The right stuff on the golf course

The most common bad shot for the average golfer is the shot to the right, either a straight push to the right or a shot that curves viciously to the right.

If your ball constantly goes to the right of the target it stands to reason that the club face is aiming in that direction at the moment of impact. A common reason for this is the club is being held too much in the palm, this makes it difficult to rotate the club head back to square.

The club should be gripped so that the fingers are wrapped around the underside of the grip which allows the heal of the hand to remain on top of the grip. It is easy to let the club ride up into the palm therefore you must be diligent about practicing the grip.

The fact that the club face is pointing to the right at impact must be addressed. This is common due to the fact that the club rotates with the rotation of the body and it must rotate back to its start position.

To practice this squaring of the club take some small swings and hit the ball. After you have some rhythm practice hitting the ball to the left by manipulating the face angle through impact. To see that the club face has closed through the shot the face should face down at the halfway through stage. This will help you to develop the skill of club face control throughout the swing. After hitting the ball to the left with the short swing hit some full shots and you will be surprised at how easily the shot to the right can be corrected.

Terry Gingell is PGA Class A Professional. Junior camps at Empire Ranch and Genoa Lakes are available. Call 690-7970 for more information. The first camp will be held next week.