Club Face Matters

In the following video Andrew shares information on the most common fault he sees with the everyday golfer - an open or weak club face and the effect this one element can have on ball flight and striking.

I have no doubt that the club face angle, in particular in the early downswing, is an integral element to playing good golf. All golfers need to get the face in place in the downswing in order to be able to make a quality strike and manage the face angle for accurate outcomes.

When the club face is overly weak/open:

• The weight will typically stay back as the pivot stalls

• The handle will be too far back at impact, resulting in high and weak shots

• Distance and compression will be compromised

• The strike will almost always be picky with very little club to ground interaction post impact

• Trajectory will be overly high with the prevailing misses being pulls and/or fades

When the club face is overly strong/closed:

• The hips will drive forward too far in an attempt to slow down face rotation

• The hands will be well forward at impact, resulting in low spinning and low flighted shots

• Distance will typically not be a problem

• The quality of strike will often be acceptable

• Appropriate height will be a challenge, especially with a longer iron and the prevailing miss will be a hot, low ball flight with a tendency towards blocks and hooks

What can you do to improve? Take an honest inventory on which pattern discussed above you typically fall under. Once you have an idea, start working on improving your club face angle in the early downswing. This will most commonly be achieved with improved wrist angles, but know that the grip will also play a role. Create a game plan and set about making some long lasting changes. You can do this!!

Thanks for reading and please shout if you have any questions.

Lose Your Chicken Wing

If 2023 is going to be the year where you start compressing the golf ball with some sizzle and penetration off the club face then it’s time to get to work on that pesky little chicken wing you see at impact and beyond in your golf swing. It will take some time, but with a clear picture and a few solid practice sessions it can be done. Here’s how…

The two key areas are as follows:

1. The club face is invariably the culprit here and its almost always overly weak or open. Practice the “pump drill” demonstrated in the video where you really exaggerate how closed you’re getting the club face. Yes, you’ll hit a few shots to the draw/hook end of the spectrum, but just the same way you learned to hit it “straight” with an open face, is how you’ll learn to hit it straight with a more neutral face.

2. Let’s get DIRECT with this drill and make sure the lead arm stays extended. Keep in mind - face first and then the 9-3 drill demonstrated in the video. Use a 7 iron and keep the drill smaller than you might think. No need to hit it hard just yet. Please make sure that both arms are still extended as things come to a halt after the strike.

I know that if you commit to these two ideas you will not only improve the quality of your ball striking, but you’ll also get rid of the infamous golf swing chicken wing.

Please give this a go and let’s make 2023 your best year on the golf course ever! Cheers.

A Drill for Better Strikes & Trajectory

This is a fairly straightforward drill that will activate the trail side in the downswing and reduce any “tipping” tendency that might get the clubhead stuck behind the golfer. If you struggle with thins, and fats in tandem with blocks and hooks, then this is one for you to try.

A few points to note:

• This drill works nicely with a 7 or 8 iron struck off a low tee.

• Keep the stance fairly narrow and drop the trail foot back about a foot inside where you’d normally place it.

• Rehearse and then rehearse again. Remember that as you practice this you’re trying to make technical changes, so go slowly and get it right….every time!

• Try to feel the trail shoulder continuously moving through the impact zone. It should feel as if you’re “covering” the ball with that trail shoulder.

• As you get more comfortable you can start to pick up the speed and move the back foot into a more neutral position.

This drill really has worked wonders for a few of my students in that it has upgraded both the quality of strike along with the ball flight. The next time you find yourself struggling with either strike or trajectory give this drill a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Better Ballstriking!

It has been incredible to watch my students work this concept into their golf swing and witness how much better they start to strike the golf ball. It’s ball first, crisp contact where the compression improves almost immediately. If you struggle with thins, scrappy heavy hits and even some blocks and hooks then this thought is a good one for you to try. As always there is a video coming, but today I’m going to lead off with what I’d like you to feel….

