I swing outside-in with a slightly opened club face, producing a natural left to right shape more often than not.
I trust I’m not alone in that.
I’ve been getting the ball in the fairway more frequently these days, a statement I write out rather cautiously, knowing how fragile an amateur’s golf game can be.
It’s as though I’m beginning to master my swing’s imperfections, using them to my advantage (as I believe one should to an extent).
Every once in a while, though, I’ll close the club face just enough to hit it squarely. The outside-in swing sends the ball well left with no spin (and no hope) to bring it back toward the fairway.
No movement, line-drive, hit hard and far.
Without the cut, the ball seems to travel about 40 yards farther than my typical shot off the tee, just in the wrong direction.
I can’t help but think, if only I could master that shot… the straight one.
It doesn’t help that a tee shot such as this one tends to come after a few good holes that have me feeling “good about my game.”
That’s Golf.
It’s the humbling nature of golf. There is no arrival, there is no “I think I figured it out,” because the game is impossible to perfect.
This is only one of a million examples of why golf is hard.
I would even argue that golf never actually gets easier.
It is we who improve, though never to the extent that golf becomes easy, only to the extent that we are more capable of wrestling with it.
May that be more encouraging than disheartening.
Luke ManganOn Golf
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