gi golf swing

7/27/2019 GI Golf Swing

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WEEK 1

I have taken this information, along with my ownpersonal experiences as a player and a teacherand molded them into my own personal way ofcommunication.

My goal is to educate you on proper fundamentalsand guide you to an efficient way of learning andpracticing them. We will start by learning thegame from the “ground up”, so to speak. It’simportant to learn to walk before you run,especially when learning golf, so you don’t fall intobad habits that are difficult to change. For those ofyou who already have swing flaws that you wouldlike to change, I will show you, what I feel, is themost efficient way to change existing habits.

Our first subject (next week) will begin withlearning the fundamentals of the short game. I’velearned from experience and working withthousands of students that understanding andgrasping the concept of a complex motion like thegolf swing is facilitated when broken down to itssimplest form(s). The story I’m about to share withyou will help you understand why learning thefundamentals and motions of the short game,before jumping into the full-swing, are soimportant. It is also an experience that has

shaped my own understanding of how to make achange and has since helped positively impactmany of my students (both touring professionalsas well as amateurs).

Dating back about 25 years ago, I was at thedriving range hitting balls with my good friendGary Nicklaus and his dad, Jack Nicklaus. JackGrout, Mr. Nicklaus’s life-long swing coach, wasthere and working with Mr. Nicklaus on a‘backswing’ change. The next morning at about7:00 a.m., Gary and I were heading out in the boatto go fishing. Mr. Nicklaus was already up andpracticing his short game (in their back yard).When Gary and I returned late that evening, about6:00 p.m., Mr. Nicklaus was still in the same placethat I last saw him, hitting chips and pitches. I

asked him if he had gone over to the range topractice what he and Mr. Grout had worked on theday before. He said, “No Jimmy, I’ve been here allday. I took about an hour for lunch but I haven’tleft.” I questioned him, “Mr.

Nicklaus, you had a lesson yesterday on your full-swing. Why are you still here working on your shortgame? Don’t you want to go practice what Mr.Grout was trying to get you to do yesterday withyour backswing?” He said, “I am! How can I expectto make the change in my full-swing if I can’t do ithere (hitting chips and pitches)?” I said, “Well…areyou getting it?” He said, “Almost! I think bytomorrow sometime I should be ready to take it tothe range and try some longer swings.”

Wow! If that doesn’t hit home, I don’t know whatwill. Arguably the greatest player of all timeunderstood and accepted how difficult it is to makea change. He explained to me that the mostproficient way (for him) to make a swing changewas to practice it with a length of swing and at aspeed that allowed him to truly feel what he wastrying to do. Once he felt the change and was ableto consistently repeat it with success, he thengradually bumped up to longer and faster swings. Itmakes perfect sense. When you are making fullswings, which usually is at a much faster swingspeed than when you are chipping or pitching, howdo you really know if you are accomplishing whatyou’ve set out to change?

A beginner taking up the game for the fi rst time ora player who doesn’t seem to be able to improveneeds to follow the same concept. The short gameprinciples and fundamentals are really no differentthan the principles of the full swing; the swings aresimply shorter and slower with less body motion.Over the next few weeks, as you become proficientwith the foundation(s) of putting, chipping andpitching, we will move into longer and fasterswings. And if you practice the drills and exercisesthat I will give you along the way, I promise you willhave the foundation and knowledge to take thisgame as far as you want. From there, it’s just likeanything in life — the more you put into it, the moreyou will get out of it.

I look forward to the next several weeks and

helping you develop a game for a lifetime. We’llkeep it simple, and we’ll make it fun because afterall, it is merely a game.



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Last week, I discussed the agenda for the nextseveral weeks and shared with you the importance oflearning the fundamentals from the ground up. Ishared with you how important it is to build your gameby learning fundamentals progressively, starting with

the short game and working your way into the full-swing. Before we delve into the fundamentals of theshort game and work our way up, I feel it isimperative to understand how to properly train andpractice so you can expedite the learning curveahead of you and get the most out of your practicesessions.

It would be negligent on my part if I didn’t forewarnyou about the reality that lies ahead, and I certainlydon’t want to intimidate you if this course is yourintroduction to the game, but I simply want to prepareyou for what everyone else who has ever played thegame already knows — golf is one of the mostdifficult games to master. The good news is that Ihave seen and worked with many golfers with verylittle athletic ability to become fantastic golfers. One of

the main reasons why golf is so difficult is because itis one of the few sports in which the ball is not movingwhile you are playing it. Most of the other sports thatinvolve some type of a ball and some sort of aninstrument, like a racket or a bat, the object ball ismoving and you must react to it. In my opinion, this isthe very reason why golf can be so challenging,especially to those who have played other sports.