• As you get to the top of your backswing your lead/front side is lower than the trail side. In transition I want you to keep the lead side low for as long as possible into the downswing

• Feel like you’re “surfing down the wave” into the golf ball

• Work against drifting the upper body in front of the ball. There should be no upper body sway as you start down

• While the lead side will elevate at impact, strive to keep that front shoulder staying as low as possible

As you can see in my demonstration above I tend to get my upper body too far forward while I’m ingraining the FEEL, but notice what the upper body does during the actual shot. That’s a little more like it!

I hope that these articles are somehow contributing to your enjoyment of the game. As we all know - better shots lead to greater enjoyment. Thanks for checking in!

Try This for Better Compression

Too many golfers that I teach are struggling to compress the golf ball! There is a distinct lack of energy being transferred from the clubhead to the ball. Getting the club face in position in the early part of the downswing is tremendously helpful in increasing compression and the sizzle factor off the face. Here’s how…

When trying this drill look for the following:

• Don’t try to hit balls with this - it’s all about getting the correct feel

• Hold the club at the bottom of the grip in your lead hand with the clubhead well off the ground

• As you get to the top you should see the handle out in front of your forearm

Doing this drill correctly will ensure that you’re getting both the club face and the clubhead in a good spot to initiate the downswing without having to work hard to shallow the club or lay the shaft down.

This should be your view when you have the club at the top of the backswing. Give it a try and see if you can incorporate the feel into your next practice or warm-up session.

Thanks for reading/watching along and it is my wish that somehow I can manage to share something that helps you experience more joy while you’re out on the links.

Cheers!

Get the Face in Place!

The ability to control both the face angle and loft at impact is paramount to playing better golf! This element in the golf swing really plays a major role in my teaching philosophy. Here’s a simple, yet illustrative, video that shows what can go wrong and how it needs to work…

So much of what we do in our golf swings is dictated by the face angle in the early part of the downswing. An open face means a stalled pivot and handle to go along with too much loft and an inconsistent strike. On the other hand an overly closed face will encourage too much lateral drive in the downswing and cause the hands to ultimately be too far forward and de-loft the face too much. This image illustrates the two extremes…

If you can make, even subtle, upgrades during this all important part of the golf swing you’re going to see a marked improvement in both your ball-striking and flight. Give it a go!

Stop the Scoop

Are you tired of putting everything you have into your game, only to see the ball literally limp off the club face after each swing? There’s just no return on the energy you’re putting in. Today I’m going to show you how to get the sizzle back into your ball striking. Watch this video first…

I often ask my students which club imparts the most energy into the ball relative to club speed. The answer? Putter. Why? It has the least loft at impact and delivers the least oblique strike to the ball. Learn to reduce the loft coming into impact in order to start compressing the ball off the club face.

1. Get the club face in place early in the downswing. This is done by bowing/flexing the lead wrist which in turn will de-loft and strengthen the club face by the time impact occurs.

2. Try the Preset Club Face Drill. Using a 7 iron, take the club back so that the shaft is parallel to the ground making sure the lead wrist and leading edge are tilted down towards the ground slightly. Wind the arms back 1 foot and rotate through, working to maintain the face and wrist angles. The ball flight should be low and penetrating with a slight draw.

3. Make sure that the low point of the swing arc is forward of where impact occurs. This can be rehearsed by making two practice swings between each shot you hit on the range where the sole of the club bottoms out well in front of where it was resting on the ground. The handle and weight must be forward at impact in order for this to occur.

If you’re a scooper you owe it to yourself to give these ideas a try. My 30 years of teaching golf say that they truly do work and with a little patience and persistence you’ll significantly improve the quality of your ball striking.

Remember - there is no magic, only hard work and a good solid plan. Get to it!

A Strict No Tipping Policy!

We’ve all been there - a constant battle between fats and thins, blocks and sweeping hooks! This malady is something I experience all too often on my lesson tee and I have an idea that I know will help many of you. Once you work your way through this article your approach to ball striking, your concept of how it should work, will never be the same again. Take a look…

I have come to believe that the primary culprit in tipping the upper body back is the quest to work the clubhead back to the inside or shallow the club on the downswing. I’ve written that “It’s All About Impact”, but you can only arrive at an appropriate impact when certain elements are in place going back and on the way down. The better the clubhead is positioned in the early downswing the less likely golfers are to tip their shoulders and spine away from the target too early.

