Tony Ruggiero' Golf Tip of the Week

Accelerate through the ball??

2010-08-22T08:48:00.003-05:00

We had a dew write in about being told to not decelerating….should they accelerate through the ball.
We certainly don’t want decel however we need to be careful when thinking of accelerating through through the ball.
Normally I find that when the club is decelerating it is a result of pivot stall.
We don't want to try and make the club go faster however to fix this. When most golfers do this the result is that they accelerate the club with their hands and begin to move the club with their hands and arms rather than their body.

If you struggle with decelerating the club when you are pitching or chipping the ball think of this concept and see if you don't overcome your decel problem.

Try and make the club go back and through at the same or constant speed. This will help you learn to no decel and to learn to finish your pivot and improve your contact.

Speed Control in Putting

2010-08-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

Students come out all the time and want to work on their ball striking. After analyzing their statistics we learn they hit a fair number of greens but have way too many three putts! The following tip and practice technique will help you reduce your number of putts per round and lower your scores.
There are two primary aspects of putting: line and speed.
The line portion is taken care of once we line up the ball and putter during address. Most players spend way too much time worrying about and thinking over the putt about the line and not near enough time thinking about and visualizing speed. Just as if you picked up a ball, looked at me and tossed it to me, you should use your eyes to tell you how hard to hit your putts. Take practice strokes while looking at the hole to allow your eyes to tell your brain how hard you need to stroke the putt.
Practice speed.
Here is a great drill I use all the time with my students. Go to the practice green and work just on speed. Drop 3 golf balls in the middle of the green and roll putts at the fringe. The object is to get each ball closer to the fringe than the previous ball without touching the fringe. Spending time focusing on just speed without any worry of line will help you learn to develop more feel and better control over your lag putts.

Trouble Leaving Ball to Right

2010-08-22T08:45:00.000-05:00

I recently had a very good student of mine who was struggling with leaving the ball out to the right. His club was swinging off the plane to the right and he was becoming slightly disconnected coming through t he ball. His left or lead arms was leaving his chest and his arms were taking over the driving force of the club rather than his pivot.
The result when we looked at the video was a slight buckle in the left elbow and the beginning of a chicken wing. Try this tip and see if you don't connect your left or lead arm back with your pivot
The fix was a simple one. We tucked a golf glove up under his left armpit and began with pitch shots. The goal was to hit shots without the glove falling out. This was difficult at first but in a few minutes his left arms was against his chest through impact the club was more on plane and the contact was in the middle of the face again. When we video the swing again the buckle or chicken wing of the left arms was disappearing as well.
Try this simple drill next time and see if you don’t Hit the ball more solid and get rid of the buckle in your left arm.

Quit Lifting the Club!

2010-08-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

We recently had a question from a dewsweeper who was driving home from playing in a member guest and they were frustrated because they could eliminate the problem of how to quit lifting the club with their arms during the takeaway did I have any suggestions.
Well this problem is a direct result of someone who gets disconnected right from the get go.
Remember we always tell you here on the dewsweepers that it is the pivot or your turn that must move the club not your arms.
Here are a few suggestions:
First visualize that the club, your hands and your chest all start back at the same time and together. Matching up this motion will help get you more connected.
Second my favorite drill is to get more connected by learning to pitch the ball with a towel under your arms. This drill makes it impossible to start your takeaway with the lifting of your arms.
Moving into the full swing is suggest using the training aid the perfect connexion. It is a great way to link your arms and your pivot together.

Score Better on Par 5's

2010-08-22T08:43:00.001-05:00

How many times do you get to the end of the round and look at your card and realize that you really messed up a few of the par 5s? Even more frustrating is when you realize that most of the time when you had to take a big number on a par 5, you had started the hole right from the middle of the fairway with a beautiful drive. Use the following guidelines for par 5 play and you will soon see less big numbers and more birdies on your par 5s and your score card will look better.
Most big numbers begin when a player hits a nice drive and then tries to go for the green in two. Remember that the landing areas are narrower close to the green on par 5s. This is the penalty for taking an aggressive play at the green for your second shot. Players too often feel that they have to take their 3 wood and hit the ball as far down and close to the green as they can for their second shot. What this does is give you a smaller landing area and brings into play more trouble and the possibility of a very difficult third shot.
Use this rule: If you can not reach the center of the green with your second shot on the fly then the best shot for you is to hit your second shot to a yardage which leaves you your favorite wedge shot into the green. If you can hit your wedge 100 yards try laying all of your second shots back at the 100 yard marker. Most of the time you will find that you will get a a full 100 yard wedge closer to the hole with a better birdie opportunity that you will from trouble and the difficult shot that is left for you from an offline fairway wood second shot.
Use this little bit of course management to lower your scores next time you tee it up!

