Instruction
3 tips to help you reach your 2013 golfing resolutions
As we move into 2013 and a new year in the life of a golfer, I hear plenty of resolutions withoutcome focused goals. In 2013 I want to:
- “Lower my handicap by 5 shots”
- “Break 80 for the first time”
- “Make it onto my school/college/club team”
Resolutions can be great, but what really makes the difference is the action we take towards reaching these goals. It is admirable to dream of lowering your handicap by 5 shots, but action needs to be taken too!
So, I want to give you some more ways to make your dreams into reality.
I am sure that you have heard the quote attributed to Einstein, which describes insanity as:
“Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Well, in this article I want to focus on your practice time and how to make some changes that will ultimately get you closer to achieving your golfing resolutions. Remember also, that YOU can choose to make changes whenever you want; you don’t have to wait till society decides you are allowed a “new start” in January!
The next time you are at the driving range, on your practice ground or even making swing motions inside due to adverse weather conditions; give these three tips a try, to give you extra awareness of what you are currently doing in your golf game.
Slow motion: When I learned how to play the drums, I found I needed to use this technique all of the time. When learning a new complex beat for example, I got the best results from slowing the beat down, often to unrecognisably slow speeds, before piecing it together and building up the speed. You will have done the same as you have acquired many life skills, yet it hasn’t caught on that much in golf.
Don’t beat yourself up; the golf swing is a very complex movement; so make it easier to gain some important awareness of the club and your body, by slowing it down when hitting some practice shots. As a starter, try making a swing that lasts for 30 seconds, that’s right…30 seconds! It will be tougher than you think but correct repetitions at this pace rather than full-speed attempts are likely to give better results at changing a movement pattern.
It can’t be THAT crazy an idea if it used by former LPGA No. 1 player Ai Miyazato, and one of the best ball strikers of all time, Ben Hogan.
Watch: Ai Miyazato, Ben Hogan
“Whenever I’m working on something I always do it in slow motion,” Hogan said. That way I can monitor what I’m doing.”
Exaggeration: Let’s take a common mistake that stops golfers from making solid contact with their irons. The flaw is that at impact the clubhead is often out in front of the grip, which adds loft, reduces efficiency and leaks speed and power. For those of you that struggle with this, I want you to go to the range and try to really exaggerate of all these feelings on your next shot. Try to get the grip leading the clubhead to the ball, with your arms in hands in front of the ball through the external thought of trying to start the shot as low as possible.
You may not believe me, but your golfing brain is often a lot smarter than you imagined! Just exaggerating a movement and trying to hit super-low shots with your hands way in front of the clubface gives us a heightened awareness and completely different feeling which we can then take into our practice shots. Ever see Tiger or Graeme McDowell standing on the tee exaggerating an “over the top” move to start their downswing? This is exactly what they are doing; exaggerating the move and then getting it just right when they take their real swings.
Eyes closed: One more way to give you that extra feeling of awareness is to make your swing with your eyes closed. Awareness of the clubface is something that tour players have developed through many, many hours of hitting shots, but this little tip can help you build your awareness too. Close your eyes and make a swing, stopping at impact and feeling where the clubface is. Then open your eyes and check. Use this in any area of your swing to start to develop some extra feel and awareness of the movements as an alternative to using your eyes to check.
If 2013 really is going to be different in your golfing life, these three tips are a simple way to improve your practice time, stop you being on the “insanity loop” and instead get you playing your best golf ever!
Click here for more discussion in the “Instruction & Academy” forum.
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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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cugwen
Mar 22, 2013 at 10:41 am
great article. love the eyes closed idea
pablo
Feb 1, 2013 at 5:01 pm
have always practiced putting eyes closed. tried chipping eyes closed (harder) last night. also now using slow mo to try to groove a slightly new swing caused by a necessary grip change (my right hand grip had slowly migrated to really strong – causing hooks on longer clups). thx for the tips Andy!!
rahrah
Jan 27, 2013 at 2:21 pm
Must try these Tips at the range ASAP… thank you
paul
Jan 4, 2013 at 8:32 pm
I got in front of a mirror the other day in my house for the first time, I started swinging in slow motion. I noticed me wrist wasn’t flat like it should be, voila, pull hook gone.
Phil Akerd
Jan 4, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Nice article Andy.