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Get a grip on your club face at impact

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“The golf ball doesn’t lie.” As an instructor, that’s something I commonly say to my students — or at least what I’m thinking.

The way the ball flies tells us nearly everything we need to know about impact. The problem is, players often look to tear apart their swing entirely to fix a ball flight issue, when in reality it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Fixing your ball flight can be as simple as straightening out your grip to achieve the flight you desire.

Recently, one of my players who’s preparing to turn professional came to me with a problem — all of his driver shots were flaring to the right. At 6 foot 4 inches tall with a solid frame, this player generates a ton of power. His driver speed has been clocked at upwards of 130 mph.

Now, when you’re working with an elite talent with a great swing, the first thing you do is look for the obvious. It’s the Occam’s Razor effect of golf instruction. Occam’s Razor is basically a principle that states “the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.”

How does that apply to instruction? Let’s put it this way: If you’re driving down the highway and your car suddenly sputters and stops, do you immediately decide that you need to rip out the engine and put in a new one? Do you call roadside assistance and tell them “bring me a new engine!” Or do you first look for the obvious and check your gas gauge? Of course, you look for the simplest explanation; I’m out of gas. It’s the same concept when working with an elite golfer.

So when he came for a session hitting this odd shot I looked for simple first. Here were his numbers from our radar testing:

RobStranoArticle-4[Leland]

The FlightScope data above shows the before (swings 1-5) and after (6-10).

You can see how wide open the club face was at impact, with a face-to-target pointing between 3.6 and 6.5 degrees right. Also, he was hitting it a mile in the air with too much spin, and lots of horizontal launch to the right. His path numbers were solid, so I began to mentally peel away at the logical variables that might be affecting his driver outcome.

We began to analyze his swing on video, focusing on how his hands moved from setup and through impact, changing the angle of the face.

It was apparent that his hands had slipped into a weak position at setup, putting the face in an open position at the top of his backswing. So we looked at the data and video, and using Occam’s Razor concept, deduced that his hands needed to slide toward the stronger side of the grip. That small grip change produced drastically different numbers, as seen by swings 6-10. His speed jumped, his face squared and ball flight and spin dropped to much more playable numbers. The dramatic change in carry and distance was astounding. Also, his horizontal launch straightened out significantly — it looks like we may have solved the riddle.

Growing up, I played at a country club full of tour players, including a past Masters champion, and if I heard this once, I heard it a million times: “The back of the left hand controls the club face.” What I did with my player above was put his hand in a position that required zero change in how he released the club. The back of the left hand just oriented the face in a different direction at impact and straightened out the ball flight.

So if you feel like you are swinging well, but the ball is flying offline in a certain direction, look to make the following adjustments before revamping your swing:

  • If you are missing right, turn your left hand to the right more (Clockwise for a RH player) and the face will point more to the left at impact.
  • If you are missing it left, give your left hand a little turn to the left (Counterclockwise for RH player) and the face will point a little more rightward at impact.

Start with small changes in hand position because a little goes a long way here — a tenth of a degree can make a drastic difference at impact. So don’t overdo it, more is not better in this instance.

With a simple grip change and a good swing path, you will see the ball on line more often, and have the confidence to swing faster through impact.

Moral of the story? Don’t immediately try to overhaul your entire swing, when something as simple as moving your grip a touch can make all the difference!

