The Golfer’s First Aid Kit

    Every person who has ever played golf has had those days when something was out of whack with his game.  The harder he or she tries to figure out what’s wrong, the worse things seem to become.  Usually, an attempt to correct by an inexperienced player leads to an error of another sort.

            Fortunately for us pros, we know enough about the mechanics of golf to be able to analyze our trouble as soon as it develops and correct the error before too much damage is done to the confidence and score.  If we can’t, we certainly make a bee-line for the practice tee right after the round to work it out.  But, the average amateur rarely has the knowledge of the game or the time to work out his problems when his game goes sour during a round.    

One thing he shouldn’t do is solicit advice from a playing partner or listen to unsolicited advice from somebody who is not an expert.  He should get with the pro either after the round or before he plays again.

            However, here are some tips regarding the four most common ailments—hook, slice, topped shot and skied shot—that you might keep in mind when those troubles develop.  You might consider this a mental first aid kit.

            HOOK – The shot that breaks sharply to the left, cause by counter-clockwise sping on the ball.  Checkpoints:

• Grip—Are the thumb-forefinger Vs pointing outside the right shoulder?  Such a strong grip can cause a hook.
• Alignment—A “closed” stance, left foot ahead of the right in relation to the line of flight, often leads to a hook.  Hips and/or shoulders aimed to the right of the target bring about the same result.
• Ball position—Be sure it’s not farther forward than off the left heel.
• Sole of the club—It should be flat from toe to heel.  It the toe is raised, you may hook.
• Takeaway—If you take the club back too far inside the line, you will tend to bring it back along the same path.  This is a hook swing.
• Top of the backswing—If your clubface point skyward at that point, it will most likely come into the ball closed, imparting a hook.

            SLICE – The shot that breaks sharply to the right, caused by clockwise spin.  Checkpoints:

• Grip—If it too “weak,” with Vs pointing in the vicinity of the chin, you probably will slice.
• Alignment—An “open” stance, right foot ahead of the left in relaion to the line of flight, often causes a slice.  So will hips, shoulders or both aimed to the left of the target.
• Ball position—BE sure it’s not back in the stance beyond the area off the left heel.
• Takeaway—If you take the club back outside the line, the downswing along the same route results in slice spin on the ball.
• Top of the backswing—If your clubface points groundward at that point, it will most likely come into the ball open, imparting a slice.
• Hand action—If hands get too far ahead of the clubhead on the downswing, the face contacts the ball open.  Again, a slice.

            TOPPED SHOT – The ball struck at or above its center.  Checkpoints:

• Ball position—Either ahead of or behind the correct position off the left heel.
• Address position—Crouching and bending left arm tend to bring over-compensation when straightening up, raising arc too high.
• Head position—Lifting of head (looking up) before contact also raises arc too high.
• Balance—Weight shift forward onto toes on downswing is another arc-raiser.
• Ball contact—Scooping action instead of down-and-through action, also hitting too far behind the ball.  This ties into head position, since the head usually moves downward during the swing in these cases.

            SKIED SHOT – The shot that pops weakly into the air, high and short.  Checkpoints:

• Teeing of ball—Are you teeing it too high for your drives?
• Ball contact—Avoid getting too much down-into-the-ball action when it rests atop high grass.