Try the BOX Drill

If you struggle with heel strikes or worse yet the shanks, then this drill is for you. Swing too far from in to out? Too far from out to in? This drill is for you. It is, quite simply, the kind of drill that so many golfers should utilize as their staple practice drill whether they are warming up or just getting some solid practice in.

A few points to note:

• You can use a club box, a 2x4 (be careful!) or a partially empty plastic water bottle laying on it’s side

• Align the box at the target

• Tee the ball up approximately 2” inside the box

• Start off with shorter irons and work your way up to the bigger clubs

This is a super drill for everybody! Keep the box in your trunk or locker and use it fior a few shots every time you’re warming up or practicing as it will always serve to give you a clear indication of a fairly neutral strike and club path - bot good things.

Thanks so much for your readership and support in 2021. It has once again been a fairly challenging year, but I cannot be more grateful for my family, friends, students and the career path that I have chosen. Here’s to making 2022 your best year in golf yet!

Cheers.

Optimal Strike Point for Longer Drives

We've all heard the saying 'high launch and low spin'.  With the help of TrackMan I have been able to learn which part of the clubface to strike the ball with in order the get the ball to launch higher, spin less and ultimately travel further. Watch the following video...

optimal strike point

Here are the factors that make a slightly high and toe sided hit optimal:

Launch Angle

• Due to the roll/curvature of the face there is more loft above the center line than below.  The static loft of the club is measured in the center of the face, so if a club has 9.5 degrees of loft that is only in the one central location.  Half an inch above the center line the loft increases by around 2 degrees and vice versa for below the center line.
• A strike above the center line will always lead to a higher launch angle and can often be achieved quite easily by teeing the ball higher.

Spin Rate

• Due to vertical gear effect a strike that occurs below the center line will have a substantially higher spin rate than one higher on the face.
• I have seen increases of almost 1400 rpm with low strike points - in addition to distance sapping lower launch angles.

Gear Effect

• Most of the golfers that I teach need to hit draws.  A golf ball that is struck on the toe side of the clubface will tend to have a greater inclination to draw than one struck towards the heel of the club.

Clubhead Speed

• If a shot is hit out of the center of the face with a swing speed of 100mph a spot on the face 3/4" out side of that will be travelling at almost 103mph and a spot the same distance inside that will only be travelling at 97mph.
• The ball will travel faster and most often further with higher club speed.

If you'd like to get a feel for where you are striking the ball on the face try dry erase marker or Dr. Scholl's Odor X - they both work like a charm and give instant feedback.