from the sand. There’s no
reason you can’t be at least half that good.
