Instruction

One-Armed Putting

It sounds crazy, but one-armed putting can improve even the worst putting strokes. Putting with your rear arm (the right arm for a right-handed golfer) helps instill a feeling of acceleration through the putt, which is absolutely critical for creating a smooth, end-over-end roll. Rear-arm putting accomplishes this largely due to the weight of the putter–with two hands, it’s easy to manipulate the club and make jabbing or decelerating strokes. But with one hand on the club, you don’t have the coordination or strength to manipulate the putter. You’ll need to rock your shoulders and control the stroke with your body, not your arm, two hallmarks of a fundamentally solid stroke.

Rear-armed putting also promotes a longer followthrough, which generally improves accuracy and consistency. Think about it. When you putt with both hands, it’s pretty easy to stop the club short, just past the ball. But if you try to stroke it with just one arm, you’ll have to let the club go down the target line because it’s hard to stop the momentum of the putterhead with only one hand.

The third benefit of one-armed putting is better distance control and touch. Believe it or not, losing the front hand puts all the feel in your back or dominant hand, which is where speed control comes from.

Finally, one-armed putting creates confidence. When your consistency, distance control and accuracy increase, so will your belief that you can make anything you look at.

As you practice with this technique, you’ll find your sensitivity increases to the point that when you put your other hand back on the club, you won’t notice it’s there.

Debbie Steinbach competed on the LPGA Tour for 11 years, and is now a top-50 instructor. Debbie teaches at The Palms Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif. (www.venusgolf.com).

Stop Shanking

Most golfers have felt the agony of wasting a great drive by shanking a wedge shot into the trees or the water. That one shank probably has even made a few of you so paranoid that you shanked the next four shots around the green.

The main reason golfers hit shanks with their wedges more than with other clubs is the steep, outside-in path it takes to use these clubs properly. Also, the clubface must be open in order to get a wedge shot to fly high and straight. The combination places the hosel of the club–where shanks occur–dangerously close to the ball.

To keep the shanks at bay, make sure that you let your arms hang naturally from your shoulders at address, with maybe a slight amount of reach toward the golf ball. Also, push your rear end back as though you’re getting ready to sit down in a chair. This will establish some room between your arms and body. If your hips and rear end pull in toward the ball during the downswing, your arms and hands will naturally get closer to the ball as well, which can easily lead to shanks.

Also, try putting three or four tees about one-eighth-inch to a quarter-inch beyond the toe of your club. When you swing, make sure that you don’t hit the tees. Avoiding the tees will keep you from extending so much that you hit the ball with the hosel.

Steve Atherton is the VP of Instruction at GolfTEC. Locate the GolfTEC center nearest you at www.golftec.com.

Throttle Back

I’d like to let readers in on a little secret that professional long drivers share among themselves: Maximum distance results from somewhat less than maximum effort. Trust me, I’ve been competing in the long drive arena for 20 years, and during that time, I’ve watched competitive long drivers post their best distances when they throttle back from an all-out assault on the ball. So will you.

When Sean Fister won the 2002 RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship, his one goal was to keep his swing under control. He focused on swinging at 85 percent of his top-end speed. Faced with the pressure of trying to win a world championship, Fister used that formula to unleash a sensational winning shot of more than 375 yards on the final ball of the event.

Driving with 85-percent effort, not your all-out max, promotes several positive things during your swing, one of which is maintaining balance. Golfers who immediately get out of balance by overswinging have to make compensations to correct the situation. Another benefit is solid contact. Golfers who swing at 85 percent have the best chance of catching the ball flush on the sweet spot of the driver. Also, swinging at 85 percent reduces tension in the body and allows fast-twitch muscles in the hands and arms to work.

Finally, your equipment actually works better when you swing at 85 percent. The properties of torque and flex built into the shafts of today’s drivers perform best when the club isn’t being swung as hard, or as violently, as possible.

Art Sellinger is a two-time National Long Drive champion and a member of the Pinnacle Distance Team. Art’s Power Guarantee training system is available by calling (817) 329-8262 or visiting www.artoflongdriving.com.

Turnstyle

Most golfers know that a full, 90-degree shoulder turn is a crucial element of a solid golf swing. Without it, a proper weight shift and a correct swing plane are almost impossible to achieve. A good shoulder turn not only ensures that your shoulders and chest are behind the ball at the top of the backswing, but helps maintain consistent balance throughout your motion. Before you can master a proper shoulder turn, however, it’s important to understand what it entails and exactly what it is._Ê

Simply put, a full shoulder turn is accomplished when the left shoulder replaces the right shoulder’s position in the backswing. In other words, to make a correct turn, your left shoulder should rotate into the position held by your right shoulder at address.

Another way to achieve this position is to simply concentrate on moving the left shoulder to the inside of the right foot. Both techniques will produce the same result–a left shoulder that has turned, not swayed, into the right side.

Although this move sounds simple, recreational golfers have a terrible time doing it consistently. Instead, they make a mistake that I call the fake turn. This is probably the most common backswing error, and can be difficult to overcome because it actually feels like a proper move. Unfortunately, the fake turn–in which the shoulders rotate, but don’t actually position the body behind the ball–almost always results in a reverse pivot and a lack of balance. By turning in this way, with the left shoulder beginning over the left foot and staying in that position throughout the swing, the majority of body weight is stranded on the left side, which can lead to a variety of bad shots, including pull hooks, blocks and slices.
_Ê_Ê
Another characteristic of the fake turn is a left shoulder position that’s markedly lower than the right. In contrast, a solid shoulder turn has the left shoulder maintaining the same height it held at address and simply rotating away from the target and behind the chin. You’ll know you’ve made a good turn when your head moves away from the target, not toward it. And remember, your left shoulder has to turn, not drop!

