The Biggest Mistake of High Handicap Golfers

One of the biggest mistakes that high handicap golfers tend to make is paying too much attention to the ball. They stare at the top of the ball, try to keep their head down, and ultimately mess up their swing by aiming at the wrong thing. Having correct concepts in golf is half the battle, and aiming at the ball is one of the incorrect concepts that causes too many swing faults.

Do you have problems with swinging too far to the left and coming across the ball? Maybe you slice or hit a lot of pull shots? In this video, Coach Ed helps Patrick fix his club path to be more neutral to avoid those pull shots to the left, and shares a lot of great tips and concepts to help you with your golf swing.

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One of the things I found that the high handicap players one of the mistakes they make is they’re too worried about the ball and um they’re looking at the top of the ball somebody’s told them to stare at a dimple keep your head down I been guilty

Of that one yeah and uh it’s a worst advice in golf we have to have the correct Turf interaction that’s what we’re looking for if you hit the turf correctly um You’ll Play good golf the ball just gets in the way yep so my big

Thing when I when I see myself on video a lot of times I notice when I go to make a swing I’m I’m exaggerating here but like I I I get too open here I think that’s what maybe makes you flip makes me flip if if you don’t flip you’re

Going to go right yeah uhhuh so let me ask you a question mhm so go ahead and address the ball and so we’ve all summer we you’ve worked on your takeaway right yep all right and so what position are you trying to get in your takeaway halfway back when the club’s parallel

The ground show me all right so what does the club face look like I believe it’s Square to my spine it is so that’s Square y therefore on the way back down that’s exactly the same position it has to be in by the time you’re back here

Absolutely so if you are here on the way down the only way you can from here to there in a split second is to flip with your hands ABS so that’s where you always get like this yeah much better than you used to be but but still some yeah so in my

Opinion the drill to do at home is that’s where we want to be so now go to the top of your back swing okay so you’re great there now as we would come down we’ve got to be like that again and so go ahead and let go let me walk in

Here MH so so see my right hand when I do this little cross-handed drill here and that matches up my spine do you see how my right hand’s pointed like this yeah see it’s not like that it’s like that to be square so matches my spine

Angle and so when I’m up here I’ve got to feel the same way on the way down and so that’s what I would do at home while you’re watching our videos on YouTube yeah you can just practice this and then from here then we’re just going to what

Do you think what do you think my swing looks like if you were to emulate that that first half of it until you get to that point like what do you think well I think a couple things happened I think you’ve really gotten better here MH and

You’re you’re getting a lot better your position back here at the Top’s really good these days okay but then I think you go that way my my first move goes I need to go more then you go like this to go down to the ball and then the face

Done it it’s it’s open yeah okay but it’s this move here first and then this move that gets you in trouble so see this is where I’ve got my shoulders have to stay back and I have to feel this motion first and then go through okay I

Was seeing last night I was watching the capoa tournament the Sentry tournament and um one of the and the comment in golf Central or whatever uh brandle shamble made a comment on what he sees all professionals tour professionals do that amators don’t is that their shoulders are square at

Impact and and yes most of them are and most amers are open and I couldn’t agree more with him I mean if you do my belly button drill you’ll see impacts always Square shoulders if I’m like this the club’s always going to be open and

Behind me me and I either got to come over to catch up or everything’s going way right yeah yeah and so that’s if but see if up here at the Top If my first move is like this well there’s no way my shoulders uh can be square at impact

Makes sense yeah understand because they’re too open already they’re too open you you’ve opened them at the very beginning so these best players they’re back here this club’s working this way first and their shoulders don’t even start to go forward and then everything together and you’ve talked about that

Before that the the sequence in golf is yes should be y back and then up then down down and then around that’s right so the sequence in the golf swing go ahead and set up um is around and then up and then it’s down and then it’s around okay so that’s the

Correct sequence in a full swing so I need to be this this needs to be my first move and then turn yes sir and so as you go back go ahead and do that good and then slow motion come down slow slow to get to parallel to the ground

Parallel to Target line right here so that’s probably what I need to work on is this this move first that’s right what about your don’t worry about that at all don’t worry about that just just you have plenty of angle there okay and then Y and then and then we’re going to

