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In this first video in the series, we look at the differences in body rotation between a PGA Tour player and an amateur golfer. 

This particular amateur came to us struggling with blocks and hooks, which in part was being caused by a lack of body rotation on the downswing. We captured his swing in our studio using GEARS 3D Motion Capture. That allowed us to uncover the exact amount of rotation of both golfers so we could highlight how it affects the club movement and delivery.

It’s important to note that there are no ideal rotation numbers; there are more so “windows” that we see great players fit into for body rotation and all aspects of the game.

Watching the video, you will see the rotation of the pelvis/hips and also the ribcage. We use the ribcage in this case instead of the shoulders, as it gives us a better indicator of how well the upper body is actually rotating.

You will see several numbers displayed on the avatars of the players in the video. They include turn, side bend and bend of both the pelvis and rib cage. For this first video in the series, we decided to just focus on the turn number.

The numbers are displayed live on the screen as the golfers are swinging so you can see at any point how the golfers are moving instead of just looking at impact. This is important as it shows what is happening during the entire swing, not just at a snapshot in time. 

We hope you enjoy this video and it gives you some insight into your own swing. The goal of this series is to help GolfWRX Members understand some of the key differences between how elite golfers and amateurs play this great game. 

To learn more about what we do at Athletic Motion Golf, or AMG, visit our website. Enjoy!

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Athletic Motion Golf is a collaboration of four of golf's brightest and most talented instructors who came together with the sole purpose of supplying golfers the very best information and strategies to lower their scores. At AMG, we're bringing fact-based instruction that's backed by research and proven at the highest levels on the PGA Tour straight to golfers through our website. Our resources will help you "clear the fog" in your game and understand the essentials of playing great golf.

48 Comments

48 Comments

  1. Frankie Gregory

    Feb 25, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    Should the ratio of open pelvis and ribcage at impact be 2:1? For example, the pelvis being 60 degrees open at impact while the ribcage is 30 degrees open.

  2. stephenf

    Feb 15, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    Interesting as observation, but the question is always causality. You take an amateur who’s already pushing and shoving the club around with his body and tell him to work his body harder, rotate more, etc., and it’s just going to be disastrous. The people for whom the “learn to use your body” advice works best (or even at all) are those who have already developed a free arm swing and full release, which would include pretty much every professional.

    I’m always in favor of legitimate research results, but I’ve also seen this kind of thing misused and misread too many times. If you go back to the teachers usually cited as arms-and-hands guys (Toski, Flick, early Kostis, Love Jr., etc.), every one of them emphasizes the fact that the bigger muscles (the ones farthest away from the clubhead) are essential in enabling and supporting — and even to an extent, but not to nearly the extent people believe, driving the swinging motion. Those guys are so frequently misquoted and misrepresented as “hands and arms _only_” or “don’t use the muscles of the trunk and legs” or “hands and arms go first, body follows” that people disregard them or see them as outdated and irrelevant, and it’s a real loss in terms of the body of instruction. When they say “arms swing, body follows,” generally they’re talking about the intent to swing the arms. Any reasonably athletic person, if you tell him to pick up a ball in his hand and use his hand and arm to throw it 70 yards, is going to step into the throw, rotate to a certain extent

    Also: Early rotation on the downswing kills golf swings. It’s a problem with the vast majority of the swings of amateurs, and quite a few pros when they go wrong, too. It’s more complex than simply “rotate more” or “rotate less.” It’s a matter of when the rotation occurs and what its relationship and synchronization is with the swinging elements (cf. John Jacobs, among others). Too much early rotation early in the downswing (the shoulders to move to accommodate the motion, but they shouldn’t be dragging the arms and club or leading the action) throws the club off-plane and off-path, outside and steep, and makes a really solid shot essentially impossible.

    What you see in the swings of almost all the best ballstrikers is the shoulders staying closed to the target until very late in the downswing — for some great players, right up until the moment of impact — while the arms and club approach from the inside, with the trailing forearm behind and below right up to impact and even slightly beyond, in some great swings. Through and beyond impact, rotation has to be free and somewhat fast, but what enables that is not having overrotated too early in the first place (on the downswing). What you see again and again with players who rotate too early and get too steep is that they then have to hold back, or even briefly stop, that rotation as they approach impact and beyond. It handcuffs them and prevents them from rotating at the point they actually need to, to give the swinging elements (arms-hands-club) a place to release and a place to go.

    You just can’t say it too much: Early shoulder and upper-body overrotation on the downswing destroys golf swings. All the time. With an amazingly large percentage of players.

    As Jacobs and others have said, you never know what’s going to get through to a player. It depends on what he brings to the lesson, what his inclinations are, etc. So it’s not that teaching a player to work on a more emphatic or freer rotation never helps. It might. But it’s always a matter of the balancing of elements and the timing of elements, rather than the disregard of a whole class of elements (e.g., the swinging elements including arms-hands-club).

