not breaking 80 on a consistent basis. There are people
of all shapes and sizes who can shoot in the 70's nearly
all the time. Instead of saying to yourself, "I can't
stand that guy/girl", why not ask yourself "Why can't I
do that too?!"
One major flaw,(not The Fatal Flaw, but a close second),
occurs when a high handicapper tries to create power with
a fast swing. Power comes from the large muscle groups
like legs, shoulders, back and chest. Just swinging hard
at the ball with your arms will not generate the right
clubhead speed. Most amateurs do not understand that it
is the full body turn that enables longer, straighter
shots. Next time you are looking for more consistency
and length, try turning your back to the target on your
backswing and you will notice you don't have to swing
nearly as hard and you will hit it further.
Now, in terms of The Fatal Flaw, nearly every person I
consult with to break 80 does this single thing wrong.
It's not what you think...rather something you probably
have seen yourself but not realized. Every solid single
-digit handicapper I know does NOT do this and I have yet
to meet a person who plays exceptional golf who does. I
love the look of surprise on my reader's faces when they
learn this fatal flaw...it is simply priceless because it
is like they just were told how to undo years of bad habits
and start taking dead aim at the pins every time. The best
hint I can give you is that it has to do with the sequence
in which you swing the club and how you deliver the clubhead
to the point of impact.
OK, enough of the suspense.
The Fatal Flaw is...losing your spine angle/tilt at address in
the impact area. This causes thin, topping and fade shots.
It certainly does not help that our lives are becoming more
stationary instead of active resulting in poor fitness especially
the core and lower back.
To strike the ball more consistently keep your right shoulder
working down to the ball until the ball is gone and speed of the
club forces you to stand in balance. One way to feel this is to:
1) Put a club behind your neck
2) Turn back pointing shaft down toward ball
3) Turn through/finish with shaft too ball
This will give you the proper feel for keeping your spine angle and
strike the ball more solid.
Best Regards,
Glenn Ellis - Gatonet, Inc.
