GOLF’s most-read power tip of 2022 listed 10 ways to flush it

There’s no feeling fairly just like the one you expertise while you completely flush one off the tee. Sure, sticking an strategy shot is nice and a well-struck iron is super-satisfying, however actually roping one proper on the middle of the clubface together with your driver is the feeling that retains all of us coming again for extra.

So it makes good sense that an instruction story providing not only one however 10 totally different ways to hit the candy spot off the tee would rank among the many yr’s most-read articles.

Written by Top 100 Teacher Kellie Stenzel and revealed in October, the story is full of wonderful perception from Stenzel’s a long time of educating expertise, and contains steering on how to good your posture, grip, ball place and extra, so that you, can also rip center-cut drives all spherical lengthy.

Here is Stenzel’s recommendation in full:

An amazing, strong drive is rather a lot of enjoyable — and very efficient. It makes the remainder of the opening simpler. But to catch your tee photographs flush, you want center-face contact.

Here are 10 ways to assure you’ll get that accomplished.

1. Improve your posture

Good contact begins with good posture. It’s particularly vital in your drives when distance could be such a distinction maker. Bend ahead out of your hips in a balanced, athletic stance, together with your knees relaxed and your arms hanging straight under your shoulders. When you let your arms cling on this approach, they’ll return naturally to this place as you come by way of the ball, with out your having to depend on hand-eye coordination. Practice mirror or with video assessment, and shortly you’ll be seeing extra drives flying off the middle of the clubface.

2. Proper grip

This may sound like a boring basic, however your grip has a profound affect in your swing path in addition to on the place of your clubface at influence, each of that are key to catching it sq.. A typical misperception I see amongst amateurs is that the thumb of the lead hand ought to run straight down the middle of the grip. In most circumstances, that is incorrect.

Your lead hand (the left hand for a righty) needs to be positioned onto the grip as your arm hangs naturally, together with your thumb positioned barely proper of heart. You ought to have the option to see the pointer and middle-finger knuckles of your lead hand, simply as you do when your arms cling naturally.

3. Forward ball place

With the driving force, correct ball place is ahead ball place. This will permit you to contact the ball on the upswing whereas permitting time for the clubface to sq.. To discover this place, begin in your correct posture together with your ft collectively and the membership centered between your ft. With your lead foot (the left foot for a righty) take a small step — nearly as small a step as doable — widening your stance ever so barely. Next, take a bigger widening step together with your again foot, making changes in order that the ball is simply off your left instep.

4. Shoulders tilted, not open

When the ball is positioned ahead appropriately, your shoulders needs to be titled, together with your lead shoulder barely increased than your path shoulder. This tilt will aid you make contact on an ascending angle. As you tilt your shoulders, it’s vital to hold them parallel to your aiming line. Too typically, when golfers tilt their shoulders, in addition they twist them, in order that the lead shoulder is pulled again, open to the goal line. From that open place, it’s harder to hit the middle of the face.

5. Tee it excessive

Most golfers want to tee the ball increased than they assume. I like to tee it excessive sufficient that you could catch the ball with the middle of the face with out the membership head hitting the bottom. rule of thumb is that roughly three-quarters of the ball needs to be above the highest of the membership head at tackle.

If you pop up your drive, don’t assume that it is the end result of having tee the ball too excessive. More typically, the offender is a downswing that’s both too steep or too sluggish. If you break rather a lot of tees, there’s a great probability you’re coming in too steeply. It’s okay to hit the tee occasionally. But you need to hit your drives with a sweeping movement, which ends from correct ball place and shoulder until.

6. Know your spacing

You ought to keep the identical posture and ahead hip bend with each membership out of your shortest to your longest. This could be achieved by altering your distance from the ball for every membership. Stand nearer to the ball with shorter golf equipment and farther away with longer golf equipment. After you’ve set your membership to the ball, place your self by inching your ft ahead or backward till you might be within the right posture that may permit you to ship the middle of the clubface to the ball.

Every golfer’s excellent posture shall be sightly totally different, relying upon their physique kind and shaft lengths — and it requires follow to discover it! For me personally, I do know I’m in place after I can match roughly one open hand between my arms on the grip and my thighs. However you measure your personal place, the hot button is having the ability to replicate it with each membership. If you’re too crowded, your contact will have a tendency to be extra towards the heel; in the event you’re too distant from the ball, your contact will have a tendency to be extra on the toe. 

7. Stay balanced

Not simply at tackle. Throughout your total swing, from takeaway to end. If you lose your stability at any level, your bodily relationship to the ball adjustments, which in flip adjustments the contact level, making it tough to be constant. Good posture all through the swing is one thing you may work on. One approach is to follow by balancing on one foot at a time, holding your place. Swinging together with your ft collectively is one other efficient methodology. Also, work on holding your end till you see your ball land.

8. Proper swing path

This begins together with your setup, with a correct grip and good posture. It additionally helps to follow protecting your underarms comparatively shut to your physique in your downswing. This will permit the membership to strategy the ball appropriately with the face lined up for contact on the candy spot.

9. Get match

No two swings are alike. To get probably the most out of yours, you want a membership that matches. Length, loft, weighting, and shaft stiffness are all vital elements in a becoming. If your membership hosts demo days, I like to recommend attending, because the reps who present you up are skilled of their commerce. To take a look at a fair wider vary of choices, I recommend visiting your nearest TrueSpec (TrueSpec and GOLF.com are associates of 8AM Golf), the place you may check out an array of heads and shafts and in each mixture. Bring your personal driver to see how it compares. All the photographs are measured on a launch monitor, which eliminates the guess work. It could also be that you could’t discover something higher than your present driver. I’ve seen that occur with some of my college students. But it’s a rarity.

10. Three tee drill and foot spray

Instant suggestions is invaluable as you make changes. One of my favourite ways to get it is with foot spray. Coat the clubface earlier than you hit, and also you’ll see precisely the place you’re making contact. Think of it because the second of reality.

I additionally like to follow with three tees: one beneath the ball, and one on both sides of the ball. If you hit the skin tee, you might be like making contact towards the heel. If you hit the within tee, you’re most likely catching the ball on the 2 of the membership. Use this suggestions to regulate your swing path. It’s a surefire path to larger consistency.

To learn Stenzel’s article in its unique type, click on right here.

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As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of feminine varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everybody on the masthead. She can out-hustle them within the workplace, too, the place she’s primarily accountable for producing each print and on-line options, and overseeing main particular initiatives, resembling GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview sequence, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in each within the journal and in video type on GOLF.com.