However, once you understand that the mainobjective, in every aspect of the game, is to executethe swing and/or the motion of the swing and NOT hitat the golf ball, then you will be way ahead of thosewho do not understand that concept. Have you everheard a golf professional say, “Just let the ball get inthe way of your swing”? Well if so, that piece of

advice is invaluable. We do not have control of theball nor do we have control of what will happen oncethe ball has left the clubface. All we really havecontrol of is the swing or the motion required to sendthe ball a certain direction, distance or trajectory. Thismay sound quite obvious, but I can assure you it iseasier said than done.

Most of you already know, learning anything newcan feel extremely foreign. And for those of you whohave already played golf for a while or have had alesson or two, you already know how frustrating thisgame can be. Conversely, golf is and should be a fungame. I will do my best to help make learning thegame fun and assist you in expediting the learningcurve. I’m not saying it won’t require practice andputting some time in, for that should go without

saying, because we all know that to be good atanything you must put some time into it.

I have learned from some of the best players inthe world and from personal experience that whenpracticing a change or learning a new technique, itrequires more quality practice time than it doesquantity. What I mean by this is your practice time

should be spent making more practice rehearsalswings than it does hitting balls. The worst thingyou can do is to hit one ball after another withoutworking on and repeating the new motion betweenballs. My recommendation is to be disciplinedenough to make at least three to five slow motionpractice swings per ball, rehearsing the newmotion. When youdo make a swing with the ball there, do not worryabout or have any expectations with the outcome ofthe shot; simply focus on the motion and let the ballget in the way. Success, when learning somethingnew, should be defined by the motion and whetheror not you have accomplished the motion you’veset out to do, NOT where the ball goes. I canassure you, if you base success on the outcome ofthe shot, then you will most likely become

frustrated. Obviously, our ultimate goal is to hit theball in the direction of our intended target, but whenlearning or changing something new, please letyour sole focus be on the motion and/or techniqueitself and not the result. I have seen somesignificant changes with my students when workingindoors and while hitting into a net 10 feet in front ofthem. This is because they know they will not seethe ball flight or outcome of the shot, so thereforethey have no expectations. This mentally freesthem up and allows them to completely focus onthe swing or the change. Many people are tooconcerned about where the ball goes or if someoneis watching that they never truly allow themselvesto trust or focus on the new motion. Once you allowyourself to do this, you will be surprised as to how

quickly you can make a change or learn a newswing.

This brings me to my last piece of advice — theone who is willing to feel the most uncomfortableand exaggerate will be the one who makes thequickest and greatest improvement. If it feelscomfortable right away, chances are you are doingthe same thing as you have always done. Changinga habit or learning something new will always feeluncomfortable at first, but with repetition,exaggeration and the willingness to feeluncomfortable, the new changes and habits willdevelop much sooner.

I look forward to next week when we can applythese concepts into learning the fundamentals.

Remember, keep it simple and have fun. I’l l seeyou next week.



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The first skill that should be taught to anyone firstlearning the game is the putting stroke. It is thesimplest swing/motion to learn from a mechanic’s

standpoint and accounts for approximately 40percent of your score. On tour, it is the differencebetween winning and taking second place orbetween making the cut and going home. Goodputting is merely an ability to consistently roll theball the right distance at the right speed. If you cando that consistently, it makes no difference how youdo it. If you are

inconsistent or a “streaky” putter, thenthe following

tips may help you.Having the proper pre-swing fundamentals prior toany golf shot significantly increases your chances ofexecuting the shot well, and putting is no exception.However it is one aspect of the game that does allowfor some personal variances. The followingfundamentals are what I see most tour players do. Iuse the tour players as models because they aresimply the best at achieving results, especially inpressure situations.

Stance Stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart. You’ll see narrower and/or wider stances on tour,but the goal we are trying to achieve here is stability. It is important when making a stroke that your lowerbody remains perfectly. Add some flex to your knees for stability and balance.

A good tip for stabilizing your lower body during the stroke is to focus on not letting yourknees move. Make some practice strokes and watch your knees during the stroke. If they move, thentighten your knee muscles. This will help you prevent them from moving during the stroke, but be sure tokeep everything else above the waist relaxed.

Posture Bend from the hip enough to allow your eyes to bedirectly over the ball. I see a lot of guys on tour withtheir eyes slightly (an inch or two) to the inside of theball, but a general rule is that your ability to see theline improves when your eyes are directly over theball or the target line.

You’ll know if your eyes are over the ball if youallow your putter to hang down directly underyour eyes (left). You can also verify where youreyes are by placing a golf ball on top of a mirrorplaced on the ground. There are plenty of puttingmirrors on the market that are very helpful forthis.

