From The Straits Times    |

THE GOLF EXPERT
SKYE NEAL, British Professional Golfers Association member based at Sentosa Golf Club
 

  

Problem 1: Overswinging.
Skye’s advice: The golfer may overswing the club due to her hip slide – with her spine leaning to the target and arms lifting the club past parallel. Avoid sliding the hips in the first move of the backswing, instead rotate the sternum in front of the navel, so that the spine leans away from the target. This will lead to a more compact, powerful backswing.

Quick Fix: Imagine swinging your hands to the corner of a door frame.

 


 

Problem 2: Inconsistent bunker shots
Skye’s advice: The player’s stance may be too narrow, so in order to keep her balance, she swings the club up and down too steeply. The leading edge of the club digs into the sand too much, which results in inconsistent shotmaking.

Quick Fix: Open the clubface, take a wider stance and feel a slight squat with a little more weight towards the heels. After hitting the ball, the back of the left hand should be pointing to the sky. This ensures the club stays open through the shot, so that there will be less resistance and you will be able to control the distance more easily.
 

 


Problem 3: Tendency to steer the ball while putting.
Skye’s advice: The grip pressure is too tight. By trying to over-control the putter head, a player loses the fluidity of her stroke and then has to try and guide the putter too much. This makes it very difficult to make a smooth, pendulum-type action. The path the putter goes back and through on is inconsistent.

Quick Fix: Relax the hands (grip pressure 3 out of 10) and use the putting arc for a better concept of how the face of the putter stays square to the path of the putter head. When you hit the ball square off the putter face, the ball rolls more consistently.
 
(Special thanks to Skye Neal and golfers Torie Lee, Karen Wong Chayavirabood and Belinda Yeo who appear in this article.)

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