by : Joel L Nelson

Here is an easy practice drill you can do right before that important first tee shot of a round. Take 2 of your head covers and place one under each arm so that it is held against your torso with your arms. You will basically have a head cover sticking out of both your armpits. Now, practice your full golf swing but do not allow either head cover to fall to the ground. The purpose is to reinforce the feeling of your arms being connected to your torso and to help you keep both sides of your body synchronized. In an actual golf swing you might find the head cover on your back side (right side for a right handed golfer) would slip out at the top of your backswing or the top of your follow through, but the one on your leading side (left side for a right handed golfer) should not fall out at any point during your entire swing.

You can also leverage your head covers by using them to correct an incorrect swing path. If you slice the ball it is likely you are swinging the club from the outside to the inside, thus imparting clockwise spin (for a right handed golfer) and causing the ball to slice. By placing your head cover along the target line a couple of inches "above" your ball you will force yourself to avoid the "out to in" swing path. If you hook your shots you can place it a couple of inches "below" your ball to prevent an "in to out" swing. If your club head moves your head cover, you know your swing plane is off.