Stop Slicing Your Irons And Start Smashing Them

If your regular ball-striking feels like a game of pattycake, simply "swinging harder" isn't going to fix your problem.

Instead of focusing on making your arms go faster, it's time to incorporate your lower body into the swing -- something you can do with the simple, immediate adjustment.

"Even if you a do a decent job generating energy, you waste it when you don't send it to the ball the right way," says Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Shaun Webb, who is based at the David Toms 265 Academy in Shreveport, La. "You need to get some tilt in your hips on the backswing, so you can deliver the club to the ball on a great path."

To feel it, get in your regular stance, but split your grip so that your right hand is holding the shaft at its midpoint. Make some backswings by pulling the club back with your right hand, feeling your right hip respond by moving up and and around. "You'll feel your right leg straighten, which is great," says Webb. "You'll also get the feel of the wide route your hands need to take to the ball."