If you don't play a lot of golf or practice all that much, you're going to mishit the ball more often than not. Practice at least enough so that your mishits are playable.
By a mishit, I mean hitting the ball elsewhere than the center of the clubface. No one hits it flush all the time, not even the pros. But the more you can, or the tighter your dispersion is around the center in general, the better your ball-striking will be.
You might think I'm talking about the full swing, but this rule applies to every shot. Predictable distance control in the short game depends largely on hitting the ball off the same spot of the clubface every time. Putting becomes reliable only when all your putts come off the sweet spot.
We'll save putting for another day. Today's post is about centering your hits from simple chips to your fullest swing.
My second golf book, which I got for my birthday when I was 15 (my first was Ben Hogan's Five Lessons, which my Dad got me for my 11th birthday) was Shortcuts to Better Golf by Johnny Revolta.
In this book is Revolta's ball-striking drill he called the quickie rhythm (no jokes, please). This little drill teaches your hands what to do in the hitting area. It starts off small, making it easy to achieve centered contact, which is our goal.
Revolta spends several pages explaining the exercise and its purpose, so I'll try to summarize as completely as I can. I find this to be as valuable a drill as Revolta thinks it is, and I encourage you to find a copy of his book and learn more about it.
1. Address the ball with a 7-iron, setting up for a greenside chip. Swing the club back from the ball about two feet with the wrists straight (but not rigid). Return the club to the starting position. Do this one more time. Nothing moves except your arms and the club. And again. The fourth time, instead of returning the club to the ball, swing through. Keeping your wrists straight is essential. It should take no more than five seconds to complete the drill.
2. Now do the drill ten times.
One, two, three, swing
One, two, three, swing
.
.
One, two, three, swing.
3. Take a rest for about five minutes. Power and timing come through proper hand action. That's what you're learning to do. Now do the exercise ten more times. You might notice a little give in your wrists as you hit the ball on the fourth part of the drill -- not much, but just a bit of loosening as you come through. Think that your wrists stay straight, but let them relax on their own as you swing through.
4. After resting for a few minutes, do the drill ten times again, but with a backswing of about three feet.
By doing this drill hundreds of times, you're teaching yourself how to take the club away from the ball, and how to have your right arm and wrist, and the club shaft, in a straight line when you hit the ball. That is what leads to centered hits. That is the basis of power and accuracy.
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