Virginia Golfer September / October 2015 | Page 35

By setting up tees on both sides of
the club head and using the foot
powder spray, you’ll receive instant
feedback on your contact point.

3 BALL-STRIKING SKILLS MOST
GOLFERS NEED TO IMPROVE
1. Hit the ball in the center of the face.
2. Make contact with the ball first and then
contact the ground in the correct place
(for balls hit off the ground).
3. Square the face at impact.
BALL-STRIKING DRILLS EVERY
GOLFER SHOULD KNOW

RANDY JOHNS (4)

Improving Center Face Contact
Spray the face of the club with Dr. Scholl’s
foot powder spray and see where on the
face you are hitting shots.
Use tees on either side of the club head as
another feedback device for contact point.
Purposely try to move the contact point
around—try to hit shots in the heel, in the
toe, and, of course, in the center. If you can
purposely hit balls in the toe and the heel,
you are improving your ability to hit it in
the center.
If you hit a shot in the heel, you will take
out the tee on the toe side of the club. Heel
shots will make the ball go to the right and
curve to the right.
If you hit a shot in the toe, you will take
out the tee on the heel side of the club. Toe
shots will make the ball go left and curve left.

Improving The Low Point
Of Your Swing
I ask all of my new students, regardless

vsga.org

of handicap, this question: When you hit
a golf ball off the ground, where do you
want the club to first touch the ground?
To illustrate the question, I will set up two
tees or balls about 18 inches apart and set
the ball to be hit between them.
The correct answer to this question:
You want to contact the ball first and then
the ground.
The divot should start at the ball and go
towards the target.
We want to avoid hitting the ground
before the ball.

Brush Drill
A great drill is to do practice swings without
a ball and to try to brush the grass on the
target side of the line between the balls.
Another is to make quarter or half swings
back and forth continuously, brushing the
grass on the target side of the line. Masters
and U.S. Open champ Jordan Spieth often
does this as part of his pre-shot routine.
Where are we always trying to brush the
grass? In front of where our clubs starts.

Improving Your Ability To Square
The Club Face
Every golfer should know two basic facts
about the starting direction and curvature of
any golf shot.
1. The direction the ball starts is primarily
(70-85 percent) due to where the face

is pointing at
impact. It is not
the path of the club
that determines the starting direction
of a golf shot as some have previously
thought (radar launch monitors such as
Trackman have proven this fact). Note:
As illustrated above, impact location on
the club face can have a big impact on
the starting direction and curvature of
the golf shot.
2. If a golf shot curves, it is because there
is a difference in the directions of the
club path and the club face. For example,
a golf shot that slices to the right of its
starting direction is caused by a club face
that is right of the club path. A golf shot
that hooks to left of its starting direction
is caused by a club face that is left of the
club path. Remember that the impact
location on the club face plays a big role
on the ball’s flight pattern.
If your golf shot is starting in the wrong
direction or curving too much left or right,
you need to correct your club face and club
path. Golf teachers have long argued about
whether to correct the club path or the club
face first for shots that curve too much. As
an experienced teacher, I have corrected
students’ ball flights each way, some by
correcting the club path first and others by
correcting the club face first.

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