How to Fix the Two Way Miss in Golf

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Struggle with the dreaded two-way miss in golf? One shot goes right and the next goes left? Learn what causes it and a great simple drill to stop playing "Army golf"!


As golfers progress, and they get out of the over-the-top big banana slice move, they start learning how to come more from the inside and approach the ball from a path that tends to be too far from the inside. This starts leading to one thing that makes golf darn right impossible to play consistently, and that is the two-way miss. The two-way miss, for those of you that aren't familiar with this concept, first of all, consider yourselves lucky. As you get better, and you start working on things you'll start to find this is a very common next step as you progress in your golf career, is that you start figuring out little things that shallow out the swing, shallowing moves like rotations, swing a little bit more inside, more axis tilt, et cetera that start leading you to have a path that's too far from the inside.

If I was trying to hit the ball this way, and the club is approaching the ball this way, depending on what the club face angle is doing is going to determine what that ball does. If I keep the club face square to the path, I'm going to hit a 30-yard block out to the right. That's no fun. At the same point, having the same path can actually hit a shot that's going to 30 yards left of the target at the same time. It's all due to club face angle. Most golfers tend to think that when they hit a ball really hard left it's because they came way over the top. The reality is the opposite is actually true. Nine times out of 10 when you're hitting the ball left, it's because you're coming too far from the inside. When the club is swing that shallow, it has a bigger tendency to want to rotate the rote around the heel. Because of that, the club face is closing very quickly, and it's very difficult to time what that club face is doing.

The trick is one simple thing. You've got to fix your golf swing path. That's the number one thing. If you can miss it to the right and to the left, path is your worst enemy right now. You have to understand what tends to cause that path to be too far from the inside. Nine times out of 10 it's the hips driving and getting the arms stuck behind the body. The club can't get back out front until it's too late. As it works to the ball, it's still working this way because I've rotated very aggressively, and my arms have gotten trapped. There's a lot of videos on the site talking about hip spinners, and that's really what this is trying to address, is those who push really hard because as you see, if I turn my hips really hard and shift hard laterally, what happens to my spine? Now all of a sudden I've got way too much secondary access tilt coming into impact. Now the club can come way from the inside. I'm going to try and flip that puppy over as hard as I can to try and save the shot, and that's exactly where the two-way miss comes from. Your body senses the club is coming too far from the inside, and it wants to hit the ball over here, but yet you're swinging over there. Big problems are going to show up.

My favorite drill to help people get used to the feeling of bringing the club down on top of the plane, who are coming away from the inside, is working on keeping the hips very quiet at impact and keeping the right ankle, right heel down on the ground. That's the simplest and quickest way to fix this two-way miss. It's very difficult if your right foot is on the ground, and your hips are severely open, for you to create so much secondary tilt that the club drops that far under the plane. If this is you, the thing I want you to go practice is little half shots, little nine to three shots where you're just working on getting here and feeling more stacked over your joints, having your torso more stacked over your hips instead of leaned way back here.

If you're doing this a lot with the knees kicking in, and the foot is coming up in the air, the simple fix there is to combine this feeling of being stacked with your torso while keeping the foot down on the ground. You're going to practice releasing like this instead of like this. All of a sudden, you're going to find it very difficult to swing too far from the inside because your body is essentially in the way. When you clear your hips out aggressively, that's what gets them out of the way. It makes room for the arms to drop underneath and inside. That's where you start getting this slinging snap hook, push shots, et cetera.

Nine to three shots, just back, shift over, post up. For you, if you're used to getting your hips very open so much so that your heel has to come in the air every time, you're going to feel like your hips are dead square every single time. Your shoulders are going to be square with it. Your hips will most likely be way more open than you think, but if you practice this drill, you can start getting posted up and feel very anchored and solid to the ground, which is an awesome feeling. It helps you get the feeling of the club working down on top of the plane and on top of the ball instead of this. If you've got a two-way miss, go out and practice nine to three drills feeling very tall at impact, right heel on the ground the whole time, and see if that doesn't straighten out that two-way miss. 

