Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Hitting the sweet spot of the golf club is the holy trinity for every player. It doesn’t just produce a great golf shot, but it builds a player’s confidence as well — which, hopefully, will lead to more consistent play.
While an amateur may “get lucky” and do it a few times during a round, it’s important to understand why and how to hit the sweet spot with each swing.
Thankfully, we’ve tapped GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jim Murphy to provide some tips. Take a look below to see what to work on.
1. Keep your weight on the balls of the feet
The golf swing is a dynamic motion that requires balance throughout the swing. And, to maintain balance, weight should be on the balls of your feet.
Too often, Murphy sees players with their weight on their heels at address, which can cause thin shots that miss the sweet spot of the club.
Before starting the swing, Murphy says to check where your weight is at address, as it should be on the balls of your feet — not on the toes or your heels. This is important because, as the club shifts positions through the swing, if your weight is too much on your toes or heels, it will cause you to lose your balance. This is what leads to mishits.
2. Relax your arms
Want to know a great way for a player to kill their golf swing? Having tension.
If you aren’t hitting the sweet spot enough, try relaxing. Yes, it could be the key to making solid contact more frequently.
Murphy says that, while setting up to the ball, take a deep breath. Next, shake out the tension in your arms, making them feel loose and light. By doing this, it will allow a player to relax — which then leads to full extension of the arms in the downswing and impact, which helps produce the solid contact every player strives for.
3. Keep your speed
Something Murphy often sees amateurs do is slow down their swing speed, hoping that they’ll have better control of the clubface. But he suggests avoiding this, saying it will actually create more instability of the club.
That’s why it’s important to keep your swing speed though the ball.
When a player does this, it will help create a more stable clubface, allowing them to help you hit the sweet spot more often.
A little drill to help this is to make a practice swing and listen for the “whoosh” out in front of the golf ball. If this happens, you’re maintaining good club speed all the way through ball contact.
