Golf is one of the most popular sports in the world. However, not everyone gets the game and how it should be played. Also, not everyone can hit a golf ball straightly. This is not just a problem in the golf game, but it is an issue in many sports. In this article, we will show you a complete guide on how to hit a golf ball straight every time.
But, before we learn how to hit a golf ball straight every time, we have to know the basics of the sport. In order to hit a golf ball straight, you need some knowledge about it.
The Basics of Golf
Golf is played by two teams with one or more players each. A player from one team goes first and hits the ball. They have to hit the ball in one of the holes where there is a flag. If the player manages to do this, they earn points for their team. If not, the opposing team's player goes next and tries to reach that hole before they cause them to commit penalties.
When a player hits the ball, they try to get it as close to the hole as possible. They earn points if they hit it in a closer distance than their opponent. The team with the least number of points after eighteen holes (nine holes per side) wins.
If you want to learn how to hit a golf ball straight every time, you need to learn some other things about golf too because this will help you master the basic skill and techniques needed for hitting a golf ball.
The Basics of Hitting a Golf Ball Straight
This may sound odd, but there really is an easy way on how to hit a golf ball straight. You just have to remember these four things: Follow through, Backswing, Swing plane, and Release.
Follow-Through
Follow-through is when you follow the path of the ball. In golf, this means that the clubface should be pointing in a direction that is away from your body even after hitting it straight.
Failing to follow through may cause hooking or slicing. Hooking occurs when a player starts their follow-through too early and slice happens if a player starts their follow-through late.
Back Swing
Back swing refers to how much you move your arms back before you hit the golf ball. Moving them too much will cause you to have an open face at impact while moving them not enough might cause a closed face at impact resulting in a slice.
You need to find your own natural swing plane so that there would be no variation in your swing. Because of this, you do not have to move back and forth as much before hitting the ball. This will minimize slice or hooking problems.
Swing Plane
The swing plane is how much your clubface is rotated when you are in the middle of the swing. If it is too closed, this may cause a slice while if it is too open, this will result in a hook.
Swinging naturally applies to most golfers because they feel that moving their arms back and forth would bring changes in how far or close they can hit the ball. However, having no movement will give them an easier time controlling their swing resulting in them hitting it straightly.
Release
When you release the golf ball after swinging at it, your hands should move through impact which means that they need to be traveling forward not down or up. When your hands are down during follow-through, you twist your wrist and hit the ball off-center.
The same thing happens if your hands move up during follow-through. This results in slicing because you are hitting the ball too much to the left of where you should be hitting it.
Hitting a golf ball straight is not really hard if you just remember these things: follow-through, backswing, swing plane, and release.
Tips on How to Hit a Golf Ball Straight Every Time
Follow these tips to make sure that you hit every shot straightly every time:
Use Your Feet
You have control over how much power you can send into your shots when hitting a golf ball straight by using your feet properly. If the hole is far away, use more power but if it is near, use less power which will result in a shorter distance for your ball. This works especially well on driving ranges when trying out new clubs.
Aim for the Middle
Make sure that you aim every time you hit a golf ball. This way, you can be sure that your hits will still go straight even when there is a small variation in your swing plane or follow-through.
Take Your Time
Make sure that you are not rushed or stressed when hitting a golf ball. You have to be able to think properly so that you would know what adjustments you need especially if it is your first time playing on a certain course.
Get the Right Equipment
A good set of clubs will help give you greater distance with your shots. This is important especially if your balls travel shorter distances because this means that they will not go as far into the green giving you lesser birdie opportunities.
Be Relaxed
Getting relaxed before hitting a golf ball straight will reduce tension in your muscles which affects how much power and accuracy you can put your swing resulting in better scores every time.
Know When to Quit
If you are struggling with your game, it is best that you quit before things get worse. You would only end up embarrassing yourself if you let loose and start playing in a very poor manner when in front of friends or strangers even including the caddies.
Don't Try Too Hard
Trying too hard is very counterproductive especially when trying to hit a golf ball straight. It will result in shanking which can ruin an entire round for some people. For others, it might cause their hands to clench up resulting in slices or hooks even during practice swings dangerous enough to injure self or bystanders.
Practice Makes Perfect
To hit the golf ball straight, you need to practice as much as possible. The more hours that you dedicate, the better your chances of getting those desirable straight hits every time.