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Lee
Hi, does this drill fit in with the GOAT theory? I've had to quit the DEAD drill due to severe inside out path. Even though Chuck keeps his hips quiet in backswing and downswing does he still get his weight on his lead side before impact? In the GOAT swing we're told to widen the wrist angle at the start of the downswing, is this what Chuck does in the Two Way Miss to help get the club on path?
February 24, 2024
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lee. Yes. You still need to get weight to the lead side. This drill will help steepen the plane because trail side push is usually the culprit causing under plane. This start to allow the face to rotate and square earlier to balance the plane/pitch of the shaft.
February 26, 2024
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dan
Great to find this video, it's exactly what I do! How many times do you suggest doing this drill to ingrain it and then how would you start to add back in the hip movement without relapsing?
April 20, 2023
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Dan. That would all depend on how ingrained the issue may be. I would typically do a 5 to 1, or 10 to 1 ratio drill swing versus normal swing. That way I can rep quality movements and test out the new movement to see how deep I would need to dive into reps.
April 21, 2023
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Rich
Was working in phase of c4 and doing pretty good. Was focusing on not grouping my left wrist when over time I stated pushing quite a few shots. Then started alternate push - pull. Couldn't figure out why I was pushing then saw this video in the faults section for pushes. Recognized that keeping the rear foot down would give me room to get my arms/hands through. Saw that Chuck had stated that point in phase 1 but I was more interested in my wrist at the time. Anyway after practicing that foot position 76 of my next 80 shots were dead center. Only 1 was a push, and not dramatic. The three lefts were also not horrible. This video really worked for me. Thx.
December 15, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Great to hear Rich! A lot of players struggle with this same move. Crucial to allow the arms to work in front and release correctly.
December 16, 2022
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Kevin
sorry Craig - one more question on this. I'm trying to clear my left hip (magic box) more to allow room for my hands to not run into my legs. If I worked on keeping my hips more closed as the video suggests wouldn't that cause more issues or is that the right foot being down longer will help quiet down the right side push (hands have no where to go in downswing)? Thanks for answering all my questions this morning
December 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. I am using this to quiet the push. Then, gradually add back in that clearing move without the aid of the trail side.
December 7, 2020
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Kevin
Craig I’ve been drilling this along with the S was squat and my tush line has really improved - my thought is that my left hip is always working back / away from the ball. This is my position just before impact and I maintained the right hip prior as well - still under plane though
December 12, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. Not that far under plane, but that is easily the best I have seen your tush line!
December 12, 2020
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Diane
So glad I came across this video! Since working on my axis-tilt and core rotation from November I have been on quite a journey. All my drives went right and with irons I either zig-zagged up the fairway or missed the ball completely - very frustrating indeed! On the plus side I was glad to hear that it's a sign of improvement and the advice given about path and keeping right heel on the ground has sorted the problem. A few other things starting to drop into place too - managing to start down earlier in transition and feeling the club pull my wrists and then also feeling the release of the club - presumably all because I now have a better path. Thanks Chuck!
April 8, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Diane. Great. I am glad you enjoyed the presentation. Sounds like you are curtailing the excessive push now.
April 8, 2019
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Giap
I struggle with a severe push. My club path is around 7-8 degrees right. What should I do?
December 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Giap. You need to diagnose why the club is so underneath. Sounds like tons of hip spin and push. Take a look at Trace the Plane, Level Shoulders and Belt Buckle Drill.
December 6, 2018
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James
