Hit Your Golf Ball Straight the Lee Trevino Way
Most recreational golfers have spent their golfing career trying to find a reliable swing that will allow them hit the ball straight. That’s all. Just keep the ball in the fairway, and heading toward the green. Tweaking and more lessons have never worked. But there’s a swing out there that is easy to learn and is built to do just that one thing–hit the ball straight. Read on.
In 1968, a self-taught golfer won the U.S. Open in his third try. Lee Trevino had a swing like none that had been seen before, and golf experts predicted that such a swing wouldn’t hold up under tournament pressure. Actually, it was designed to do just that, and Trevino went on to win 29 PGA tournaments including six major championships.
Most professional golfers fought a hook early in their career and created a swing that would prevent that shot. Trevino succeeded in that regard better than any player since Ben Hogan, with a swing that did two things. First, it delayed the release of the clubhead so it couldn’t turn over and steer the ball left. Second, it kept the clubhead going toward the target for a slight bit longer than the classic swing would, increasing the margin of directional error.
Here’s how to do it. A fuller description is found in Trevino’s book, Groove Your Golf Swing My Way.
Set up with your stance open. Way open. If the target line runs from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock, your stance line runs from 2 o’clock to 8 o’clock. Rotate your hands to the right so can see three knuckles on the back of your left hand when you grip the club. Square the clubface to the target.
Take the club away along the target line, not your stance line. It will feel like you’re swinging the club back way inside, but that’s all right. When you swing back down to the ball, start by sliding your knees toward the target. Think slide, not turn. The payoff comes when you come into the ball doing these three things:
1. The back of your left hand stays facing the target, resisting the rollover of the forearms.
2. Your right shoulder turns low under the chin.
3. You continue to chase the club down the target line after the ball has been struck.
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll get one shot after another that is so straight you’ll think you can’t hit it any other way. If at first the ball always goes right, then set up aimed more to the left: stance, clubface, everything.
Honestly, now. If you’ve been struggling all your life to hit the ball straight and you still can’t do it with the swing you’ve been working on, then it’s time to do something different. I could ask you, what do you have to lose, but the real question is, how much would you like to gain?
