The Simple Way to Understand Your Ball Flight

In baseball, each pitcher has his own set of pitches.

While most pitchers throw some variation on the same few pitches—fastball, curveball, slider, change-up, etc.—the ball movement of each is unique to the person who throws them.

Some fastballs are thrown harder than others, and some curveballs break more than others.  It is probably fair to say that no two pitchers throw pitches which are exactly alike.

The same statement could be made about golfers in terms of ball flight.

Your ball flight is your own, and it is unique to you.  While millions of other players can hit a draw or a fade, none is going to be exactly like yours.

The speed you generate off the club face, the spin rates that you create, and the launch angle, all of it combines to generate a ball flight that is uniquely you.  This is one of the best things about golf, but it also creates a challenge to the player. Since you hit shots that are different from everyone else, you can’t copy the way anyone else plays.

You have to forge your own path.

While it is certainly possible to change the ball flights that you hit, just about all professional instructors agree that it is best not to stray too far from what comes naturally.

If you naturally fade the ball when you just take a stance and make a swing, it is likely NOT a good idea to try completely switching over to a draw.  Sure you could learn how to hit some draws, but it will never be natural to you.

Don’t overcomplicate the game!  Make it as comfortable as possible for your best chance to succeed out on the course.

Getting to Know Your Own Game

Believe it or not, even if you have been playing golf for years, you might not know your own game as well as you think you do.  Many amateur golfers think they struggle with one thing, when in reality, their problems are something else entirely.

If you are going to improve your game, you need to know your game inside and out.

As it relates to ball flight, the best place to learn about your game is on the course.  Hitting balls on the driving range is fine, but the ball flights will never be the same as they are when you hit real golf balls, on real turf, and under real conditions.

That means that you should be charting all of your shots on the course, at least for a short period of time.

Get a small notebook and put it into your golf bag prior to your next round.  For each shot that you hit, note the club, distance, height (low, medium, high), and curve (draw, fade, hook, slice).  Make sure this process doesn’t slow you down by making your notes between holes or while your playing partners are hitting.

After just a few rounds, you will have enough data to make some solid conclusions regarding your ball flight.  Tally up all of the shots and put them into two categories: woods and irons.

Many players have different ball flights with these two club categories, so it is best not to mix the data.

Now, what patterns do you see?  How many draws and fades do you hit?  Do you usually hit the ball high or low?

The results might be what you expect, but there might be some surprises as well.

Making Changes to Get Better

The only reason to change something in your golf game is to get better and lower your scores.  Otherwise, what is the point?

With that in mind, don’t try to change your ball flight just because you want to try something different.  Only make a change if the data you have collected is telling you that there is a problem.

Ideally, you will see plenty of shots that fall in the categories of fade and draw, as opposed to hook and slice.  It is when there are too many shots in the extreme categories that you know something has to be fixed.

The following are some quick fixes for the two problem ball flights, the hook and the slice:

Fixing your Hook

Most players hit a hook because they slide their weight to the left during the downswing (for a right handed golfer).  When the weight slides left, instead of rotating, the club drops during the downswing and attacks the ball too far from the inside.  Right to left spin is put on the ball, and a hook is the result.

To fix this problem, focus on having your body rotate in the downswing rather that sliding.  Maintain your balance, and use your hips to turn toward the target without sliding from side to side. The result should be a more-powerful swing that eliminates the hook.

Here’s an excellent demonstration and drill from the guys at Me and My Golf that you can use to help eliminate excess slide:

How To Stop Your Slide In The Downswing

How to stop your slide in the downswing with Meandmygolf PGA Professionals Piers Ward and Andy Proudman. http://www.facebook.com/meandmygolf http://www.twitter.com/memygolf -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Watch Next – “Do This With Your Right Arm For Longer, Straighter Drives!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwxi4jraLPI -~-~~-~~~-~~-~-

Fixing your Slice

The most-common problem in golf, fixing the slice, usually boils down to one correction: using your legs in the downswing.

The majority of golfers who hit a slice start the downswing with only their arms, while the legs just stay stationary.

Without using your legs to turn toward the target, the club has no space to attack on the proper swing plane.  Instead, it is forced up and away from the body, and it has to cut across the ball at impact.

Left to right spin is generated, and the ball slices off to the right.

Use your legs in the downswing aggressively, and the slice should quickly disappear.

Conclusion

As long as you are able to take the extreme ball flights out of your game, you should be able to play with the rest of the shots that you hit.

Either a draw or a fade can work beautifully, so long as you know which one you are going to hit.

Armed with the information that you gathered during the exercise outlined above, you should now have a much better idea of which ball flight to expect on each shot.

Now start making smart course management decisions based on what you have learned, and the game will suddenly seem just a little bit easier.

Cover photo by Cameron Flanders on Flickr