Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in
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This game is a great addition to your practice routine before an upcoming event or tournament round. It will allow a player to finely tune their feel for face to path and face to target control. A player will pick their preferred shot shape or curve at the very beginning of the game and as they progress, they will learn how to repeat and control the severity of the selected curve. This differs from the traditional 9 shot drill where a player will be playing with the face to path relationship in order to hit different curvatures at various flights. The added challenge of this drill is that if at any point, a player hits a "double-cross", or a shot that is the opposite of the curve that was selected, they will have to start the game over from scratch. Ultimately, this game will help you build a "go-to" shot that you can repeat on the course and under pressure, while also refining and raising the awareness for your release mechanics.
Tags: Not Straight Enough, Draw vs Fade, Practice Strategies, Mental Game, Drill, Intermediate
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This drill is mastering club-based control.
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So I use this mastering club-based control drill
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oftentimes with players getting ready for an event
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more working on owning their swing.
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It's a great way of taking your mechanics
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and refining your feel or sensitivity to it
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so that you can execute different shots on the course.
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Now with learning how to alter the path or the face
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I love drills like the nine shot drill
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or going from draw straight fade.
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Those are great ways to work on the sensitivity of the path in the face.
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But in this drill, what we're going to do is we're going to primarily work on
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curving it one direction but vary the amounts of the start lines
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the targets so that we can master face the path control
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as well as face the target control.
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So there are three stages to executing
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where to playing this game.
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Stage number one is you are going to try and hit
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three different amounts of curve to the same target.
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You're going to settle in on a curve that you like
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and then stage number two is you're going to try and hit
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the exact same curve but to three different targets.
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So you'll start, you know, let's say right edge of the green
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bunker and then left leg.
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So you're going to pick dramatically different targets to switch up our visual.
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Then stage three is you're going to try and hit the exact same curve
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amount to the same target.
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So stage number one is same target three curves.
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Stage number two is same curve three targets and then stage number three
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is same curve and same target.
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So in order to execute stage number one which is the same target
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three different start lines and three different curves amounts,
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you're going to have to get aware of how much the face is close to the path
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and you're going to have to get connected to the body alignment
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to help you control the start line.
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So I'm going to start with trying to hit a slight draw
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and then I'm going to add a little bit more draw until level three
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I'm going to be or the third ball in this series
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I'm going to be trying to hit a really big hook.
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So I'm going to aim the stick closer to the left bunker
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and I'm going to try to start this one five yards rate of it
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or pretty much over this flag.
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So now I'm just trying to execute stage number one.
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Okay perfect.
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So I hit a slight fade.
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So the goal of this game and I'm glad that I did that because I reminded me
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to remind you that the goal of this game is to master the face
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to path relationship.
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So I would much rather have it curve too much than the wrong direction.
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Good players tend to make some of their doubles in triples
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when the ball curves the wrong way.
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So the goal of this game is to get through all nine shots
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without having the ball curve the wrong way.
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So unfortunately even though that was my first ball, I lost the game.
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Luckily it was my first ball so I'm just going to start over.
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So we're going to try and hit the small draw.
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I'm going to make sure the face is maybe a little bit more closed
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on the way down.
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So there we have a very slight draw.
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So a couple, you know, three yard draw, very slight draw.
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Finish just right of the bunker.
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So now I'm going to change my start line and I'm going to hit a much bigger draw.
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So I'm going to preset some of the face closed.
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So I don't have to make a major change to my swing.
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So club faces a little more closed.
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So now I have a much bigger draw working its way toward the bunker.
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The wind is kind of holding it up but that definitely drew about twice as amount
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or twice as much which was my goal.
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Now I'm going to change this into a bigger hook.
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So I'm going to aim off the green and try to get it to curve all the way back
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to the bunker.
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So now I'm going to varied the amount of the club face closed.
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Try to close it a little bit even more and get the start line more to the right
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with my setup.
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So really big hook.
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You might have seen my foot slide out.
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So I definitely missed the target but it didn't curve the wrong way.
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So I'm not out of the game yet.
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I'm going to try one more time to hit the big curve.
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So close the face.
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So that was much closer that's finishing.
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It was just a slightly bit fat but it finished in the bunker and it started right
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of the green so it matched the curve that I was trying to create.
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Now for level two I'm going to settle in on you know,
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especially with this wind and seeing that I hit a shot that went off to the right
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at faded when I tried to hit a little draw.
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Today I'm going to try and hit more of the medium draw.
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So I'm going to alter my start line back to those flags and I'm going to try to hit
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maybe more of like a 10 yard draw instead of a 5 yard draw.
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And that is pretty straight just writing the wind.
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We'll try it one more time at the same target.
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I lost that commitment and got slightly distracted by the other alignment stick.
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At least that's the excuse I'm using right now.
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So there we have that slight draw until the wind hit it.
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So now I have to try and hit the same draw the same amount but I'm going to move my
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alignment towards the center of the range.
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So this changes or this forces me to vary my visual and make sure I can reproduce this
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just based on my feels not based on getting into a groove or pattern.
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So club face a little more closed.
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Well until but got the right amount of curve.
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So happy with that.
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And then we're going to kick it all the way to the left flag.
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So this feels a little awkward because I'm aiming pretty much across the range.
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This is great to do especially if you're on a little more crowded range and it gives you
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a slight sense of being uncomfortable when there's people around you and you're not at
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aiming straight down where the stall is pointing.
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So now same amount of curve that little 10 yard draw or that medium 10 yard draw I should say.
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Good started it pretty much dead where I wanted to got my 10 yard draw.
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So I made it through stage number two with my one little moly again.
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If I was being real strict on myself, I would have had to start over.
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So now the goal is same target, same amount of curves and now I'm going to try to put three balls in the
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bunker starting them over the flags.
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So starting them at the flag.
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So that's ball number one with the right amount of curve.
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And again I've got a little fade wind so it's killing some of the amount of curve but that was pretty comfortable with what I want.
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A little less but luckily I chose the medium curve so that was I'll call that close enough finished.
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So personally in between the little draw and the medium draw but I'll take it and then last one this is it to win the game.
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I left it out to the right. So unfortunately I've got to start over you do too. This game is to help you master your club face control but face the path as well as face the target.
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It's really good for skill building your awareness of the face rotation and motorcycle movement. Whether you hit fades or draws just pick your comfortable ball flight and if you happen to hit a double cross the game is over and you got to start over.
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Get good at this game and you will have much more confidence in curving the ball the way that you want without the fear of the double cross on the course.
