1.RIGHT TO LEFT?
2.LEFT TO RIGHT?
3.DEAD STRAIGHT?
The most difficult to produce?
The simple answer must surely be the STRAIGHT one!
In an effort to play golf properly as golfers like to term it, are you effectively attempting to produce the toughest and arguably most impossible shot in golf?
How many of you have or believe they intentionally can hit a golf ball dead straight anyway?
I guarantee you its almost impossible to strike a golf ball with absolutely no side spin what so ever, seriously, just think for a few seconds how utterly proposterous such an act must be. The fact that we stand to the side of the golf ball and swing the golf club into a circle to the side of the target line is evidence enough that the clubface is in fact in the process of closing through impact. Now think logically, if the clubface is closing (aiming right of the target line before impact/ aiming along the target line at impact/ aiming to the left of the target line after impact) and swinging on a path from inside the target line (the side of the target line the player is standing on) then the ball will be imparted with predominantly more right to left spin. The resulting ball flight is of course a natural draw. For the golf ball to fly dead straight the angle of the clubs approach would have to be perfect for the club being used. In basic terms, the angle of the clubs approach combined with the clubs loft is ones only hope of producing the counter active backspin required to strike the golf ball dead straight.
Thats 3 key impact elements perfectly combined:
CLUB FACE ALIGNMENT
CLUB HEAD PATH
ANGLE OF THE CLUB HEADS APPROACH
For the ball to fly dead straight, all 3 of these factors must be perfectly blended to create the right amount of side versus backspin.
Sounding simple?
So whats with this straight shot?
Its a fantasy, no tour player on this green earth has the ability to strike consistently dead pure straight shots with the regularity of a robot (even Tiger!). To seriously aim to strike such perfectly flighted shots on a regular basis would be ridiculously machine like and emotionally pointless. As human beings we can never expect such consistency.
As a teacher of this game I am constantly faced with the same daily task of convincing my pupils of the great difficulty and short comings of attempting to play straight shots. The same typical reply continually brings a smile to my face, 'Please lets just stick to hitting it straight first then when Im good at that we can move onto shaping it'.
Still want to hit it straight?
Why would you, when you're naturally shaping it anyway.
We all have a natural tendancy to shape our golf shots with more right to left or left to right spin, thats a fact. Learning to first understand what causes your own ball flight tendencies is the first step to controlling it. With control of the elements that cause your ball to fly as it does you have become a master of your own ball flight, you have taken control of your golf ball.
So as you can see, the game of golf is about controlling your golf ball.
Control is about knowing exactly what's going to happen before it actually happens.
If I asked you to spin your golf ball with left to right spin you would know its a simple matter of swinging the golf club on a line to the left of the golf ball and the direction the club face is aiming.
If I asked you to spin your golf ball with right to left spin you would do the exact opposite, its that simple.
Now if I asked you to strike the next shot dead straight what would you do?
PANIC?
Play from the line and you effectively become a master of the line.
