5 Timeless Swing Fixes

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Poor weight transfer (and how we develop swing flaws)

By Dennis Clark

I recall an old joke about a guy who was lost on a country backroad. He spots a local resident and asks for directions to a certain town. The local responds: “You can’t get there from here.”

Whenever I hear that joke, I think about weight transfer in the golf swing. Yeah, a remote connection, I’m sure, but it works for purposes of today’s story. The analogy is this: A student recently swung to the top of the backswing and asked me how to “transfer his weight to the left foot” (he was right handed). I replied, “you can’t get there from here.”

The reason most players do not properly transfer their weight or “turn through,” is simply because they are not in a position to do so. They literally must move away from the target and head for the trail side.

Here are a few examples of why.

Over the top

As the downswing begins, if the arms and club go out, not down, effectively the player is not swinging at the golf ball. If she keeps going from there, she will not hit the ball, or barely top it at best. This player is swinging at something in front of the ball, or outside of it. Shoulders spin open early, arms/hands go out but stay UP, and now the club head will very likely get to the golf ball LATE. But, and here’s the catch, anyone who plays often attempts to correct this swing bottom problem by reversing course!  The body senses the poor sequence and tries the right the ship by quickly backing up. Or casting. So, we get an out-to-in swing direction but a shallow attack angle! What I refer to a “left field from the right foot.’

When you see the flaw from this perspective, it becomes perfectly obvious why. Because, if the player kept going without a mid stream correction, they might top every shot, mo in an effort to get the ball airborne, the player lowers the rear side, raises the front side and swings UP from the outside. So you do bottom out nearer the ball, but you’ve introduced a HOST of other issues. I’m not saying this is a conscious effort in the less than two seconds it takes to swing the club, I’m saying that it develops unconsciously over time. And the more one plays, the more they “perfect” this sequence. In my experience, this is how most, if not all, swing faults begin. Correcting a fault with another fault. It is truly ingenious, really!

Steep Transition

If the swing gets to the top and does begin down inside, unlike above where it begins down outside the line, or over the plane, but the club starts down on a very steep incline, it is headed for a crash;  keep going from there, and you’re likely to stick it straight into the ground or, at the least, hit it straight off the toe. Again, over time, the player senses this, and develops a motion of “backing up; reversing the upper body to flatten the golf club and get it onto a reasonable incline to strike the ball. I see this day in and day out. The inevitable question is: “Why can’t I get through the shot”? Because…you had to reverse the upper body to avoid an even greater disaster..

These are just two examples involving improper weight transfer. But if we see other swing flaws in this light, I think it explains a lot. For example, “raising the handle,” or “standing the club up,” lower body extension (“humping”), holding on through impact, casting, sending hand path far away from the body (disconnection), all these can can almost always be attributed to something that preceded those flaws. That is, they are rarely the root cause, they are the REACTION to another position or motion. They are “save” attempts.

Here’s another way of describing it: Many, in fact most, steep swings result in a shallowattack angle.  Many open club faces at the top of the swing actually hook the ball, many closed faces at the top of the swing hit slices or at least high blocks, and so on. How do I know this? I have stood right next to golfers for almost 40 years and observed it up close and personal on the lesson tee.

If you are serious about long term improvement, real effective change in your game, you will need to work on the fundamentals that will put you in a position from which you do not have to recover, or execute a “fit in” move to survive. Get a good high-definition, slow-motion look at your swing, get your Trackman or Flightscope feedback and take a close look, in terms of what I’m referring to here. It will be eye-opening to say the least.

I would agree that one CAN learn to live with some save moves and achieve a certain level of success, albeit less consistent in my opinion. In fact, when most people hit balls, that is what they are practicing. As always, it’s your call.  Enjoy the journey.

Source here

Wet lie? Here's how to play it (and when to drop)

By Matthew Rudy

Everybody has seen the tour player roll up his pant legs and get down into the hazard to try to play a ball that's partially submerged.

Luckily, most situations aren't quite that dire -- but you do need to know how to account for a wet, muddy lie around the green. If you don't, you're going to hit more than your share of fat or bladed shots.

The secret? Don't let the leading edge of your sand wedge get caught up in the muck, says short-game guru and 50 Best Teacher Stan Utley.

"Out of fear, a lot of players swing too easy, which will usually cause you to duff it," says Utley. "From these lies, you should be thinking about playing a standard bunker shot."

To do it, you need to unhinge your wrists aggressively on the downswing while keeping your right palm pointed upward -- the key to keeping the bounce on the bottom of the club aimed at the ground. If you swing too slowly or let your wrists turn over, you'll catch the leading edge in that wet muck and you'll probably move the ball ten feet.

The feel? Like you're skipping a rock across the surface of a pond.

Speaking of wet, how deep is too deep when the ball is partially submerged in water? If a quarter of the ball is above the surface, it's possible to get it out--but you're going to get wet. Wear rain gear, and swing hard.

Source: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/wet-lie-heres-how-to-play-it-and-when-to-drop

5 Steps to Copy Tiger Woods' Swing Technique

By Brady Riggs

February 10, 2019

 

As last season proved, a healthy Tiger is a scary Tiger. He’ll be back in action at next week’s Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club for his second start of the season. While his technique is ever-evolving, it’s always worth studying, to say nothing of copying. Check out the keys to his swing below.