Here’s a face on shot of Tiger Woods from the PGA Championship in San Francisco. I like this example as the bottom of his sleeves seem to correlate to shoulder tilt in these frames.

Tiger Woods

Frame 1: Far too many golfers have significantly more shoulder tilt than this at address. The lead shoulder should always be higher, but only marginally.

Frame 2: It’s amazing that Tiger can turn this well after his back issues. That being said, notice how much higher the trail shoulder is than the lead. He has turned well, but perhaps more importantly, he has pivoted on a fairly steep incline with the shoulders.

Frame 3: The inclined pivot going back has aided his ability to initiate the downswing without a hint of tipping away from the target. The weight is left and the body is rotating appropriately.

Frame 4: A great checkpoint for all golfers - make sure that just before the shaft gets back to parallel to the ground, your shoulders (or sleeves) are pretty close to parallel to the ground as well. From here the low point of the arc is well forward of the ball and the player can rotate freely through impact, aiding with club face control. Better ball striking and accuracy!

Get out to the practice tee and make a few exaggerated practice swings as I demonstrated in the video above. It will, and should, feel strange, but straight away you’ll notice how the low point to the swing is now after impact and you can rotate more freely through the strike. Give it a go and let me know your findings.

Thanks for reading!

3 Key Drills for Great Wedge Play

Far too many golfers struggle with their wedge play. I see it all the time! In this article and video I have dug deep and come up with my three favorite drills for you to practice if you'd like to get better from close range. Take a look...

Impact Drag Drill

• Using an alignment rod in lieu of a club take your normal pitching address position
• Place the tip of the rod on the ground about 3 feet behind where the ball would be
• Keeping the arms extended, rotate and elevate the lead shoulder to get the rod through impact

Pitching Draw Drill

• Tee the ball up and place an alignment rod between the ball and the target
• The objective is to get the ball to draw around the rod
• Have the handle traveling up and in while the clubhead travel down and out for draws

9 Ball Trajectory Drill

• Using nine balls to develop skill and adaptability
• Hit the first three balls to three different targets with your stock trajectory
• The second three balls are hit with a slightly higher trajectory to different targets
• The final three are hit with a lower trajectory to different targets as well

My hope is that these drills will help to upgrade your technique, develop your skill around the greens and ultimately help you become a more well-rounded golfer.

Thanks for reading/watching and if you enjoyed this article please share it with a friend who you feel might benefit.

A Drill For Better Compression

There is so much information out there regarding the golf swing that it's nearly impossible for anybody to sift through it all and decide what could be a game-changer for their game. In this article I've done the heavy lifting for you and trust me, improved wrist angles (particularly in the downswing) can make a massive difference in your ball striking.

In the wrist-centric Laser Beam drill I'd like to see the following:

• a tee in your glove pointing away from your the back of your hand
• curl the wrists under, bowing the lead wrist slightly, as you start the swing
• sense a flat or slightly bowed wrist throughout the back and downswing
• save your eyes! Point the tee away from your face all the way through impact

If you do this correctly you will sense an improved ability to hit draws and the additional compression will have the ball jumping off the clubface. Give this one a go!

An explanation of Compression 

A Sample Golf Lesson

I wanted to share a recent lesson I did. Keep in mind that that this lesson went completely as intended - it doesn't always work that way. My objective for Halle, who is a promising young high school golfer, is to improve the quality of her ball striking. Watch...

She improved her posture by not extending her lower back as much and her swing notes were:

• Feel the hips working more up and down vs level - Sam Snead image. This would serve to improve body motion and discourage the arms from working behind her too much.
• Consciously keep her arms more in front of her. A drill was to make back swings while backed up against a wall. This would keep her arms from getting deep and allow them to work in front of her on the way down.
• Sense the hands tracking left of the target through impact. She has worked on the dispersion drill in the past and has had good success with it.

Hand path is often over looked and is an important part of what I teach on a daily basis. Thanks for watching!

This free website's biggest source of support is when you decide to book a lesson or golf school. You can contact me HERE. If you live in another state or country please consider making a purchase HERE or  HERE. It will help your game in addition to helping me to keep adding to this free website. Thanks again for your support! Andrew.

