Improving my Golf Swing

@rdougl (469)
United States
June 20, 2007 9:41pm CST
As a beginner, I've noticed that when I tee off somehow my ball drifts to the right. How can I correct this?
1 person likes this
10 responses
@gewcew23 (8007)
• United States
30 Jun 07
Apparently you right handed. This always happens to beginners that are righties. If you where a lefty the ball would drift to the left. First thing to check is to make sure your grip is correct. When holding the club look down at your left hand count how many knuckle you see excuding your thumb. If correct you should only see two no more no less. If you see more or less correct your grip. Another trick is to hit a fade shoot. Fades are when the ball mores left to right in a curvy shoot. If you ball keep going to the right aim to the left about the same amout the ball goes to the right. Try smaller club with higher loft. I used to use a driver with 9.5 degrees of loft. I could not control it, so I stared to use a 12.5 degree driver. Now I am hitting fairways more often.
@gewcew23 (8007)
• United States
5 Jul 07
When you are a beginner don't look so much at your score. Look at your percentages. What is your percent of fairway hits? Have you ever been able to get greens in regulation? How many putts does it take for you to hole out? These are the questions you need to be asking. Now I will say that +15 for a beginner on the front nine. If you look at your score over 18 holes it would probably be about +30 give or take a couple of strokes. That puts you about a 100. Not bad for a beginner. Just remember driving accuracy is the most important shot of the game for a beginner. Because putting the ball in the fairway sets up all kinds of success. I disagree with your strategy of using a 10* driver. If you can't control with a 12.5* consistantly you will not be able to control it with a 10*. I would even challenge you to tee off with a 3 wood. You won't get as much distance, but you will improve your accuracy, and like I said earlier if you can consistenly put the ball in the fairway you will have success for that hole.
@rdougl (469)
• United States
5 Jul 07
Well I was using a driver with a loft of 12.5. I've decided to go down to a 10. I will definitely practice a grip with the view of 2 knuckles.
@rdougl (469)
• United States
5 Jul 07
I've been Hitting a +15 on the front 9 of the course that I go to. Is this ok for a beginner?
• China
21 Jun 07
I am not good at Golf , but my boss love it, in his office are so many tools about it , and in the weekends, he go with his friends to the play GOLF, And i think that playing Golf is good for our health, and we should practice it!
@rdougl (469)
• United States
21 Jun 07
I think you are right. I love to play, but not so much to watch. I think it is healthy also. I've gained more energy since starting to take interest.
15 Aug 07
That would be considered a fade there buddy i would suggest turning your bottom hand counter clockwise to keep your club head straight
@imnutz (288)
• United States
5 Jul 07
My guess would be that you are swinging across the ball. By this I mean that when the club strikes the ball your club is not going straight forward, it is cutting across from the outside to the inside. This causes spin to be placed on the ball which causes the slice. This is probably the most common reason for the slice and especially in newer players. My main recommendation would be to go get a private lesson. This is something that should be able to be diagnosed relatively quickly then you can work on the fix on your own with the techniques the pro gives you. Make sure the pro video tapes you and looks at your swing plane. This will definitely show you the issues you have. Best of luck.
@rdougl (469)
• United States
5 Jul 07
I will try this. Thanks
• China
1 Oct 07
Actualy,i hardly play golf...but i guess maybe you can practise more if you get more free time... Practise makes perfect,it's very reasonable.
@candy111 (240)
• Philippines
16 Aug 07
Does your ball drift to the right immediately on take off, or at the end of the ball flight? Hahaha the easiest is to get a golf club that has a draw lie but i dont believe in that. Basic, check your grip. You can close our stance a bit meaning instead of opening your left foot slightly, you would close it like you would on a stance for short irons. The other way is to let your right hand start to dominate On impact (make sure its not before) which will make your hands pronate earlier, but too fast will make you duck hook instead. Lastly, which is the hardest to do, is to time your weight shifting properly, as i cannot see how you are actually swinging the club, a slice usually happens when ou do what they call a reverse pivot, meaning instead of your weight being almost completely on your left foot on the follow through, you have it back on your right foot. When i want to correct my swing, i use first about a 7 iron, tee it up, then just do half swings like you are pitching but focus on synchronously shifting weight from the right on your backswing to the left on the downswings. hope this helps.
15 Sep 07
Pay for a golf lesson
@Chapman15 (1492)
• United States
21 Jul 07
When I started I did the same thing, and most of the time I had to concentrate on three things that ensured me striking the ball well. First, keeping my head down. Whenever you lift it early you'll slice it(hit it to the right). Second, not try to over swing especially with a driver! Your mistakes are more obvious the higher the club. I usually try to swing at 85-90% to keep an even tempo. Third, if I'm still slicing it, I'm usually standing too far from the ball or it's too far up in my stance. Since I usually put it in the same spot in relation to my front foot, I usually just need to move slightly closer. If none of those adjustments work, I'm in for a long round!
@coolcat123 (4387)
• India
21 Jun 07
Golf - The positioning of gold stick before the hit of shot is very important to hit the ball in target.
To improve your gold swing you have have to make your action perfect before hitting the ball.Your eyes should only look at the ball any flag post where you would like to put the ball in the hole.Now see the nicely and hit the ball with the perfect positioning of body.You will see that your shot have improved than before.Catching of gold stick in perfect is also important for good shot.
@sandwedge (1339)
• Malaysia
7 Jul 07
there are a million explanations to cure the dreaded slice in books and in the internet. i assume you are referring to slicing the ball since you mentioned you are a beginner. most information about golf are contradicting one another. the more to read about it, the more you realize how contradicting the info is. one site/book may say get the perfect grip while another say grip is the least of your worries. another site will tell you its your hips, while another tells you its your shoulders. pah! first advice, do not cure the symptom(s). get straight to the problem. your swing. how to correct your problem? get your swing right first. HOW? either you get hire a golf pro to teach you or you can learn the Leslie King method. 3 options to the LK method. go straight to its school http://www.knightsbridgegolfschool.com/king or buy the book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swing-Factory-Steve-Gould/dp/074325256X or go to http://www.golfpro-online.com/tutition/king/index.html i swear by the Leslie King method. it changed everything i know about the golf swing immediately and put to the grave the dreaded slice. the last option is best if the first 2 is now within your reach. try it. it will make your golfing life exciting!! promise. do keep me update on your progress.
• Saudi Arabia
21 Jul 07
I think it is important that you see a golf pro who can, most likely, cure the problem. There are many reasons why the ball drifts to the right off the driver. It could be your stance, your swing plane (out to in or vice-versa), etc. However, you may not be releasing the club properly after impact. Try clearing your left hip to allow a full release. Good luck and happy golfing.