Fixing Faults Intuitively by Ben Davenport - CGA Qulaified Coach

Why is it that when a golfer gets stuck in a pattern of hitting a particular bad shot his mind soon fills up with numerous corrective thoughts that seem to compound the problem rather than improve it?

 

Through my years of coaching I have noticed that people will nearly always use the left(analytical) side of their brain when things are going wrong rather than the right(creative) side to fix the problem. Below I will list some of the most common bad shots and beside them I will show you how to fix them creatively.

 

This shot could be caused by many things, a simple way of trying to fix it would be to pick a target 50yrds right of where your mat is aiming and try to hit it right of this target. Give yourself 6-10 attempts and don’t get frustrated if you can’t do it first time!

You can change anything to do it apart from your aim (your feet have to point in the direction of the mat),i.e. swing ,ball position ,clubface can all be changed. Once you have done this you will then have the feeling of what you did, then simply do a slightly less exaggerated version of this too make the ball go straight

NB. A key to all intuitive type work is reduce the task so you CAN do it, then build up again. i.e. if you cant hit the ball online with this new target using your full swing then reduce it to half a swing, then build up again. 

 

 A very common bad shot with most beginners. The number one alibi for this shot would be that you lifted your head, this however is rarely the true cause. I put it down to basic awareness of where your club actually touches the ground/ball.   When a golfer tops the ball his club does exactly that, it hits the top of the ball. The club should be delivered into the ball with a slightly downward motion, it should hit the ground and the base of the ball at the same time, a divot should then occur starting at the back of the ball and continuing towards the target some 2-3 inches in front of the ball. . A good drill to practise would be to place a tee approx.4-6 inches in front of your ball hit the shot and try to get the divot to start at the back of the ball and continue towards the tee, try it with practise swings first then once you are getting your divot in the right place  take that feeling into the shot and hopefully your top will cease to occur.

 

Try to fix this shot by relating it to other sports. A slice is the same as a left to right kick in football (assuming right footed) or a forehand cut shot in tennis. To cure it try doing the opposite, if you were going to kick a football from right to left what would your foot do? It would come into the ball from an inside path and the foot would rotate as you kicked the ball, try to imagine that your clubface is your foot and get the club to move the same way. When hitting the forearm topspin shot in tennis you will notice the right arm and tennis racket both rotate through impact to generate the top spin on the ball, take that feeling then apply it with the golf club in your hands. Start by trying to shape a 50yrd shot to begin with then gradually build yourself up into a full swing.

 

I hope that by using the right side of your brain you will be able to cure your bad shots easily, without too much over thinking!

Ben Davenport (C.G.A. Coach Sandown Park Esher)