A lot of things have changed in golf over the years—especially when it comes to club technology. But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed. It’s the importance of hitting greens in regulation (GIR). This stat is among the most telling in the game.
But what does that mean exactly? Hitting a green in regulation means you hit the green with enough shots to leave you a putt for birdie or par. In other words, you need to hit a par 3 in 1 shot, a par 4 in 2 shots, and a par 5 in 3 shots. Sounds pretty simple, right?
Well, it’s not. Hitting a green in regulation is a challenge—especially for weekend golfers. No doubt about it. That’s because weekend golfers often lack the distance control and consistency with their middle and long irons.
Improving in one or both of these areas saves strokes. Often that means fixing one of two common backswing errors. Reverse-weight shift and casting can cause you to make poor contact, leaving your shot short of the green.
Below we look at what causes these two backswing errors and provide drills to help you beat them:
Reverse-Weight Shift
If you tend to hit the ball fat, chances are good you’re committing this swing fault. It occurs when you tilt your spine toward the target at the top of the backswing, then reverse your direction on the downswing. In essence, you’re falling away from the ball when trying to hit it, making it hard to hit the ball solidly and well.
This swing fault drains power big time. Common causes for this swing fault are a lack of flexibility, an open clubface, and bad sequencing or coming over the top.
Diagnosing this error is simple: Just take note of your balance in your follow-through. If you’re finishing out of balance, with your weight mostly on your back foot or you’re falling backward when you end your swing, you’re probably committing this swing fault.
Another way to diagnose this error is to videotape your swing. Most times you can tell if you’re falling backward by just watching the tape. However you diagnose it, the drill below rids you of this swing fault:
Take your stance and place two broken shafts in the ground outside your feet so that they’re four to six inches from your feet. As you swing back, rotate your back hip behind you so that both hips maintain the same distance between the shafts.
If your back hip touches the shaft behind you or your front hip touches the shaft in front of you, you’ve committed this fault. Instead, you want to feel as though you’re turning around your flexed right knee at the top of the swing.
Casting
Casting causes both fat and thin shots. It occurs when your swing bottoms out too far behind the ball. Casting happens when you release our wrists prematurely during the downswing, causing you to lose your wrist angle and deliver the clubhead to the ball with a cupped left wrist. That, in turn, adds loft to the club and causes you to hit mishit the ball.
Two common causes for casting are (1) a lack of flexibility (or range of motion) in your wrists and (2) not using your body correctly—the number one cause of casting among weekend golfers. The lack of flexibility prevents you from holding the wrist angle on the downswing. Not using your body correctly occurs when you get to the top of your swing, then initiate the swing with your hands and arms only. Both causes are easy to spot either in person or on videotape.
Two Golf Drills:
The following golf drill fixes casting:
Grab a 7-iron from your bag. Then take your stance. Before starting back with your swing, take a split-hands grip. Leave several inches between your two hands. Now swing the club to the top then drive the butt end of the grip downward toward the ball, maintaining a 90-degree angle between your left arm and a bent right elbow. Stop when your right elbow is in front of your right knee. Repeat this movement several times. Remember the feeling. Then hit several shots trying to re-create it.
Ridding yourself of either swing error takes practice. So, practice the golf drills until you’ve mastered the moves they teach. Doing so will improve consistency and distance control with your middle and long irons. That, in turn, will help you hit more greens in regulation, leaving you with more putts for birdies and pars and cutting strokes from your scores and your golf handicap.