    • stephenf

      Feb 16, 2017 at 10:29 am

      Oops. Meant to go back and finish a sentence. This is how it was supposed to go (end of second graf, not sure why returns aren’t separating paragraphs):

      Any reasonably athletic person, if you tell him to pick up a ball in his hand and use his hand and arm to throw it 70 yards, is going to step into the throw, rotate to a certain extent to allow his arm a greater range of motion on the windup, then rotate on the way through to allow the swinging arm and the releasing hand (and the ball) the right path as it all snaps toward the target. Is there any added power from the rotation? Some, but not nearly as much as people think. Mostly it’s enabling a range of motion. The point, though, is that nobody had to tell this guy to step into the throw and to use his entire body to support what he intended to do with his arm. It’s largely the same with the golf swing, or it should be, for people who aren’t overcomplicating it. It’s true that sometimes a player is nonathletic, or doesn’t move the body to support or accommodate the swinging motion of the arms-hands-club for some other reason (tension, misconception, physical problems or lack of flexibility, etc.), and you have to work on that directly. But that doesn’t change the basic natural “whole body responds to intent” tendency.

      • AMG

        Feb 17, 2017 at 8:30 pm

        We have 3D and force data from throwing a ball 🙂

        You might not find a group of instructors than ours who believes the “when” anything occurs is massively important! Stay tuned (wink)…

  3. squirrel-man

    Feb 12, 2017 at 9:14 am

    Great post, really interesting. Can’t wait for more, keep them coming!

  4. I'mNotTigerWoods

    Feb 10, 2017 at 12:56 am

    One of the best post in years. Great read, thnx AMG

  5. Jalan

    Feb 9, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    I am fortunate that the pro who instructs me has taught me the importance of rotation of the body. It has made a significant difference in my swing.

    Unfortunately, having osteo arthritis in my hips makes it hard to do some of the things I know I should, in order further improve my swing. But what I can do with what I have been taught has made for a better swing.

    There isn’t any useless information here.

  6. Dunn2500

    Feb 9, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    Basically this is telling golfers to use their body more, whatever your capabilities are almost certain most golfers could use their body to rotate more than they currently do……me being a handsy player I can see how this is such a vital part of swing for consistency……I look at people’s swings all the time and most seem focused on their hands and arms…..trying to muscle the ball, and on my bad days it’s exactly what I do as well……..on my best days I felt like I was barely even swinging the club and head had very little rotation………….

    Great video! ………….amazing how much more that pro rotated cuz the amateur’s swing looked pretty good

  7. edreM

    Feb 9, 2017 at 11:20 am

    More useless information.

    • Ryan

      Feb 9, 2017 at 12:34 pm

      Another useless post.

    • AMG

      Feb 9, 2017 at 1:27 pm

      What would you like to see? What would be useful for you?

      • edreM

        Feb 9, 2017 at 2:55 pm

        How about analyzing Arnold Palmer’s swing when he was in his early days versus his when he was in his 50s or 60s? And show the people in age-related terms what really should be done in a golf swing for a lifetime, and not the current short-lived short-career money-grabbing swings influenced by the exercise-body shape vanity-NFL-NBA-MLB-NHL-influenced type of mega-athlete based golf swings that only may be 2% of the population should actually attempt?

        • AMG

          Feb 9, 2017 at 3:46 pm

          Thanks for your input! Many of the great swings of the past had a generous amount of body rotation on the downswing…its a hallmark of athletic swing irregardless of the era. The reason we use modern players for much of our analysis is that things have changed to much with equipment it doesn’t make as much sense to use swings from the 50s and 60s…although we do love those swings too! Snead, palmer, Nicklaus etc 🙂

        • AMG

          Feb 9, 2017 at 6:34 pm

          Interesting assumptions about the players in the video. We have collected data on Champion Tour players who still, towards the end of their competitive careers, show tour range rotation. The oldest player that I’ve personally measured is a 75 year old amateur who falls close to the tour range. The pro we used in this video is in no way a mega-athlete, and has a very average height and build… as well does the amateur we chose. We appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment.

        • Dill Pickleson

          Feb 14, 2017 at 4:52 am

          duh, i did this at 50. you’re just ignorant and out of shape

  8. Andy

    Feb 9, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Although I agree the amateur is not open enough at impact, he has no choice! His hands are not deep enough in the BS. If he rotated like the pro it would throw the club was outside the plane (aka OTT) and he would have to EE to reach the ball. He needs depth in the BS before he can rotate the same as the pro.

    • AMG

      Feb 9, 2017 at 3:52 pm

      Thanks for the comment! For this first video in the series we are just highlighting the differences in the motion. In future videos we will look at the various reasons “why” the differences are showing up. Great comment by the way.

