Golf Faults and Fixes

I tend to hit the turf behind the ball on many shots when I get tired during a round. How can I overcome this tendency? It is very frustrating, causes pain, and increases fatigue.

It seems that of late, I'm hitting all my irons, except my hybrids, on the hosel. My driver and 3-wood, I'm hitting on the hosel side of the sweet spot, as well. When I'm not "shanking" everything, I generally shoot mid to high 90's for scores. Any suggestions?

No matter where I am in a sand trap, I can never get the ball to go more than 5-6 feet on the shot. If I have a long shot from the trap, I am dead.

I have a terrible habit of looking up. Is there a way to practice keeping my head down?

I tend to fade or slightly slice my drive off the tee. By swinging easier, the ball goes down the middle of the fairway. What could I do so that I don't have to think "hit it easy" before each shot? Could something else be causing this problem?

I am a right handed golfer and I miss most of my putts to the left of the cup.

I have wasted many strokes around the green. I will be next to a Par 4 hole in two shots but take two or three more strokes to get on the green. I generally will use a wedge and skull or blade the ball across the green. Sometimes I will hit behind the ball and it goes two or three feet. Help....

I will make good contact with my irons; however on most holes I will miss the green. I only hit one to three greens per nine hole round. The ball just does not go were I am looking.

I will top the ball with my driver and sometimes miss the ball completely.

I really struggle reading the greens. It is difficult for me to bend down behind the ball and read the putt. Sometimes the green looks flat but the ball will break towards one side of the green. Any advice?

Faults and Fixes Response:
A player that hits the turf behind the ball will have some slight sway or movement off the ball. As you start your takeaway, feel as if you are leaving more of your weight on your foot closest to the target and make a better turn with your shoulders.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
There are several reasons that a player will hit the dreaded "S" word. However after reading your description of what is going on throughout your set it sounds like a ball position problem. When I hear or read about a player describing a pattern of shots off or near the hosel however not with their woods I think ball position. The ball is to far forward in your stance, meaning forward or outside the heal of your forward foot in your setup. Your woods should be played off your heal and the long irons slightly inside your heal, until you get to your short irons off the center of your stance. If the ball is to far forward or closer to the intended target than normal it will cause you to move off the ball on your backswing and slide forward on your downswing. If we keep the ball in the proper position we will make a turn as opposed to a sway or slide. The further forward the ball position, the more forward we need to slide to get back to the ball. The hands then lead the clubhead to far past the ball exposing the hosel to the ball instead of allowing the clubface to square up at impact. To make sure that the golf ball position is correct, place both feet together. Then position the golf ball between your feet, take a slight step forward towards the target with your left foot "right hand golfer" and drop your right foot back to the proper position for the correct width of your stance. Practice this in front of a full length mirror or sliding glass door. Remember, woods off the heal, long irons just inside that position with the short irons off the center of your stance. Practice a good turn from that setup position and you should find the center of your clubface along with the center of the fairways and greens...

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
Normally I would talk about club head speed through impact as well as a steeper angle of attack versus a shallow angle of attack. The steeper the angle of attack the higher the golf ball will travel. Opposite of that would be a shallow angle of attack that would send the golf ball on a lower trajectory towards the target. I have found that many seniors do not have the strength to create enough club head speed through the sand to create the varied distances that allows the golf ball to travel to the front, center or back of the green. However, in many cases they can use the same swing and vary the distances with different wedges. For the shorter distance use the 56 or 60 degree wedge. Keeping the speed and motion the same change to a 52 or 54 degree wedge for the middle distance bunker shot. As for the longer bunker shot switch to a Pitching Wedge. Replace those 3 irons that never get used for an extra wedge. A good wedge make up would be a 52 degree, 56 degree and 58 or 60 degree. These would compliment your Pitching Wedge.

