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Do you have a fade-biased pivot?

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The way you arrange the components of your swing can make it better suited for certain ball flights more than others. Certain grip types work better for low shots, while others are better for hitting it high. Some transitions are more likely to produce fades than draws.

What I call making your swing “biased” is gearing your swing components for a certain shot shape, height and even distance. The more you align your components toward the same goal, the more likely the desired outcome.

Whether I’m with a PGA Tour player or amateur, a lot of my job is aligning components to get players hitting shots the way they want. I travel to 35+ PGA Tour events every year, and while I’m there to work with some of the guys playing in the event, I usually get to work with a few amateurs as well.

Wednesdays are when PGA Tour events hold their Pro-Ams, which give regular golfers the ability to tee it up with a real Tour player on a real Tour course. It costs a lot of money to play in a Pro-Am, and the entry fees support the tournament’s charity. 

When I’m at the course on Wednesdays to work with my guys, I get to see the amateurs play a little, too. Like most amateurs, more of them hit fades than hit draws. Unknowingly, almost all of them have aligned their components toward a fade, which is often the result of their pivot. 

My video on the pivot below could have saved me a lot of breath during Wednesday Pro-Ams over the years. So many amateurs are using a pivot that is best for producing low fades even though they want to hit a high draw. Watch it to learn more about aligning your pivot with the type of shot you want to hit.

The author, Scott Hamilton has created a four-lesson video course with his keys to achieving consistent, solid contact. The Solid Contact Series is available for free on his website OnTourGolf.com.  

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Currently teaching 14 PGA Tour players, Scott Hamilton is a staple on the PGA Tour range each week. In 2015, a poll of PGA Tour players conducted by Golf Digest ranked him as the No. 2 instructor on the PGA Tour. His players like him for his ability to conduct a complete analysis of their games and return a simple solution to help them play better. “You get the result you want without all the big words.” as Scott often says.

40 Comments

40 Comments

  1. Mbwa Kali Sana

    Mar 28, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    A complétely misleading video lesson .There are so man y différent parameters other than spine tilt which create the draw and the fade ,That the wise Golfer should entirely disregard this simplistic ” lesson”.

  2. Obee

    Mar 24, 2016 at 6:55 pm

    Great stuff. Definitely holds true in my group of 7 or 8 scratch and below amateur buddies. I create quite a bit of angle, as does one of my buddies, and we both hit low, trap draws as our “standard” shot. Another buddy has very little angle away from the ball, and he definitely favors a cut. A few others are more neutral, and their ball flights are, well … more neutral!

    Thanks! Will definitely keep this in mind when fading the ball. I think if I think of less lean back and away, that I will be able to more consistently fade the ball with my irons….

  3. Sean

    Mar 22, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Great video, never thought about that. Out of curiosity, the head movement is the killer here, right? Seems like the only way that angle changes is by the head moving too much forward or back. If you keep your head still, your pivot angle can’t come one way or the other too much. I only ask because I don’t think you offered a tip here so is that what you’d have these students work on to fix it?

    • Scott Hamilton

      Apr 6, 2016 at 10:31 pm

      Good question Sean- Moving your head is one way to change your pivot. The way you slide or turn your hips can also change your pivot angle.

  4. Rocco Mediate

    Mar 14, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    This is how I swing guys! It’s good on your back!

  5. Jafar

    Mar 14, 2016 at 1:21 pm

    I’ve been trying to find this in my swing and it does explain why my shots tend to fade when they look like they should be drawing.

    I also figured out that my “trigger” finger has been causing backswing issues and once I fixed that, I found myself in the draw position described here.

    Great info to check your swing with!

  6. Scott Hamilton

    Mar 11, 2016 at 5:58 pm

    Hey guys-
    Thanks for watching.
    -Scott

  7. Butch

    Mar 11, 2016 at 1:41 pm

    Thank you, Scott. I appreciate your sharing your insights!

  8. Hogg

    Mar 10, 2016 at 11:02 am

    What a complete load of hogwash.

    • birdy

      Mar 10, 2016 at 11:15 am

      willing to bet Scott has a little more knowledge of the swing than you….

      http://www.golf.com/instruction/scott-hamilton-best-golf-teacher-you-have-never-heard

      • Tom

        Mar 10, 2016 at 2:10 pm

        Amen to that

      • Wash

        Mar 10, 2016 at 7:08 pm

        According to that article,
        “I’m still an on-plane teacher, which some people think is old school, but it works.”
        “A quiet head tends to keep the clubface quiet through the hitting zone. Then, if you can just line up your left arm and the shaft, you’ll have a better chance of hitting the ball straight.”

        Oh that’s it, is it?
        You don’t need to know anything about tilting in a pivot in any direction to do this.
        And he wants people to hit it straighter.

        Hamilton talks a load of country hogwash. Don’t believe the explanation in the video. It’s another way to mislead people real quick in one direction, make money off them while doing that, then steer them back to make more money off them from those lessons, and then bring back into the middle. A classic method to keep the students coming back. Totally dishonest.

    • Leon

      Mar 10, 2016 at 8:22 pm

      Agreed. Just common sense

    • Obee

      Mar 24, 2016 at 6:56 pm

      No it’s not — at least in my game and the games of my buddies. I see a pretty distinct correlation between what he’s saying and the shot shapes of the guys I play with. What you think is “hogwash,” I see as solid insight.

