TIPS: Training aids already in your golf bag
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Learning any new movement in a golf swing takes time and patience, with the first rehearsals often feeling awkward and unfamiliar.
Training aids provide a useful tool to give my students an enhanced sense of what they are trying to achieve, either by presenting a visual picture, intensifying a specific feeling, or providing instant feedback on the success of a new move.
While many training aids which are marketed and sold to golfers do a great job, my belief is that every golfer has a whole bag of ‘training aids’ already at their disposal. This feature highlights eight simple ways you can use the equipment in your bag to improve elements of your game.
The great news is they are always available to you and at no extra cost.
Build consistency through a square aimPoor club and body aim will cause you to make adjustments to get the ball on target. Set up this practice station (above) by placing two clubs before and after the ball pointing at the target, with one more parallel to these to guide your lower body. Place a fourth between your feet to help you find a neutral ball position. |
Find more greens through better ball-strikingControlling the position of the lowest point of your swing is one of the keys for good ball-striking and a penetrating trajectory in your iron play. Hit your short irons with a folded towel placed around 18 inches behind the ball to encourage a low point which is further forward – promoting a downward strike. |
Pitch the ball closer by tightening your actionRetaining a relationship between your arms and torso through impact is vital for improving control of distance and spin in your short game. Make short swings with a glove tucked under your lead arm to feel your chest and arm staying connected and rotating at a similar rate. |
Find more fairways through a better swing pathSwinging the clubhead from outside of the target line into impact is a common factor in weak, curving drives. To encourage a swing direction more from the inside, place a headcover just outside and behind the ball and practise missing it as you come into impact. |
Add power and accuracy through retained postureLosing posture as you swing through the impact zone is the root cause of a multitude of poor shots. Address a ball so you can feel a club against your rear, and assuming you are physically able to, make slow swings maintaining contact. This will give you a sense of how you need to keep your spine angle tilted as you swing. |
Hit the ball straighter by controlling the faceWhen you strike the ball the biggest factor in where it starts and how it curves will be the aim of the clubface at impact. Draw dots on an old glove for your practice sessions to check which position (how many dots you can see at address) gives you the desired clubface aim and ball flight. |
Encourage a better strike with a new attackStriking the ball from the inside is vital for hitting well flighted golf shots. To achieve that, it helps if you are looking at and trying to strike the inside of the ball. Use a marker pen to draw a dot positioned slightly to your side of a practice ball; focus on striking this dot first. |
Hole more putts by hitting your putter centreFor great speed control on those long and challenging first putts it is vital to strike the middle of your putter face. Use two tees to set a gate fractionally wider than your putter and practise hitting long putts without hitting the tees to improve the consistency of your strike. |