Fat shots and slices, swing plane, swing to long?

Playing with golfers of all levels you will notice some common swing faults. The most common swing error with men is a backswing that is too long. Your backswing needs to fit your flexibility range. It is true the longer the backswing the potential to create more speed exists. Unfortunately the reality is once you have exceeded your natural range of motion you start making errors that need to be corrected on the down swing.

A few of the common issues on the back swing that are caused by loss of mobility and flexiblity;

*Lead, left arm bends significantly

*Lead, left wrist goes into extension, opposite of wrist curl

*Hands travel above shoulders plane, too vertical

*Club plane gets too vertical

*Club face is too open

Image result for swing plane golf target line hand too high — This is the hand and club position most high handicap players display.

Most amateurs hit the ball too short and curve the ball too much. For us guys with an ego we tend to try to hit the ball too far. We lose balance, timing and technique in this quest for added distance.

I often say how big of a backswing would you make to punch someone. Little kids reach way back and don hit very hard. Professional boxers have a smaller more powerful punch. This applies to golf in that you need to stay within your mobility and flexibility range and learn how to create power on the downswing.

Image result for swing plane golf target line — This might be slighting extreme but most guys can’t get their hands that low on the back swing due to poor flexibility.

If you hit slices or fat shots these suggestions are for you!

Try hitting balls with a shorter backswing keeping the hands working more laterally around your right shoulder. Limit club face rotation, don’t bend your lead arm, keep lead-left wrist in flextion and your hand plane low. If you do this you can only get better. The question is do you have the discipline to do this……..