Gotta Curve That Ball!

You are one down in your match on the 16th tee. It’s the middle of the summer and the course hasn’t seen much rain in weeks, so the fairways are pretty firm. You hit a good drive down the fairway, but your ball kicks to the right near a couple of trees.

You’ve just found yourself in another “That’s Golf” situation. But, as you approach your ball, you discover you are not totally blocked by the trees so there is a chance you can go around them. Going to the left of the trees looks more promising than going right. But you need to be able to curve the ball around the trees to give you a chance of getting it on the green. And how would you do that? Aha, you say! You remember Chris Foley’s excellent article in Tee Times last month on the “9 Shot” test.

He wrote: “When the face is aligned to the right in relationship to the path, the ball will curve to the right”. So, you align your body to the left (white line) which is also the path you will be swinging. The clubface will be pointing to the green (red line) and open to the path. Now it’s a matter of swinging to where your body is aiming while keeping the face pointing at the green. The ball will then curve to the right and hopefully on the green.

For more help on curving the ball, see your local PGA or LPGA Professional. Or, drive up to Cragun’s and see Chris Foley and learn the 9 shots!