Your round going south? Do this for an emergency fix

When a round starts going south, there’s only so much you can do when your head is spinning on the 5th tee box. Sometimes, for that day, you just have to work with what you got.

But there are certain Band-Aids or quick fixes you can put to use. Or as GOLF Top 100 Teacher Joe Hallett puts it, there is a “pull this in case of emergency” lever he likes to teach his students.

“When you are playing and it starts to feel a little bit like the wheels are coming off, it’s very easy to say, go to a three-quarter swing,” says Hallett, while at GOLF’s Top 100 Teachers Summit at Cabot Citrus Farms earlier this month. “If you look at some of the best players in history, like Tiger when he was playing his best, the club didn’t get to parallel. But the secret to going to the three-quarter swing is to make three-quarter practice swings.”

Hallett explains that while the three-quarter swing is a good technique to use on a poor ball-striking day, most amateurs might think they are doing it but are actually taking full practice swings anyway. There’s a big difference, and it’s important you are doing it the right way.

“Make your practice swing three-quarters and do it with your feet very close together,” Hallett says, adding that they should be about six inches apart. “It forces you to keep balance and timing. That little simple thing of the feet together and a three-quarter swing, if you can do that without falling over, it promotes balance and timing and now you can walk into that shot and have half a chance at hitting it.”

When you’re ready to hit the shot, Hallett says take your normal setup and then use the three-quarter swing. The shorter swing will minimize movement and minimize the length of the swing, which means the face will stay square a little longer.