Most people think about accuracy as missing left and right. The truth is that you need to look at accuracy in three dimensions. Missing short and long is as common as missing left and right. In the short game where misses left and right are less common than in the long game, distance control is what separates low handicap golfers from the rest. I’d rather miss a short game shot 3 feet left but pin high than 4 feet short and online. I’m better from three feet than four and I’m sure you are too!
We can’t ignore that distance control and direction control are in fact, inter-related. Left misses for right handed players tend to go longer as the clubface is de-lofted when closed. Conversely, right misses tend to go shorter as the clubface has more loft when it is open. Golf course architects take this into account when they are designing golf holes. For example, the short 12th hole at Augusta tends to be the hardest on the course relative to its par. Why is this? Well, the green is designed where it penalizes a shot that goes long left (into the azaleas) or short right (Ray’s Creek). So if a right-handed player does not hit it with a square face, his misses are severely penalized. Phil Mickelson and Mike Weir play the 12th hole at Augusta very well. After all, a lefty’s miss on this hole ends up just fine.
The bottom line is that both distance control and direction control are important. However, you should try to hit the ball solidly in order to get the ball pin high. When you are sitting 175 yards from the hole, you are looking to get the ball in the hole in three shots. If you get it down in two, it’s a bonus. In order to get it down in three, solid contact is the most important thing and solid contact comes from getting your divot past the ball. I work on this with my students all the time. Contact your local professional and have him teach you how to get the bottom of your swing arc past the ball and you will compress the ball and make that great sound you hear when a tour player strikes the golf ball.
When people ask me about my teaching philosophy, my answer is short and simple. There are so many different ways to play golf successfully. The bottom line is that anything I say about your swing needs to positively affect the quality of your impact position. Next time you are struggling and your playing partner offers you advice, ask him how this will improve your impact. If the answer makes sense, go for it. If not, see you PGA professional and ask him the same question before you adjust your swing. I do not like the idea of taking a lesson and getting worse before you get better. You should get better right away!
