As I observe the vast majority of mid- to high-handicap golfers, I see the same approach to striking a golf ball, that is an over-reliance on their natural eye-hand coordination. Maybe that starts with the notion that the game is “right-handed” for most golfers, so they feel that this dominant hand is the driving force in the golf swing. (For you 8-9 percent of golfers that play “left-handed,” you likely do that because your left hand is your master hand, correct?)

The simple fact is this: as long as you approach striking a golf ball as a “hit” with your master hand, rather than a swing led by your body core and lead side, it is not likely you will ever achieve consistency or reach your full potential.

When I used to give wedge seminars to custom clubfitters, I had a little exercise that was fun and enlightening. I would have a volunteer from the audience come up and sign their name on my flip chart with a marker pen. Then I would hand them a wedge with a marker pen taped to the hosel and ask them to do that again, but this time holding the grip of the wedge with their hand and signing from that distance away.

You would be surprised at how hard this is because the length of the shaft is an error magnifier. Typically, those two signatures bore very little resemblance. So, if you cannot even sign your name – one of the most familiar things you do with your master hand – from 35 inches away, what are your chances of returning the club to the ball in exactly the same manner time after time?

One of the key fundamentals of the golf swing is that it is much more of a backhanded effort than most golfers realize. No matter which side of the ball you play from, the front side of your body has to lead the swing. For right-handers, that means the entire left side has to be stronger through the ball than your right side. This is tough, because as right-handers, that is our underdeveloped side, both in strength and coordination. We subconsciously are going to go with our stronger, more reliable right side.

Because the golf swing is a back-handed motion, we need to fully engage our body core to generate power and clubhead speed. Once you understand and begin to groove that core-driven rotation/pulling motion of the golf swing, you can add increasingly more master hand power to improve your distance and consistency. The master hand “assists” the lead side, rather than dominates it.

Understand that your lead side is likely underdeveloped as compared to your master hand, so it will take more focus to keep it stronger and in a lead position throughout the swing.

But this is a simple “ah-ha” thing to experience. All you have to do is step out into your back yard and swing a club with your lead hand only. You’ll very quickly find that you’ll use your body core rotation to push the club away into the backswing, and then rotate forward to pull the club through the impact zone and into a full follow-through. It’s almost a self-teaching exercise in feeling what a true golf “swing” feels like.

Once you get the feel of that core rotation/pulling action, you can lightly place your master back on the grip — but leave your thumb and forefinger totally off the club, holding it only in the middle two fingers of your right hand — lightly. That will keep your master hand from taking over.

If you are a mid- to high-handicap golfer and are really interested in making the jump to lower scores, this is the most fundamental change in your approach to golf that you can make. I would love to hear from all of you about this.

Hit some shots and watch what happens. I think you’ll be surprised.