Try try again

If I had any sense, my motto would be 'if at first you don't succeed - give up!' - but since I don't have any sense, I am going to try something different next weekend.

I recently re-read 'The Four Magic Moves ...' by Joe Dante. This book and the ideas therein impressed me mightily when I first read them, so why did I forget about it and them? Please see the above paragraph for a clue.

Anyway, my most persistent difficulty with the full golf swing has been fairly consistent fading and occasional slicing. This is not such an issue when its a fade, but I am not happy with face or slice on aesthetic grounds, regardless of the score. I really want that straight shot or slight draw that most people want - and almost never achieve!

Like most amateurs, no matter what I've tried - stronger grip, more turn, tighter elbow, hand rollover drills, etc, etc. - I've not been able to find a satisfying and permanent solution to this problem. I now realise that my focus, having been mainly on swing plane (which the golf student will know is not the main determinant of golf ball spin and trajectory) has probably been wrong. I believe I should have been focusing most of my attention on the clubface direction at contact.

So, I've gone back to Joe Dante's four magic moves.

The last two of his moves are things I am already doing on a reasonably conssitent basis - the hip bump and turn and the retention of the 'magic triangle' (the passive arms and retention of the wrist cock for as long as possible in the downswing). In reality, I don't play enough golf to get really good at these, but I'm working on them, because they are generally agreed to be of importance.

But these two moves are mostly about achieving good distance, whereas direction is my main concern. So the first of his magic moves (an early down-facing wrist cock) and his second and related 'move' (a firm and straight left wrist - for righties - at the top of the backswing) are of more interest to me.

These 'moves' relate to shot direction because they directly affect the clubface angle during the backswing and down into contact. The alternative (and more common) approach is to progressively cup the left wrist as the club reaches the top of the backswing.

The Dante approach involves keeping the clubface closed throughout the swing rather than rely on timing to open and then close the clubface. Obviously, my timing has not been good enough to get the clubface closed at the right time, either that or I have not been rotating my hands enough on the follow through. Either way, I've often been leaving the clubface open.

The Dante method was once referred to as the American or shut-face method by the more traditional golf club swingers from the 'old country'. It is no longer a minority approach, but there are, of course, many variations on the theme - see Graeme McDowell or Dustin Johnson or even Lee Trevino for some of the more extreme versions of the shut-face method.

The method has the primary benefit of taking the timing out of closing the clubface - it gets and stays closed throughout the whole swing. The main danger with this approach is the possible failure to keep the body turning far enough and the hands ahead enough to prevent hooks and smothers. For a chronic slicer this seems a distant concern.

Whatever happens this weekend, it will be interesting. I just hope the Dante magic moves will be good magic and not cast an evil spell on my golf game.