Controlling the ball—making it do what you want when you want—is the key to breaking 80. It’s also a key to lowering your golf handicap. If you watch pro golfers on television or in person, you’ll see the benefits of ball control. The pros can do just about anything they want with the ball. They can draw it, spin it, or stop it dead on demand. Mastering ball control is what separates the pros from golfers with low handicaps. Both groups can control the ball. But the pros are masters at it.
Developing this type of control isn’t easy. It takes planning, commitment, and practice to do it. You may even have to take a golf lesson or two. But it’s worth it. That’s because it’s a game changer—no pun intended. So if you’re really serious about improving, you’ll start working hard on things that enhance ball control. Below are four golf tips to kick-off your efforts to master control.
Groove your setup: Grooving your setup lets you focus on hitting your target instead of how you’re addressing the ball. It prepares you mentally and physically to take a swing. To groove your setup, take two extra clubs with you when you go to the range. Place one club left of and parallel to your target line. Use this club to help you setup square to the target line with your feet and your shoulders.
Use the second club to establish ball position. Place it just inside your front heel and point it end at the ball. Move the club away from your left heel as you drop down in clubs. With wedges the ball should be around the middle of your stance. Now hit some balls. If you use this drill at the range, you’ll groove your setup in no time. It’s what we have students do it in our golf instruction session.
Ingrain alignment routine: Ingraining your alignment routine is another golf tip that pays dividends. Players with high golf handicaps often align their bodies pointed at the target. This puts them in a closed position. They compensate for this to hit the target. Savvy golfers avoid this. They align themselves parallel to the target line, so they won’t have to make an adjustment when they swing.
One way to align yourself properly is to pick a secondary target just left of your original target. Point your club at it as you walk up to your ball. Keep it pointing at the target as you step into the ball with your right foot. Make sure its perpendicular to the target line. Now, turn your body toward the target line and step into your setup with your left foot. Set your club behind the ball. Adjust your stance width. Your clubface should be square to the target line and your body parallel left of the target.
Add one club: If you’re like most golfers, you pick a club based on either their hitting experience or a golf tip they’ve read. If you don’t hit your target, you’ll probably swing harder the next time you use the club. Swinging harder doesn’t help. It just messes up your swing. We encourage our students in our golf instruction sessions to experiment with adding one club. In other words, if you usually hit a 7-iron from 150 yards, hit a 6-iron. Adding one club lets you swing easier and hit the green. Swinging easier also lets you concentrate on your swing’s rhythm and tempo—not how far you need to hit the ball.
Get your swing back: Sometimes, even golfers with really low golf handicaps, develop bad habits. Maybe they’ve increased their grip pressure. Or maybe they try to hard to get the clubface square at impact. Whatever the cause, they’ve “lost” their swing. To regain it, tee up a ball just in front of the middle of your stance. Now hit the ball with a 7-iron using your left hand only. Make a full backswing and finish. This drill will help you recapture your swing.
These four golf tips will help you master ball control. You should also work on learning to vary shot trajectory, maintaining rhythm and tempo during a swing, and visualizing ball flight. Mastering ball control will help you not only break 80 but also dramatically lower your golf handicap.
