The biggest determiner whether the ball goes straight, comes down to swing path. This can often be a forgotten aspect for beginners and even intermediate players. However once you have an understanding on how the club moves through the swing, your game will reach a new level of consistency. The tendency for most golfers is to simply take the club straight back, however this often leads to a 'slice'. The ideal path for the club is in fact one that moves around the body at a 45 degree angle.
When the player does move the club too vertically on the backswing, the tendency will be that on the downswing, that path will move out-in. This simply means that the club exits too far left through impact causing left-right spin, generating a 'slice'. The other extreme is when the club moves around the body too quickly on the backswing, often causing a 'hook'. Opposite to a 'slice', this means the club exits too far right through impact, causing right-left spin.
Now the ideal path which will fix both extremes, is swinging around the body at a 45 degree angle. (In particular a 'slice') The best way to reach this 45 degree angle, is imagining a clock face. If you go straight back with your swing, this would mean you are coming back on a 6 o'clock position. If however you feel you're coming back over 7 o'clock which means slightly around the body, it will mean you are coming back on that 45 degree angle.
Now once you start back at 7 o'clock, you need to follow this path all the way to the top of the swing. If it's the first time doing this, you might find this hard to do as sometimes our bodies can be more restrictive at the top of our swings. The best method to reach this top position is by doing stretching exercises that work on rotating the body whilst maintaining posture. The best exercise is to place a club behind your shoulders or in front and set your body in a golf posture. You want to then feel the left shoulder move under the chin on the backswing, whilst maintaining posture. Once you can do this effectively, you will soon be able to swing at a 45 degree angle all the way to the top of the swing.
If you'd like any further help in implementing the ideal swing path, just contact myself at David Waters Golf located at Emerald Lakes Golf Coaching Centre.
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