Missing left from 100 yards -> 50 yards

[Oddsocks]

Generally my game has settled down and when I'm aiming is pretty much where I finish, but I've noticed expecially over the weekend that I'm missing too many pins on the left side of the green, this can cause trouble if I'm chasing pins cut that side,

My grip is the same as every other club from driver down... So I've kind ruled that out and checked alignment a couple of times and it's always been spot on.

Is there any other check points for missing left from this distance, ie cball to back in the stance?

 

[Maninblack4612]

I shall be watching this thread with interest because that's what I do too.😬

 

[chrisd]

Me too!

 

[Imurg]

When I do this it's simply having the ball a touch too far forward.
Might not be your issue but that's mine...keep it centred at Robert's your Father's Brother!

 

[bobmac]

Are you taking big divots ?

 

[Smiffy]

Are you taking big divots ?

Why? Are you?????

 

[bobmac]

Why? Are you?????

Can't remember

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm another that temds to pull these shots left too. Pretty sure my ball position is centred and I don't take an excessive divot. I wonder if I get a bit too deliberate and just dont' release the club or allow it to come in face cloesed to path. I'll be interested to see what that wide old owl Bob can suggest

 

[chrisd]

Are you taking big divots ?

No not at all, I think for me is the occasional overactive right hand

 

[Duckster]

Could be a simple case of alignment. I normally suffer from this towards the end of the season, then when winter league (and fairway mats) kicks in, I really notice how far out of alignment I've been getting.

Been working on it this year though and it seems to doing the trick so far.

 

[bobmac]

There is a tendancy to try and hit down too much on these shots, hence the divot question.
That can steepen the down swing which will mean the swing will tend to be more to the left.
If you have shallow or no divots then I would guess you may be getting a bit lazy with the lower half and the arms just swing round your body. Ball goes left, body stops rotating, ball goes further left.
Either way, your swing path is probably going left.

Would prefer to see the swings to be more helpful

 

[Curls]

There is a tendancy to try and hit down too much on these shots, hence the divot question.
That can steepen the down swing which will mean the swing will tend to be more to the left.
If you have shallow or no divots then I would guess you may be getting a bit lazy with the lower half and the arms just swing round your body. Ball goes left, body stops rotating, ball goes further left.
Either way, your swing path is probably going left.

Would prefer to see the swings to be more helpful

Nail meet head, as usual Bob. Thank you! Just saw this thread and it spoke to me, that makes complete sense, Im always trying to kill it from above, will watch for this and try to keep on plane.

Nice one!

 

[garyinderry]

hitting down too much is the d-plane thing isn't it?

 

[the_coach]

Generally my game has settled down and when I'm aiming is pretty much where I finish, but I've noticed expecially over the weekend that I'm missing too many pins on the left side of the green, this can cause trouble if I'm chasing pins cut that side,

My grip is the same as every other club from driver down... So I've kind ruled that out and checked alignment a couple of times and it's always been spot on.

Is there any other check points for missing left from this distance, ie cball to back in the stance?

As has been said. If the result is a dead pull straight left. Then the club is traveling a ways left through impact in swing direction with the face angle square to that leftwards swing direction. So from the top it comes out & across a little ways (OTT) the swing path some degrees from out to in.

Most likely causes. at address being a ways slightly open with shoulders & hips to parallel left of the ball/target line, and/or the ball position being a little ways too far forward. You can with either or both of these things put the best swing on the ball & it'll still go dead left to some degree.

What's you general ball flight starting direction & then curvature with your 4i/5i, hybrids, metals, & driver?

If say you have a pretty neutral swing path not to far off the 0º of the ball target line with the wedges, & your divots are only say pointing slightly left of the ball/target line (as they should be) but the ball pulls straight left, then the likelihood would be that the ball is just a little ways too far forward in the stance.

Sometimes in using say a LW or SW so needing to put some power into the shot as you feel you need to 'get' it up there some for the right distance. Then could well be just that the 'hit instinct' is causing the pulls, as then the right shoulder tends to move 'out' first a little ways & stays to high through the shot so the swing will swing slightly from the outside & swing direction through impact.

These smaller scoring shots all about accuracy so you need a smooth rhythm with the body & arm swing married together some. The body still needs to keep turning right through the shot, so the chest should end up facing left some of the target for the ball to go straight. Better oft times to take the GW or PW with a smoother swing.
Tendency sometimes if the intention is to crush it some with more loft, to just before impact fear you might be about to hit it too far, so the body turn stops some, but the arms will still keep going across the chest & it can pull that ways.

Few other ways it can happen.

As it's smaller distance shots the body turn back can be shortened a little too much, not as much shoulder turn, it's then easy to get anxious some during the shot & simply start down with the upper body first again the right shoulder goes a little way out first so the right shoulder stays high which will give the slight out to in, swing direction left through impact.

Sometimes with the shorter shots, instead of a 'turn' with the left shoulder moving to the chin, the player stays a little ways on the left side. With then a little shoulder turn but with a tilt as the left shoulder goes downwards a little ways & the head so chin go down to meet that left shoulder, so more the chin moving to shoulder rather than shoulder turning to chin as if should do. This all means with the left shoulder & chin down some with the player still more on the leftside, the right shoulder will again on first move in the downswing tend to move outwards some first, so the same thing happens, out to in a ways in path, so then the swing direction is left through impact.

If in the back swing the arms don't stay connected to the turn, so instead of the right elbow pointing downwards to the ground & it being a little ways close to the body, with also the right forearm either vertical or slightly echoing the spine angle, as it should all be.
But instead the arms lift some from the body turn during the backswing, so then the right arm & elbow fly away from the body some with the right forearm being a ways more horizontal to the ground so the elbow pointing out back behind the player.
Then again the first move down is likely to be outwards over the line, from this right arm/elbow position, the right shoulder again stays too high moving out towards ball/target line, so out to in a ways again & swing direction of the clubhead again will be swinging left through impact.

 

[London mike 61]

I don't know if this will help but after reading the Dave Pelz short game bible, I made a grip change for the short shots such as chipping , pitching and anything in between.

It involves putting the left thumb centrally down the shaft instead of right of centre and the right hand v points to your chin rather than the right shoulder.

This grip Pelz calls the finesse grip , and on shorter shots I have found it stops the club from closing too much and my shots end up straighter.

When the shots do go left it is annoying but try the grip on the range it just might help.

Good luck mate!

 

[Val]

Easy fix, leave yourself a proper full shot to the green

 

[Oddsocks]

Are you taking big divots ?

Not really, shallow divots at best if I'm honest bob

 

[Oddsocks]

There is a tendancy to try and hit down too much on these shots, hence the divot question.
That can steepen the down swing which will mean the swing will tend to be more to the left.
If you have shallow or no divots then I would guess you may be getting a bit lazy with the lower half and the arms just swing round your body. Ball goes left, body stops rotating, ball goes further left.
Either way, your swing path is probably going left.

Would prefer to see the swings to be more helpful

I had a play around last night with my set up and found a few things

1- I seemed to have let the wedges creep very far back in my stance,....

2- And on half shots seem to have got lazy turning on my back foot instead of transferring the weight and turning the body.

I addressed both issues and put a very very very close from my problem distance..

 

[SocketRocket]

Keep rotating around your left hip. Once you stop turning your body the arms and wrists flip though creating the pulled shot.

 

[Oddsocks]

It felt like I was trying to steer the ball if that makes sense