Fixing Common Golf Swing Problems

Learning how to hit the golf ball straight is the biggest challenge for all golfers whether they are rank beginners or more advanced. But it is especially difficult for beginners because they don't understand how the golf swing works, or why the ball flies the way it flies.

Almost everyone's first tendency when they take up the game of golf is to swing as hard as they can. They see professional golfers like Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam hitting it a mile. And when they look at the way Tiger swings they might think "Hey, he really swings hard. He's almost coming out of his shoes."

However you soon learn that one of the time-honored truths of golf is that you should not swing hard. In fact, the harder you swing, the less chance you have of htting the ball correctly. Swing hard enough and you might not hit it at all.

Eventually beginning golfers learn that the ball doesn't always go where you want it to go, and their mission in life while they are on the course is just to hit the ball straight. Often that means reining in their expectations and working with the talent they've been given.

In most cases that means simply trying to keep their drives in the park. Their biggest enemy is the dreaded slice. Almost anyone who swings reasonably hard will have a tendency to "slice" the ball until they learn how to avoid it.

A "slice" happens when the ball is struck so the club puts sidespin on the ball. If the sidespin is clockwise the ball will curve dramatically to the right. If the sidespin is counter clockwise the ball will curve to the left. A right handed golfer's slice goes to the right while a left handed golfer's slice goes to the left.

The slice usually happens because the club makes contact with the ball as it "comes across" at an angle. Rather than coming straight into the ball from behind the clubface actually comes from somewhere "outside" the intended line of flight, and often with an "open" clubface.

When we say the clubface is "open" we mean it is not square to the intended line of flight. It is aimed somewhere to the right side (for righties). Both of these things - coming across and having an open club face - result in sidespin, and that results in a slice.

There are two major problems with a slice. First, it curves like crazy, so the only way a slicer can get the ball into the center of the fairway is by "starting it out over the cornfield". That means they aim quite a bit to the left and hope the ball will curve back into the middle. This is certainly not the best way to cure a slice, but it may be the only way you can keep the ball in play - at least until you have a chance to spend some time at the range trying to figure out how to fix things.

The second problem with a slice is that it loses distance. Because the ball is spinning sideways so much any amount of wind at all will make it rise quickly, curve to the right abruptly, and then continue to roll to the right when it hits the ground.

What most golfers tend to do when they see this happening is they try to compensate for their lack of distance by swinging harder. That just makes the problem worse because usually "swinging harder" means throwing their shoulders and arms out even more as they swing in a mighty effort to smash the ball as hard as they can.

Trying to fix swing faults like the one that produces a slice is almost impossible during a round of golf. The driving range is the place to go to work on adjustments and experiment with different swing thoughts.

But for many beginning golfers "working on their swing" at the range may actually be doing more harm than good. They may be reinforcing the very errors they are trying to get rid of. As most experience golfers will tell you, going to a range or an indoor virtual golf location and just pounding out balls is not a very smart way to practice.

One tool that is worth looking at is a golf simulator. These units can help analyze and correct swing faults. Simulators are equipped with sensors, computerized analysis tools, and a big-screen display. What they do is translate the details of your golf swing into ball motion on the display.

As a result you can see a surprisingly accurate representation of your swing and the actual flight path of your ball. You can also see the angle of your clubface at impact, the path your clubhead is taking when it hits the ball, and exactly where and when the ball begins to curve, given all the variables that went into a particular swing.

If you are serious about analyzing and fixing your golf swing problems, there is little doubt that analyzing your swing by taking an objective look at it is the place to start. Sometimes consulting with a golf instructor is the best way to do this. But if you have a fairly good idea of what you are looking for then there is no more effective way to get that kind of swing analysis than with a golf simulator.

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