One Place That You Must Put The Squeeze On

If you frequently have days when your swing seems right but the shots still go all wrong, you may be doing what the pros call "losing the club" at the top of the swing. This is one of golf's most common errors. What it amounts to, basically, is that the fingers of the left hand have lost their hold on the club just as it reaches the final stages of the backswing. This permits the club to flop around like a wet towel. The resulting shot goes almost anywhere—but seldom where it is aimed. The main cause of this error is an excessively fast backswing. The club is yanked away from the ball so quickly that the fingers do not have enough strength to maintain control at the top. But there are other possible causes, too, so various cures must be tried. Begin by keeping your hands loose on the club until just before starting the backswing. Do not tighten them until the last possible second. I substitute this squeezing of the club for the last-moment forward press that is used by so many professionals. The tightening action serves as a sort of trigger to start the backswing. Next, do not jerk the club away from the ball as you start it back. Instead, concentrate on maintaining a smooth, unhurried tempo. Tempo is everything. Finally, do not consciously cock the wrists during the backswing. The natural force of the backswing will make the wrists cock in their own good time, so forget them. Follow these three steps and your grip should be as firm at the top of the backswing as it was at the start.