For ages now I've been pulling the ball to the left. Even when I hit the ball pure and it takes off directly at the flag, it inevitably fades left off of the green, getting a bad bounce more often than not because the ball is spinning that way. If I try to compensate by aiming more to the right, the ball has an even worse fade going farther to the left than usual, like it's attached to some big invisible rubber-band snapping it back around hard.

I had a quick lesson with the golf pro this afternoon, and in no time he solved this issue by adjusting just three simple elements of my swing.

• Weaker grip, rotating my right hand ever so slightly on top so the v-shape formed by my thumb and forefinger points to my chin.
• When addressing the ball, stand a little further from the ball. I have to reach out slightly and align my back straighter up and down.
• Relax my muscles and mind, swing smoothly, making solid contact with the ball but not exaggerating it too much.

Funny how I was absolutely convinced that the pull fade was caused by a weak follow through of my arms closing the club face as I rotated. Rather than being the cause it was a result of the items above. Standing too close to the ball combined with the strong grip made it impossible to follow through high, and my pull left with the arms was because of the restricted motions of my anatomy.

If I can hold on to this three simple adjustments, ingrain the groove in my body and remain confident, I should do just fine this year, maybe even winning a couple of tournaments.