Why Brandel Chamblee’s Book Hit the Sweet Spot (Reason 1)
Love him or hate him, Brandel Chamblee’s recent book “The Anatomy of Greatness” has a slew of amazing photos of swing positions of the golf greats that are anatomically sound. My goal in this video is to show you why the proper golf setup he describes leads to movements that are technically solid, as well as how to get you to feel and produce these actions without thinking about body parts.
Let’s look at Page 2 (shown in the video) and Chamblee’s big thumbs up to Alex Morrison. We will look at three of his core areas of his teaching:
- Very strong grip
- Narrower stance with feet flared
- Head pre-turned at address
Watch this video to see how these setup tips can help your game shine. Stay tuned for next week’s video where we look at the grip in detail to clear up any misconceptions so that you have the very best connection between you and the ball’s compression to your target.
Related
- Why Brandel Chamblee’s Book Hit the Sweet Spot (Reason 2)
- Why Brandel Chamblee’s Book Hit the Sweet Spot (Reason 3)
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Instruction
Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!
Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?
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Instruction
How a towel can fix your golf swing
This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.
For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.
Setup
You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.
While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.
Get a Better Shoulder Turn
Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.
In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.
Stay Better Connected in the Backswing
When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.
Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.
Conclusion
I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.
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Instruction
Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks
You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!
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Progolfer
Jun 6, 2017 at 11:49 am
I understand what you’re saying with having a strong grip, Shawn, but it’s under a false pretense– the golf swing is a swing/throw, NOT a hit. If I were to throw a ball at my target from a golf address position, my hands would be in neutral and not in a strong grip position.
The dude
Jun 3, 2017 at 10:40 am
Love all these BC bashes……he’s clearly the smartest guy (long with FN) in the booth….
sammyt
Jun 3, 2017 at 3:24 am
Brilliant stuff!!!!
ButchT
Jun 2, 2017 at 4:56 pm
I bought the book – very worthwhile. Brandle may be controversial, but he is no dummy!
ButchT
Jun 2, 2017 at 9:19 am
Do you square the clubface at address and take strong grip or close the clubface at address with neutral grip – hard to understand what you are recommending? Thank you!
SH
Jun 2, 2017 at 1:00 am
Shawn you have the greatest swing in golf right now with your weird sketelon-less Gumby-move that you do it’s fun to watch ha
Shawn Clement
Jun 2, 2017 at 12:02 am
Not really; Bobby Jones had a less strong grip than the Very Very Strong grip of Morrison; it all depends on each person’s finer anatomical traits; a lot of very strong grips on the tour as we speak!
Shawn
ooffa
Jun 1, 2017 at 3:08 pm
Chamblee is one mega annoying dude!
Shawn Clement
Jun 1, 2017 at 11:58 pm
Brandel is one of the guys who has finally seen the light on what the golf swing should be; that was me over 25 years ago! ????????
TexasSnowman
Jun 1, 2017 at 2:16 pm
snuff box?
Denny Jones
Jun 1, 2017 at 11:15 pm
Anatomical snuffbox: A hollow seen on the radial aspect (the thumbside) of the dorsum (the back) of the wrist when the thumb is extended fully. The reason that it is called the anatomical snuffbox is that snuff (powdered tobacco) could be put there and then inhaled.
https://bonebroke.org/2013/12/24/palpable-anatomy-the-anatomical-snuffbox/
Shawn Clement
Jun 1, 2017 at 11:58 pm
Right on Denny!!
LowHang
Jun 1, 2017 at 10:32 am
He should just give the book for free