Grip The putting grip is another pre-swing fundamentalthat can be very personal, as there are many effectiveways to place your hands on the club. There seemsto be one common characteristic that I see most oftenamong tour players — they place their hands on the

club in such a fashion that allows the shaft of the club to be an extension of their forearms. This is achievedby fitting the putting grip slightly into the lifeline of your lead hand. (below, right)



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AimAiming your putterface well is extremely important.If your aim is off then it will require compensation inthe stroke to get the ball to go in the direction you

are looking. The things that will help you aim wellare (1) aligning the logo of the ball to the target (youcan buy one of the golf ball alignment tools on themarket that work great for this), or (2) having youreyes directly over the ball, (3) setting up with youreyes, arms and shoulders square, (4) using a putterthat fits your eyes, and (5) it is helpful to use aputter that already has lines painted on the putter.

If your tendency is to aim yourputterface too far to the left of the target (for righthanded golfers), then try to do your aiming withthe ball toward the back of your stance, and thenstep into the stance. If your tendency is to aim tothe right, then try to aim the putter with the ball

more forward in your stance.

AlignmentThe important thing here is to have your eyes,shoulders and forearms parallel to the target line.

Look at your profile in a mirror and try to get both your profile and the mirror in line with eachother. Try to remember the new feel and know your tendencies. This is critical to good putting.

Ball Position The main thing to understand about ballposition while putting is not so much where

the ball is positioned relative to your feetbut where it is relative to the bottom of yourarc. The bottom of the arc is opposite yoursternum if your shoulders are level. If youlike to stand with your weight balanced 50-50 on each foot (right) then the back of theball should be in the middle of your stanceopposite your sternum. If you like to leanslightly so you have more weight over yourforward leg, then you need to move the ball



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position up in your stance and toward your forward foot accordingly. (far right, above)

The Stroke To keep it simple, think about the stroke as having the same characteristics as a pendulum. Equal back —equal through with the pace of the backswing and the through swing remaining the same. It is helpful topractice with a metronome. Find a beat that you’re comfortable with and try to match the backswing andthrough-swing to the beat. If you can match the beat for all lengths of putts, you’ll discover that as the puttgets longer not only does the length of the stroke get longer, but the pace of the stroke increases as well forboth the backswing and the through-swing.

The best putting trainer on the market is The Putting Arc. It will help you understand and feelthe correct path the putter should swing on as well as how to keep the face square to the arc.

Once you have become proficient with these fundamentals, I would strongly recommend developing aroutine. Although a routine is personal, one that I have seen work well for many tour players is as follows:Always walk into your stance from behind the ball, keeping the ball directly in line from you and yourintended target. Then set up adjacent to the ball and parallel to the intended target line, approximately 2inches from the ball. Make two to three practice strokes while looking at the intended target and not theputter or the stroke. The reason for this is that it frees your mind up to focus on how much swing (stroke)you need and not on the mechanics of the stroke. Once you feel you’ve rehearsed the appropriate stroke,then move up to the ball, get comfortable, look at the target a couple of times and pull the trigger. It doesn’tmatter how many times you look at the target before you are ready to pull the trigger. What’s important isthat you pull the trigger immediately after your last look. The focus should be having a vivid picture of thetarget and the distance in your mind’s eye during the stroke.

Remember, keep it simple and make it fun.



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The introduction to a sound golf swing begins with understanding the proper fundamentals of chipping. Goodchipping leads to good pitching and good pitching leads to good ball striking. I often hear amateurs say, “I’d ratherbe in the rough than in the fairway because it’s easier to get the club under the ball,” or “I’d love to be able tomake the ball stop or spin l ike the pros do.” Well, the solution to both comments is the same — a properly struckball, whether you’re chipping, pitching or 175 yards out in the fairway, requires the clubhead to be descending intothe back of the ball. The exception to that is if the ball is sitting up and there is plenty of cushion underneath it,similar to a driver off a tee or a ball sitt ing up in the rough. In these situations, you want to make a swing that ismore sweeping than descending.

Consciously trying to hit down on the ball, however, often promotes a recipe for disaster. It creates tension in thehands or a change of grip pressure that can cause the clubhead to release too early and pass the hands at orbefore impact. This is referred to as ‘casting’ or ‘throwing’ the club and it often results in fat shots (the clubheadhitting the ground before the ball) or thin shots. Another common preconceived notion that can cause theclubhead to pass the hands before impact is the act of trying to slide the clubhead underneath the ball. A properlystruck ball, whether you’re chipping or hitting a shot from the fairway, does require the clubhead to be descendingas it makes contact, but the focus should be to let the club release to the bottom of the arc by brushing or nippingthe grass just ahead of the ball and simply by letting the ball get in the way. In other words, if you understand thatthe bottom of the arc is in front of the ball and your club happens to make contact with the ball on its way to thebottom, then you can make a descending blow without ever consciously trying to hit down on the ball.

