Breaking 100

By Dr. Joe Parent

Illustrations by Anthony Ravielli

August 2009

Think Of Your Favorite Tee Shot

Sometimes you come across a tee shot that doesn't suit your eye. It's not easy to commit to a target. That lack of commitment makes it hard to swing freely, and your results are inconsistent.

Imagine you're standing on your favorite tee box, one where you feel confident about hitting a good drive. Standing behind the ball, pick a place in the fairway you'd like the ball to land, and aim in a way that accounts for the shape of your usual ball flight when you play from that favorite tee. After you set your club at address and take your stance, don't look toward the fairway again. Imagine that fairway where you can hit your favorite drive, and swing away.

Send The Ball To The Target

Golfers sometimes get so concerned with hitting the ball, they forget the purpose of the swing is to send the ball toward the target. That's why you see some players with practice swings that look pretty good, passing through the bottom of the swing arc, sweeping along the grass in the direction of the target. Then they step up to the ball and chop down as if they were using an ax to split a log. They are swinging as if the ball were their target.

It's a problem if you think your job is to hit at the ball, because you won't put enough energy into following through properly past the ball. But if you think your job is to send the ball toward the target, you'll make a much better swing toward and past the impact zone and into your follow-through.

I was proud of two young students who once left a note on my desk saying, "Doc, we're out on the sending range, sending balls to targets."