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Welcome to Play Good, a daily GOLF.com game-improvement column that can aid you turn into a better, higher golfer.
Energy may be king within the present period of golf, however that doesn’t imply you must ignore accuracy off the tee. If you happen to can’t discover the quick grass at a good clip, it received’t matter how far you hit the ball.
Hitting fairways at the next proportion doesn’t at all times require making swing modifications. Actually, by making some easy changes in your setup, you possibly can simply up your fairways hit with out making any modifications to your swing.
Gary Participant not too long ago printed an interesting submit on this topic on X, which you’ll be able to see beneath. In it, he explains that a large mistake he sees leisure gamers make is making an attempt to hit the ball straight. It might seem to be a counterintuitive line of considering, however when you break it down, it makes a ton of sense.
Repair this flaw to hit extra fairways
Take into consideration the final spherical of golf you performed. What number of photographs did you hit that may qualify as straight? Now, what number of of these photographs got here with the motive force?
If you happen to’re like most leisure golfers, you possible didn’t hit many photographs lifeless straight. As Participant mentioned in his submit, Ben Hogan used to say the straight ball was a “fluke.” That’s the place the difficulty begins for the weekend warriors. They at all times arrange for the straight shot.
Making an attempt to hit a straight shot isn’t unhealthy course administration, but it surely’s additionally not the neatest technique. Most golfers have a typical shot form, whether or not that be right-to-left or left-to-right, and a majority of photographs with the motive force transfer in that course. It is best to use that data to your benefit.
While you arrange for the straight shot, you might be giving your self maximal room for error on both aspect of the green. Nonetheless, if your shot goes to be shifting in a predicable course, aiming with that in thoughts will make the green successfully bigger.
For instance, in case you’re a righty and also you fade the ball, line up down the left aspect of the green. As long as the ball strikes in its typical course, you’ll have made the green twice as massive in comparison with while you aimed down the center. If you happen to usually draw the ball, line up down the precise.
“If you happen to intention up the center, you then you definately minimize the green in half,” Participant says. “This implies a shot that attracts an excessive amount of leads to the tough on the left and a ball that fades an excessive amount of leads to the precise tough. The sport is hard sufficient, so attempt to give your self as a lot benefit as potential.”
It’s a small tweak, however one that may pay enormous dividends in case you implement it appropriately.