Now that we understand the basic concept of how a ball is to be struck, let’s apply it to chipping. Chipping is trulya mini golf swing. It doesn’t require a full backswing or through swing but the impact conditions are almostidentical — the weight is forward, the hands are slightly ahead, there’s a descending blow and the body pivots orturns through the shot. Chipping is the perfect motion to learn these essentials because it is a small, short swingwith very little speed.

The four keys to chipping: pre-swing, understanding where the bottom of the arc is, turning or pivotinglevel through the shot and swinging from high to low

PRE-SWING

A) Set up with a narrow and open stance. Notice that my feet are close together and my leftfoot is slightly pulled back and open. The reasonfor this stance is that i t promotes an easy pivot.

The only reason to widen the stanceshould be to support the length/widthof the swing. The narrower the stance,the easier it is to sync the pivot withthe arm swing. As the swing getslonger and wider on both sides, youmust widen the stance to support itand to remain balanced.



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B) “Measure out to the shot.” Measuring out to the shot is another way to say, “Allow the club to fit you; don’t you try to fit the club.” Whenyou place your hands on the club, don’t simply grip it wherever you would like. The lie you have and where theball is relative to your feet should always determine where you place your hands on the club. To know whereyour hands should be placed on the club, bend from the hip with slight knee flex and let your arms hangstraight down.With good posture and your arms relaxed and hanging, fit the club into your hands without compromisingeither your posture or how your arms hang. This is measuring out to the shot. Uneven lies require you to placeyour hands onto the grip in a dif ferent place each time. If the ball is above your feet and your arms arehanging relaxed, you will be choking down on the club more than you would if the ball is below or even withyour feet.

You should measure out to every single shot you ever hit. If you don’t, thenyou will either have to compromise your setup or your swing to hit the shot.Make sure your shoulders and hips are level or parallel to the ground. This iscrucial because it will allow the club to swing on the correct arc (tangent to theslope) and will promote a level turn through the shot.



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(2) Understand where the bottomof the arc is One of the most important concepts you may ever learn forconsistently making solid contact is to understand where the bottomof the arc is (relative to the ball, your stance, the ball position andyour body) and to recognize your tendencies that could alter it. Tokeep it simple, visualize the bottom of the arc as being locatedopposite the center of your your sternum.

Notice how I have leaned my upper torso (head and chest) over myforward leg. I now feel that my weight distribution is about 60-70percent on my forward leg, and my head is forward to the ball.

If your shoulders and hips remain level through the shot, the clubshould always bottom out opposite your center (sternum). So if youpre-set your center (head and chest) ahead of the ball, and youdon’t do anything during the swing to alter it, then you will naturallymake a descending blow, without consciously trying to hit down, asthe club makes contact with the ball on i ts way to the bottom of thearc.

(3) Turn level I’ve already mentioned this a few times, but I can’t emphasizeenough how important it is to turn level through the shot. Youmust first set up with your shoulders and hips level or parallelto the ground, as this sets the tone. You should make plentyof practice swings feeling both your lower torso and uppertorso gently pivot toward your forward leg to be perfectbalanced.

Notice how level my hips have turned through the shot.

If you finish with your forward hip higher than your rear hip,your spine will fall backwards causing you to bottom out earlyor hit the ball in the belly (thin). You should always feel 95percent or more of your weight over your forward leg whenyou finish.



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Allow the right knee to move toward the leftknee and let the right foot roll inward. Youshould be able to hold your follow-through,completely balanced over your forward leg, untilthe ball stops rolling. You should be able to pickup your back foot off the ground and stil l notlose your balance.

(4) High to low Chipping should be thought of as a low trajectory shot. If you finish low, the trajectory will be low. But the ball willpop up into the air high enough if you use a lofted club.

Visualize the club going up on the way back (high) and down (low) into the finish. Try to finish with a low andabbreviated low follow-through. This will not only help you make solid contact, but it also promotes a level turnthrough the shot.

Make plenty of practice swings before each shot and pay close attention to where the club bottoms out. Know thatyou can consistently hit the ground in the same place at least two or three times before stepping into the shot andletting the ball get in the way. Also please practice chipping a bunch because it will undoubtedly make pitchingmuch easier.

All the best for good golf!



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In last week's topic on chipping, we discussed the importance of understanding where the bottom of the arc is,and even though we move farther away from the hole when pitching, the bottom of the arc does not change. It is

still slightly ahead of the ball, and the club should naturally descend into the back of the ball as it makes its wayto the bottom of the arc. As the distance to the hole increases, the clubhead speed must also increase. In orderfor the clubhead speed to increase, the length of the swing must increase as well.

Keep in mind that just because we move farther away fromthe hole doesn't mean we need to increase our effort level.The physics of making a longer, wider swing naturallyincreases clubhead speed. Keep the same rhythm andtempo and you'll be much more consistent.