Craig I have noted your comments in the review and all three drills you have pointed me to are helping. The best one I find in conjunction with the golf transition drill is this drill. As I have said my irons are the strongest part of my game but the driver can be hit and miss, rather like Chuck espouses here, the two way miss. Mostly for me when that goes wrong the real bad one is the pull hook. Working on the transition drill I am making a conscious effort to feel that in the downswing my lead shoulder is lower than the right shoulder; one query in the 9-3 swing should I feel the left shoulder going lower as I start the transition forward? The big thing though in this video is where Chuck shows you in the three quarter swing of trying to keep, not only the shoulder closed but the hips too. Also, seeing that by the time the shaft is parallel to the ground in the forward transition the left side is already stacking up plus by feeling a bit taller at impact I am starting to create some shaft lean. The one thing I have noticed though is I have to make sure that the last three fingers of the lead hand are controlling the rotation of the forearms through impact; I do have a tendency to allow the right hand to slow this action down in an attempt to try and get a bit of cupping of the right wrist. The other tip Chuck gave in the 9 to 3 drills video is the idea of dragging the club back in a somewhat floppy motion is helping the create more lag as my left side starts the transition forward. When I get all the parts together I do feel that I am right over the impact position and checking myself in a good stacked position with slight shaft lean. Craig what I have done is to splay my lead foot a bit more open and this helps me to get my lead leg posted up better without any issues around the knee and femur.
November 7, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. The feeling maybe that the lead shoulder stays lower than the right. Similar to the Level Shoulders Drill when transitioning. And, your objective is to keep that lead arm going. The splay is certainly fine to help out with the knee/femur issue. Sounds like you have a good plan how to start getting us into that elusive shaft lean spot.
November 7, 2018
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James
Hi Craig further to the above I was beginning to feel good about this but I was then starting to feel some strain on my left hip! On studying my self in front of a mirror I noticed I was overdoing the left hip bump-shift. On looking at Chucks position at impact in dawned on me that he was more leaning into the shot with his lead shoulder over his left heel in a good stacked position at impact. So worked more in getting myself into the that sort position and physically feeling myself lean into the shot I immediately felt more comfortable (no strain on my left hip) and was looking more balanced and stacked over the ball. Can't wait to get out to check it hitting balls but the weather is so damn lousy with constant rain and strong winds and looks set to continue into the weekend!! Come on Gods give me a break!!
November 7, 2018
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James
To explain what was happening I attached a capture of Chuck's impact alignment. I have indicated Chuck's stacked position with the red line and mine with the green line to show that prior to what I was doing before getting more into a lean position as Chuck does. It is only a feeling I am talking about, I am not actually physically leaning towards the target line.
November 7, 2018
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Dan
How open should my hips beat impact?
September 6, 2018
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Howard (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Dan. Ideally you're looking for hips open between 30 and 45 degrees with shoulders more or less square at impact.
September 6, 2018
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Carver
Is there an optimal range of the swing path? I have reduced the in to out from from 6 deg to less than 2. My biggest problem now is a closed club face which seems to only get better when the right hand grip pressure eases through impact. Make sense?
September 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Carver. Makes sense. The trail hand is trying to force the club shut. Less trail hand pressure/influence on the rotation of the face will help. Less than 2 degrees is pretty solid. Ideally, zero would be the target. But, a lot of instructors argue back and forth whether that is ideal for a players consistency. If you are in the ball park of less than 2. You should be doing fine.
September 6, 2018
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Amaury
Definitely a hip spinner. I’m practicing 3 times weekly about an hour and a half, how many swings, how many times daily or weekly would you recommend this drill? Is there weight transfer in the 9-3 drill and would you recommend trying different clubs?
September 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Amaury. Yes, there is weight transfer. But, you need to feel everything quieter. You may try different club, but shorter irons will be easier to control. I would say 100 perfect reps in any session as many times per week as you can.
September 6, 2018
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Robert
Perfect. Should fix the only big problem I have with the new swing. Can't wait to put this into practice. Thanks!!
September 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Robert. Great and get that big problem conquered.
September 6, 2018
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Robert
Driving range says "yes, you can fix this." Hit a 6 iron straight and true for 15 shots. Now let's see if it works where it really matters - on the links!
September 10, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Robert. It may take a little time for the movement pattern to ingrain. But, the course will start to show up.
September 10, 2018
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