More power and more consistent strikes. That’s what we all want. In this instruction piece, PGA professional GRANT HEPBURN demonstrates how to swing your club down the correct path.
So many amateur golfers struggle to swing their club at the ball on a path that encourages straight or draw-shaped shots.
The common out-to-in swing path is a major cause of sliced shots, but it can also result in a nasty pull-hook just to add some variety to your game.
This month, I’ll demonstrate how your body and right arm should work together to swing your club down the correct path, towards the target. This will help you generate more power in the swing and, importantly, more consistent strikes.
Getting it right
In the correct sequence, I have swung my club into a great position at the top of my backswing.
As I start my downswing, you can see my club starts down and how my club drops below my shoulder line, swings down from behind my body and then approaches the ball from the ‘inside’.
This is the ideal swing path to generate real power and consistency.
Through the ball, my club and my arms swing straight down the line towards the target. This allows for maximum power and helps the control of the flight and direction of my shot.
Getting it wrong
In the incorrect sequence, you can see that, despite a similar backswing to the good sequence, on the downswing my club is thrown out and in front of my body. This causes my arms to swing down on a steep path, away from my body.
As a result, my arms and club cut across the ball and swing left of the target.
This means that, in order to get the ball to the target, there needs to be a manipulation of the clubface at impact because the club and arms are swinging across the ball to the left.
The drill
This drill is a great way to help learn the correct action of the body during the downswing.
Set up by holding the club in front of you as I have demonstrated. Now, take a ball and practise throwing it inside/under the club as shown. The objective is to try to throw the ball directly down the target line.
This drill teaches you how to keep your right elbow close to your body and your right shoulder going under your chin, not out and over.
One of the ways you will know if you’re doing the drill wrong is if your arm crashes into the shaft, as I’m showing here. The reason this is happening is because my right shoulder is not under enough and my arms do not swing from behind the body towards the target.
– This article first appeared in the May 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