Balanced Setup

2010-07-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

One question we often have here at the dewsweepers golf show is about how to find a balanced setup. Here are a few suggestion to help you get more balanced in your setup and to help you make a better golf swing.
The first place we need to look is in your knee flex and the amount you are bent over at the waist. The edge of your shoulders and should be over the tips of your shoes. If you are too bent over at the waist you we will be in an unbalanced position and forced to change your posture during your swing to compensate for the poor posture and balance at address.
Remember to get to the ball with a combination of knee flex and hip flex. Most amateurs get to the ball by rolling over at the shoulders. This gives them poor posture, reduces their ability to turn and puts them out of balance.
Your weight should be centered in your stance. The feeling here should be that you are positioned as if you are going to jump straight up in the air.
I have found through the use of our swing catalyst that way too many golfers have their weight too much towards the toes. I tell students all the time to feel brace themselves as if I was going to jump on the back
This always gets them in a balanced athletic position.
Try these tips for setup and balance and see if you don’t hit the ball better.

3 Rules for Playing the Wind

2010-07-08T10:36:00.000-05:00

In honor of this weeks tournament in Scotland at the Old Course.”How do I play in the wind?”
Well when playing in the wind I suggest you use these 3 simple rules.
1) Always take more club and swing less hard. Remember that the harder you try and hit a shot the more it spins and more out of control it gets during your swing.
2) Allow for cross wind too! Don’t just worry about down wind and into the wind. Factoring in the cross wind is just as critical to avoiding trouble off the tee and around the greens. If possible it is better to curve the ball into the wind rather than riding the wind. This strategy will give you more control over the shot.
3) Get on top of the ball. I work with students in their golf swing on this all the time. Doing this in the wind will help you hit it more solid and control your trajectory.. Try and get your chest over your left leg at impact. This covering over the ball will get the shaft to lean more forward and get the flight down.

Correct Hand Motion

2010-07-08T10:34:00.000-05:00

A question that I often hear is what can I do to improve and help make sure I am doing the correct motion with my hands during my golf swing.
The advice I always give is to hold your finish. Practice hitting little chips and pitch shots holding your finish. Make sure that the finish position you find your hands in is the one all great golfers have.
A flat left or lead wrist and a bent right or rear wrist. If you can learn to finish every pitch and chip shot with hands in this educated position that you will teach yourself the proper hand action through the ball which is No hand action.
Even if when you finish the shot your hands aren’t perfect put them in the proper educated position so that you can learn where you are trying to get to,
Try practicing this way and see if you don’t improve your short game and your full swing.

Quiet Feet Lead to Better Ball Striking

2010-06-18T12:36:00.002-05:00

If there is one part of the golf swing or body that is often overlooked when working on a golf swing or trying to improve it is the feet. One area of focus that I stress when working with students is to get quiet feet on the ground. What I mean by that is feet that don’t come off the ground on the back swing. During the back swing I like to see feet that stay flat on the ground providing a solid base to wind your upper body up against.
On the forward swing I don’t like feet that are rolling on their sides or a rear foot that is coming off the ground. Both of these habits lead to your rotation slowing down and your pivot stalling. If you are not in contact with the ground you can’t turn against it!
Practice hitting little pitch shots keeping both feet on the ground and see if you don’t improve your footwork and your ball striking.

What Part of the Ball am I trying to Hit?

2010-06-18T12:35:00.002-05:00

Another great question comes in this week from the Dewsweepers.T- I am Confused what part of the ball am I really trying to hit?A great question and one that is often misunderstood. Many time I'll ask a student where they are trying to hit and the answers vary from "the ball, to the back of the ball, to I'm not sure"First remember all of our previous Dewsweeper lessons and that the correct low point of the swing (which is a big circle) is in front of the ball. Second imagine as you look down that the ball is a "pie" sitting on the ground. Now imagine that the "pie" is cut into four quarters. You want the club to strike the inside quarter of the pie. The club is swinging down and out as it comes into the ball.Here is a great tip. Take a sharpie and place a dot on that inside quarter of the ball. Now try and drive that dot down and out into the turf in front of the ball.If you accomplish this you will find that begin to hit more solid iron shots and begin to get them started more online.If you are struggling with balls starting too much to the left of your target (for a right handed player) try this it may help you get your ball flying at the target and your scores coming down!