If you are an avid Golf Channel viewer you are familiar with Rob Strano the Director of Instruction for the Strano Golf Academy at Kelly Plantation Golf Club in Destin, FL. He has appeared in popular segments on Morning Drive and School of Golf and is known in studio as the “Pop Culture” coach for his fun and entertaining Golf Channel segments using things like movie scenes*, song lyrics* and familiar catch phrases to teach players. His Golf Channel Academy series "Where in the World is Rob?" showed him giving great tips from such historic landmarks as the Eiffel Tower, on a Gondola in Venice, Tuscany Winery, the Roman Colissum and several other European locations. Rob played professionally for 15 years, competing on the PGA, Nike/Buy.com/Nationwide and NGA/Hooters Tours. Shortly after embarking on a teaching career, he became a Lead Instructor with the golf schools at Pine Needles Resort in Pinehurst, NC, opening the Strano Golf Academy in 2003. A native of St. Louis, MO, Rob is a four time honorable mention U.S. Kids Golf Top 50 Youth Golf Instructor and has enjoyed great success with junior golfers, as more than 40 of his students have gone on to compete on the collegiate level at such established programs as Florida State, Florida and Southern Mississippi. During the 2017 season Coach Strano had a player win the DII National Championship and the prestigious Nicklaus Award. He has also taught a Super Bowl and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, a two-time NCAA men’s basketball national championship coach, and several PGA Tour and LPGA Tour players. His PGA Tour players have led such statistical categories as Driving Accuracy, Total Driving and 3-Putt Avoidance, just to name a few. In 2003 Rob developed a nationwide outreach program for Deaf children teaching them how to play golf in sign language. As the Director of the United States Deaf Golf Camps, Rob travels the country conducting instruction clinics for the Deaf at various PGA and LPGA Tour events. Rob is also a Level 2 certified AimPoint Express Level 2 green reading instructor and a member of the FlightScope Advisory Board, and is the developer of the Fuzion Dyn-A-line putting training aid. * Golf Channel segments have included: Caddyshack Top Gun Final Countdown Gangnam Style The Carlton Playing Quarters Pump You Up

16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. other paul

    Aug 20, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    I have a pull hook that is so bad right now. Face is totally shut to path. I hit a 9i with a 50 yard hook. Totally driving me crazy. I was just glad the hole played the same way and I was still in the fairway. If I hit the fw on my first shot I made par or birdie. If I missed it was a double bogey because the ball is gone forever.

    • Rob Strano

      Aug 21, 2015 at 9:12 am

      Paul-
      Thanks for your note and I have seen this issue many times.
      I want you to try this simple thing.
      Almost everyone that does what you describe end up aiming huge to the right to cover the total curve of the shot and keep it in play. I want you to do the OPPOSITE…Aim up the left edge of the fairway and do this determined to keep the ball to the right. Over time your internal sense of target and aim will recalibrate and you will start to push the ball back to the right. One more thing, do this with less power in the swing. Shut it down to 75% to start with so you can feel the club face and control it to make the path go more to the right.
      I have seen this simple thought work on the practice area all the time where I have someone aim at a flag straight ahead but try to hit the ball to an alternate target 50 yards to the right. I tell them do not let the ball go left at any price.
      Hope this helps!

  2. agolfman

    Aug 19, 2015 at 11:42 am

    Rob, agree wholeheartedly with identifying the simplest answer to what can seem like a complex problem…many things in life would benefit from that approach.

    I had a similar observation via my Flightscope earlier in the summer, with almost exactly the same path and face issues, granted at 100mph club head speed. My fix was along these same lines of simplicity (I’m old school weaker grip though). I was able to switch my club head to a draw setting while at the same time closing my stance slightly. Straightened my driver out instantly. Keep up the good work!

    • Rob Strano

      Aug 19, 2015 at 12:16 pm

      Thanks for the note and I loved one specific line you typed…
      “I was able to switch my club head to a draw setting”…Think about that comment for a second! As of about 5 years ago you would have never been able to say that. Aren’t adjustable clubheads just awesome…!!!

  3. Steve

    Aug 18, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    Do you think that teaching pros are cutting their own throats, Using trackman, flightscope etc. One would think it is only a matter of time that one could go to a golf lab, for lack of better words. Where they could put you on a swing analyzer and the computer could generate what problems there are and ways to fix it. Wouldnt need a teacher, just some kid to put the data in. It happened years ago in the music industry with Pro Sounds, which made working musicians obsolete.

    • Rob Strano

      Aug 19, 2015 at 12:09 pm

      Steve
      Thanks for the note and thoughts.
      I disagree with your future prognostication.
      Golf instruction is an art form and it takes a good keen eye, lot of experience and a person who knows what the influences of the changes are on the person. Also, a great instructor works to build a swing that the player can perform and recognizes all the limiting factors on a non-tour player who loves to play the game. The tech is there to verify only. I do not think the tech is cutting our throats as you say. I have one tour player I coach and we never use the tech…NEVER…I can see what he is doing and dial him in from what I know and see of his tendencies. That is why a cookie cutter coach struggles with some players not being able to make the swing they are coaching. They simply cannot perform the motion! So using a computer and golf tech to cookie cutter a solution simply will never work in golf.
      Also… Not all past players make great coaches but I can tell you that my experience as a player is a huge asset in coaching others to improve. Cannot get that from input plugged into a computer. The best of us will always us the tech but we understand how to use it and when to use it! Thanks again and play great the rest of the year!

