There are few things more gratifying in golf than the feeling of striking the ball in the center of the clubface. For a lot of golfers it happens so infrequently, they get this feeling of surprised excitement when they pure one. Others do it so often, they seem puzzled when they miss. The former group is mainly populated by those who tend to hit shots high on the clubface near the toe. The latter group will miss low on the heel. No matter which category you’re in, I have a way to fix your problem quickly so you can get back to enjoying that feeling of sweet-spot golf. Turn the page to find out how. —with Ron Kaspriske
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If you push the ball to the right, rotate around your heel
▶ If you see a lot of ball marks low and toward the heel of the clubface, it’s likely that your weight is moving toward the ball on the downswing. It’s an instinctive power move, but it leads to shots that fly dead right of the target. Instead, feel like your hips are moving away from the ball, almost squatting, as you transition into the downswing. Then rotate your body around your lead heel. Try this drill to help: Make three-quarter swings holding this follow-through position (below). The clubhead should be in line with the lead heel, not swung past this point.
“Can’t find the center of the clubface? Try swinging slower.”
If you hit low, slicing shots , hold off your trunk rotation
▶ Players who hit low slices swing down too steeply, with the right hand pushing the clubshaft across the target line on an out-to-in path. To fix the high-toe miss, hold off the rotation of the upper body toward the target.
A great feel when you start the downswing is to have the upper body face away from the target as the lower body moves toward it. This will shallow the downswing and get the club moving on a more in-to-out path. A good drill to help groove this move is to drop your trail foot back at address and hit shots like you see me doing (above).
JESSICA CARAFIELLO, a Golf Digest Best Young Teacher, is based at Innis Arden Golf Club in Greenwich, Conn.
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