The Truth about Divots

Demonstrating the Impact Drag Drill

I think divots are over-rated. They are not integral to great ball striking and they certainly don't give us as much information pertaining to the swing that led to the divot as we have been led to think. And to think that I used to love them, I used to encourage all my students, even ladies, to hit down and take divots...

Times have changed! TrackMan has shown me that far more golfers hit down too much than those who don't hit down enough. The "hit down" mantra has been flogged to death.

This video I filmed in conjunction with Revolution Golf will give you some idea as to what to look for as you work towards an improved and shallower strike on the ball.

As Martin Chuck so aptly said in this very good follow up video, "We're looking for bacon strips, not pork chops!" A shallow strike will improve the crispness of your strike - give it a try.

Thanks for reading along.

Driver Test: Old vs. New

My wife encouraged me to clean out the garage the other day and I happened upon an old driver I used in college. I still remember how cool this driver was - it was the latest and greatest and even had a titanium shaft! When was the last time you saw one of those? Just for kicks I placed it up alongside my current Titleist driver and was shocked at the massive difference between the two - the older club looked smaller than my current three wood! How could I have possibly played well with this mini club? This got me thinking about a TrackMan test.

For the record the smaller club was a TaylorMade Burner Plus 9.5 degree with a titanium X flex shaft and my current club is a Titleist D3 8.5 with a Motore F3 70 gram graphite S flex shaft. There is a fairly substantial 1.5 inch difference even though both clubs were standard length in their day. I am not sure about the weight or the true frequency/flex of each club as I did not have the appropriate equipment to check those measurements.

For the TrackMan test I hit 12 shots with each club and deleted the data for the two worst shots. I noted that the attack angle, club path, swing direction and plane were very similar from club to club.

The primary differences seemed to be:

• Club speed 99.7mph vs 101.8mph - I believed that this difference would be greater due to the large difference in length of shafts.
• Ball Speed 145.7mph vs 152.4mph - I put this down to the fact that the smaller head led to more off-center hits and thus a decreased average ball speed and smash factor.
• Point of contact - there was a noticeable tendency for me to strike the bigger club in the heel. This led to more shots missed to the right due to gear effect and an increase in the spin rate 2455rpm vs 2895rpm.
• Height - even though the smaller club launched the ball slightly higher the apex height was lower due to less spin and ball speed.
• Carry and total distance - the smaller club carried the ball almost 17yards shorter, but with less spin and a flatter land angle rolled further to only finish just over 10 yards short of the bigger club.
• Dispersion - the smaller club had more shots finish further from the center line due to a much smaller clubface and substantially lower MOI.

Here are the TrackMan generated dispersion charts (yellow is the smaller club) and averages:

(click to enlarge)

I was amazed at how small the difference between the two drivers, total distance wise, there was. Going in to the test I would have thought that there would be a 15 yard difference at least. I expected the smaller club to spin the ball less and lower the apex which it did, but I was truly amazed at how little distance I lost with it. I did notice a much greater tendency to hit the ball outside the sweet spot with the smaller club and that led to some fairly aggressive gear effect draws and fades.

Driving is not my strong suit and I am always looking to keep the ball in play off the tee. Armed with this new knowledge I am going to try a shorter shaft in my current driver head and see what that does for my fairways hit statistic. I also plan on practicing with the older club - I think it is vital in improving ball striking to practice with smaller headed clubs.

I also think this test might also illustrate that the majority of the distance gains we see on the PGATour today are not equipment based, but primarily due to the ball.....your thoughts?

This Matters in the Golf Swing....

Please watch the following - it will change how you attempt to improve....

Any thoughts or ideas? Am I just plain crazy?

Clubs Too Upright, Too Light?

Thanks to reader Chuck for this enlightening article posted by Bradley Hughes from www.bradleyhughesgolf.com:

 FLAT LIE ANGLES -            The Reason and Logic Of The Greats

I know from personal experience in a question asked directly to Lee Trevino that he used clubs that were at least 3 degrees flat in lie angle from the old standard. Doug Sanders also informed me in the interview I recently did with him (on page 2) that he had his clubs flattened down so the toe sat down and the heel would never strike the ground first. If we look at Ben Hogan's club that is in USGA Golf House Museum it is close to 6 or 7 degrees flat in lie angle when compared to clubs of the same length and loft of today.

