Editor’s Note: The Golf Digest 1 Percent Challenge will present a new challenge every weekday in January. Catch up on Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3.
The thing about golf swings is that they don’t actually matter. They’re a delivery system. A means to an end. The golf ball doesn’t know what your backswing looks like, or care how smooth your tempo is. The only thing the ball understands is how it was hit. This is the crucial transaction between clubface and ball that we know as the moment of impact. That is in some ways golf’s forgotten fundamental among the ranks of amateur golfers, and one that coaches are quick to remind them of. The more you improve your impact position, the easier your ball striking becomes.
The Solution: The first is a mindset shift. Challenge yourself to think about the golf swing from the impact position backwards. What do you want your moment of impact to be? And what’s your best way of getting there? Next, understand the keys of a good impact position: Hitting the ball with a descending blow with your irons, and on the upswing with your driver; having the clubface as square as possible to the target at impact; swinging within a few degrees of your target line (aka, swinging a little but not too much left or right); and with as much speed as you can muster.
Today: Take a beanbag, pillow, a pile of covers or anything else soft, and practice making full swings into it. Focus on impacting the club squarely into the back of the object, and remember how that feels.
And then…: Really, it’s about prioritizing a good impact position, and understanding what that means. I genuinely enjoyed this series by Micheal Breed about the “Facts of Impact,” which is worth a watch. Johnny Miller shared a good drill he used growing up, which involves swinging to a perpendicular line on the floor. If you have access to a simulator, keep in mind the clubface and swing path metrics. Negative means your swing or clubface are going to the left; positive means out to the right. Beware when one or both get too far away from zero.
Catch up on Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3 of the 1 Percent Challenge >>
More on the 1 Percent Challenge 
Look, every golfer has big goals—30 more yards, 15 fewer pounds, tighter lines and better scores. We’re not here to tell you those goals are out of reach. The problem with most New Year’s resolutions, though, is they start you at the foot of a mountain without a clear map to the top.
The Golf Digest 1 Percent Challenge, meanwhile, is meant to be both ambitious and achievable. None of the daily individual tasks will be so arduous that you’ll need much time to cross them off your list. These are the type of modest improvements intended to make you just 1 better percent than you were the day before. But they’re also meant to provide you with a new skill that over time, can make a meaningful difference in your game.
The way it works is simple: Our team of expert editors in golf instruction, equipment and fitness have devised 23 challenges for each weekday in January that can be completed at home with minimal equipment. Things like checking your posture at address in the mirror, identifying yardage gaps in your club setup and testing the strength of your golf muscles. All of these challenges will have immediate value. But each challenge also comes with a suggested follow-up task that can lead to better habits, and ultimately, better performance.
It is the perfect way to get ready for the next golf season, even if you live somewhere where “real” golf is still months away. The more you follow along, the better your headstart on everyone else. —Sam Weinman
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