  9. Buddy

    Mar 10, 2016 at 9:18 am

    Scott – Thank you for sharing this tid-bit of information with us here on WRX. I hope you continue to share your knowledge with us in the coming years.

  10. Shallowface

    Mar 10, 2016 at 7:11 am

    Many years ago there was a golf shop on Dale Mabry in Tampa (no longer there as far as I know) and the owner had a son who was looked to be a pretty good player. He claimed the son could hit any shot just by changing how he rotated his shoulders during the swing. So I found this article quite interesting, and am looking forward to checking out Mr. Hamilton’s website.

  11. antonio

    Mar 10, 2016 at 3:07 am

    I appreciate any tip but just watching the video above it seems too simple and too obvious. It depends only on your tilt on your stance.

  12. Jack

    Mar 10, 2016 at 2:39 am

    This kind of “instruction” is why nobody ever gets any better. Just get guys hitting the inside of the ball and they will learn to draw the ball with a shallower swing — period; Let there natural athletic ability sort it out. And btw, not to be offensive, but you and other “coaches” are just security blankets for tour pros; They would play just as well without you.

    • Tour Pro

      Mar 10, 2016 at 8:22 am

      Jack,

      I’m a tour pro and Scott knows his stuff. Your comments show how little you know and understand a coaches job on tour. There’s a reason why Scott was voted the 2nd best teacher out there by your pro’s. Quit being a hater and be thankful that guys like he and Butch would share their knowledge.

    • Philip

      Mar 10, 2016 at 10:06 am

      Actually, I have been thinking about this the last few weeks. This video just confirms what I have been discovering. Personally, I like the approach and find the article quite clear. Horses for courses … oh, and thanks Scott, I’ll be checking out your site.

    • larrybud

      Mar 10, 2016 at 10:09 am

      I can hit the inside of the ball ALL DAY by sliding my upper body to the target, and I’m going to hit push-slices all day as well.

      • Jack

        Mar 10, 2016 at 11:10 pm

        Some people are never going to be good players and you may be one of them.

    • Tom

      Mar 10, 2016 at 10:19 am

      Jack you’ve been schooled!

      • Jack

        Mar 10, 2016 at 11:23 pm

        Really? Presumably you believe I have no credibility because I am an anonymous internet poster, however that logic would have to apply to the putative schoolers who would also lack any credibility for the same reason… Now you have been schooled through logic which stands on its own and requires no credibility from anyone in this thread!

        • Tom

          Mar 11, 2016 at 10:31 am

          Jack Mar 10, 2016 at 2:39 am

          “This kind of “instruction” is why nobody ever gets any better….”
          A broad statement, I don’t agree with.

          • Jack

            Mar 11, 2016 at 7:15 pm

            Fine. Not exactly a schooling, though.

            • Tom

              Mar 11, 2016 at 9:45 pm

              I don’t benefit from long hours and detailed instruction. I understand my flaws, simply describe them to me and prescribe a
              solution.

    • birdy

      Mar 10, 2016 at 11:09 am

      lol this comment no doubt comes from a hack who has no idea the knowledge and experience that scott hamilton has.

      • Jack

        Mar 10, 2016 at 11:19 pm

        He is doing what other coaches are doing — trying to put you in positions that he has seen good players in — this may work sometimes but only through a personal lesson. There is too much pseudo science in golf and most of these pros are not helping amateurs — especially with out of context generic videos. It’s like a doctor putting a drug out there and encouraging anyone to give it a try and see if it helps with something without first examining the potential patents!

        • Tom

          Mar 10, 2016 at 11:56 pm

          ” Whether I’m with a PGA Tour player or amateur, a lot of my job is aligning components to get players hitting shots the way they want. I travel to 35+ PGA Tour events every year, and while I’m there to work with some of the guys playing in the event, I usually get to work with a few amateurs as well “

          • Jack

            Mar 11, 2016 at 2:19 am

            And yet a generalized video is still worthless and most amateurs never improve even with lessons and practice. Why?

            • Tom

              Mar 11, 2016 at 10:33 am

              So your issue with the article is the video?

              • Jack

                Mar 11, 2016 at 7:18 pm

                The video will do more harm than good as all of the hacks venture to the driving range and attempt their best Curtis Strange sway off of the ball to try to finally hit a draw.f

    • Mike

      Mar 22, 2016 at 1:54 pm

      Oh please enlighten us, anonymous golf site poster. Moron.

  13. Tom

    Mar 9, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    hawt damn. I’ve spent hours on the range with instructors only to have my question answered in five minutes reading your article. Now I have an idea of why I hit a draw. Thank you.

  14. Stephan Lechner

    Mar 9, 2016 at 6:58 pm

    I figured out that if you click on the link titled solid contact series it gives you the opportunity to create a login but if you click on the link to the website it does not. I hope this helps others trying to get there.

  15. Stephan Lechner

    Mar 9, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    It says that you can watch the rest of the videos for free on his website which you provide the link to in your article. When you go to the website it requires a login however there is no place to create a login. Please provide some insight. Thanks

    • larrybud

      Mar 10, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      Scroll down, the create account is all the way to the bottom.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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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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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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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

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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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