If you ask any amateur “average Joe” golfer one thing they wish they could do better, chances are that they’ll respond with “compress the ball” or “improve my ball striking.” This is because amateur golfers in America can’t legitimately break 100 without the customary “breakfast ball” off the first tee, taking a Mulligan every nine holes, and the occasional “foot wedge.” And even with all that help, we (yes, I’m including myself) still struggle with topping the ball, chunking it, and hitting it thin (or even just a “little fat”).
Usually, those poor ball-striking shots are immediately followed with a second shot that is purely struck just to prove to yourself that “Yeah, I really am that good.” Then insert one of the eleventy-billion reasonable excuses that golfers come up with and continue to pencil-whip your scorecard. (Speaking of pencil whipping, I never did understand why golf-scoring pencils have erasers…)
7 Steps to Better Ball Striking
If you can relate to anything that has been said yet, make sure you take serious note of the following seven tips. Because if you’re anything like the countless golfers I’ve worked with in Naples over the years, none of them were guilty of executing all seven!
1. Improve your golf posture. Most people have decent enough posture while standing, but as soon as they get into the address position, their posture “ages” 15 years. All of a sudden, they look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. This posture locks down your available true shoulder turn and forces you to arm swing. It is physically impossible to hit down on the ball by arm swinging.
2. Focus on a consistent 2:1 swing speed. Nine out of ten amateur golfers have a much-too-fast backswing, which throws off your balance just enough to result in inconsistency in getting back to the ball. A wise man once told me, “You don’t hit the ball in the backswing – so why the h*** are you swinging so fast?” Practice saying out loud your first and middle name during the entirety of the backswing and then your last name to initiate the downswing. It will feel like an eternity, but this has worked wonders for many of my clients.
3. Finish your swing. So many amateur golfers finish their swing right at the ball or just after making contact. This again results in an arm-initiated downswing and, most commonly, topping and/or slicing the ball. Your focus should be on finishing the swing by wrapping the club around your neck with your belt buckle pointing to the target. Then, just let that little round white thing get in the way.
4. Limit your backswing by how far you can get without your left elbow bending (this is for righties; lefties, reverse it). Keep that left elbow as straight as possible for as long as possible into the backswing, and then reverse the movement back toward the ball. This makes it much harder to arm swing and much easier to get your body to initiate the movement, resulting in more consistent ball striking!
5. Drink more water and eat more protein! This one is the easiest to accomplish and usually the lowest-hanging fruit. When your body gets dehydrated and depleted of energy stores on the back 9, it’s nearly impossible to achieve consistent ball striking. On average, you should strive for 32 ounces of water on the front 9 and back 9 and get in at least 20–30 grams of protein before teeing off and before starting the back 9.
6 and 7. I combine these two because they really need each other to be successful. Think about increasing pressure through the inside of your right shoe arch throughout the backswing, and then think about initiating the downswing with your belt buckle moving back toward the target. This will help you lag the club, which is by far the easiest way to improve your ball striking!
If you want a FREE analysis of your swing, simply email me a video of your golf swing to distance@bermangolf.com and mention this ad, or visit Bermangolf.com for more info today!
Dr. Jake Berman, PT, DPT, is a physical therapist and owner of Berman Golf, where they focus on helping aging golfers increase distance off the tee, shoot more consistently, and play more frequently. If you’re not ready to accept “getting old” as an excuse for a poor golf game, call Dr. Berman at 239.431.0232 to take advantage of a FREE 30-minute taster session!