Strike The Ball Consistently

By Gene Mulak

One of Ben Hogan’s supposed famous “secrets” was that he would cup his lead (left) wrist at the top of his back swing. This was to insure that his club face would be open to the intended target line at impact and start the ball to the left of his target and fade back to the target. This is certainly no secret to a golfer who struggles with a slice. Most golfers who struggle with a slice will tend to roll the club face open excessively going to the top of their back swing and as a result not be able to time the face to close fast enough to hit the shot solid. To produce shots with an improved start line, a golfer should reduce the amount the club face will roll open going back and in turn feel the face stay down swinging back. Try to produce a back swing where your trail hand (right for a RH golfer) has the palm pointing down. This will keep the face more on the swing plane and allow for a much straighter shot. Producing shots with a more consistent start line for the ball is the first step in lowering your handicap.

A drill I do with a lot of y students to help with wrist control is to insert a popsicle stick into the top side of your golf glove. This will keep the lead wrist flat and help with more consistent and accurate ball striking. Give it a try for your self. Watch the video for a more complete explanation and let me know how it works for you.

Gene Mulak is the Director of Golf at Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield, CT . Gene is a certified Stack & Tilt instructor. He can be reached at (774) 4061549 or Golf@SilverSpringCountryCC.org