The golf digest school

Golf Digest, Nov, 2003 by Tom Perkins

Chuck Strange, a 25-handicapper from Fairbanks, Alaska, had trouble with his pitch shots. The ball would rocket off the club low and to the left of his target. His grip and club path needed work.

1. THE PROBLEM

Hand-to-hand combat

Chuck, a 21-year veteran of the Army's Special Forces, was trained to fight with his hands. This might explain why his hands were a little too active on pitch shots. In an attempt to hit the ball high he tried to scoop under the ball and abruptly lift the club up past impact. But his hand action, coupled with a strong grip, actually de-lofted the club at impact. It was in a shut position (facing left of the target) when it made contact with the ball. Chuck needed to make some simple adjustments to his grip, hand action and swing path.

2. THE FIX

Marching orders

The first thing we did was weaken Chuck's grip by getting him to turn his left hand toward the target as it rested on the clubshaft. The line created by the thumb and forefinger of the left hand needed to be parallel to the clubshaft instead of pointing back toward his right shoulder. This adjustment would help prevent the club from shutting at impact. To help keep Chuck from scooping the ball, I asked him to keep his hands quiet, or passive, through impact and swing out toward his target instead of swinging to the left.

3. THE RESULT

Air superiority

The combination of a weakened grip, quiet hands and a swing path directed more toward the target produced immediate results. From 40 yards and in, Chuck could now take advantage of the loft on his sand wedge and hit high shots that land soft. Most higher-handicap players have trouble understanding that they don't have to help the ball in the air by scooping it. The loft on the clubface takes care of the ball's trajectory. All it took was a couple of good shots for Chuck to see how the ball rolls up the clubface and leaps into the air without any extra help from his hands.

Golf Digest Schools instructor Tom Perkins teaches at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale.