Golf has many myths. Covering everything from driving to course management, these myths are passed down from father to son, father to daughter, and so on. Misguided myths:
1. Aim at the Target
We’ve all heard this statement before. Maybe even said it. The statement isn’t so much mythic as it is confusing. The question is, aim what at the target? Your club face? Your shoulders? Your body? The problem with this myth is that it can cause people to misaligned themselves in one of two ways, hurting his or her golf handicap.
- aiming the feet, hips, knees, and shoulders directly at the target, leaving the club face following a line well right of the target; or,
- aiming to compensate for ball flight errors, like when you aim left to compensate for the ball flight error of a slice (for right handers).
- When aimed correctly, the leading edge of the club face sits at a right angle to the target line while your body aligns parallel-left of the target line. This set up establishes perfect parallel alignment.
- This position doesn’t come naturally. So you need to work on it on the range to recognize when you’re aiming correctly on the course.
2. You should swing your driver faster than your wedges
If you’re like most golfers, you swing the driver faster than the 7-iron or 8-iron. Most of us invariably ramp up our swing speed with longer clubs because we envision hitting the ball harder and driving it farther. Unfortunately, when you ramp up your swing speed, you destroy your natural swing tempo – the total amount of time it takes to create your swing from beginning to end. That’s not good. When you start varying your swing’s tempo from club to club, you destroy the timing required to hit consistent golf shots. It’s one reason why you feel that you can hit your irons well one-day but not your woods, and vice versa. Practice consistent tempo with all your clubs and you’ll hit consistent shots.
3. Play the ball back with shorter clubs
But incorrect ball positioning can create major problems. With the ball positioned too far forward, our shoulders tend to align too far left of forward. Since your club swings where our shoulders point, we slice. With the ball positioned too far back, our shoulders tend to close, encouraging a push or a hook. One inch left of center is the best position for short irons, which is not far back. Many people push the ball so far back that it creates many problems.