Muscle Matters

There’s no denying it—Tiger’s arms are still jacked! And they’re not for looks. Woods understands that at the highest levels, golf is a power game that taxes every muscle. Tiger continues his legacy as the original Tour gym rat, and if his arms are any indication, he has zero plans to let the youngsters on the Tour outwork him.

High Flyer

You can tell from his finish below that Tiger has launched a higher-than-normal approach. He’s extending his lower spine up and toward the target. It’s a great move for any swing— if your back can take it. Looks like Tiger’s finally can.

Back in Business 

Players with bad backs rarely swing to a full finish, let alone a high one like this. As with his knees, Tiger’s back looks ready for prime-time— the slight lean back or subtle “reverse C” is impossible to achieve when the back is in distress.

Bottom Gear

Is there really something to “glute activation” after all? You bet. There’s no better way to produce serious clubhead speed than by firing your glutes and squeezing your thighs together through impact. The combo causes your body to decelerate at just the right moment, allowing the club to pick up speed and whip through.

Knee Brace 

Tiger’s healed left knee below can once again handle the torque created by his swing. His left foot is nearly flat on the ground, even this deep into his followthrough, providing the stability he’s been missing for years. If your knees aren’t as healthy as Tiger’s, set up with your feet flared, or allow more weight to roll to the outside of your spikes.

 

Source: https://www.golf.com/instruction/2019/02/10/five-steps-to-copy-tiger-woods-swing-technique/?fbclid=IwAR1oRc3vIoy0ETfpkDpeFzbXUPLshNvr2mDLNnz3ec7esc4g11-rPjgHEhg

Slicers: Try to Hook It

Doing the opposite will fix that miss to the right

 

By Butch Harmon

 

Maybe you only sometimes hit that big slider to the right off the tee, or maybe you fear it every time you step up. Whatever the case, a slice happens when the clubface is open to the path of the swing at impact.

The move that typically leaves the face open is the back shoulder lurching toward the ball at the start of the downswing—a common problem when golfers swing hard. When the shoulder moves out, it pushes the club onto an out-to-in path, and the clubface will usually be open to that path when it reaches the ball. Fore right!

To break this ugly chain, I'm going to give you some hook-producing moves, which will quickly correct a slice.

 

 

First, close your feet, hips and shoulders to the target at address.

Second, swing the club back slightly to the inside as you turn your shoulders to the top.

Third, start the downswing by shifting your lower body toward the target, taking care to keep your right shoulder—for righties—back and in.

Finally, swing your arms and the club out and through the ball, letting your left elbow fold down and the upper part of your left arm stay close to your side. Your right arm will release over your left, squaring the face. It's the quickest way to fix a slice.

“Coming down, keep your right shoulder back and in.”

 

USE THE SPLIT-HANDS DRILL TO LEARN TO RELEASE

There are a lot of things slicers can do on the range to feel what it's like to square the clubface. My favorite is the split-hands drill. Set up normally with a driver, but separate your hands a few inches on the club. This grip will make your right arm feel long, which will help the left elbow fold against your side as you swing through. That folding action causes the right arm to rotate over the left through impact, which squares the face. At first, make slow practice swings to feel the right arm release. Then, hit balls with a three-quarter swing. I bet you'll see the ball start turning right to left.

 

 

 

Butch Harmon is a Golf Digest Teaching Professional.

 

Source: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/slicers-try-to-hook-it

Get better swing plane where it matters, near the ball

 

By Matthew Rudy

 

The same few words seem to pop up when describing Bryson DeChambeau's game: Unique, quirky, or even strange.

What isn't strange are the results. DeChambeau won his third career PGA Tour event at the Northern Trust, smashing the field by four shots with elite ball-striking using his single-length Cobra irons. DeChambeau hit 16 greens on Sunday on his way to his fourth round of 69 or lower at Ridgewood Country Club, and he made just six bogeys on the week.

The precision and consistency in DeChambeau's game comes in part from his determination to make every swing on the same plane—literally. "I've run his swing on my 3D analysis software, and Bryson is literally more planar than the swing robots they use to design clubs," says Golf Digest 50 Best Teacher Michael Jacobs. "Even if you wanted to try to do that yourself, I don't think the average player has the coordination. He really is unique."

 

 

But even with DeChambeau's idiosyncratic method, there are things you can take away and use to tweak your game. "What gets weekend players in trouble is pushing and pulling on the club with too much force that's perpendicular to the direction of the swing," says Jacobs, who is based at Rock Hill Golf & Country Club in Manorville, NY. "That forcing of the club makes the club respond 'out of plane," which requires you to make a compensating move to recover."

You don't need to try to get your swing on a consistent plane throughout, as long as you can produce more consistency through the "execution phase," says Jacobs—which is about hip high to hip high. "That's where swing plane really matters," he says. "Film your swing from down the line, with the camera on the ball line, and practice making swings where the club doesn't move very much off the plane line in that phase. That's going to come from a more neutral address position, where you aren't aligning your shoulders, hips and feet at different targets, and from more neutral body motions. Get that phase down and you're going to hit much more consistent shots."

 

Source: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/steal-bryson-dechambeaus-secret-to-swing-consistency?fbclid=IwAR3X9BoXNIBzbhod3-_rCiWFhzl0sNFHXueGP_q-8irRDNpqnvQN8xvPN-U