Instruction
WATCH: Michael “Diceman” Jacobs on the golf swing
Many years ago at one of the Top-100 Instructor retreats I was sitting next to Brian Manzella. He introduced me to his friend, a golf instructor named Michael Jacobs, who Brian described as a “very smart guy.” Brian and I go way back, so I know for him to say that about a fellow teacher means he must be a superstar. Naturally, I wanted to know more about this guy.
Later that night over some cocktails, Michael and I were sitting around talking with a few other people and I couldn’t help but laugh at his thick New York accent. I told him that he reminded me of the popular comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay, and from there “Dice” became his nickname to me.
As time went on, Michael and I stayed in touch. I followed his maturation on the research side and became a huge fan of the work he and Brian did on Michael’s 3D-system.
In this video, I’m happy to introduce to GolfWRX readers to my friend Michael Jacobs, a golf nut who has invested everything in his success as a teacher. He will likely lead the teaching industry at some point in the near future, so sit back and enjoy the Diceman!
Check out this video and more at Michael Jacobs’ website.
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Instruction
Clement: Laid-off or perfect fade? Across-the-line or perfect draw?
Some call the image on the left laid off, but if you are hitting a fade, this could be a perfect backswing for it! Same for across the line for a draw! Stop racking your brain with perceived mistakes and simply match backswing to shot shape!
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Instruction
The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic
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
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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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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ETW
Apr 22, 2017 at 3:27 am
I’ll be honest, Ford Fairlane is one of my favorite characters, he’s so awesome, ya know what I mean, hoooooooo !
ETW
Apr 22, 2017 at 3:25 am
Where’s da cigarette and the leather jacket with the shoulders
ETW
Apr 22, 2017 at 3:24 am
He doesn’t sound like Dice
Edge of lean
Apr 21, 2017 at 1:46 pm
I gave you a like. Nothing new said, but you’re a force for good in the golf world. Best of success.
Fill Pickelson
Apr 20, 2017 at 8:24 pm
Read the book.
TBR
Apr 20, 2017 at 6:53 pm
You’re correct that feel is delayed. But I believe his point is to use what you feel on a previous swing to help change in advance of your next swing. As you say, the purpose practice is the attempt to groove a swing. Practice becomes more effective when you connect swings and patterns to optimize – what you feel is a huge tool in that process.
Mike
Apr 20, 2017 at 2:19 pm
Mike Jacobs is the man! This guy knows more than you will ever need to know about the golf swing and is great at communicating that to you in person. Listen to what the man has to say and you’ll definitely learn a few things that could help you improve your swing!