Commentators analysing tour pros have a phrase they use to describe a certain good-player mistake: They call it “getting stuck.” It’s a colourful term, but I’m not sure if regular golfers know what getting stuck means.
The easiest way to picture it is to compare it to the opposite problem: a slicer coming over the top. In that move, the player swings the club down from the outside on a steep angle. Getting stuck is coming from too far inside and behind the body. The upper body obstructs or interferes with the club’s path to the ball.
The most common reason players get stuck is, they don’t keep the arms and club in front of the chest as they turn back and through. When the club trails the upper body on the way down, the hands have to flip the clubhead over to recover. Hello, hook.
If that player tries to make a big body turn through to compensate, the club gets even more stuck. That’s often a block.
If you can keep the same relationship between your upper body, arms and the club from address through impact, you’ll be able to swing fast and free.
– Hank Haney is based at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch, Lewisville, Texas. To get fixed in Golf Digest, send Hank your swing on Twitter: @HankHaney.
