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Swing Easy
The second I get a golf
club in my hand I want to knock the fire
right out of the ball. It just plain feels
good to send that sucker as far as the eye
can see. Unfortunately, being able to hit
the ball hard doesn’t equal good golf.
If you’re just needing
a little stress relief, go for it! If you
want to play a good game of golf, however,
you’re going to have to erase the “homerun”
mentality.
See, one of the roots
of golfing mistakes is that tendency to
swing hard. A violent swing shows power,
but power isn’t what wins the game. It’s
accuracy and control.
You want to swing
easily and freely at the ball. If you bring
your feet together you will reduce your
ability to swing hard. If you brace
yourself, you’re probably going to use too
much effort. Just relax and swing easily.
You also want to keep
your center of gravity the same. Do this by
keeping both of your feet on the ground in
approximately the same position as when you
start. Keep your head still and your center
of gravity won’t change.
A sudden effort made
with one of your legs or both will cause
your head to move. Then you can’t see the
ball clearly and you change the position of
the pivotal center with relation to the
ball. Keep both feet planted on the ground
so your weight is supported on the flat of
your feet when you connect with ball.
When you hit the ball
properly everything is so smooth. You’re
conscious of very little effort.
Now, don’t brace
yourself for the effort of hitting the ball.
Don’t be stiff. The slightest tendency to
stiffen your muscles will destroy your
balance. You want to make your club head go
along a straight line while in contact with
the ball.
Try to see how low you
can send the ball and how clear on the
center of the club you can connect with it.
This will help to correct slicing. A ball
that goes too high is at the mercy of the
wind and can kick off to the right or left
on rough ground.
When you hit the ball,
remember - you only want to use the power
you’re able to control. You’re not going to
be bothered by a lack of power but by a lack
of accuracy. You want perfect control at
every instant during your swing. So there
shouldn’t be a violent effort keep your head
still and make sure your club head is going
straight when you meet the ball.
Your longest drives
aren’t usually going to come when you’re
trying for distance but if you’re just
trying to put the ball down the line you’re
aiming at, the distance will come naturally.
What you want to try to
do is get a gradually increasing speed until
you connect with the ball and then press
steadily. If you’re jerky anywhere in the
swing it’s because you’re pulling in your
hands somewhere. In regard to keeping your
head still, imagine that you have a glass of
water balanced on your head and when you
swing you don’t want to spill one drop of
water out of the glass.
You want to swing at a
fairly decent speed throughout so you don’t
stiffen up. Don’t swing back too slowly
then. Basically don’t swing so hard that
you’re conscious of the effort.
How much energy can you
apply to a ball? It doesn’t matter. It’s
the power you can control that counts.
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