Go to our heel line over there with the face still looks like your spine angle there like that right does that looks pretty good right there perfect okay makes sense yeah cuz that’s the other other problem I I I get there and then it’s well you have to see if it’s

Open on the way down you have to get closed on the way through otherwise everything’s going right or a shank yeah yes so I’m I’m a little bit behind myself so you could parallel the ground parallel there you go so that so I think my my natural tendency right now

Is is is getting stuck behind I agree and then you have to flip interesting okay so I so that that’s a big light bul moment for me so I I need to be more here yes and it’s along it’s it’s along my toe line is where that parallel to your target

Line that so I actually I think I’m feeling this has been my swing and I need to be more more and that could be my fault you know when I hold this stick here you can exaggerate going under that and get it behind you too much but

Yes when I was young they used to talk about the best players got the club in the slot yeah I remember that yeah and go ahead and set up there I’m probably in the way of the camera but this if I hold two alignment sticks here that’s

The slot okay so the CL got to be back going to go through that on the way back ideally if you’re going to swing on the same shaft angle back and down and then it’s going to go through that slot again on the way down and then when you know

They to make an invention like that yep they have one I don’t know might be so we Pat that one so my uh go ahead and let go and stand over here so one of my great best swing thoughts for me as a player years ago and I was a pretty good

Player 25 years ago um is I could could feel this club right here on the way down and that is what I felt like I was right here I could feel that position and I could hit it from there and man when I felt that and I was playing I

Mean it was just like laser beams with irons you know and um do you feel that same with your driver every Club you’re feeling that sure yeah yeah and man I could just feel that position perfect here as I was swinging every time I mean I hit zillions of balls and I thought

About that position that’s one of the ways I learned to practice was I would get this club in the correct position here and then I would just swing through it and hit shots from there and um you know it’ll it ends up being pretty good shot so you think that’s a good drill

For me to do to get get down get down to that position and then yeah absolutely and so if you’re trying to feel what this position feels like just do it mhm does that make sense and shots from there gosh hit buckets of balls it it’s

A pretty good feeling to feel like and I like to just get a little momentum from there and then I can hit it yeah and gosh I’ve hadit a I’ve done it with driver I’ve done it with pitch and wedge um you know and I’m just trying to get

That club to swing through that position and hit it every time you know that yeah the last swing’s plus one on a club path that’s pretty much what I am right on my normal swings so I’m not hitting that 60 yards I’m not trying to hit it very far

But boy I can just get in this position and and I can just hit it from there yeah and um it’s great practice absolutely plus 1.8 club path you can see as that see I even go farther back than I feel like I’m going in my back

Swing I feel like I’m right here and you can see the video that I’m not yeah and uh but you know you can see how that matches up with my spine angle and and uh that’s a great drill and that’s how I do it and we just want to feel that same

Way I I want to be this way on my way back and I want to be this way on my way down and if I’m like this well then I’m always stuck and then I got to start flipping at the bottom absolutely makes sense yeah that does all

Right yep so that yeah absolutely just hit it great H that’s that might be my next big drill to be work on here huh that’s it makes a lot of sense still a little behind you on that last but that was still better yeah

Yep so I really I need to Y really get get there yeah good we can see Zero club path minus two on the attack angle for you pretty good absolutely that should have felt great right that did yeah yeah minus four on the attack angle minus three on a club path that’s pretty

Good for you absolutely yeah that’s where we’re trying to be you can see how straight you hit that one you hit that 60 yards no effort right yeah yeah good hereit one more for me okay that one the club the face is a little open on that one it was yeah and

It was behind you there was it okay so just keep swinging all good that felt pretty good so you hit that one harder that’s what I wanted you to do that went 100 yards yeah okay so that’s a seven iron right right from a how high is that

Trajectory what does that go to probably not very high you that I mean I can tell you I mean we could look over here and 38 ft okay so your normal shots around 90 yeah okay so this is off the subject but I I find it fascinating so

We just hit a 100 so just think if the wind was blowing 30 m an hour 40 m an hour in your face yeah and you wanted to hit a knockdown shot yeah that’s perfect right you just did it yeah that’s how you do it yeah you swing easier mhm and

That controls the trajectory does that make sense yeah most people play the ball back in their stance and put their hands forward historically done it yes and they d off the club yeah and it starts the ball low but it puts a lot of backspin on the

