Andy Loving, PGA

Teaching Professional

The University Club

225.819.0800 Golf Shop

985.507.1270 Mobile

 

 

 

 

The main goal of this article is to help you hit the golf ball solid. Period. We’re going to learn how to hit a low punch shot into the wind and we’re going to learn why practicing this shot is one of the best ways to learn how to hit the ball solid. Divots in the Wind is a term used for hitting balls into the wind. When we hit a shot in the wind it multiply’s the spin that's on the ball. If you slice or hook the ball the wind will sometimes double the amount of spin carrying it farther off line. This is why great golfers love to practice hitting shots into the wind. It tells the truth. It shows you exactly what's going on. Ben Hogan, one of the greatest ball strikers of all time, used to practice into the wind and Tiger Woods was also recently quoted saying, "if you hit the ball solid the wind doesn't effect it as much", as he smiled at the comentator knowing you have to hit it solid in the wind. How ture.

 

Let's get to it. Divots in the Wind. The technique is two parts. 1. The backswing is short. I call it the "L" swing. This is where your left arm is at 9:00 o'clock (horizontal to the ground) and the club is pointing at 12:00 o'clock. Therefore you have a good wrist cock and your left arm and your club form a 90 degree angle. The "L". 2. The follow through is short and low. You need to feel like there is a tree branch in front of you at about waist high. If your club follows through past waist high (which is about 3:00 o'clock) you break your club on the limb. This is tough at first so I do recommend learning it with a short shot using a sand wedge and then move up. Distance is not important. We need to just learn how to hit it solid and straight. Focus on a very smooth tempo. The distance will come. I do recommend you try this with the ball in the center of your stance at first. You may move it back an inch or two but not more. Keep it close to the center. On the backswing be sure to make a shoulder turn. The tendancy in the beginning is to just use your arms. Turn your shoulders completely. On the follow through make sure to turn your body as well. Just as on a full shot, you need to turn throught the shot and finish on your left side and have your belt buckle facing the target.

 

What does this do? This addresses two of the most common swing faults. The first is taking the club back too far and the second is hitting the ball with the hands behind the ball instead of ahead of the ball. These are both tough to work on and almost impossible to think about when playing golf. That's why we need drills to practice with so we can build good muscle memory. That way we don't have to think too much on the course. These two tendancies are also closely related. When we take the club back too far we tend to cast (release the hands too early) the club which allows the club head to pass the hands at impact. It's not a very solid shot.We need the hands ahead of the ball at impact. We want the back of the left hand and the palm of the right hand facing the target at impact. Practicing this shot also produces lag in the swing which will produce more power. We all like that. 

 

We need to practice this on the range as much as possible. I recommend hitting about 20 shots with this drill each time you practice using a short club (7,8,9,W or S). Remember to turn the shoulders and finish low. The next step is to take it to the course. Let's say the wind is blowing 10 mph. I would use this technique mainly with my short irons at first. With the longer clubs up to a driver your goal is to swing slower. A slower tempo will put less spin on the ball and it wont climb as high into the air. For your iron shots take one more club (6 iron vs.7 iron) and make your punch shot swing. You should know your distance fairly well from your practice on the range. If the wind is blowing 20 mph take two more clubs and if it's blowing 30 mph take three more clubs. If it's blowing more than 30 mph come on back to America.

 

Good luck everyone! Be patient and persistent. You can learn this! It takes some people longer to get the feel for it so hang in there until you do. You'll be glad you did. Remember it is a finesse shot. Keep a smooth tempo and start with a small shot. As you become more confident start moving up to the longer clubs. Have your home course professional take a look and as always feel free to contact us at The University Club if you have any questions at all. Keep Smiling and Have Fun with those Divots in the Wind.

 

 

 

Andy Loving, PGA

Teaching Professional

The University Club

Baton Rouge, LA