Use A Wall To Cure This Common Swing Fault

Taking the club too far inside the target line on the backswing spells disaster.

It can lead to all sorts of bad shots—pushes, slices, duck hooks, and topped shots. A common swing fault, this move is usually caused by a backswing controlled by the hips and the dipping of the shoulders away from the ball. With practice, you can cure this fault.

Here's a six-step drill to cure this fault:
1. Situate yourself with a wall behind you
2. Take your address position with a driver
3. Make sure your backside is barely touching the wall
4. Simulate your backswing in slow motion
5. Keep moving your arms until they're waist high
6. Make sure the toe of club points straight up

If your backswing is correct, you'll eventually hit the wall. But that won't happen until after reaching waist high. Since you're not going beyond waist high, you shouldn't hit the wall. Just in case, use a head cover to protect the clubhead and the wall. At the start of a correct backswing, your clubhead should run along the target line for as long as possible. Once the clubhead reaches waist high, the toe should point straight up and away from the wall. If your club touches the wall as you take it back, you know you're moving too far inside. In that case, practice your takeaway by first leading the backswing with the upper body along the target line. Once the upper body can't turn any more, the lower body takes over. That's the correct way of making your backswing.This drill also helps golfers who struggle with "laying off"—dropping the clubhead behind the body because of a weak pair of wrists. Women and senior golfers sometimes have this problem. If your hitting slices, pushes, duck hooks, and all sorts of other bad shots, you could be taking the club too far inside on the backswing. If you think you are, use this drill to cure this common fault. It will cut strokes from your scores.