Instruction "Consistent ball-striking is about keeping your swing as simple as possible." Photos: Dom Furore 5 Keys for Solid Contact Master these moves and you'll start hitting it pure By Butch Harmon Golf Digest Teaching Professional with Peter Morrice Golf Digest December 2005 Solid ball-striking is part you, part your clubs. So before you start changing your swing, make sure your equipment fits. A couple of hints: Most golfers play with shafts that are too stiff and use drivers without enough loft. Go see a PGA professional to find out how your clubs can work harder for you. Once you have the right sticks, consistent ball-striking is about keeping your technique as simple as possible. You don't want to do things at address or on the backswing that you have to undo before impact to hit the ball solidly. The simpler your swing, the easier it will be to repeat. And try to be as relaxed and natural as you can be all the way through. Think of it like throwing a ball: You just wind up, shift forward and release, without forcing your body to do this or not do that. Tension might be the biggest obstacle to solid golf shots. I've picked out five areas where I think you should focus your efforts to become a better, more consistent ball-striker. They range from the setup to the follow-through, but they all affect how accurately you deliver the clubface to the ball. I've also included the most common fault in each area as well as some drills and checkpoints you can use to test yourself. Let's get started. Make your setup routine • As I say in my clinics, it takes no athletic ability to get in a perfect setup, so there's no excuse for not addressing the ball the same way every time. It's just a matter of paying attention and ingraining good habits. • The biggest mistake I see is golfers stepping in and lining up the body to the target, then putting the clubhead behind the ball. This is the opposite of what you should do. The clubface should drive the whole process: Square the clubface to the target, and then set your body perpendicular to the face. This will put your shoulders, hips and feet parallel-left of the target line. Setting the face first will also help you monitor your ball position and your distance from the ball, two more important factors in solid ball-striking. How to check it • Here's a simple drill for seeing if you are set up the correct distance from the ball. Take your normal address, then drop your right hand off the club and let it hang. It should stay directly in line with its position on the club. If your hand moves closer to your body, you're standing too far from the ball; if it moves away, you're too close. Adjust until you get it just right. Let your head move • One of the worst things you can do in the golf swing is try to keep your head still. Because the head is attached to the neck and shoulders, keeping it stock-still restricts the ability to turn on the backswing and release powerfully through the ball. Your head should swivel or even move slightly away from the target going back and then move through with the right side. • Part of the problem is that many players get "ball-bound" at address. They stare at the ball and only glance at the target. Watch good players—they spend most of their time looking down the target line. So get your eyes off the ball; nobody's going to steal it. If you free up your head at address, you'll let it react naturally to the motion of the swing. Try this drill • Next time you go to the range, work on unlocking yourself from the ball at address. Set up and try to spend 90 percent of your time over the ball looking down the target line. Then, as soon as your eyes return to the ball, start your swing. You'll feel less tension in your neck and shoulders, and I bet you'll hit the ball more solidly. Shift in the direction of the swing • Here's a simple rule: Your weight should always move in the same direction as the swing. As the club moves back, your weight goes to the inside of your back foot as you turn over your back leg (above, left). Then, as you swing down, your weight shifts to your front foot as you turn over your front leg (above, right). • If you stay on your front foot during the backswing, you'll tend to fall away from the target when you start down from the top. With your weight hanging back, you'll either hit the ground before the ball or make contact on the upswing. Moving into the shot with the clubhead promotes a downward strike and flush contact. How to check it • Look at these two shots (right) of my feet at the finish of two swings. The first one is a good finish: Almost all of my weight is on my left foot, and my right foot is turned up on its toes. In the second photo, my right foot is supporting most of my weight. Now go hit some balls and check your feet at the finish. Make sure you've made a good weight shift through the ball. Match your swing to your turn • Another key to solid contact is keeping your arm swing in sync with your body turn. When your body stops turning in the backswing, your arms should stop swinging back. Then, as you start down, your arms will naturally drop and deliver the club from the inside. If your arms keep swinging after you've completed your turn, your left elbow collapses and you'll tend to cast the club before impact, which leads to weak, inconsistent contact. Try this drill • Here's a drill I've used with Fred Couples to get his swing in sync. Swing to the top and pause for a count of three, then unwind and swing through. This might feel awkward at first, but once you get a feel for the timing, try hitting some balls. This drill will teach you not to overswing on the backswing and to match up your arm swing to your body turn through impact. Your contact will improve--and so will your distance. Turn your hips level • Teachers often tell players their ball-striking problems come from pulling out of their posture on the downswing. This is true, but I'm convinced the real culprit is that they thrust their pelvis toward the ball on the downswing, which causes the spine to straighten up. If you keep your hips turning level through the strike, your spine will stay in position. This is what Ben Crane has worked on all year, and it's one of the reasons he's won more than $2 million. A good thought here is to turn your hips so they end up directly over your left foot. You can't get there without making a level turn through the strike. How to check it • At the finish, your belt buckle should face the target--this is proof that you've made a level turn. Hit some balls and hold your finish position, then check your hips. If they feel strained or you're having trouble keeping your balance, you've probably lunged at the ball with your pelvis instead of releasing your right side through to a full finish.

Butch Harmon