Hit it better out of the Rough! US Open Tip

2010-06-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

One thing you will definitely see when watching the US Open at Pebble Beach this week will be players having to hit difficult next to impossible chips and pitches out of nasty long rough. Thankfully not many of us will deal with rough this severe at our home course this week. However here is a tip on how to handle short game shots when you find yourself in tough lie down in the rough.
Set up slightly open. You want to make sure that the club is working across the ball imparting cut spin on the ball. Setting up open will help hit a softer shot and help keep the club head from turning over and leaving the ball in the rough.
Swing more up and down. A swing that is too shallow or too much inside going back has no chance to get the ball up and out of deep rough. The club finds itself getting caught up in too much grass. Make sure you swing the club much more vertical or up and down. This will help you find the ball cleaner and improve your chances of getting the ball out.
Use judgement when picking the line your ball will travel on. Remember...safety first. A shot from the rough will be unpredictable in the distance it flies and the run out is unpredictable as well. So do not pick a line that requires a precise place to land the shot and stop the ball. Take your medicine and get out of there with a bogey at worst.

Grip Check!

2010-05-17T07:34:00.001-05:00

I recently gave a lesson to a great student and good friend of mine and although we have worked for many years we revisited his grip. Although the grip is quite possibly the most important fundamental to learn in the golf swing it is often overlooked when trying to figure out whats wrong with a golf swing.
Remember that that the grip effects the face of the club and a grip that has crept too weak can cause a face to be slightly open which can result in several things which can cause you poor shots and inconsistent ball striking as well as a loss of power. A grip that is too weak and an open face can cause a pivot to slow down and so the club can be squared by the hands at impact or a path that comes from the outside in an effort to get the ball started on line. None of these what you prefer.
A grip that creeps too strong can cause the face to be shut. This too can make undesirable things get into your swing. A face that is shut can make your path swing to much in to out as well as create incorrect pivot motion going through the ball.
No matter how long you have been playing if you start to struggle out of the blue do yourself a favor and go to your teacher and check and make sure your grip is exactly where you want it for your club face and your swing. It does not take much for a grip to get off and get you a lot out of whack. It’s easier to fix your grip than to redo your golf swing.

Practice to Make More Putts

2010-05-17T07:32:00.000-05:00

At the Dewsweepers Golf School and on the Dewsweepersgolfshow.com website this topic recently came in.
How can I make more putts and practice putting the right way? Most golfers that I see struggling with their putting move the putter too much with their hands and arms versus their pivot just as we do in a golf swing.
I like to see my competitive players set up this putting training station on their putting green and practice making putts.
Start with a 6 foot straight putt and snap a chalk line.
Next put a tee on each side of the end of the line the width of your putter. Allow just enough room for the putter to go through.
Finally take your golf towel and put it under your arms across your chest.
Now you are ready to get your putting in check.
Place a golf ball on the chalk line centered between the tees. Practice making putts with the towel under your arms across your chest. Don’t be surprised if you hit the tees and miss the hole a few times in the beginning.
If you get good at missing the tees and making putts you will have gotten your stroke do be moved by your pivot rather than your hands and missing the tees and rolling the ball up the line will have also gotten the putter swinging on plane and hitting your putts more solid.
Seeing a whole bunch of putts go in will also never hurt your confidence either!

Swing the Club More on Plane

2010-05-17T07:30:00.002-05:00

How do I get my short iron swing on plane? This Dewsweeper said his takeaway from the address position has a move in which the hands go our away from the body and the club head twists under the plane going back. The result he says is a shank. This Dewsweeper wants to know how to fix his takeaway and get his short irons more on plane.
I would start by checking the position of the club in both hands. If your right or rear hand is too much on top of the club at address it can cause the hands to roll too much going back and allow the club to go under plane.
A grip that is not properly placed in the left hand with the club being too much in the palm will make it difficult for the wrists to hinge properly. Often times the hands or arms twist because the wrists cannot hinge the club properly up the plane.
The best drill to use for this is to either buy a laser swing path trainer and trace a seam in your carpet or drive way.
Another thought which could possibly help is to make rehearsal back swings and feel as if the club head is hinged during the takeaway outside and in front of your chest and arms. The thought during the entire back swing is to keep the club head outside your hands during the whole back swing.
See if these thoughts don’t help you make better more on plane back swings.

