Trajectory Tune Up

My role as a golf coach is often to help my students neutralize the manner in which they deliver the club to the golf ball. I might help them with less slice, longer shots or simply a higher or lower ball flight. Today’s lesson will give a simple assist to any golfer looking to improve the trajectory of their shots. Whether you’re looking to hit the ball higher or lower the following video will help. Watch….

For a lower ball flight:

• Hold the club in your lead hand and elevate the lead wrist

• Place the trail hand on the club so that it is less ‘on top’ and more ‘alongside’ the grip

• Have a sense throughout the swing that the club face is stronger and more downward

• This will often reduce fade bias and improve compression and energy transfer from the club to the ball

For a higher ball flight:

• Hold the club in your lead hand and lower the handle

• Place the trail hand on the club so that it is more ‘on top’ of the grip

• This change will often lead to reduced draw/hook bias and improve carry distances

As with any change it is important not to overdo either of these changes. Start small and if you need more you can always add later. In recent years I’ve found that the trail hand grip plays a significant role in determining the face angle throughout a golf swing. This is a simple technique to make significant changes in trajectory and energy transfer to the golf ball.

Thanks for reading this and I hope one of these changes works wonders for your golf.

Cheers!

How to Shallow the Attack Angle

I teach far more golfers that hit down on the ball too much more than those that don't hit down enough. If you are one of those golfers that typically takes big divots and hits a low ball flight then stay with me....

Here's a helpful sequence to practice when your angle of attack is too steep or downward. If you're guilty of massive divots and/or low ball flight then this is for you. For more visit www.andrewricegolf.com

I have found this sequence to work nicely with all golfers looking to shallow their attack angle and improve the crispness of the strike. Try the following (with either irons or driver):

• PHASE 1 - 5 drags over the top of the ball
• PHASE 2 - 5 low to high pitch style shots, keeping clubhead low in the backswing
• PHASE 3 - 5 half speed and half size swings sensing an ascending strike (even with irons)

(all shots are struck with the ball on a tee)

Another drill I like to use to help golfers learn to deliver an ascending strike with the driver is what I call the Box Drill pictured below...

Place an empty sleeve box between a teed golf ball and the target as indicated. The box should be approximately a grip length ahead of the ball. On a windy day it might be necessary to use tees to anchor the box in place. This is a costly addition to this drill!

If you can hit shots without running the clubhead into the box then chances are that you're no longer hitting down on the ball and you should see an increase in both distance and the altitude of your tee shots. Keep in mind that as you "upgrade" your attack angle, should you have an adjustable driver, you might need to alter the loft.

Here's a nifty, yet simple drill I've come up with to help my students get a feel for what its like to hit up on the ball. This has made all the difference to my driving. If you'd like to hit it longer, straighter and higher give this one a try.

Thanks for reading and I hope these ideas are going to help your game. Cheers!