Working the ball

[Bigwill]

Since it is said that a dead straight shot is the toughest shot to hit consistently, and it requires a fairly high degree of precision, why aren't beginners/high handicappers first taught to work the ball one way or the other (or both ways), then taught to decrease the amount of curve as their proficiency increases? It just occurred to me that trying to get a not-so-great player to hit straight shots on a consistent basis might be putting the cart before the horse. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Because most high handicappers ALREADY have a problem working the ball too much in one direction....whether that be slicing or hooking.

What a good instructor will do is teach them to do the OPPOSITE of what they're doing, to help them learn clubface control and get a semi straight shot. Then once they learn their clubface control they can back to what comes easier to them:

fading/drawing