New Year's resolutions

The year is almost over and the club championships loom large a few weeks into the new year. What better time to completely change my standard shot shape and my putting grip.

Shot shape, often random in my case, is an important consideration for anyone who is serious about golf. Many weekend golfers will be happy with their regulation fade, but some fanatics like yours truly are always looking for something better - longer, more consistent, more aesthetically pleasing, etc. etc.

My NY resolution re shot shape goal is to develop a consistent draw with all but the shorter pitch shots. For some reason, I am now more often hitting draws with my fairway woods, while I tend to hit drivers straight and fade my irons. I figure this is not a recipe for consistency, for me at any rate.

I know all the theory on hitting draws, and I know all about the dangers of developing disastrous hooks, including the ugliest of snap hooks. My feeling is that some of these really bad shots come out of the wrist rolling, body turning moves that I sometimes use to minimise fades. Of course, a draw set up and swing combined with excessive wrist rolling will produce the massive hooks that kill a round.

My plan therefore is to develop an alignment and swing (hopefully more fluid and relaxed) that will produce the kind of draw I'm looking for. Hitting hard and holding on tight will not do the job. Basically, I want to swing more easily without losing distance, which is why a controlled draw is where I think my future golfing success will come from.

As for alignment, I know how crucial this is. The best and simplest advice I've seen on this is to a) align the club face slightly right of the actual target (say align the club face to one o'clock) and b) feel like you are swinging to about two o'clock. These alignments are only approximations and will vary with the type and length of shot. But basically the idea is that the ball will start at 90 degrees to the club face alignment and the slightly more inside-out swing plane will put the necessary spin on the ball - without any need to manipulate the hands.

There's nothing really new or difficult in this, it's really just a matter of fine tuning. Though having said that, there are probably plenty of social or weekend golfers who've never really thought about alignment in this way.

By the way, I read in lots of places about how one should 'tee it high'. I think that's Ok for pros and people who play a lot of golf. But for consistency sake, at the expense of some hang time and distance, I think the ball should be teed low-ish with the driver (and lower with other woods). A ball teed high requires a different swing and body angle that many golfers will struggle to find. I don't think there's anything wrong with a low running drive in all but the wettest of conditions or when there's a big carry required off the tee.

My second NY resolution relates to putting.

For some months I've been struggling with my putting. I'm not sure if I'm developing the yips, as my dad did at about my age, but my short putts (1 to 3 metres) are just not going in like they used to.

Therefore, I've decided I need to get my wrists out of the equation. And to do this I'm going to give left hand low a go (I'm right handed).

I've tried this a few times, but without success. It has always felt slightly awkward, especially on the longer putts, and really no more successful with the shorter putts. However, I've done some research and found a left hand low grip that I think will work for me.

This grip that I've found links the hands very effectively while also being a little less extreme in the way the shoulders tilt. Previously, I've felt so low on the left that I could no longer hit through the ball or make consistent ball contact, which affected all putts, but especially the medium to longer range putts.

The grip I've discovered overlaps the middle finger of the right hand with the little finger of the left hand, with the right forefinger resting on top of the other left hand fingers. This might be hard to visualise, but in effect the hands are linked and the left hand is not quite as low as I've tried previously.

The other key to this way of putting is to use more shoulder rocking than wrist breaking. That is the power in the stroke will come from the shoulders, not the hands. I'm hoping that this grip and shoulder action will provide me with a more consistent, less yippy, stroke.

So that's it, two NY resolutions to add to my fundamental of playing off the front foot. It should be an interesting ride.