Improve your Forward Swing Pivot

2010-04-24T10:03:00.000-05:00

We talk all the time about improving someone’s forward swing pivot. Did I have a favorite drill they could do on their own to improve their forward swing pivot. Here is a wonderful drill that is a favorite of mine and you can do on your own at your golf course or practice facility.

Find yourself a bunker around your practice facility.

Draw a line in the sand with your club a few feet long.

Place your left foot just to the left of the line approximately where the ball would sit. The line should be in line with the logo on your golf shirt if you are a right handed player. Now make your stance. The drill is to take golf swings and make the club hit the sand in front of or the target side of the line.
If you are an individual; that either uses too much arms, hands or tilts you will find your first swings either miss the sand completely or hit way behind the line. I do this frequently with students and film them doing this drill. It is quite amazing how much better their pivot and impact gets during the drill and how much easier they can feel the correct motion after doing the bunker drill.
As you get better at doing this you will find that the only way to move the low point up in front of the line is to make a better pivot motion and to get your trunk more on top of the ball at impact. This has your body or trunk moving forward rather than tilted up and back which is what happens most of the time when you have a poor forward swing pivot and swing the club too much with your arms.
Try my favorite pivot drill and see if you don’t start hitting better golf shots.

How to Hit Long Bunker Shots

2010-04-24T09:59:00.001-05:00

At the Dewsweepers Golf School and on the Dewsweepersgolfshow.com website this topic recently came in.
“I am a pretty good bunker player when it comes to green side bunkers but really struggle with 40-50 yard bunker shots. My course also has waste areas that run along the fairways any suggestions how to play out of the waste areas in the 40 to 50 yard range”
My suggestion is that if you are a good green side bunker player that you adopt the same technique for the 40-50 yard bunker shot as well as the shot from the waste area. One of the problems for golfers when faced with the long fairway bunker or waste area shot is that they are never quite sure whether they are supposed to blast it out like they do in a green side bunker or try and pick it out .
I have found that most of the time when someone tries and pick the ball out the result is quite unpredictable. The shot often ends up either being hit fat and taking too much sand or bladed over the green.
Here are two options to help you play this shot with more success.
My first preference would be to play the explosion shot just like you would around the green. This time since the ball will need to travel a greater distance use a longer club to hit the explosion shot. You might want to try and hit this shot with your gap wedge, pitching wedge or even your 9 iron. If you practice this shot and find a club which hits it the correct distance I believe you’ll find that you hit these long shots more like the green side bunker shots that you are comfortable with and that your scores will come down.

Tony’s Short Game Improvement Tip Series #3 - Putting

2010-03-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

Putting

Here's the Cleveland Golf Tip of the Week. At the Dewsweepers Golf School and on the Dewsweepersgolfshow.com website it’s always a topic, “How can I improve my scoring and short game?”

Over the last few weeks we have covered chipping and pitching. We are going take you through how to improve your putting today.

First I advocate using the line on your ball to help get you lined up. Use the writing or a line to point at the intended target. This will help you get more consistent with your aim and get the ball started m ore on line. You will also become better at green reading as you begin to aim more consistently. Many people struggle with green reading because they aim themselves inconsistently and all over the place.

With your grip we want the putter to be place in the palm of your hands so that we deactivate the wrists. We want to reduce wrist action in the putting stroke.

Have the v between your thumb and index finger come off the shaft of your putter at a 45 degree angle. This will allow your elbows tow rest comfortably against your ribcage. Now bend over from the waist keeping your elbows against your rib cage and move the putter back and thru equal distances back and thru. We want to avoid short strokes that accelerate the putter to the ball.

Learn to swing the putter with the rocking of your shoulders. Your lead shoulder or left shoulder for a right handed player should feel as if it goes down than up.

Keep a steady head and try and hold your finish this will help you finish your stroke and make more solid contact with your putts.
Try this setup and stroke keys and see if you don’t start making more putts and shooting lower scores.

