Get Your Swing Under Control

Playing good golf is dependent on controlling the direction, distance and trajectory of your shots. Good players control the flight of the ball more consistently than the average player. No matter what your swing thoughts or theory might be, there are four major factors to be aware of as the club strikes the ball.

1. The Clubface: which can be open, closed or square. The basic rule to remember is that the ball will land where the clubface was aimed at impact.

2. The Swing Path: which can be in-to-out, out-to-in or inside to straight to inside. This will usually influence the starting direction of the shot. (At slower swing speeds this is not always the case, the clubface alignment at impact has greater influence)

3. The Angle of Attack: which can be too steep, too shallow, or correct for the individual club. The swing path is related to this, an out-to-in path creates a steeper angle of approach while an in-to-out path shallows the angle of approach.

4. Clubhead Speed: to suit the shot at hand.

Understanding these four factors is critical in improving your game. Anytime you think about making a change in your technique it should be related to changing these impact conditions. For example, if you tend to slice your tee shots it probably won't do much good to slow down your swing or trying to keep your head down longer. The root cause of your slice is the clubface being open at impact and you correct this by checking your grip. Turning both hands to the right on the grip will help you square the clubface and reduce your slice.

If you want to get better control of your swing, and the results it produces, take the time to think what adjustments you need to make in the four impact conditions that will change your shots.