Tip 42: Increase Your Forearm Strength

Left wrist and forearm strength are critical to golf success. So often I see the left wrist breaking down through impact, being dominated by the right arm. This causes many ills including topping, loss of distance, and pulling shots to the left. One great strengthening drill for this problem requires you to hold the club straight out in front of you using the last three fingers of the left hand. Next, using your wrists, move the club up and down 10-12 times. Three slow controlled sets without bending the arm will train the proper motion into

Tip 43: Start at the Top

The real secret to hitting straighter, more-consistent shots is to have a square clubface at impact. If your clubface connects squarely with the ball, your shots fly straight. It's that simple! One way to promote a square clubface at impact is to have one at the top of the backswing. If you're not square at the top, you have to manipulate the club in some way to make it square at impact. This can lead to all kinds of timing problems. Here's a good drill that teaches you how to play from a square position. With a club in hand, lift your arms just up to the forehead, and then rotate the shoulders as far as possible, allowing a full backswing. This sets your hands in a square position at the top and encourages a full turn. If you can hold this position for a few seconds, it helps ingrain the proper feeling that you should have at the top of the swing.

Tip 44: Act Like a Baseball Player

A golf swing requires a controlled but aggressive weight shift. Still, some players get stuck on the right foot and never fully shift, causing many of the typical bad-shot blues. Try teeing a ball and taking your normal address position. Now, bring the left foot back so the feet are about 6 inches apart. Take a normal backswing, but just as you begin down, step forward as though you are a home run hitter stepping into a pitch. To hit the ball solidly, you might need to tone down the swing a bit. This not only gives you a real feeling of shifting, but it also trains you to repeat it.

Tip 45: Stabilize Your Left Knee

Longer hitters have a significant discrepancy between hip turn and shoulder turn. The place for a big hip turn is on the follow-through, not the backswing! One important body part that affects what the hips do is the left knee. When it collapses or bends inward, the hips are able to turn too much, making it impossible to create the necessary torque required to build clubhead speed. To improve this, simply feel the left knee staying out toward the target at the top of the backswing. This keeps some distance between the knees

Tip 46: Turn and Burn

There's a simple way to give you the feeling of a proper shoulder turn without the hips getting too involved, as they often do. Sit on the edge of a golf cart (or in a similar position). Put a club on the line of your shoulders as if you're simulating address. Now, simply turn back and try to get the shaft pointing straight in front of you. You'll find quite a stretch in the left side, which is good. This helps you get behind the ball better and results in a few more yards.

Tip 47: Dirty Those Shoes

I can often size up a student by looking at shoes. If the shoes have been around a while and the right toe is totally clean, there's a problem. When the weight shifts properly, you'll end up balanced on the right toe. Over time, this wears down that toe. Make an effort to get that right toe dirty and beat up! That tells me your weight is shifting properly.

Tip 48: Point Your Way to Consistency

What the hands do directly affects the clubface position, which affects the ball's flight. With a normal stance, take your grip but point your finger down the shaft so it's pointing at the ball at address. Check the club when it's parallel to the ground on both the backswing and follow-through. The finger should point down the target line on the way back and at the target on the way through. This is also a great tip if you're confused about how it should feel to release your hands properly.

Tip 49: Use Both Sides

For many players, the left arm and side are weak and dominated by the right side on the downswing and through impact. This right-side dominance leads to poor extension and many other swing flaws. To ingrain a proper feel, swing lightly with the left arm only. As you do this, check how the arm extends freely through the impact zone. Now, add the right arm with a light grip and try to maintain the extended feeling you just had. You'll immediately feel it getting more restricted, but let it go and keep using that left arm and side along with the right. You've got two sides—use them both!

Tip 50: Swing inside the Barrel

Often times, golfers will make their stance wider and wider. While this is good for stability, it also allows for lateral movement, which can turn into a sway. One of my favorite drills is what I call the barrel drill. Start by keeping the stance approximately shoulder width apart. Now imagine you have two straight lines coming out of the ground outside your heels. You'll notice this allows for some lateral movement but, usually, a full turn is required in order not to hit the lines. Picture yourself swinging in the barrel and watch for some low scores.