      • Steve

        Aug 19, 2015 at 1:31 pm

        Your in the buisness and no more then me. But for the average joe looking to find out swing flaws. I think it would appeal to them. For aspiring elite and elite golfers another set of eyes will help. Maybe i am a tainted golfer, i took lessons and hear lessons being given and it is all cookie cutter. I have watch teachers, teaching a group on a chipping tell ” ok i will be back in awhile”. Really thanks for taking my money and driving away

        • Rob Strano

          Aug 19, 2015 at 3:48 pm

          That’s just brutal Steve…
          Not what happens at my academy with me and my students.
          When I am awake staring at the ceiling thinking about my players games my wife will tell me the next day….”You care more about their games than they do!”

  4. Alex

    Aug 18, 2015 at 9:46 am

    Is it possible for the instructor to just diagnose and make the change without going through the flightscope and video sessions first? I mean, old school.

    • Rob Strano

      Aug 18, 2015 at 10:03 am

      Alex
      Thanks for the comment.
      And the answer is yes and that is what we did in this case. I only ran the Flightscope to show him the evidence that what we were doing was correcting his issue. Kind of like if a tire on your car won’t hold air and you take it in to have then replace it and when they take it off the car they show you the nail in the tread. You know it’s leaking you just cannot see why. This helps the player see the leak and know there are not multiple problems.

  5. vince guest

    Aug 18, 2015 at 5:08 am

    Lee Trevino built his own unique swing around his grip and controlling the relationship between the club face and the back of his left hand.Turned out he knew what he was doing.

    • Rob Strano

      Aug 18, 2015 at 10:05 am

      One time I heard Lee say – “When I want to hit the ball to the right I push it over there and when I want to hit it to the left I pull it over there”
      Same thing we are saying Vince….Clubface and back of LH control
      Thanks for the note and play well

  6. Mat

    Aug 17, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    It’s difficult to make small adjustments to single concepts because it takes a longer time. After you’ve beat a couple hundred balls, you wonder if it’s the adjustment or if you’re tired. Discipline like this is what separates players, and I try to have it… it is a very tough challenge.

  7. OKMrazor

    Aug 17, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    I can’t fault this logic.

  8. TR1PTIK

    Aug 17, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    I was having issues similar to that of your student – though exponentially worse – and while I was on the range yesterday I discovered that a small change in my setup and gripping the club a little stronger with my right hand (only) resulted in significantly better driving. I still don’t have the swing that I would like to have, but at least I can go out and shoot a reasonable score. Sometimes, that’s enough.

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: Beating the yips into submission

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There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.

And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.

But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.

When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.

Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.

For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!

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Instruction

Looking for a good golf instructor? Use this checklist

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Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.

Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.

If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.

1. Cultural mindset

What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!

It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.

2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling

Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.

3. Learning theory basics

It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.

As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.

So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!

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Instruction

What Lottie Woad’s stunning debut win teaches every golfer

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Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.

The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).

But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.

Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)

Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.

What Woad did:

• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances

• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins

• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets

• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”

Why most golfers mess this up:

• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”

• Distance becomes more important than accuracy

• They try to be heroic instead of smart

ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.

The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire

Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.

How she responded to pressure:

• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th

• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys

• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th

• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked

What amateurs do wrong:

• Get conservative when they should be aggressive

• Try to force magic when steady play would win

• Panic when someone else makes a move

ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.

Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game

Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.

Her mental approach:

• Focused on her process, not the competition

• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)

• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”

Her physical execution:

• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)

• Methodical iron play

• Steady putting

• Everything effective, nothing spectacular

ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.

Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built

The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”

Her winning mindset:

• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself

• Focused on playing well and contending

• Made winning a byproduct of a good process

• Built confidence through recent experiences:

  • Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
  • Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
  • Each experience prepared her for the next

What this means for you:

• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up

• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine

• Commit to every shot

• Stay present in the moment

ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.

The Real Lesson

Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.

The fundamentals that won:

• Hit more fairways

• Find more greens

• Make the putts you should make

• Stay patient under pressure

That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.

FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.

 

PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.

 

Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!

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