Assuming the same club is used and the ball ishit in the center of the face, there is really onlyone thing that must change for the ball to godifferent distances — SPEED. As we move intoour topic of pitching, all we are really doingdifferently from chipping is making a longerbackswing to help us generate more clubheadspeed. So for this week's lesson, we will discussthe necessities to support a longer and fasterswing.

Stance As the swing gets longer, the stance needs to get wider. Becausethe upper torso turns more as the swing gets longer, the stancemust widen enough to support it. If your feet are too close togetherand open (as they were for chipping) you will not have enoughstability and balance to support the turn. Be careful not to get toowide either, because it will hinder your ability to pivot or turn withyour arms in sync through the shot.

A simple rule to remember is that yourstance should only be wide enough tosupport the length of the backswingwhile maintaining balance.

Ball Position The ball position can vary a bit depending onthe desired trajectory, but a rule of thumbwhen hitting a pitch is to play the ball positionnear the center of your stance, using yourheels as your reference points.

Backswing

Keep in mind that our objective is to make aswing only long enough for the desired shot.I often see many amateurs making too shortor too long of a backswing with these shots,and by doing so, your natural rhythm andpace become compromised.Wrist hinge is absolutely critical. A rule ofthumb is to have a full wrist hinge when yourhandle is chest high.



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Notice that my wrists have fully hinged, the handsare about chest high, and my arms have swung backonly as far as I have turned. This relationship (of myarms moving the same distance as my turn) isimportant with all shots, because if your armscontinue moving back without the support of yourturn, it will hinder your timing and your ability to stayconnected as you move forward. Also notice that my

lower body is relatively stable, my back knee is stillslightly flexed and I feel very balanced.

Through-swingThe feeling many tour players have through the shotis that the body, arms and hands all move together.A drill I often use to illustrate this relationship is “thebucket drill.”

Use a range basket or any bucket and hold it in thisposition. The idea is to pretend it is heavy and full ofwater. The goal is to make a mini-swing and pretendto throw the water out of the bucket to the left of thetarget, in the direction of where your back left pocketpoints at address. You must

throw or pretend to throw the water no higher than chest high and do so without letting your arms move morethan your turn.

If you do it correctly, you will feel your arms and body staying connected throughout the finish.



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Notice how my body has turned through the shot. My chest is facing the target, and I feel perfectly balanced overmy left leg. Also notice how my right knee is almost touching my left knee and my right foot has rolled up andinward. This enables me to stand at almost 100 percent of my weight over my forward leg.

The more you use your abdominal muscles, the easier this will be. In fact, I'm sure you have heard all therecent talk about core strengthening. Well I can tell you, it is absolutely critical in golf, or in any sport for thatmatter, to have a strong core. The inner abdominal muscles are the source of all energy, and they must beengaged throughout every physical act you do to get the most out of it. You should engage your inner

abdominal muscles (naval to spine) at address before every shot you ever hit. If you have never done so, Iurge you to go to a mirror, look at your profile and check your posture as though you are addressing the golfball. Once you feel you are ready, look back at the mirror and pull your naval toward your spine with yourabdominal muscles. You will not only see your posture improve but you will immediately feel more athletic andbalanced.



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Over the last couple of weeks, I've discussed some chipping and pitching motions that are essential to a soundgolf swing. As we work our way into longer and fuller swings, I want to share with you a few full-swing drills thataddress the most common swing flaws high-handicap golfers develop.If you prefer the ball to always be sitting up with plenty of cushion underneath it, and/or you fear tight liesbecause you often hit them fat or thin, then you most likely “cast” or “throw” the club. It is by far the most commonswing fault the higher handicapper has and is the main reason why he struggles with consistency. “Casting” iswhen the club is released too early from the top of the swing or when the trail hand, arm or shoulder becomesoveractive too early in the downswing. This instinctive nature to “ hit at the ball” is why it is difficult to makeconsistent, solid contact. It is also the main contributor for a powerless swing, a swing that does not hit the ballvery far.

I'm not sure who coined the phrase “Let the ball get in the way of your swing,” but he definitely hit it right on themoney. It is also much easier said than done, but once it's achieved, it is then that you will understand what agolf ball should feel like when coming off the clubface. I believe the common cause of casting is that the balldoes not move during the swing and so often times, one's unconscious motion is to hit at the ball. If you reallythink about it, we have no control of the golf ball. All we have control over is the motion of the swing. If we make

a good swing, the odds of the ball getting in the way are usually pretty good.

The following drills are a couple of my favorites to eliminate casting:

This drill is designed to eliminate or minimize casting by working toward the opposite tendency. Most of the t ime,exaggerating or doing the opposite gives you the best chance for success when making a change.

