Throw With Your Right Hand

Legendary swing coach, Jimmy Ballard, likes to point out that when Ben Hogan needed to make a swing change in order to cure his dreaded snap hook, he learned to use his right hand to throw the club head down the target line. Key to this move is getting into the proper position at the top of the backswing which greatly increases your chances of swinging through impact correctly. Here are three of Jimmy Ballard’s fundamentals:

The right arm moves up and down: In contrast to the left arm moving side to side, the right arm moves only up and down.

The left arm stays connected: Keeping your left arm connected to your chest insures you will make the proper shoulder coil.

Both elbows point to the ground: At the top of the swing, both arms should still be in front of your chest, with the elbows pointed at the ground. From this position, it’s very easy to turn and simply throw the club head at the target. You can see this position in this photo below.

Two Common Faults:

-Taking the club too far behind you: If you get your arms to far behind you (and off plane), it is very difficult to swing down the line. If you imagine a wall just behind your rear end, you want to make sure that during your take-away the club would never hit the wall. Moving the club up and down and not around your body keeps the club in front of your chest and makes it much easier to swing down the line.

-Pulling your right elbow hard towards your right hip pocket:  Pulling/yanking the right elbow down to the right hip pocket invariably lowers your right shoulder, which kicks the left elbow and shoulder up. (basically destroying the left arm connection). In a natural throwing motion, you step towards the target, and simply allow the right arm to fall and sling through the hitting zone.