If flat lie angles were the choice of the game's best ball strikers throughout history then WHY do manufacturers insist on putting upright lie angled clubs in the hands of golfer's today?

• The upright clubs make the player come steeply into the ball on descent.
• The upright clubs tell the body stall and insist that the hands flip through impact to try and square that upright lie angled club with the ground.
• The upright club straightens the right arm away from the body and increases clubface roll throughout the shot making timing a huge problem.
• Upright lie angles deteriorate the swing by not stressing the importance of swinging the golf club behind and around the body and rotating through impact with the correct body effort and sequence.

Too often we now see golfers throwing the club through impact - pushing the club head off to the right of the target or throwing the clubhead left of the target with their hand roll - flipping the club face over by hand action trying to correct the mistake. Today's clubs should all come with a warning label:     "Swing Deterioration And Poor Mechanics Possible By Using This Club"

 Add the fact that the shafts are too long and the swingweights and overall club weights are too light and it is little wonder we don't see ball striking mastery on any level any longer. Remember: Feedback of the club and the swing is necessary for improvement to take place. That's why golfers are not improving. They don't know the difference between a good strike or a bad strike of the ball because the permieter weighting and large sweet spots don't allow such reference. The equipment golfers are using is NOT designed to help them adjust their swing to the correct efficient motion.

Bradley Hughes

Very well said Mr. Hughes. I have an inkling as to why manufactureres insist on making clubs lighter and more upright...... Firstly, the clubs are more upright as it causes the faders, who happen to be the majority of golfers, to reduce the amount of curvature of their shots. Notice I never said anything about improving their swings - the upright lies in fact encourage these golfers to continue swinging the way they always have. And secondly, the light weight leads to more speed which creates a Wow! factor when they first hit the clubs. The lighter the club the faster you can swing it. You also, however, relinquish a measure of control over the clubhead and a feel for the club.

So the slicer who tries his buddies new 7-iron and hits a straight bomb over the green is amazed as he has never hit the ball that straight and that far before - he simply must have a set!

As with most things it comes down to $$$$! Don't get sucked in and allow yourself to be enticed with new gimmicks. Know your numbers (length and lie) and play something you like the look of and can feel.

Crisp Holiday Bargains for Every Golfer

Here are a few offers that are sure to please either yourself or the avid linkster on your Christmas list.

It's All About Impact

I received my copy of "It's all about Impact" yesterday. What a great book! You have verified what I have thought for years but was unable to put into words. This book is well worth the money because not only do you explain the 84 degree "secret", You also get into basic shot skills needed by most amateurs, myself included.

Thanks for a well put together book that is easy to read & understand, has great photos and again, is a super value.

Best regards,

JH

• The eBook and hardcover version will both be 20% off from today through Christmas
• All hardcover books will be autographed by yours truly - bonus!
• Purchase either version and receive a certificate for a one hour golf lesson from Andrew for $80 (valid for 3 months from date of purchase)
• There is also free shipping for anybody residing in the state of South Carolina
• If you would like to place a bulk (5+) order please contact me at (843)247-4688 or andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com for special pricing

Purchase your copy HERE

This is what BH had to say after reading the book and working with the drills:

What an unbelievable difference! Balls are jumping off the club and my confidence has soared. Thanks for studying these world class golfers and sharing their success with your readers.

While I did not play particularly well this weekend, I am very excited about my ball striking.

I have picked up at least 20 yards on my drive and a good club with my irons. I hit 15 quality iron shots, and drove it very straight most of the time.

Thank you, I now feel like I can play golf again!

