3 Signs You’re Trying Too Hard To Hit The Golf Ball

An approach over a bunker can change your swing before you even start. You have an iron that should get there, as long as you catch it well. So you take an extra practice swing, tighten your hands and decide to give this one a little more.

That's a difficult way to play a shot you already find uncomfortable.

I have no objection to a golfer swinging fast. Speed is valuable and telling someone to slow down doesn't address what went wrong. I'd want to know whether the extra effort helped the shot or made it harder to find the middle of the face.

Sometimes the trouble starts in your hands. Sometimes it shows up in the strike. And sometimes you've asked too much of the club before the swing begins. Here are three signs to watch for.

1. You tighten up standing over the ball

Have you ever stood over a ball so long that you no longer felt ready to swing? That's when I'd ask you to back away. If your shoulders have crept up and you're squeezing the handle harder than you were during the rehearsal, staying there probably isn't helping.

That would concern me more than a swing that simply looks quick. You're making it harder to move before you've started.

Step away from the ball and take your grip again. Keep the handle secure, let your shoulders settle and make a small rehearsal with some freedom in the wrists. When you return to the ball, see whether you can begin without adding that last squeeze.

You shouldn't feel as if the club could fly out of your hands. If loosening up leaves the handle slipping, check the condition of the grip and your glove. A slick handle gives you a reason to hang on too hard. This discussion of grip security and unnecessary squeezing is useful background although changing grip styles isn't automatically the answer.

The check is what happens before the club moves. Trying to monitor an exact amount of hand pressure throughout the swing gives you another thing to worry about. For now, get comfortable holding the club and starting back.

2. More effort gives you less useful contact

"I really got ahold of that one." You think so, anyway, until you reach the ball and find it well short of where you'd expected. I'd be curious to see the impact mark you left on the face. Catching the heel or toe can spoil a drive that felt like a big swing.

Take some impact tape or clubface-safe impact spray to the range so you can see the strike. I'd start with the driver swing you'd use on an ordinary hole, checking each mark. After a few balls, have a go with the harder swing. Keep the tee height and target as they were.

Give yourself time to set up between balls. Raking another one into place and swinging immediately isn't a fair test of the swing you'd take onto the course.

Look at where the marks collect. Perhaps your normal swing leaves a fairly small grouping around the middle while the harder swings spread across the face. I'd start with the effort that gives you better contact and then build speed from there.

The opposite result matters, too. If you can add speed, keep finding the middle and hit a shot you'd happily play, there's no reason to reject it just because it felt more aggressive.

This is why a blanket instruction to "swing at 80 percent" isn't much help. Nobody can feel that percentage precisely anyway. Your strike marks and the resulting shots give you something you can actually compare. Maximum-speed practice has its place but it needs its own plan rather than becoming a rescue attempt on every drive.

3. You've chosen a club that needs your best swing

Return to that approach over the bunker. How far does the iron normally carry? The answer needs to come from your ordinary strikes including the slightly imperfect ones. The longest shot you remember hitting with it is a poor basis for a forced carry.

Carry is where the ball first lands. A shot that rolls onto a green from the fairway doesn't tell you whether it would have cleared the bunker.

When you're caught between clubs, look beyond the flag. A longer club may let you make a comfortable swing but check what's beyond the green before choosing it. If long is dangerous as well, a different target may be the sensible answer.

Make that decision before you step in. You should be able to picture your normal shot reaching an acceptable landing area. If you're still thinking you must hit this one perfectly, reconsider the club or the target.

Notice when the extra effort appears

I'd also ask when you usually find yourself starting to swing harder. Was it after a double bogey? When your playing partner drove past you? Those answers can help explain a driver that behaves on the range and lets you down on the course. You may have changed what you were asking the swing to do.

I'd like you to keep the intention to hit a good shot. Choose one you can reasonably play, take a normal rehearsal and swing through it. You don't have to steer the ball just because you've stopped trying to hit your longest one.