It’s a dilemma all golfers face: How can I improve my accuracy without sacrificing distance, and vice versa? Marrying consistent length with reliable distance requires awareness of four specific principles and the willingness to execute them ruthlessly.
Hitting the Sweet Spot
A golf club has a specific area on its surface referred to as the sweet spot. No matter what sport you’re playing, you know instantly when you hit the sweet spot because it feels like well, nothing. Hitting the ball on the sweet spot allows you to maximize both length and accuracy.
Knowing Your Clubs
Most golfers consistently hit short of their target because they select inappropriate clubs based on the self-delusion that they hit longer than they do. The sooner you understand the relationship with every club in your bag, the closer you’ll be to that magical union of distance and accuracy.
Taking the Inside Path
Most golfers fail to optimize distance and accuracy because their club takes the wrong route to the ball specifically, outside-in instead of inside-out immediately serving to both weaken and misdirect the swing. The golf swing doesn’t feel muscularly intuitive because it makes a circle.
Swinging the Club, Not Hitting the Ball
Golf is a funny game: To succeed, you have to slow down. You can take the right path toward the ball and know your clubs inside-out (pun intended), but if you rush your swing, all will be lost. Why? Because a proper golf swing depends not on speed, but on rhythm.
By I.J. Schecter with Doug Weaver
Doug Weaver is the Director of Instruction at the Palmetto Dunes Golf Academy and conducts “Where Does the Power Come From” a free golf clinic and demonstration, every Monday at 4 p.m. 843- 785-1138, 800-827-3006 or www.palmettodunes.com.