Dan Martin on Clubface Control (Video)

Want to bend it like Bubba? PGA instructor Dan Martin has a drill that can teach you the basics.



Don't be fooled -- this is a deceptively simple drill. It forces you to think about impact position rather than swing mechanics.

There are no elaborate adjustments to your address position with this drill, although you might find that changing your ball position can help. Like Bubba, you're thinking about where the clubface is aimed when you hit the ball, regardless of where your body is aimed. It's about mindset -- deciding where the ball will go in the same way that you might hit a tennis shot or hit a baseball. In both of those sports, you tend to set up the same way each time, and you change where the ball goes by changing where you contact the ball relative to your body.

Let me explain that just a bit.

• If you set up square to a target and hit the ball when it's straight in front of you, in the middle of your stance, you have a good chance of hitting it straight.
• If you set up square to a target and hit the ball when it's a bit closer to your lead foot, a bit forward in your stance, you have a good chance of pulling it (the starting line for a fade).
• And if you set up square to a target and hit the ball when it's a bit closer to your trailing foot, a bit back in your stance, you have a good chance of pushing it (the starting line for a draw).

If you change your ball position when you try these shots, you can use less wrist action -- which can be inconsistent -- and use your wrists, forearms and elbows all together as a unit.

• Both elbows straight = straight shot.
• Lead elbow bends, trailing elbow stays straight = pull shot.
• Trailing elbow bends, lead elbow stays straight = push shot.

You might say this drill helps you think less about where your body is going but think more about where the ball is going. It helps you become more target-oriented.

And if you do it enough to learn how to control the direction of your shots, you'll be able to hit more fairways when you need them. That's the kind of knowledge that can lower your scores!