You Know You Can Make A
Great Practice Swing, But Why
Can't You Swing The Same When
You Hit The Ball?

You've seen your playing partners do it. You know you've done it. If it's so simple to take a smooth, fluid, effortless practice swing, why does that same fluid swing turn into a quick, jerky, chopping motion when you try to hit a golf ball?

The answer is very simple. When you take a practice swing you aren't trying to hit a ball solidly and make it travel toward a target, so it doesn't matter if the clubface is open or closed. It also doesn't matter if the clubhead is traveling thirty degrees left of the target or that the trajectory of the clubhead is wrong. In a practice swing, there is no need for the body to go through contortions in an effort to make sure everything is working toward the goal of hitting a great shot.

Put a golf ball in front of a golfer, and it's a completely different situation. When hitting a ball, the clubface does need to be square. The club does need to be traveling down the target line, and the trajectory of the clubhead does need to be correct.

If your practice swing seems a thing of beauty, but with a ball your swing turns ugly, then your seemingly great practice swing isn't really so great—you'd probably miss the ball with it.

 

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Casey Eberting Golf Instruction

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