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How to hit shots higher or lower without changing your swing

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The author, Scott Hamilton has created a comprehensive video series on his keys to hitting the driver. He has made the first seven videos of the series free to GolfWRX readers. You can check them out here or check out his website, OnTOURgolf.com.

I like my guys to hit their stock shots at a mid trajectory. That way, their stock shot is suited to work in most conditions and situations. It isn’t affected by the wind as much as a high trajectory, and doesn’t roll out as much as a low one. When a player uses a middle trajectory shot as their “go-to,” they don’t need to make a big swing change when they want to adjust their trajectory up or down.

What allows them to change trajectories is their ability to control the club’s dynamic loft through impact. Dynamic loft is different than the loft built into your clubs at the factory. That loft, measured when your clubs are in a vice, is known as static loft. Dynamic loft is different because it’s the actual amount of loft that is on the club at the moment it strikes the ball. It’s the main influence on how high or low you launch your shots, and what you should focus on if you want to change how high or low you hit it. 

Changing trajectory isn’t only useful when you need to get under or over a tree, either. It’s a great skill to have to play with good strategy. 

Consider when a hole is cut on the back of a green with water behind the flag. Hitting it in the water is the worst possible outcome. If you have to make birdie right then, the right choice is probably to try to hit the perfect shot and stuff it in there tight. If there’s a lot more golf to be played, however, it often makes more sense to take the chance of hitting it in the water totally out of play.

If the conditions allow, use a lower trajectory, land the ball short of the flag and chase it back to the hole. This strategy takes the water out of play, but still leaves open the possibility of getting it close. When you combine this skill with the ability to play off-speed golf (see my previous story), you can use the longer club that would normally bring the water into play, hit it soft and play smart. 

No matter the reason you’ve decided to adjust your trajectory, the way I suggest you do it is the same. In the video above, I show you the simple method I teach my guys to use when they need to change their stock trajectory.

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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.

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Cons

    Apr 9, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    Scott-

    Do you offset your high shots by closing stance?

  2. Other Paul

    Apr 6, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    I dont know what all the shank votes are about. Nothing wrong with this. I thought it was well done.

    • Mitch

      Apr 12, 2016 at 2:21 pm

      Exactly. Every article has a bunch of Shanks and I don’t understand it either.

  3. Philip

    Apr 6, 2016 at 12:04 pm

    Scott, could you put the PEAK height of the different flights in the article for us to know what the ball did? Looking at the numbers (normal – DL 24 / LA 19.8) (high – DL 26.6 / LA 20.3) (low – DL 23.8 LA 17.2), there doesn’t appear to that big a difference in dynamic loft, so are the peak heights fairly close? Looking at the differences: Normal-High DL +2.6 and LA +0.5, whereas Normal-Low DL -0.2 and LA -2.6, I suspect clubhead speed may be playing a large roll (wider stance = more backswing) versus (open stance = restricted backswing)? What do you think?

    • Scott Hamilton

      Apr 6, 2016 at 10:17 pm

      Good catch and question Phil. with a 2° change in dynamic loft, I’d expect a little more difference between the launch angles of the first and second shots. I must have hit down on the second one a bit more or maybe the first ball was a little wet. Usually changing dynamic loft 2° with an iron will change the launch by about 1.5°.

      • Philip

        Apr 6, 2016 at 10:48 pm

        Thanks for the reply. Another question. Is there any advantage to doing it your way to lower the ball flight versus taking a club extra and choking up on it? Would your way maintain the spin better to hold the green, for instance?

  4. Jeff

    Apr 6, 2016 at 10:46 am

    Video would be great if it actually played.

    • Zak Kozuchowski

      Apr 6, 2016 at 11:06 am

      Our apologies, Jeff. We are currently working on fixing the issue. Please check back soon, and the issue should be resolved.

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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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