Note: If you do not “cast,” then this drill is not for you.

First, turn the club upside down and position your grip overthe shaft of the club, slightly above the clubhead. Thereason for doing this is because it will help you hear thesound of the swish louder and better than you would if youwere holding the club as you normally would. Make half of abackswing with a full wrist hinge and hold this position for afew seconds to gather your thoughts on what you will betrying to do next. Your objective is to make a swing that willgenerate a swish (the sound of the shaft swishing) well intothe follow–through.



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Notice how I've maintained my wrist hinge. In order for me to create a late swish, I must retain the angle of mywrists as long as possible and release the club as late as possible. My lower body has unwound and turned

through, while my arms, wrists and upper torso have stayed behind. Holding the angle of my wrist hinge this lateinto the swing enables me to generate a tremendous amount of “late” speed. The longer I hold back my armsand wrists, the later in the swing I can create the speed or swish.

Here, I've finally released the club, evident by mystraight “arm–club” relationship. I want to continue thefollow-through until the club touches my back. This willensure a full follow–through.

Do this drill while first holding the club upside down, asI have demonstrated, and then turn it back and do thesame drill while holding the club as you normallywould. Repeat several times until you are completelyaware of how you made the swish late in your swing.



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This drill is a through-swing oriented motion. I do not want you to think about the “How to,” but rather the “Whereto.”

Initially start this drill with a paused, half backswing and then work into a full back-swing.You will need to eliminate all the tension from your arms and hands to achieve this full finish.

Notice the club touching my back. I do not want you to focus on late swishing here. I merely want your attentionto be at the finish of your swing. The goal here is to literally build enough clubhead speed on the follow-throughthat the momentum of the shaft bounces off your back. Often t imes a “caster” will find it difficult to ever evencomplete his through-swing.

Both of these drills are designed to take away your tendency to hit at the ball and focus your attention on thefinish of the swing. If done correctly, you will notice there must be a tremendous amount of freedom in the handsand arms, and the clubhead speed must build later during the swing. Though these drills are easier to do withouta ball, the more you do them, the easier it will be to avoid casting. Practice them enough, and you just might letthe ball get in the way when and where it should during your swing.



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A well-executed wrist hingesets the tone for numerousfunctions of the golf swing.It not only influences theplane of the backswing butalso determines whetherthe clubface will be square,open or closed during andat the top of the backswing.The wrist hinge is also oneof the leading componentsthat contributes to theoverall speed of the golfswing.

A prerequisite to a properwrist hinge is making surethe club is placed in the

forward hand and fingerscorrectly.

Notice how the

grip fits acrossthe hand andfingers at an

angle and justunder the pad

of the hand.

Notice how the grip fits across the hand and fingers at an angle and just under the pad of the hand. Thisensures that the majority of the grip will fit into the fingers at a slight angle.

The more you feel the grip in the base of your fingers theeasier (and more) you can hinge the wrist. The more the clubfits into the palm of the hand, the more difficult it is toproperly hinge.

The wrist hinge heavily influences the following: -The plane of the backswing-The clubface-Clubhead speed

Notice the slight cup inmy forward wrist at address.

There are many factorsthat influence a goodbackswing plane, but awell-executed wrist hingesets the tone and gives youa good chance to have theclub swing up on-plane.

As the wrists begin tohinge, make sure youmaintain the originalamount of cup you have inyour forward wrist.

Notice the slight cup in my

forward wrist at address.Everyone should havesome cup in his or herforward wrist. The strongerthe grip, the more cup inyour wrist you will have. Itdoesn't matter how muchcup you have in your wristat address. What matters isthat you keep it throughoutyour entire backswing.



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If you loose the cup (in the forwardwrist) as you swing the club away, theclub will get behind you, a true recipefor disaster indeed. Notice that theoriginal amount of cup I had in thewrist is gone.

If you increase (the angle of) thecup, the club will get too vertical.This also spells trouble becausethe club will get too vertical.

If you maintain the sameamount of cup in the forwardwrist as it hinges, the clubshould remain in front of youand on-plane.

Rehearse swinging the club back to chest high with thewrists fully hinged. It's at this point of the swing that I'dlike to see the wrists fully hinged.

It's important that your upper torso turns with youas you do this. Once you have mastered this chest-high swing, all you need to do to complete theswing is complete your turn.

Maintaining the amount of cup you have in your forward wrist not only promotes an “on-plane” backswing, butit also assures a square clubface during the backswing. It is really quite simple to understand. Place yourhands on any club as you normally do and look down at the face of the clubhead to make sure the face issquare. If you add cup to your forward wrist, you will notice that you have just opened the face. Flatten yourwrist (decrease the amount of cup), and you will shut/close the clubface. Once your hands are on the club, thiswrist-to-clubface relationship needs to remain constant regardless of where it is during the swing.