JL

Golf Lessons

From today through Christmas I will be offering the following packages on lessons at Berkeley Hall:

• Purchase six thirty minute lessons for $300 - thats $50 each and the regular price is $75!
• Purchase six one hour lessons for $600 - thats $100 each and the regular price is $150!
• All lessons packages include high speed video analysis and a V1 video lesson emailed to your inbox
• These lesson packages are perfect for the crazed golfer in your family and are all available as Gift Certificates (valid for one year from original date of purchase)
• If you would like to purchase or discuss a package please contact me at (843)247-4688 or andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com

Group Lessons

During the spring season I will be offering a limited number of group sessions at Berkeley Hall:

• Group sessions are limited to three golfers (minimum of two required) and will run from 3PM to 5PM on Wednesdays
• The sessions include high speed video analysis and a V1 video lesson emailed to your inbox along with 30 minutes spent on the shortgame
• I will be offering a total of six sessions on the following dates: Feb. 2 and 16, March 9 and 23 and April 6 and 20
• The cost is $120 per session and the session package (all six) is available for $600 - a savings of $120! Also available as a Gift Certificate
• Should you wish to purchase a package or sign up for any lessons please contact me at (843)247-4688 or at andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com

Thank you all so much for your support this year - I could not do what I do without you.  Merry Christmas!

Shaft Angle at Impact

All I can say after doing the research for this post is WOW! This is something that is really interesting and I've never really delved into it before. In looking at the illustrations above and the photos below you will see what I am referring to - it is very rare for any golfer to return the shaft/club at impact to the same position it occupied at address (when viewed from down the line).

In fact so rare, that I have only found four golfers who do it more often than not. The amazing thing is that this group of golfers is a collection of some of the finest ball strikers that ever played the game. They are Lee Trevino, who Jack Nicklaus claims is the best hitter he ever saw, Ben Hogan, Nick Price and Sergio Garcia.

I have included the picture of Tiger Woods from 2000 below to illustrate where most PGA Tour caliber players return the shaft to at impact. Notice how his handle is above where it started (on the red line) at address.

Out of the four golfers I have found to get the shaft completely back to the line it appears that Sergio might be the least consistent at always returning the shaft back to the line, but as noted above, he does so more often than not.

Another interesting point to note is the golfers who are very close to returning the club to the line: Vijay Singh and Joe Durant (who has led the Tour in GIR stats 4 times and finished in the top 12 for the last dozen years!). In fact looking at the stats Joe Durant is a much better hitter than Tiger Woods - and consistently so!

Two additional golfers who may get the club onto the line but I was not able to find enough quality footage on were Sam Snead and Moe Norman (I found these images on Moe HERE and it looks pretty close). Certainly no slouches in the ball striking department either!

So, the next time you are reviewing your swing, pay particular attention to your impact position, but more specifically where your shaft is at impact relative to where you had it at address. There's a good chance you'll be above the line (and zero chance you'll be below it!) but do what you can to lower the shaft angle at impact in order to dramatically improve your ball striking and accuracy. Plase check back soon as I will be filming a few drills soon to help you get closer to a truly great impact.

Read Part II of this article HERE

Any thoughts? Any other golfers who you think might get the club to the line? Evidence? Please chime in.

To learn more about better ball striking check out THIS

Impact Drill: How to Stop Scooping

This is a version of a drill that I have presented many times, but each time I use it, it impresses upon me the importance of a proper strike on the golf ball. In using Trackman I have come to learn that the correct attack angle (an upward or downward hit) with an iron should be anywhere between 2 and 5 degrees down. If you have ever topped shots or alternated between thin and heavy strikes, you are more than likely getting scoopy through impact and this drill is right up your alley.

This drill will get you to do the following through impact:

• Get the weight shifted onto the front foot
• Lead the hands ahead of the clubhead
• Hit down on the ball
• Take divots in the right place - after the ball!

All you need is a small piece of one of those swim noodles that all the kids like to use in the pool. Secure the strip of noodle into the ground by pressing tees through the center as illustrated. It may take a little experimenting, but eventually you'll find the appropriate distance to line the balls up from the noodle. Before long you should start to see a consistent line of divots occurring on the target side of the golf ball - a positive sign! If you find yourself hitting a few of the dreaded "hosel rockets" your grip is too weak; Essentially you now need to scoop the face in order to square the clubface through impact. Get it stronger!

Some additional drills to help with impact:

• The Impact "Drag" Drill
• Hip Thrust Drill
• The Towel/Line Drill for Compression
• The Hip Slide and Why it is Important
• Golf's #1 Impact Exercise