Women’s Golf – How To Improve Your Backswing At Home
Many of my clients tell me they wish they had more time to practice. Especially the ladies, for some reason! If you want to hit the ball further & straighter, this blog will help you practice at home. Read on to discover 4 drills that can sharpen your game & give you a more consistent backswing.
#1. IMPROVE YOUR SWING MECHANICS
A common reason golfers miss putts is because their club face is not square to the target line at impact. Your swing path may be fine, but if the face is just a bit open or closed when you make contact, it will likely send the putt offline.
DRILL: ROLL THE BATTERY
Determine if your putter face is square at impact by using a D-Battery to putt instead of a golf ball. Place the battery on your floor or carpet & strike like usual. The object is to have the battery roll smoothly straight toward your target.
If both the heel & toe of your putter strike the battery simultaneously, it will roll straight, indicating that your putter face was square.
If the toe end of the putter hits the battery first, it will roll offline in a counterclockwise direction. This will reveal that your putter face was slightly closed, which usually causes putts to be missed to the left. Conversely, if the heel end strikes the battery first, it will roll offline in a clockwise direction. Heel-first contact would indicate a face angle that was slightly open, which usually results in missing putts to the right.
This is a very simple way to develop the right feel for bringing the putter face back to the ball squarely. Get this right & you’ll make a lot more putts on the course.
#2. IMPROVE YOUR POSTURE
Fundamental to good putting is to keep your head over the ball, and still, throughout the whole stroke. Many golfers move their head or allow their shoulders to rotate on the forward swing…which moves their head along too.
HEAD AGAINST THE WALL DRILL
This drill will help you monitor excessive head movement as well as obtaining a proper swing path.Set up without a ball with your head against a wall & the toe of your putter against the baseboard.
Start with slow practice strokes, keeping your head against the wall. This may feel odd if you’re accustomed to moving your head during the stroke. After a while, you can hit real putts from this same position.
This drill also helps with your path. If you are a person who likes to have a straight-back-straight-through swing path, simply keep the toe of the putter on the baseboard throughout your stroke. This is a great drill to work on at home to learn to keep your head still throughout your putting stroke.
#3. FULL SWING DRILL
One of the keys to making solid contact with the ball is to maintain your posture throughout the swing. If you straighten up during your backswing or downswing, your changing posture makes it difficult to strike the ball consistently. There’s a lot of swing errors that can come from unwanted posture changes, eg topping the ball & hitting fat shots.
THE BUTT BACK DRILL
The purpose of this drill is to keep your setup posture consistent throughout the swing. Start by taking your stance with your bum against the back of a chair. Rotate your shoulders into your backswing & keep your rear end resting up against the back of the chair. As you move into your downswing, push the lead buttock (i.e. left buttock for a right handed golfer) back into the chair.
If you are keeping your rear end attached to the chair, then your spine will stay down in the tilt you established at address. This will keep your swing centre the same distance from the ball throughout the swing.
This move may feel uncomfortable at first, but stick with it. As with most swing changes you make, the more you practice maintaining your posture throughout the swing, the better and more comfortable you’ll become.
#4. IMPROVE YOUR SWING
The start of your downswing should be initiated by the lower part of your body. At the transition, when your backswing ends & your downswing begins, there should be a slight lateral shift of the hips toward the target. This is commonly called a “hip bump”.
Unfortunately, many golfers do the opposite of this; resulting in a dreaded “over-the-top” move.
HIP BUMP DRILL
This drill helps you use your hips on the downswing by focusing on activating your lower body first. You’ll need a large exercise ball. Stand with the ball between your front hip & a wall. Cross your arms on your chest & make a full shoulder turn on your backswing. Now press the ball against the wall with your front hip.
Once you get used to the feeling, try using a golf club. Keep repeating the drill, starting at address & moving through to impact. With enough practice, you’ll learn how to activate your lower body first & get more power in your swing.
With consistent practice, these drills will help you improve your technique while you’re at home. Then, when it’s time to get back out on the course, you’ll have an advantage on your golfing friends.