Tony’s Short Game Improvement Tip Series #2 - Pitching

2010-03-18T10:02:00.000-05:00

Pitching

At the Dewsweepers Golf School and on the Dewsweepersgolfshow.com website it's always a topic, "How to improve my short game and scoring"

Last week we talked about the importance of the chip and run and the fundamentals required hit the shot effectively. We discussed the need for a proper set up and to finish with a flat left wrist and bent right wrist.

Well when we go to pitching we are going to build on what we did last week. We alter our set up slightly. Our feet will move slightly wider because we are going to make a bigger pivot motion to provide the extra power needed for this shot. I like to see your feet inside shoulder width.

Ball position now moves closer to your left foot and falls directly underneath the logo on your golf shirt or a ball or so width inside your left or lead foot.

Move the club back with your trunk and allow your wrist to hinge properly. Often time I see golfers trying to hit pitch shots without any wrist hinge. The wrist hinge is critical in order to hit down on the ball properly and make solid contact.

Let the size and speed of your pivot dictate how far you are going to hit the shot. Make sure you make a big enough backswing. Too often golfers make short backswings and try and accelerate the club with their hands in order to give the ball enough power to get to the target.

Make sure you swing the shaft of the club down and left going through the ball.
This will help get you out of the habit of swinging up and trying to scoop the ball in the air.

While swinging the shaft down to the left keep those educated hands we worked on last week. Keep your left wrist flat and right wrist bent.

Applying these principles to what we have done last week will help you pitch the ball more effectively and consistently. You will control your distances better and get more up and downs and shoot lower scores.

Tony’s Short Game Improvement Tip Series #1 - Chipping

2010-03-11T09:56:00.000-06:00

At the Dewsweepers Golf School and on the Dewsweepersgolfshow.com website it's always a topic, "How can I improve my short game?" Well this week I am going to begin a 3 week series on how to improve your short game and lower your scores.

Chipping

Start with your wedges. Often times I find that players don’t have the right tool in their tool box. Make sure you have wedges with the right loft and bounce for your type of conditions and stroke.

Chipping is the first stroke we are going to look at. The basic chip and run shot is the bread and butter of your short game. It is essential to be able to perform this correctly. Here are the essentials to properly playing a chip and run shot.

First is set up: Since the stroke we are making is a small pivot motion we will not need a very big stance to support this motion. For chip and run shots start with your feet very close together and square to slightly open.

Place the ball position inside your rear foot. One thing I don’t like to see is feet that are angled toward the target or a ball position that is behind your stance.

Now move the club with your pivot motion but allow the club to swing more up and down. We want the path of the club to be high to low. Most Dewsweepers that struggle chipping swing the club low to high in an effort to scoop the ball.

Educated hands: allow the club the bump the ground in front of the ball and finish with your left or lead wrist flat and right or rear wrist bent. This will help insure solid contact and a ball that starts on line.

Make sure you finish with your hips open to the target and your chest or the buttons on your shirt as I like to say past the target. If you learn to use this setup and chipping motion you will on your way to better chips and more up and downs and I can bet your scores will end up much lower.

Shut Club Face?

2010-02-01T12:32:00.000-06:00

When it comes to club face issues I always start with the grip. One thing to check is to make sure that your left hand if you are a right handed player is not turned over too far to the right. If you can look down at address and see 3 or 4 knuckles or the back of your entire left or lead hand than your grip is too strong and could be leading to a shut club face
Also monitor your Right hand or rear hand of a right handed player. Too often a player will have the right hand underneath the club and way too strong. Make sure when looking down at address at your right or rear hand that you done see the fingernails of your 4 fingers. Place your hand more on top of the club at address.
On the takeaway keep your right or rear hand on the side of the club as the club goes back with the toe rolling open. This will help keep the face from shutting down and help you make a swing with a square club face.
Try these suggestions and see if you don’t fix your shut club face

Pre Shot Routine = More Consistency

2010-01-23T11:32:00.001-06:00

We had a great question come in this week.
What can I do to become a more consistent player.
Most club level and amateur players are rarely set up or have the ball in the same spot from swing to swing.
The development of a good preshot routine can help reduce this inconsistency and lead to more consistent shot patterns.

Begin behind the ball
Rehearse any mechanics behind the ball away from the hitting station. We don’t want any mechanical thoughts when we are over the ball
As you walk into the ball place your grip precisely on the club. We don’t want player's fidgeting with their grip once they are over the ball as it increases tension.