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So, if during your backswing youhave added cup and opened theface, it will be difficult to square theface by the time your club getsback to the ball, resulting in thetendency to hit slices.

Conversely, if you bow or flatten yourwrist during the backswing, you willshut or close the face, and yourtendency will be to hit hooks.

If you keep the sameamount of cup youstarted with, the face willremain square. A squareface at the top of thebackswing gives youyour best chance toreturn it back (to the ball)

square.

Keeping it simple, the more angle you can create, as with a full wrist hinge and the longer you can maintain it,the faster the hands will release the club through impact. The faster the clubhead is traveling through impact,the farther the ball will go. Many other athletic endeavors are similar.

Think about the familiar motion of throwing a ball. Imagine how far you'd be able to throw a ball if you couldnot move or snap the wrist back or forward of your throwing arm. You would have to exert the wrong musclesand use up unnecessary energy to throw the ball any distance. Well, the same thing happens when you don'tfully hinge your wrists during the backswing — you will be forced to exert effort in all the wrong places and stillwon't be able to generate much clubhead speed.

So, in conclusion, this week's simple lesson is to strive to develop and perfect the wrist hinge. Once you canconsistently do this, your swing will become easier to perfect as well.



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The path in which the club is swung either directly or indirectly influences one's ability to achieve a desired ballflight. If your swing path is too steep or is from out-to-in, your tendency will be to hit “pulls,” “cuts” or even thedreaded “slice.” If your swing path approaches the ball too much from the inside or underneath the proper swingplane, your tendency will be to hit “pushes,” “draws” or even “hooks.”

In a simple explanation, what you need to understand is if the swing path is too steep, your ability to square theclubface with your hands and arms is restricted. This usually leaves you with an open clubface at impact. Anopen face equates to a fade, cut or "SLICE," depending on how much it is open. I f the face does happen tosquare up with this swing path, the result usually is a "PULL," or sometimes a “pull-hook.”

Conversely, when the club is swung from underneath the correct swing plane or too far from the inside, yourhands and arms, if they are relaxed, will have an involuntary tendency to rotate too quickly and cause theclubface to close prematurely prior to impact, thus causing a "HOOK." If your grip pressure is too tight, the facemay not close down and result in a "PUSH."

Sometimes, the simplest way to cure an incorrect swing path is to practice hitting balls on slopes, which I will goover in the drills below.

If your tendency is to swing the club down too steep (or from out to in), then practice hitting balls with the ballabove your feet. This will encourage you to shallow out your path. If your swing is steep, with the ball above yourfeet, it will be difficult to make solid contact because you will likely hit the ground first. Practice this lie until youcan learn to either pick the ball off the slope or take a shallow divot after the ball.

Make several baseball swings to learn an exaggerated (ball above the feet) “feel” prior tohitting this shot. Then, make a handful of practice swings at 50-percent effort trying tobrush the grass.



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If you hit pushes and hooks, then position theclub underneath or inside the correct swingpath. An ideal practice station is to hit balls on aslope with the ball below your feet.

This lie requires a steeper swing just to makecontact. Notice how the club swings to the lefton my through-swing. This would be difficult toachieve if the club was too far to the insidewhile coming down.



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Try to make a through-swing and have the cub finish at anangle across your head/neck/spine as I have done here.

Using slopes to practice can benefit all golfers. Learning to makesolid contact with the ball above and below your feet willsignificantly improve your ball-striking because the presence of theslope will give you an immediate awareness of your swing path.



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I’d like to share with you some swing thoughts and drills that benefit both the higher-handicap golfer and tourplayers alike. The following are some of my favorite drills and thoughts that will help your overall golf swing, bodymotion and timing, without concern to mechanics. Often times we get so caught up in positions and the how to

facet of the swing that we forget about feel and simply applying our own athletic ability. More times than not,when our focus is on the where to, the mechanics fall into place without any technical thoughts. This is when youcan just play golf instead of trying to play the golf swing.

“Swing the weight of the clubhead.”This is a swing thought Mr. Nicklaus taught me when I was a kid. He told methat whenever he got into trouble during a round and couldn’t find his swing,that this was his “go-to” swing thought.

Pick up a club and make your normal swing. Tell me if you can feel the weightof the clubhead swinging from start to finish. I’m not talking about the overallweight of the club. I ’m referring to the specific weight of the head. Chancesare if you’re like 98 percent of the golfers I work with, you hold it too tight tofeel the weight of the head. If this is the case, continue to loosen your grippressure and make practice swings until you can feel the weight of the head

become heavy enough that you can feel exactly where it is throughout yourentire swing, from start to finish. Mr. Nicklaus put it this way, “What hits theball is the clubhead…If you don’t know where it is (throughout the swing), howcan you expect to consistently apply it to the back of the ball?”

