Fix Your Miss

Let's face it, you probably hit some terrible shots on the course. You also probably want to stop but more likely limit the amount of bad shots you hit (baby steps here...we aren't magicians). This article is for the people struggling with the good ole right ball.

Banana Ball

2. If you don’t know what a “Banana Ball” is, good, are you’re not falling victim to one of the most cursed shots in the game. However, if you happen to be one of the poor souls that is all too aware of this shot, this article is for you. The Banana Ball is a sliced shot that follows a curving path, similar to a banana’s shape, and flies off the face of the earth to the right (for a right-handed golfer). This is the result of side spin created at impact, due to a misaligned club face or an outside-in swing path -- or both.

3. Quick Fix: Close the Club Face: A common flaw that creates the wicked slice is a grip that is too weak. A weak grip will produce an open club face and cause the ball to slice. Facilitating a stronger grip is an easy way to help close the club face at impact and produce a straighter shot shape. For the right-handed golfer, this can be done by rotating your hands so you can see more knuckles on your left hand and less on your right hand (See Figure 1).

4. Swing Change: Swing Plan: Outside to In: A slice is produced by an outside-to-in swing path. Imagine a straight line travelling through the ball, an outside-to-in swing path means the club head approached the ball from the outside of the line and crossed over to the inside after impact. The opposite would be an inside-to-out swing path. By producing an inside-to-out swing path, your slice ball flight will disappear and turn into a draw. A good drill for to help create an inside-to-out swing path is to swing along an alignment stick or golf club that is angled at an inside-to-out swing path.

5. Los Laterales

6. The Shanks: Go home, grab a beer, try again tomorrow.