Check Your Divots To Help Correct Pushed Swing (Video) - Lesson 6 by PGA Pro Pete Styles
Check Your Divots To Help Correct Pushed Swing (Video) - Lesson 6 by PGA Pro Pete Styles

If we’ve now established that a pushed golf shot is created by a swing path that is too far to the right-hand side, and also a club face that’s too far to the right-hand side, your ball would be a big diagnostic tool for you here because you would see the ball start right and stay right. It would go pretty much straight down this right-hand side, particularly if your alignment was good but the ball was heading over this way. So here’s one of the ways I’d like you to check how that’s happening. Take a couple of alignment sticks. The first one down here which is pointing on your feet alignment or your body alignment line which should be straight down the middle of your fairway, and then another one would be pointing over this way. So it’s almost like it’s pointing out at 1 o’ clock, it’s set out to the right-hand side. And that is probably going to be the swing path and the start direction for somebody who is pushing the golf ball.

I’ve maybe set these up quite an exaggerated version so you can see it nice and clearly on camera. But if I’m setting up square to my intended target down here, but then my ball is going out to the right-hand side this way. If it stays online it doesn’t have much curvature, chances are my swing path is too much for me inside, and my club face is square to that swing path, and the ball goes out to the right. Now, when I’m hitting with my driver it would be very difficult to see any evidence of this. Visually I might be able to see the blur of the club going this way. If I was videoing it from down the line I might be able to see it, my mates might be able to see it maybe as well. But actually if I was hitting iron shots, what you might consider is if there’s a very pronounced curvature or shape to your divots. So if you were hitting balls on the grass, on the practice ground as I am or on the golf course, and you saw a lot of divots pointing quite exaggeratedly down the right-hand side, you might be able to use that as a bit of feedback that says, “I’m probably swinging in this direction. Let’s check my alignment, let’s check my swing path.” But a swing path that’s too much from the inside to too much on the outside by evidence of the divots, or by evidence of camera or with a track-mount radar, something like that, that would be evidence of why you’re hitting from the inside with a club face that’s square to that path, and that’s creating your blocked or pushed golf shots. 2016-10-14

If we’ve now established that a pushed golf shot is created by a swing path that is too far to the right-hand side, and also a club face that’s too far to the right-hand side, your ball would be a big diagnostic tool for you here because you would see the ball start right and stay right. It would go pretty much straight down this right-hand side, particularly if your alignment was good but the ball was heading over this way. So here’s one of the ways I’d like you to check how that’s happening. Take a couple of alignment sticks. The first one down here which is pointing on your feet alignment or your body alignment line which should be straight down the middle of your fairway, and then another one would be pointing over this way. So it’s almost like it’s pointing out at 1 o’ clock, it’s set out to the right-hand side. And that is probably going to be the swing path and the start direction for somebody who is pushing the golf ball.

I’ve maybe set these up quite an exaggerated version so you can see it nice and clearly on camera. But if I’m setting up square to my intended target down here, but then my ball is going out to the right-hand side this way. If it stays online it doesn’t have much curvature, chances are my swing path is too much for me inside, and my club face is square to that swing path, and the ball goes out to the right. Now, when I’m hitting with my driver it would be very difficult to see any evidence of this. Visually I might be able to see the blur of the club going this way. If I was videoing it from down the line I might be able to see it, my mates might be able to see it maybe as well. But actually if I was hitting iron shots, what you might consider is if there’s a very pronounced curvature or shape to your divots. So if you were hitting balls on the grass, on the practice ground as I am or on the golf course, and you saw a lot of divots pointing quite exaggeratedly down the right-hand side, you might be able to use that as a bit of feedback that says, “I’m probably swinging in this direction. Let’s check my alignment, let’s check my swing path.”

But a swing path that’s too much from the inside to too much on the outside by evidence of the divots, or by evidence of camera or with a track-mount radar, something like that, that would be evidence of why you’re hitting from the inside with a club face that’s square to that path, and that’s creating your blocked or pushed golf shots.