Never ground your club ataddress. It’s fine if the clubtouches the grass, but youshouldn’t have it resting on theground. There’s a difference — the grass is not the ground.You can still feel the weight ofthe club if it is gently touching

the grass, but you can’t feelanything if it’s resting on theground. Think about this: if theclub is resting on the groundbefore you swing, what’s thefirst thing that must happen inorder for the club to be set inmotion? You must increasethe tension in your hands andarms to start the swing, and aswe know, that’s not a goodthing.

Keep in mind that the driver is the lightest club in the bag, so to feel the weight of the head (of yourdriver), you need to have the lightest grip pressure of any swing you make. It might not makesense to most people, but the club or swing that hits the ball the farthest requires the lightest grippressure.

This is a tip I learned from Davis Love II. Place your hands on the club, get into posture andpretend you are getting ready to tee off on the longest hole at your course. I want you to now feelhow soft and relaxed you can make your forearms. Feel as though your arms have just becomelimp spaghetti. Notice how the tension leaves your arms as well as your shoulders and upper back.Now, not only do you increase your chances to feel the weight of the clubhead swing, you havealso relaxed the muscle groups that will help you achieve a greater and more proficient turn. Manytimes, Mr. Love would walk up to me as I was hitting balls and gently squeeze my forearms. It washis way, without needing to say anything, to make me relax and soften my forearms.



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Body motion is something tour players practice on a regular basis. It seems like mastering it is a never-endingprocess. Understanding the role of the body is often easier to practice without swinging a club. (above) Instead,place the club across your shoulders as I have done here and assume good posture. Keep the flex in your backknee and turn your upper torso into your back leg. Feel as though you are turning into the back leg (withoutletting the knee or hip slide) and as though you are winding up. There must be some lower body resistance in theturn back so you can push off and move forward. Strive to turn completely through. Try to turn through enoughso that your chest faces to the left of the target (for right-handed golfers). Notice how all my weight is now on myforward leg, and my back foot has rolled in and upward.

Have you ever heard the term “golf is played from the ground up”? Well, too many good ball strikers, using theground is an integral part of their swing. I also want you to know that there are some Tour professionals who usethe ground more than others, and there are some who hardly feel they use it at all. Nevertheless, I personallyfeel that using the ground is extremely important.This drill is almost the same as the body motion drill, however, in this drill, I want you to concentrate and focuson your feet.

At address, feel as though you are completelybalanced, not on your heels and not on your toes.Feel as though if someone pushed you from behind orfrom the front, but you could sti ll maintain yourbalance. Some teachers talk about being on the ballsof your feet, but be careful, because the balls of yourfeet are very close to your toes.

Turn your upper torso into your back leg and feel asthough you are grabbing the ground with your foot. It’swhy most Tour players still use spikes, since it helpsthem leverage against the ground without slipping. Besure to not let your weight move to the outside of thefoot. Keep the weight more to the inside of the footand feel that there is a bit more weight into the heelthan there is toward the toes.



Push off your back foot and toward your front foot.This could be the most critical move in the golf swing.The transition from the backswing to the forwardswing must be initiated with the lower body. And dueto the fact that the feet support the lower body, it’simportant to feel them working. Notice how my backfoot has pushed off, and my ankle has rolled inwardas my weight continues moving toward my leftleg/foot.

Notice how all my weight has moved into my forwardleg. My back foot has rolled in and upward, and onlythe tips of the toes are touching the ground. Alsonotice the weight distribution of my forward foot — theweight has moved a bit more to the outside of my footand slightly into my heel. This ensures that I movedleft well and completely turned through the shot.

This is a great drill to gain awareness of where your body is (or should be) at impact. Simulating and rehearsingwhere you want to be is often times all you need to get the job done. If the body has a reminder or is educatedon where it should go, you sometimes don’t even need to think about how to get there. It will just happen.

When doing this drill you can use an impact bag or a tire as I have demonstrated here. Assume your posture byholding the club up against a t ire. Without making a backswing, simply turn your lower body to a point where theweight moves onto the forward leg. Keep the shoulders square and feel as though you are leveraging your shaftagainst the tire. Feel l ike you are trying to move the cart with the club. If done correctly, you should feel yourabdominals working, and it should feel powerful. If you ever find yourself struggling on the golf course andmishitting shots, walk over to the cart and rehearse this a couple of times. You’ll be surprised with what you find.

Over the course of the past several weeks, I’ve shared with you many swing thoughts, drills and tips,but I trulyhaven’t even scratched the surface. Improving your golf game will last a lifetime. It can be challenging andrewarding at the same time. I t’s important to set small goals that are attainable so you can enjoy the process.Remember, golf is merely game. Keep it simple and have fun!

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