Don't Overdo It
You can hit too hard and cause a shank which is basically where the ball goes off course to the right and usually strikes the ground before going further. This might happen because you swing with too much force or not enough control affecting how far or near you hit it.
Hitting a golf ball straight takes time so don't rush things to avoid mistakes. Most professional golfers start playing well at their 25th birthday even though they've been practicing since they were 15 years old sometimes longer than that year by year until perfection sets in.
Use All of Your Body
You need to use your entire body when hitting a golf ball straight. Know how much power your legs would deliver as well as having control over swinging up properly during follow-through which means using your arms to direct the club at precise angles back down towards the ball.
Don't Grip Too Hard
You should not be gripping the club too tight or letting yourself get weakly positioned because this will affect you fast while trying to hit a straight ball. Release it correctly and give the ball some room before and after impact to ensure that you get it right.
Keep Your Head Down
This is one of the basics when hitting a golf ball straight, no matter if you are using golf irons or woods. Keep your head down until the clubhead strikes the ball so that there would be enough time for you to react to any changes in direction or speed even pitch height.
If not, they may either go shortly overshot or thin resulting in several embarrassing moments, something that everyone wants to avoid at all costs especially during rounds with friends and family who might not understand why you still have a lot of work to do on your swing which does need some improvements.
A Straight Shot Should Be Clubbed
This might seem like an oxymoron since golfers do practice hitting straight shots more than anything else but this is actually true as long as the club is correct and does not curve.
Hitting a ball with a curving club would result in something that everyone wants to avoid which is hooking the ball. The best thing to do here is to take your time, find out how you are supposed to hold it correctly, or seek advice from professionals so that you can improve on your game for good!
Love Your Golf
If you love playing golf, there is a great chance that you will hit the ball straight and without worrying too much about it. This can help improve your skills and develop proper techniques to really make you a good player.
Why Is It So Hard to Hit a Golf Ball Straight?
There are fallacies that it is all about practice, practice, practice. If this were true then why do some golfers never hit the ball straight? There MUST be something else affecting their game.
Reflect on what you're trying to achieve when you try to hit a ball straight. You must have thoughts racing through your head whether during play or when practicing in order to get better at the game - 'I want to get closer, 'I wish I could reach', 'I pray I don't shank one', 'I want to hit the ball farther this time' etc etc. Does this mean you are focusing too much on the outcome of hitting the ball rather than being in the here and now?
1. Your aim improves significantly when you perform an activity over and over again. When you are practicing, often your thoughts are tinged with worry about trying to hit the ball straight or how good it looks when you hit the ball correctly. So what happens is that your brain learns this action and causes you to repeat it even without thinking too much about it!
2. Don't worry because you know that if you keep doing the same thing time after time, then positive results will happen eventually.
3. If I'm playing golf because I enjoy the game, why would I focus on hitting a straight shot? Shouldn't my aim be just to play well? Of course, there might be times when you want an easy lay-up so for those occasions practice drives, pitch shots, and bunker shots.
4. Remember to practice your swing so that you can improve on your game as well! It helps if you work around the ball, hitting straight shots but also other types of shots because that makes it easier for you to learn how to do this stuff without forcing yourself too much.
Also check out these glowing golf ball if you like to play in the dark.
Conclusion
If you apply what we have just discussed to your golfing, you will surely hit a golf ball straight every time. The most important thing in hitting a golf ball is only through the backswing and the follow-through. And if you do this correctly, you can maximize your chances of hitting a very straight shot.
Do not forget to be patient though because it will take time before you get used to it. You should learn this from an expert first then practice it by yourself afterward. This will give you more time for practicing without running out of money because experts usually do not come cheap. In fact, there are also other things that might be included during instruction such as weight shifting and body movements so take note of these too when going for lessons.
Remember to follow through, backswing, swing plane, and release when hitting a golf ball straight. If you do these correctly, there is no way for your shot to go wrong.
This is the end of the article on how to hit a golf ball straight every time: a complete guide. You can now take your first attempt at hitting a golf ball straight. We hope that you'll find this useful as we try to help you learn more about hitting a golf ball straight every time. This should be enough for you to start practicing and mastering it or even teach others how to do it!