  9. Paul

    Feb 9, 2017 at 7:44 am

    Like this a lot!

    Look at the position of the pros hands at impact, in relation to the body (1min 48 secs in). Wow, massive difference compared to the AM. Pros hands way “ahead” of the body, due to turn rather than slide I guess.

    • AMG

      Feb 9, 2017 at 3:42 pm

      Yes body rotation and keeping the torso more “on top” on the ball help achieve this look.

  10. m

    Feb 9, 2017 at 2:09 am

    I didn’t catch it if it’s in the video, but were the resulting shots identical straight/draw/fade? I use to exaggerate my rib and pelvis’ openess at impact with different grips and these were the results: strong grip – caused pull hooks or pull fades. standard neutral grip – pull fades and slices.

    • m

      Feb 10, 2017 at 4:05 pm

      Really? No reply?

      What if the pro is using his body to hold off the release and hit a fade while the am is hitting a stock draw? If their shots were different results than it’s really an apples to oranges between their swing.

      • AMG

        Feb 15, 2017 at 9:04 am

        The pros we capture play draws, fades, and straight balls while still being in the ranges discussed in the video. We chose these two swings primarily as a representative sample of the numbers we see on a daily basis. Is that answering your question? If not let us know.

  11. D Mack

    Feb 8, 2017 at 9:13 pm

    Pushes and pulls hmm. After seeing the video,more torso and hip rotation is something I will have to work on. Great video! Thanks

  12. Andrew Cooper

    Feb 8, 2017 at 4:17 pm

    Thanks. Where tour pros v ams at impact is obviously very different but i think the average amateur has to realise that what shows up at impact is really the result of what’s gone before, good or bad. The tour pro transitions and sequences the downswing in a way that gives the green light to go through impact aggressively, hence the numbers here. The average amateur gets out of whack, the body has to stall/or stand up, and the hands and arms do what they can to get the clubface on the ball. The tour have more rotation because they can, the amateurs have less because they can’t.

  13. BigKid

    Feb 8, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    Are y’all doing all of these videos out of the 265 Academy? That’s a great facility. Our wedding party for a wedding I was in recently got ready there and the reception was outside at the facility. I wish I had gotten time to fully enjoy the set up.

    • AMG

      Feb 9, 2017 at 3:40 pm

      Yes this video was out of David Toms Academy. Between the 4 partners in AMG we have a few locations where we will be shooting content.

  14. Bob Jones

    Feb 8, 2017 at 11:19 am

    This looks like an explanation for why pros develop back problems. It might be worth it to them, but not to me.

    • Mark S

      Feb 8, 2017 at 11:59 am

      Good point. I wonder what a doc would say this would do to the body.

    • Justin

      Feb 8, 2017 at 1:06 pm

      The speed involved in tour pros and amateurs are slightly (a lot!) different. You probably aren’t going to get back problems as an amateur if you try to mimic this move. Unless you are swinging the club 110+ MPH and playing multiple rounds a year…like a tour pro

      • Daniel

        Feb 8, 2017 at 4:04 pm

        I think most of us here play multiple rounds a year

        • Jack

          Feb 8, 2017 at 11:51 pm

          What’s the standard, like 6? 7 rounds and you’re a pro!

          But seriously I think it’s more practice time as well. These guys grind it day in day out. They get injured from overuse. Amateurs get injured from misuse. We have bad postures and swings that don’t look smooth. Pro’s have smooth swings, and utilize momentum correctly. Amateurs fight it and get hurt.

          • Scott S

            Feb 13, 2017 at 8:23 pm

            I’m a Physical Therapist and a passionate golfer and I agree with “Jack’s” comment 100% and wonder why “Bobby Jones” made his comment? There are SO many variables that can cause trauma to the body during a golf swing but in my opinion the # 1 reason is when the kinematic sequence is out of sync which requires the golfer to generate power from forcing movement to start (and stop) as opposed to using ground reaction forces to produce nearly effortless movement and power. Effortless power = less body trauma and ultimately less injury. Yes, we can certainly look at isolated examples of “smooth” swingers on the PGA Tour that have gotten back injuries but I think that comes back to Jack’s comment and his point about overuse. Generally speaking using physics to one’s advantage will generate the best results on the golf course and also keep one out of my office.

  15. Philip

    Feb 8, 2017 at 11:12 am

    I improved my swing over the winter and my ribs and hips are very open at impact compared to previous seasons where I was very close to how you define an amateur swing; and here I was thinking the amount I am now open at impact may be a problem because it is so foreign to me. Thanks

    • The dude

      Feb 8, 2017 at 12:30 pm

      How did you go about making that improvement?

