Bad Swing Thoughts

6 Bad Swing Thoughts

Words N e i l Ta p p i n • Illustration David Lyttleton

The pre-shot voices inside your head have a huge impact on what follows. Sometimes they provide focus, but often they wreak havoc...

HIT A DRAW You hit a fairly consistent fade, you’re not the longest but you know roughly where the ball is going. Deciding to change your reliable fade into a draw is a sure-fire way of sending your ball on its final voyage. Don’t let your pride stand in the way of a good score!

48 CREATE MORE LAG Lag is the secret ingredient behind easy power (top right). However, it is also one of the most dangerous swing thoughts you can have. Deciding to add a little extra lag as you compete is like a brain surgeon experimenting with a new grip on the scalpel mid-operation. It’s a risky move!

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN This is the single most common tip that gets handed on from one amateur to another. The truth is that most human beings understand that looking at the ball is a fairly important precursor to hitting it, and of the myriad swing faults that could be plaguing your game, lifting your head probably isn’t the issue.

LEAN BACK THROUGH IMPACT Ninety-five per cent of all air shots, tops, slices, thins, pulls and fats come from leaning back in the downswing*. *This is a completely made up statistic, but you get the point.

HIT DOWN ON THE BALL “If I could just increase my negative angle of attack from -1˚ to -3˚ that would really help the quality of my mid-iron ballstriking.” The next thing you know, you are tunnelling your way to Australia.

HIT IT HARDER “You’re swinging too smoothly,” said nobody, ever. Golf is largely a game of rhythm and nothing kills that faster than trying to whack the cover off the ball. To put it in musical terms, you should be thinking of pan-pipe moods, not death metal.