Instruction

Find More Fairways

By Butch Harmon Photos by Dom Furore
March 06, 2013
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Swing your arms past your body through impact (above, left) to keep the club from getting stuck (above, right).

It's true that you want to hit the ball from the inside and make a full turn through the shot. But if you overdo these things, the ball goes right.

When your hips spin open too fast on the downswing, the club drops behind your body. Tour pros call this "getting stuck," because the right side gets in the way of the downswing. From there, the swing is too inside-out through impact, resulting in a push.

If you tend to hit pushes, try to get your arms back in front of you on the downswing. Focus on swinging your arms past your body, not on making a full turn through the shot.

HOW TO STOP PUSHING TEE SHOTS

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(1) Tee up a ball, and take your stance with your feet 12 inches apart. Try hitting some drives like this. The narrow stance will make your lower body less likely to turn too aggressively on the downswing. You want to feel your arms swinging down and releasing past your body.

(2) A good release keeps the ball from going right. If the arms and wrists are tense, they block the natural rotation and release of the club. To test your tension, hold the club up in front of you, and make circles in the air using only your wrists. If your wrists are loose, it'll be easy to do.