    • Jason

      Feb 8, 2017 at 12:53 pm

      Philip, I am a scratch golfer but my issues are the same as yours and the 5 handicapper in study. I am curious to know what helped you in your improvements. I have tried different techniques with no results. I just rely on 30 years of hand eye coordination.

      • Jack

        Feb 9, 2017 at 1:37 am

        It’s easier to identify the problem but it’s hard to fix. Pro’s turn their hips so much, and leverage the ground more so that it’s natural to them to be at this position. For most amateurs, we don’t do that. I’m learning to leverage the ground more, and I am hitting my driver further now, but sometimes it still feels unnatural. Just gotta get the reps in. Hip rotation is so hard. You have to feel like your hips are completely open and your hands are at your side at impact, which is completely different from your normal sensation. Doing this change will also mess up your timing big time as the sequencing is very different. But when I do this, my average distance goes up. It’s very easy to fall back to old habits though when you try to seek accuracy. Just have to trust it more. I think this way I’m not any less accurate (ok it’s all relative) than I am with a more armsy swing.

    • Philip

      Feb 8, 2017 at 8:32 pm

      Well, I changed a few things. 1 (Grips) I realized that having grips too thick or too thin for my left hand (I play right-handed) restricted my wrist hinge flexibility so I had to especially be careful with thicker graphite shafts. 2 (Grip) I started using the interlock because Jack did, not because it suited me. Thus, I experimented making full golf swings (including baseball swings) and discovered out of the choices (baseball, ten-finger, overlap, interlock) only once maximized my swing speed, the other three were significantly slower. Interestedly enough the faster swing was also the only one where I was able to maintain my balance through-out my swing. 3 (Visualize making a swing) I realized I never stopped to imagine what I wanted my body to do in order to swing the club, thus I was thinking through it instead. So I visualized how I wanted to see the club swinging around my body (from address to follow-through). 4 (Replicate action of the golf swing with something else we do without thought) Now that I could see myself swinging the club I needed the same type of triggers I use in everyday life that have no direct connection to what I want my body to do. I don’t think my way to taking a drink of water or skiing down a mountain, so why would I do it with a golf club? So without holding a golf club I moved my arm into the proper position at the top of my swing and on down through to impact and follow-through. I quickly realized that standing with my right shoulder beside a shelf, keeping my legs in position, if I just turn and reach up to grab the imaginary object above and beside the right side of my head with my left arm, that I has just made a relaxed full shoulder turn and put myself into the top of my back swing with zero stress on my body. Then I imagine taking that imaginary object and tossing it down so that it hits the ball. The momentum brings me through to my follow-thorugh and the finish of my swing. Since my club is just a straight line extension of my left hand, it will pass through the point where the ball rests as the club swings around my body. 5 (Trigger) I am a lefty who plays right-handed, so instead of my right hand/arm leading my golf swing and me hitting the ball poorly, I changed to my left hand/arm guiding my right arm by just swinging my arms around my around my body, letting the rest of my body freely react to the swing – I can now easily hit off of cement without worrying about fat shots (my nemesis). 6 (In summary) It was an open mind and lots of experimentation that guided me to where I am now. My recipe may be particular to myself as we all tend to be a bit different in what works, but maybe some of it will give you ideas to move forward with. Cheers!

      • Philip

        Feb 9, 2017 at 9:57 am

        Last item – I pay attention now ensuring my posture is correct when I set up to the ball. If I am off just a little bit it greatly impacts my ability to do the necessary movements and have the flexibility required for my golf swing. I never paid much attention to this in the past (and neither did my instructors) and ended up using this and that fix to try and correct my past positions. I would say being able to get into a good posture at address is likely the main reason my swing is so much better and easier to do.

  16. Tom

    Feb 8, 2017 at 10:58 am

    This explains why I pull a lot of my shots.

  17. cgasucks

    Feb 8, 2017 at 10:44 am

    I couldn’t agree more with this guy…

  18. chip

    Feb 8, 2017 at 9:35 am

    I immediately think of Stenson.

  19. Nathan

    Feb 8, 2017 at 9:22 am

    Good video, thanks.

    Hope to see more videos like this one in the future.

    • AMG

      Feb 8, 2017 at 12:05 pm

      Thanks… we have a number of these planned on several topics.

  20. Brian Moore

    Feb 8, 2017 at 8:59 am

    So the same thing as the GolfTec Swing motion study

    • AMG

      Feb 8, 2017 at 12:09 pm

      The GEARS system allows us capture data from the club face, shaft, and full body. I’m not sure what data points were included in the Golftec study.

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic

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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.

As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.

The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.

Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply.  Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:

Mis-aligned hands

By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.

The position of the grip in the upper/left hand

I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean.  Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.

To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.

Too much lower (right) hand on the club

It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.

Gripping too tightly

Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.

So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.

More from the Wedge Guy

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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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Instruction

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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