Ball and so it zips up and it’s not a knockdown shot so if you practice with no wind on the driving range that looks pretty good but when you go play and it’s windy balloon up there it doesn’t go anywhere does that make sense so the best players control their trajectory by

How big a swing they make and so instead of hitting pitching wedge 100 yards when it’s really windy man you could hit a seven iron with that same swing you just made yeah it’ll work does that make sense is that good and let’s see what the spin was on that only

3,800 yeah and your typical seven iron will be about 7,000 okay it’s about a, th000 RPMs for every degree for every Club number on the club to know yeah so nine irons 9,000 five irons 5,000 makes sense dri that’s for a typical full swing 1500 yes that’s for a

Full swim yeah okay and so but if we can knock the spin rate down then and control the trajectory then it stays low that makes sense and it doesn’t balloon in the air and your smash Factor on that last swing was amazing 1.4 yeah with a never had that

For a I know most people don’t that’s almost a driver smash factor for most people yeah so good swinging that’s good right I like that I think that’s going to be my new my new move to yeah and then the other thing what I would tell you go grab your 56 degre sandwich

So so that same little drill you can do the same thing with a wedge so you’re just going to go halfway back you’re going to be just like that on the way down it’s like that and you’re going to hit it and just you’re only going to hit it 20 yards 30 yards

That makes sense but just so this is how you learn to feel that position mhm and then not only are you practicing that position but you’re actually hitting a shot that you’re going to hit on your that you need to hit on the golf course

Whenever you want to hit a 20 yard shot that’s great does that make so you’re killing two birds with one stone you’re you’re practicing your full swing technique but you’re improving your short game at the same time oh that’s great yeah that makes a lot of sense all

Right good let’s do it again go ahead and set up for me so if you’re going to do this with sand wedge we’re going to set up like a sand wedge feet need to be closer together ball a little farther back shoulders level not am am to too

Much that way and then do that back swing good do it again a little fat that’s okay good 27 yards though that was yeah pretty good club path five to the right you’re actually to the right on first time ever so that means you’re to inside on

The back swing does that make sense yeah yeah yeah not on your toe line so it’s okay good pretty good huh that’s more neutral yeah yeah if we can get the attack angle better it’ be better but that’s good pretty good so do you think so let me show you one more

Thing so we need to get this attack angle so you’re hitting behind the ball mhm so while you’re doing this drill especially indoors put a t and try to get the T yes we got to hit we’re bottoming out at the T not the ball yeah okay and you’re

Still going to do that same back swing and that same position so don’t even look at the ball look at the T at the T that seem better oh I bet huh went to minus four there we go okay understand so let me ask you a question

So when you’re hitting an iron or a sandwich whatever are do you look at the ball or are you looking in front of the ball when you’re pra like when you’re actually playing or also when practicing it’s a good question um I would contend that really great

Players are aware the balls down there but they’re not staring at look at yeah there are and so I know many players that look in front of the ball a couple inches I know many other players that look at the grass instead of looking at

The ball I think a lot of beginners make the mistake of looking at the top of the ball then they wonder why that’s what they’re hitting yeah and so if I’m going to hit a correct shot this club this ball needs to hit here in my club face

Well look this bottom Edge is an inch below that and so I have to hit the turf correctly not the ball and so I like the target to be the turf yeah rather than the ball so even for a driver then would you aim a little on the other side

Though right cuz you want to catch it slightly up so maybe aim at the ground an inch behind or so three inches behind yeah yeah exactly that’s interesting I’ve never thought about that yeah I think that’s the biggest mistake that High handicappers make is they’re too worried about the ball yeah the ball

Just gets in the way yeah we’re making a swinging motion and the ball gets in the way that could be a whole another video it probably should be huh it should be really yeah good and I like putting that t out in front and learning to hit that yeah

That was a good again absolutely look here plus one on the club path yeah is that good a nice 40 yard carry shot yeah that’s perfect that’s that’s something I I I always have looked at the top of remember how I told you last time we like club path and swing direction to

Match up and that did those are great yeah those are awesome understand yeah awesome that’s a big that’s a big light bulb thing for me looking I’m going to start aiming in front of the ball like that good I like it that’s good cool good job as always yep see you