A LOT of my lessons at Bowood are centred around improving the strike on the golf ball.

Many of my students ask to help them be more consistent and to get a solid strike on the golf ball instead of hitting the golf ball half way up (thin) or striking the ground early (fat).

A common cause of these inconsistent strikes is the incorrect use of the hips and legs in the golf swing.

Swaying of the hips in the back swing is often the cause of the fats and thins.

This is where the hips move laterally away from the ball in the backswing forcing the upper body to move towards the target.

This puts your weight on to your lead leg and forces a reaction of pushing your hips towards the target, which drops your head behind the ball.

This leads to your weight being too far behind the ball, producing a shallow upward hit on the ball causing the fat or thin shot.

In this type of swing the hips are tilting rather than turning. To overcome the reverse pivot your need to angle your spine away from the target slightly.

Also encourage your legs to stay stable and your hips to turn rather than tilt them.

In an ideal golf swing both the hips and shoulders should turn on a similar angle keeping your head above or slightly behind the ball.

This will improve the sequence of the golf swing and provide a better angle of hit, ensuring a more solid contact with the golf ball.