Question 7

A: The two most obvious things to look at are your grip and release position. You can experiment with a grip change by pronating your left hand, and by supinating your right hand. That is, move your left and right hands to your right. If you play left handed simply reverse this procedure. I prefer not to experiment with grip changes.

Instead my preference is to experiment with the balance of the golf club. By this I mean when you have completed your swing, point the shaft towards the target. This is how Moe does it. The position of the club head will show your release action by its "vertical" angle from heel to toe to the target.

Here is what you do. Take a full, fast, 100% swing and follow through the entire way. Now bring the club head down pointing to the target, i.e., the shaft is almost horizontal to the ground. Look down the club shaft, and you'll see the relationship between the club face and your target. Imagine that the club head is the large hand on the face of a clock with the twelve o'clock position being skyward, and six o'clock being towards the ground. The toe of the club will be pointing either straight up to the twelve o'clock position or to the right or left of twelve o'clock. More often than not, the toe will be pointing at twelve o'clock or more towards one o'clock if you consistently hit fades.

To hit a draw your balance of the club head must be left of twelve o'clock and towards eleven o'clock, or even left of eleven o'clock. Hold your position with the shaft pointing at the target, and move the club head to a point left of its original position. Now step up to the ball without changing your grip and swing normally. The balance of the golf club will feel quite different in your hands because the club face will be more closed to your swing path. Your normal swing and release will yield a draw or even a hook. Remember to swing and release as you normally do. The only change you've made is the balance of the club through impact and separation.

You achieve the desired ball flight by turning the balance more and more to the left. Once this happens you will need to adjust your alignment accordingly. I suggest you accomplish this by aligning your shoulders to the right of the target by the amount you want to draw the ball.

If you attempt to manipulate the club by turning your hands over faster - unless you have world class timing and tempo - it will lead to disaster. I advocate going to a simple single axis grip so you can release the golf club the same way every time, and the club will square up without pronation and supination of your forearms and hands. This is the simplest and most accurate way to control spin. The balancing of the golf club will produce controlled fades, draws, and dead straight ball flight at will. My stroke video does an admirable job of explaining and demonstrating this principle.

When you watch professionals on TV observe their finish and you'll notice that their club balance is normally at twelve o'clock or slightly towards one. With a few practice sessions the balance of the golf club will not distract you as it does at first.

My nickname when I was playing competitively, "Dial a Shot," comes from my ability to control spin. Balancing the club to a point on the imaginary clock before I swing allows me to release the golf club the same way every time and lets the dynamics of the golf club's balance through impact and separation control spin.

Let me know how much fun your having when you demonstrate this to your friends.

Pipeline regards,
Dial a Shot Scott

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