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When a golfer makes a bad shot, you never really hear the excuse “I didn’t use enough foot during that swing”. Although this would seem like a lame excuse, there is actually a lot of validity to the possibility.

In fact, although surprising, a neglected right foot could be a major cause of interference with the trajectory of a golf shot.

When you are hitting a normal shot your toe of the right foot (right handed golfers) should either be square to the line of flight or turned out to the right a bit. This helps the clubhead come away from the ball low, make a decent turn, and then start down properly.

However, if you need to hit the ball slightly longer than normal or a little higher, the toe of your right foot should be pointing farther to the right. This helps you make a bigger and more powerful turn away from the ball, while still keeping your balance and rhythm smooth.

It also keeps your hips behind the ball during impact and helps bring the clubhead into the ball with a clean sweeping motion, thus causing the ball to have greater distance and speed.

And of course, if you must hit a low shot, then try turning your right foot slightly to the left. This restricts the backswing and sets up more of a punching action on the downswing, creating a low shot.

The tricky part about hitting a pitch shot from a downhill lie is hitting the ball with the clubhead before it strikes the ground behind the ball. Make no mistake, this is indeed a tough shot!

When you come upon a downhill lie, put most of your weight on your front side at address and keep it there throughout the swing. Because the hillside tilts you to your front, you naturally de-loft the angle of the clubface. The ball will come off the club flying lower and perhaps longer, so you may want to take a more lofted club or shorten your backswing accordingly.

For uphill lies, you want to let the clubhead follow the ground contour, just as you do with a downhill lie. Because the ball lies on an uphill slope, the angle effectively increases the loft of the club, causing the ball to fly higher and shorter after impact. Choose a longer club than you would normally use and also lengthen your backswing to account for the lost yardage.

The angle of the hill, depending upon its steepness, also affects your balance by forcing your weight onto your backside and perhaps causing you to pull up or even fall back out of the shot. Guard against this by keeping your weight on your front foot and keeping the ball in the middle of your stance.

Of all of the miss/hit shots in golf, the shank is probably the most dreadful. The shank happens when you make contact with the ball using the hosel of the club. One of the main causes of the shank is standing too close to the ball at address as it crowds you. The second reason for a shank is shifting your weight forward on your left foot before making impact, causing the hosel of the club to hit the ball.

The key is to set up evenly, and when you hold your club, be sure that there is just over a fist’s length of space between the end of the grip and your body.

Creating consistent shots in golf is a must. What happens with a lot of players is that, as you look from down the line, the golf club has a tendency to get too vertical on the downswing. It leads to taking too much turf, steep divots, and a ball spinning off to the right.  All of this is influenced by your setup. For example, if you have too much bend in the upper body, and the arms are extended far away from the body, there is a lot of tilt. This causes the golf club to get too vertical on the backswing, which will also create the steepness in the downswing, sticking the club into the ground, and the arms tend to reverse rotate.  So by standing taller at address and getting the end of the golf club pouring more toward your belt buckle, that will put you in an ideal position from address. However, this doesn’t mean that your swing will get more rounded to produce a consistent shot, so a simple drill can help. The 15, 10, 5 Drill First take a practice shot with the ball 15 inches above the ground. By swinging so high you have a nice rounded swing, almost like a baseball swing, and after swinging through, it allows you to square up the clubface. Next move to 10 inches above the ground, around and through, then 5, around and through, then on the tee, making sure the end of the golf club is pointed at your belt buckle.

When you hit a “thin” shot in golf, your clubhead is typically making contact with the ball above its equator line. This type of shot is not only embarrassing, but it sends the ball flying off with the loft of only a few feet, if that much.

The type of club you use has an effect on the thin shot made.

For example, a thin shot that is hit with a long iron, middle iron, or wood, will travel at a far less distance than a ball that is properly hit. On the other hand, a thin shot hit with
a short iron or wedge will travel farther than normal after the ball hits the ground and continues to roll.

Thin Shots Can Be A Good Thing

Not all thin shots are considered to be a disaster, especially if hitting from the tee or fairway.  The ball might not travel as far as you would like but it will still advance towards the hole. 

However, if you are facing a situation in which you must clear an area of water or a bunker, for example, then a thin shot is not going to do the trick. The ball will drop right inside the hazard and your game will be ruined.

Ouch, That Hurt! 

A thin shot hit with enough power can also cause some physical pain and discomfort. The club vibrates when this type of shot is made, causing irritation in the hands and wrists.  This is especially true if the shaft of your club is made of steel. You can relate this pain to a mild electrical shock.

How To Prevent The Thin Shot

The thin shot is the exact opposite of the fat shot, obviously, so that means that in most cases, the bottom of your swing happens to be too far forward. Other golfers end up hitting a thin shot because they raise their body just before making impact with the
ball. A third reason why you may be hitting thin shots is due to trying to scoop up the ball into the air by using an iron. To prevent hitting thin shots, you must make a conscious effort to keep your spine straight during the swing. However, avoid
straightening your knees or torso when initiating the downswing.

Next, you should try to place the ball in different positions at address. Work with your clubs and do some testing.  For example, if you have a problem with hitting thin shots using your driver, make an adjustment by teeing the ball up an inch or two back
within your stance.  This will help the clubhead make contact with the ball sooner, which can fix the problem.

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Hit ‘em straight

Ben