Step into the ball finding the back of the ball with your rear foot. At the same time aim the club face behind the ball at the target.

Now bring your front foot up next to your rear foot and square to the target line. If you drop your rear foot back a step and take a small step forward with your lead foot your ball will be in the proper position.

Take a long look at your target and swing.

Repeating this pre shot routine will produce more consistent shots and lower scores
And that’s the Cleveland golf tip of the week,.

At Home Remedy to Fix your Swing Plane

2010-01-11T07:46:00.000-06:00

If you are having trouble swinging the club on the correct path and cant start the ball on line try this at-home remedy that I use daily in my teaching
First you will need:
Two mag lite flashlights
24 inch piece of PVC pipe
Bungee cord
Put one mag light in each end of the PVC pipe connected with the bungee cord. Now you are ready to fix your path!
Find yourself a seam in your driveway or garage or you can use the seam where your carpet meets your baseboard inside.
Turn on both mag light.
Make rehearsal backswings very slow, tracing the line with the bottom mag light. When the club gets to waist high and r wrist hinges you should have the butt end of the flashlight now pointing at the line you were tracing.
Repeat this over and over and no matter what path flaw you have, you will be on the way to a better swing plane

Stop Throwing the Club Head!

2010-01-05T12:27:00.001-06:00

A dewsweeper writes in that they cant stop throwing the club head at the ball. Whey know they do this and cant stop can I offer some advice for them.
Well lets first deal with why you might be throwing the club.
Often time the rt wrist for a rt handed player straightens or throws the club at the ball because the pivot motion which moves the ball around the circle stalls and centrifugal force builds up in the club head and causes the club head to pass the hands and be thrown away.
First I always like to make sure that the student has a properly developed pivot motion that can move the club around the circle.
After we have a pivot we need to educate the hands to hit the ball with a bent rt wrist and flat left.
One of the best training aids I have seen to help with this and I use it almost daily in my teaching is the key
The key is a wonderful aid to help you get the feeling of keeping your rt wrist bent.
We have some of the keys available in the dewsweepers store at dewsweepersgolfshow.com
And that’s the Cleveland golf tip of the week

Finish off a Good Round

2009-12-23T07:35:00.000-06:00

This tip comes from watching many of my students play in club tournaments which are important to them all too often they get off to a great start well on their way to a personal best only to collapse and feel dejected when they shoot a less than ideal round.
Have you ever gotten off to a great start during a round of golf? Have you ever gotten off to such a great start that you immediately started to think, "I have a chance to shoot my all time low round!" Then unfortunately a poor swing arises and mistakes are compounded and all of the good you had done with your fast start has gone away and you are left feeling frustrated and upset over a wasted chance to shoot a great score. All too often people get off to a good start and they become too aggressive and try to force the action. Players tend to start trying to force birdie putts in the hole rather than just playing golf. The lesson to learn here is to try and practice more patience on the golf course and stay in the routine and with the game plan that you have set for yourself. Just as we do not want to beat ourselves up over poor shots we also do not want to allow quick starts and good shots to cause us to abandon our strategy and force us to make poor decisions which erase the the good we have done.
So if you want to set your personal best... the next time you get off to a quick start don't get overconfident and try and force the action rather stay the course and continue along with the same strategy that had gotten you off to the quick start. If you follow this strategy I can promise that you will finish off good starts better and set more personal bests.
And that is the Cleveland golf tip of the week.

Tilters vs Turners

2009-12-06T12:05:00.000-06:00

One thing I learned early in my teaching profession was to take tilters which is the majority of golfers who are struggling and learn how to make them turners.
If you slice the the ball and/or end up on your back foot and never seem to be able to get onto your front foot at finish most likely you are tilting during your back swing. By tilting what I mean is that your front shoulder (left if you are right handed) goes down towards the ball. What is happening is that your shoulders are working in too much of an up and down movement rather than staying level and turning across and behind the ball.
The fix: Try and turn your shoulders more level and make your left shoulder feel as if it is turning straight across your body to a position that is even with or behind the ball. Try this back swing tip out and see if it doesn't help you make better back swings and hit better shots!!
Do pivot drills in front of the mirror
Place a club across your chest
Get in your posture put club across chest
Arms crossed
Turn shoulders level and over your left foot
That is the feeling of what your pivot should feel like
Practice these away from the course and see if your pivot doesn’t improve on the course and you don’t hit better furhter tee shots