One of the most difficult aspects of golf is that the solutions to many of our misses are counterintuitive. Once we understand what causes our worst shots and how to fix them, we realize that the key to fixing our golf swings is in our ball flight.
To learn how to properly diagnose our faults, we held a Golf Digest Happy Hour with Michael Breed: How to use your ball flight to fix your golf swing. Breed led the Happy Hour live from his custom teaching studio, which is equipped with a simulator, GCQuad launch monitor, 14-camera functionality and 12 HD video monitors. With all this technology, Breed demonstrated and explained how we can use ball flight to diagnose and fix our most common swing faults.
Scroll down for our key takeaways and a complete recording of the webinar.
Breed is Golf Digest’s Chief Digital Instructor and is ranked inside the top 10 on our list of the Best Teachers in America. He is the former longtime host of “The Golf Fix” on Golf Channel, the 2012 PGA National Teacher of the Year and current host of “A New Breed of Golf” on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio.
Key Takeaways
- The clubface angle at impact is largely responsible for where the ball starts. The relationship between the clubface angle and the path is what causes curve.
- One of the most common reasons for a slice is an open clubface in the backswing. Breed says this is often because golfers roll the face too open in the backswing, causing an open clubface coming down. Instead, Breed says to feel the clubface pointing more toward the ball on the takeaway—in a stronger, more square position.
- Aim and alignment are too different things. Just as important to setting your clubface and feet square to your target is aligning all parts of your body square as well. This includes your knees, hips and shoulders, all of which should be parallel to your target line.
- Proper ball position should be judged in relation to your upper body, not your feet. Many golfers focus on where the ball is in their stance, but Breed says to focus on where it is in relation to your upper body. The proper ball position, depending on the club, will vary from in line with your lead shoulder (driver) to about the center of your sternum (wedge).
