Take A Seat

If you're struggling with making consistent contact, or you're plagued with a swing that tends to route from the outside-in (a predicator for a slice), here's a simple drill for you to try. I call it the Take a Seat drill, and how it works is simple.

First, you'll need to have a chair available, or you can run this drill against the back of the couch at home. Align yourself with the chair so that you have slight contact against your backside. Take a normal swing, and at the top, the right side of your backside should be in contact with the chair. At the transition from the top of the swing, try to hold the right side of your backside against the chair as long as possible, allowing the club to drop to the inside of the swing plane on the downswing. Just prior to impact, your weight will shift to allow the left side of your backside to come in contact with the chair. The key in this drill is to maintain contact on your right side as long as possible, delaying your hips and the shift to the left side until impact.

If your lower body isn't in the correct position at the start of your downswing, the left side of your backside will make contact with the chair prematurely. This is generally due to bringing the club over the top of the swing plane, instead of inside, thereby creating a slice. But if you follow the guidelines for how your body should interact with the chair, you'll quickly develop a better sense for a swing that's more inside-out, and as a result, improve not only your contact with the ball, but your direction and ball control as well.

At the top of your swing, you should feel contact with the chair. During the transition, I've moved slightly from the chair. At this point in the swing, it's perfectly alright to do so. Back to the chair! At impact, my left side has made contact. This is what you want. Through to the finish, I'm still in contact with the chair. I flushed this shot, by the way.

Andrew Getson teaches at the Grayhawk Learning Center in Scotts-dale, Ariz. For more information, visit andrewgetsongolf.com.