Keep in mind the texture of the sand when playing a bunker shot. Dry soft sand will allow the club to get through the sand with ease. Wet sand will be much more resistant, keep the swing the same and use the a stronger lofted wedge than normal when playing from wet sand.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
The head is connected to the body and can only move in a upward direction when the body moves in that same direction. Often when a player is told they are lifting their head they tend to flex their knees more than normal. When the player flexes their knees more than normal they create a spring effect in their legs. That spring effect moves the entire body in a upward motion along with the head. If you stood as tall and straight as you could, do you think your head could move upward or lift of your shoulders? Of course not. Focus more on the body and less on the head. The head is reacting to the body changing levels during the motion of the swing. Start your golf swing with a slight knee bend and a slight tilt from your hips to your shoulders. Maintain those angles during the rotation of your golf swing. Your head should maintain its position and you should experience better balance and solid contact.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
The thought of "hit it easy" creates a slower swing speed feeling. The reality is the bigger muscles in the swing take over. They move slower and create more club head speed, forcing the club closer to your body during impact. When you feel that you are swinging the club faster and the fade or slice returns, you are swinging the club with your arms. This will cause the club to work away from your body on the down swing causing the club path to travel across the ball creating the fade or slice curve on the ball. Your swing thought "hit it easy" also creates better balance. On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the fastest speed. I would much rather see a player maintain a speed of 7 or 8 and remain 100% in balance throughout their swing. Players swinging the club at the maximum speed of 10, have a tendency not to be in balance during their golf swing. Keep that swing thought and swing to a balanced finish.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
Many right handed players who miss a putt to the left of the cup will not finish their stroke or slow the putter down through impact. This causes the clubface to close and direct the ball left of the cup. The player will take to long of a takeaway with the putter and then slow it down at impact, thus closing the clubface. The fix is to shorten the takeaway and lengthen the follow through, or as we like to say "Short to Long". This will accelerate the putter head through the ball keeping the clubface square to the line and the hole. Before your next round go to the putting green and from six feet work on a shorter takeaway to a longer finish.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
The results of those two shots are the cause of to much movement with your body on a "short pitch shot or touch shot". This shot requires the lower body to be very quite or still allowing the hands; arms and shoulders make this shot. The most common fault with this shot is allowing the lower body weight to move from on side to the other side. To correct this, prior to moving the club place 70% of your body weight on the instep of your forward foot. Leave the weight there during the shot, allowing your upper body to control the pace and speed of the club. By keeping the weight more on your forward foot during the shot, you will have the best chance to move the club back through the ball with good pace.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
Just because you can see the target doesn't mean you are aiming at the target. Perhaps 95% of all golf shots that miss the target are caused before you even start your golf swing. Lets start by understanding how to get into the proper "Alignment" position. Lay down two clubs, one just outside your ball pointing directly at your target and one along your feet parallel to the first club. A common fault is that most players will aim their feet, hips and shoulders directly at the target instead of parallel left of the target. The club at your feet is parallel left of the target; this is the line that your feet, hips and shoulders should be aligned. Once in the correct alignment position, you will now start to see a drastic improvement in your ball flight towards your intended target. Since we cannot see ourselves, it is always important to enlist the help of an Academy instructor to make sure you are in the correct alignment position.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
The common fault is the player will hang back on their right side to long. This will cause the club to reach its lowest point of the arch before it gets to the ball. It is actually ascending or moving upward at impact. The fix is to place a head cover on your target line one foot behind your ball. Now, using a short iron, hit the ball while trying to avoid hitting the head cover. If you hang back on your right side, you will hit the head cover due to the club bottoming out to soon. When done correctly, you will shift your weight to your left side and avoid the head cover. You'll make a descending blow and hit a crisp golf shot. Continue this drill through your set from your short clubs up to your driver.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

Faults and Fixes Response:
It is far more difficult to read the slope of the green once you are standing on the putting surface. The best way to see which direction the green slopes is from 50 yards away. Start looking at the green as you approach it from 50 yards or closer. You will see which direction the green slopes much easier from a distance than close up. Pay attention to the area around the green as well, this can influence how much or how little the ball will actually break on the putting surface. I try to imagine that if water were to flow across the putting surface, which direction would it flow and were would it collect. That is the direction the ball will travel as well.

Pepi Irwin, Director of Golf

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