Keep Your Body Action In Check

High-handicappers tend to sway off the ball on the backswing and get stuck on the back foot as they swing down. This can lead to all kinds of poor contact, like sky-balls, drop-kicks, even grounders. To check body action, imagine two vertical lines coming up from the ground: one from the ball, the other from your right instep. As you swing back, load into your right side but keep your body between the lines (above, left).

On the downswing, shift to your front foot and extend your arms to the ball. Your head will naturally move away from the target to maintain balance as your lower body shifts forward. But keep your body center between the lines and slightly behind the ball so you make contact as the clubhead starts upward (above, right).

CLUBHEAD SPEED

ADD HINGE TO MULTIPLY YOUR POWER

The wrist hinge is a tremendous speed producer, but to apply the speed effectively you have to hit the ball with a square clubface. To monitor your clubface, make some left-arm-only swings. Go back halfway, hinging your wrist fully, and make sure the clubface matches the angle of your left forearm (1). This means the face has rotated correctly and stayed square to the arc of the swing.

From this halfway-back position, continue down and stop at the bottom of the swing. Make sure your left wrist is flat and the clubface has returned to the square position it held at address. Then swing through and rehinge your wrist in the follow-through. Again, the clubface should match the angle of your left forearm (2).

STAT FACTS

Golfers shooting close to 100 average four three-putts per round. Try my 10-percent rule to check your lag putting: You want to lag to within 10 percent of the original distance, i.e., three feet on a 30-footer.