PRACTICE FOR HIGH-HANDICAP PLAYERS

If your handicap is high, you need to keep track of a key issue: how many balls do you lose during your rounds of golf?

For many high-handicap players, effectiveness off the tee is especially important and keeping the ball on the fairway is essential.

Your scores will improve significantly if you eliminate penalties for lost balls and missed shots.

TIPS AND SHOTS TO WORK ON FOR HIGH-HANDICAPPERS

1. Eliminating the slice – and seeking more draw.

2. Fairway woods – and topping the ball.

1.- Eliminating the Slice

The slice, or left to right effect (for righthanded players) is a shot that not only deflects the ball from the target, but also causes you to lose distance.

The factors that cause it are:

1. A crossed-over stance.

2. A ball that is too far forward.

3. A weak grip, which causes the face to end up too open.

4. Over the top – downwards from outside to inside.

2. Seeking More Draw

The factors that help with this are:

1. A tighter stance (from behind you would see the left side of your body more forward than the right).

2. Ball more to the centre (so it will be more difficult for you to hit with a crossed-over stance).

3. A stronger grip (both hands turned a little to the right side).

4. Swing line is key: try to make it more downwards from inside to outside.

The draw or right to left effect (for right-handed players) is a shot that is generated with top spin: the ball spins more in the direction of the target from the moment it leaves the club head. This means that you achieve more distance with less effort.

Fairway Woods and the Topped Shot

The question is: is it necessary for high-handicappers to use fairways woods without a tee?

Returning to the introduction of this lesson, today we have hybrids which for me, together with balls, are tools that have changed results significantly.

So, if you can incorporate a hybrid that has between

19 and 22 degrees, you will minimise the number of shots played with a wood from the fairway.

Avoiding Topped Shots and the Angle of Attack Factor

Confusion has always arisen over not differentiating between the respective angles of attack when hitting a wood with the ball on a tee or without a tee, and that is why a club that usually has such a wide base generates a large number of topped shots.

Ball on tee: angle more positive or through the shot (you hit the ball when the club is on the rise).

Ball without tee: more negative angle (you hit the ball when the club is moving downwards).

How to avoid topping shots with fairway woods:

1. Stance with more weight on the left side –and grip the club a little shorter.

2. Ball set back – to the centre of the stance.

3. Shorter upswing and more balanced with the

4. Control swing speed (check that you don’t lose balance at the end of the