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How an Empty Box Improved My Swing
By Monty Bryan
When I first started playing golf my swing was amazing¡ªat
least I thought so. The problems in my game came from the
wrong clubs, the wrong golf balls and the wrong
tees¡ªessentially, all of the equipment in my bag. Once I
started replacing my generic equipment with better-designed
alternatives, I soon realized that those elements would only
get me so far¡ªI needed to examine my swing.
When you really think about the game of golf, the physics
involved are completely awe-inspiring: a human being whacks
a slightly less than two-inch ball several hundred yards across
varying terrain, landing that ball inside a hole less than five
inches in diameter. Many times in as few as three strokes.
How is this possible? Golfing technology has played a large
part in shaving strokes off the game, but ultimately the
answer is the golfer¡¯s swing.
The perfect golf swing takes advantage of the science mixed
up in how a golf ball travels through the air. When the ball
takes flight, several things have to happen to create a great
shot: the ball has to have spin, trajectory, and speed¡ªand all
in the proper amounts relative to the shot you are trying to
make. In order to control spin, your swing has to deliver the
correct club-head angle. In order to convey the proper
trajectory, your swing has to address the ball at the proper
position. In order to provide speed, your swing has to
progress through the proper series of body motions. That¡¯s a
lot going on in just one swing!
As a beginner to the game of golf, I couldn¡¯t afford to sink a
lot of money into private lessons. As a result, I spent a lot of
time working on my swing by trying methods and techniques I
read about in popular golf magazines. Most of these
techniques utilized well-crafted graphics with a lot of arrows
and talk about a ¡°C¡±-shaped swing. While this was helpful in
allowing me to visualize what my swing should look like, it did
little to give me a practical application of that information. I
spent time videotaping myself, standing in front of
mirrors¡ªnot to mention hours watching professionals play on
television.
But I still couldn¡¯t find that perfect swing.
The biggest problem I had was that I had an idea of a perfect
swing, but I wasn¡¯t addressing the specifics behind what was
wrong with mine. Over time, I realized that I didn¡¯t have a
terrible swing; I just had a good swing with a tendency to
fade. I was satisfied with the distance I was getting (speed), I
could generally control the direction of the shot (trajectory),
but I had a real problem with my shot sliding to the right on
me as I played off the tee.
The most common swing problem in the history of golf is the
slice¡ªan unintended movement of the ball (for a right-handed
player) from left to right while the ball is in the air. As I played,
my fade would progress to a slice in direct response to my
building frustration. When I found out a slice is common to
most golfers, it didn¡¯t make me feel better, it made me even
more frustrated¡ªI didn¡¯t want to be average, even in my
errors!
The best part about having a swing marred by a tendency to
slice is that a slice is correctable¡ªapparently, golfers who
tend to hook (unintentionally moving the ball right to left while
in the air) have a much harder time correcting their swings.
With a little research, I found hundreds and hundreds of
products designed to assist me in straightening out my little
problem. But as I said before, I didn¡¯t want to spend the
money! Lucky for me, I did have a spare empty box lid from a
box of golf balls.
There are many factors involved for creating a slice, but the
physics come down to the ball spinning on the wrong axis
while in the air. Draw a black line around the exact center of a
golf ball, and point that line at a target. If the ball spins
forward exactly on a center axis, it will fly in a path directly
towards the target without shifting in flight. If the ball spins
even slightly off that axis¡ªspinning slightly to the right or left,
it will curve in the air. This is because the dimples in the ball
create a shift in pressure around the ball, similar to the way a
pitcher uses the seams to create a curve ball in baseball. The
ball may begin traveling in a straight line, but if it is spinning
to the right, it will ultimately move in that direction. So, the
problem lies in controlling the ball¡¯s spin. And what controls
spin? The angle of the club-head when it strikes the ball.
Problem solved! But not quite. The reason my club-head
wasn¡¯t striking the ball correctly could be attributed to several
possible errors¡ªclosing or opening the clubface, getting
ahead or behind my hips in the late stage of my swing, an
improper grip on the shaft, etc. But you address these same
issues for nearly every other swing problem! I was back to
square one! Only this time I was armed with the right
information. I knew that my problem was spin.
I reviewed the video tape of my body in motion and I paid
particular attention to the details of my swing: grip fine, hips
fine, clubface open fine, follow through¡ªnot fine. It seemed I
had an abnormality in my follow through. I went back to the
articles I had read on correcting swings and I found a great
piece of advice that ended up costing me absolutely nothing.
The article encouraged me to place the lid from a box of golf
balls on end about eighteen inches in front of my stance.
Using tees, I secured it to the ground so that it stood up
without assistance, pointing in a line towards my target. I
addressed the ball with the lid to my left, and as I finished my
stroke, I had to avoid hitting the box lid. Voila! No slice!
I now make it a habit of using my little trick before every
round to remind myself of the correct follow through for my
swing. It¡¯s not a fancy fix, but it works, and it didn¡¯t cost me
anything for my troubles. It took a lot of analysis to make it
happen, but I¡¯m now a much happier golfer. I still slice from
time to time, but at least I now know why, and what I can
work on for the future. It turns out my equipment was fine, I
just hadn¡¯t really understood the owner¡¯s manual.
About the Author
Learn how to dramatically improve your golf game and we're not talking about shelling out a ton of money for professional lessons. Visit http://www.refinergolf.com/
for more tips and start improving your golf swing today!
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| Some other articles by Monty Bryan | |
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