I was recently going through my daily archives and found a video that I never shared with you. I feel the content is so good that I just had to get it published. Towards the end of the summer, I was working extremely hard on my game because I was preparing to play in the Carolinas Senior PGA Championship. I hadn't played in a serious golf tournament in nearly two years so I wanted to make sure my game was sharp. But, before I played in the tournament I had a visit with my chiropractor.
My doctor is a scratch golfer himself and the day I went in for an adjustment I asked how he had been swinging. He looked pretty upset when I asked so I knew he probably hadn't been playing well. Sure enough, he had just participated in a tournament and said he coudn't have played much worse than he did. So, after my session with him, I decided to wait around until he was done with his next patient. He needed some answers fast, so we headed out to his car so he could get his clubs.
Once he got his clubs out I had him pick a target and then set up to the ball. Before he got aligned he had told me that he was hitting big pulls to the left. It was clear to me right away what the problem was. He had a shut clubface at address! He was unknowingly swinging with a closed clubface, but that wasn't the only thing that I saw.
After I told him that he was holding his clubface shut, he picked the club up, out in front of him. That's when I noticed he had offset golf clubs too. Now, if you'll remember, I said he's a scratch golfer who genearlly smokes me by 20 - 30 yards off the tee. There was no reason he needed clubs with that much offset. He was basically playing with clubs that were double shut. So, it's no wonder he was hitting big pulls and hooks throughout the whole tournament.
The reason I talked about this visit with my doctor is because I noticed that I was doing a similar thing with my clubface after my appointment. It wasn't as noticeable, but it was there. I worked hard at figuring out a way to fix the problem instead of compensating for it, which is something you never want to do. What I would do is set up to the ball and then hold my club out to see if it was square. If it wasn't, I would correct it and then place it back down behind the ball. After that, I'd have to open my stance slightly because with a shut clubface I was originally aiming to the right to compensate. Because I now had a square clubface, I had to change my stance accordingly. That's the lesson I want you all to grasp today.
Sometimes you've got to double check your alignment and the position of your clubface. It could be the difference between playing great at a tournament or finishing dead last. Luckily for me I was able to get my problem fixed before I played in the Carolinas Senior PGA Championship. I don't typically compete in a tournament unless I think I can win, so there's no doubt I was dissapointed walking away without the title. But, finishing T15 wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't realized what my problem was. I was able to fix it instead of compensating for it. Remember, there's a big difference between the two!
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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Clubface Double Check
I quite often raise my club to check that the face is in the right position, then drop down to start my swing. So today's video is reassuring, thanks.
Joe
Clubface Double Check
Another timely reminder. The care I took with this during yesterday's good round could have been one of the defining factors for the blissful accuracy. I check the squareness of the face before putting my rear or right hand neutral grip on the club. I had not double checked it though. Luck perhaps I had it right. In future I will double check too.
Thanks DH
PS. Quicker to double check than spend time searching for your ball!
Club Face Double Check
After suffering with an awful slice and trying all kinds of ways to fix it, it seemed like everything I tried only made the slice worse. Especially with the driver. Was it alignment? Maybe I'm not bringing the right side through the ball. In the SBG? Finally, at a ladies clinic about 6 months ago, I complained to the pro about it. I let him try to help, but in the back of my mind I was ready to dismiss his advice because they don't teach anything near PPGS. He focused on the follow through, and the position of the hands parallel to the ground. I perked up. Here was advice worth heeding. He walked on to another hitter. I paid attention to my hands. What I discovered was my grip. My left hand was too weak, and my right was too strong. I was hitting with a way open club face, no release at all. I pulled the palms together and put my thumbs on the side of the club, not on top. Eureka. Since then, no more slices, only straight. Balls still go right a bit, but straight. I've even started hitting more balls left, so it's back to alignment. I have been setting up too open to compensate for that old slice. The driver is back in my bag.
I am not a natural athlete. I gave up tennis after ruining my knees and have been trying to golf for 10 years now, and following the PPGS for going on 4. I never could play tennis at the level I wanted to. Golf has been equally as frustrating for me. Surge, you give us the tools and the way to improving. You take the mystery out of the swing. We can self correct. This is powerful stuff. Having a buddy to watch you swing and comment doesn't hurt either. It's that one shot hit smooth and sweet that goes exactly where you intended. That's what keeps me hooked.