PILLAR #4 TAME STRIKE CONSISTENCY

Find the sweetspot

Regular solid contact is, of course, at the very heart of consistent golf. There is a perception among club golfers that if you get your technique right, the strike will come automatically. That’s not the case. Strike is something you can work on directly and independently, and is one of the best ways you can use your practice time. First, address your balance point, then try the following three drills...

Centred strike through balance control

Most club golfers are so set on hitting the ball as far as possible that balance goes out of the window. This is self-defeating because we need strong, centred contact for distance… which we only get from a balanced motion.

Common error: Into the toes

By far the most regular issue here is the golfer shifting into their toes coming into impact. Our instinctive efforts to find balance affect our fundamental distance from the ball, typically bringing us closer to it. We will tend to register heel strikes… but efforts to compensate will bring about a general inconsistency.

Address: Set your balance point

One of the big causes for that toe shift is the common ‘advice’ to set up with weight on the balls of your feet. Follow this idea and you will almost certainly end up with your weight too far forward in both feet.

Balls… and heels

Instead, I prefer the concept of weight spread evenly between the balls and heels… a more central feeling that helps you become more grounded and stable at address. You can easily create this weight distribution by taking your stance and rocking gently forward into your toes and backward into your heels, before sensing and settling on the perfect middle ground.