Backswing Basics
The amount of power you can potentially unleash into the back of the golf ball is directly proportional to the quality of your backswing and, more importantly, the solidity of your shoulder turn. A proper shoulder turn is one in which the shoulders rotate fully, weight is transferred to the rear leg and a constant spine angle is maintained.

Parallel Club Drill
A very simple exercise that quickly and easily instills the feeling of a correct shoulder turn is the Parallel Club Drill. To practice this drill, place a club across your chest and another club parallel to the inside of your right foot (at address). Make a backswing so the club across your chest is directly on top of the club inside of your right foot. When the two clubs are in-line, hold the position long enough to remember what it feels like. Repeat this move until you feel confident you can achieve the correct position without the reminder club being present._Ê

Turnstile
A solid turn begins with a solid setup, preferably one dominated by a wide base of support, a straight spine and comfortably flexed knees. From this position, if all you think about is replacing your right shoulder with your left while maintaining your spine angle, you’ll be well on your way toward grooving a high-quality backswing turn. If your head floats toward your rear leg during the process, don’t fight it–it’s part of the proper move.

Mirror Drill
Another great drill to help understand how it feels to correctly turn around your axis is the Mirror Drill. Stand in front of a full-length mirror and assume your address position. Have a friend stand behind you and hold a club vertically, running from your head toward the ground. This line represents your spine angle and the axis around which you want to rotate. Once you have this position set, make a backswing and take a close look in the mirror. If you only see your friend’s left shoulder, then you’re making a fake turn. In contrast, if you’re moving correctly and rotating well, you’ll see most of your friend’s upper body. Once you can consistently make your backswing and see your friend clearly in the mirror, you’ll have mastered the proper shoulder turn and will be ready for increased power.

Shift Your Weight For A Proper Turn
Since the fake turn is a major contributor to bad balance and a reverse pivot, it can be extremely helpful to pay close attention to the flexing of your right knee in the backswing. Often, making a fake turn will cause the right knee to become stiff or locked in a straight position at the top (for right-handed golfers), which places the majority of body weight in the left leg. When you swing down from this position, your weight will naturally shift to your right side, taking away all your power and pulling the club up through impact, instead of allowing it to move down and through the hitting zone. From this dynamic, expect the gamut of poor shots.

A great way to improve your turn and to eradicate the reverse pivot (locking of the right knee) is to shift your weight properly while maintaining the spine angle you established at address throughout the entire swing. To develop a proper weight shift while also working on your turn, try this drill: Assume your address position, and have a friend stand behind you, placing the butt-end of a club against your left shoulder and the end of another club against your left hip. Then, take a backswing. If your hip moves off the club, then you’ve swayed and your right leg and knee have straightened to some degree. Instead, you want the left shoulder to move off the club, to the inside of the right foot, and the left hip to rotate while staying in contact with the club. This will ensure that you’ve maintained your original spine angle throughout the backswing, while also helping retain the original angle of the right knee.

PGA pro Carl Rabito operates Rabito Golf Schools in Orlando, Fla.

Correct Calls

You’re in the middle of the fairway, 150 yards from the flagstick. Perfect 7-iron, you say to yourself, after which you promptly sail the ball over the pin–and over the green. What happened? Likely, you only gave yourself a fraction of the data you needed to select the right club for the shot at hand.

Producing the correct distance for a given shot on the golf course requires more than a passing glance at the yardage posted on the nearest sprinkler head. Part of playing good golf is knowing how to factor in the pin placement, the lie, elevation changes, course conditions and the wind to select the right club to knock it stiff. Even if conditions are benign, we’re often simply between clubs and, therefore, you need to know either how to add or subtract a few yards to reach the target. Considering all possible factors to control the overall distance of a shot gives you confidence over the ball–and executing shots under pressure is easier when confidence runs high.

Normal Conditions
One More, One Less
There are other factors that may contribute to your decision to take one less club or choose one more when you’re stuck in the middle. Here’s a list of circumstances that may help push you in one direction or another so you can pull off the shot.

Conditions That Favor Using One Less Club:
-No obstacle to carry in front of the green.
-The flagstick is toward the front of the green.
-You’re downwind, or face other course/weather conditions listed above that require less club.
-You always play with a little power in reserve and can call up a little extra zip when you need it.
-You’re a more skilled golfer, hit the ball solid most of the time and have the ability to shape or curve shots when necessary.
-You’re coming down the stretch in contention with adrenaline pumping.

Conditions That Favor Using One More Club:
-The trouble is short of the green and a shot that flies farther wouldn’t jeopardize a good score as much as one that pulls up short.
-The flagstick is toward the back of the green and the hole layout will accept a shot that comes in low and running.
-You’re hitting into the wind or have other course/weather conditions that require more club.
-You’re a swinger with a smooth, even tempo.
-You’re a lesser-skilled golfer who tends to come up short of the green in many cases.

Trisect The Green
To begin to sharpen your distance control from tee to green, it’s important to establish just how far you hit each of your clubs under normal conditions–or when there’s little or no wind, the course is dry and the lie is good and flat. Golf is an easier game if you know how far, on average, a particular club carries in the air and how far it rolls once it hits the ground. For example, a less-lofted iron (4- or 5-iron) will roll more than a wedge or 9-iron once it hits the green. To determine the carry and roll distance of your clubs, plan to play a practice round during a nonpeak time on the course–early evening is a good time–where you can hit two or three shots with the same club into a green.

Notice where the pitch mark is on the green, then pace off the distance from the pitch mark to the ball and arrive at an average carry and roll. When you get to the next hole, choose a different club and take an average of two or three shots. Once you know how far the ball travels under normal conditions, you can begin to make educated decisions about club selection under whatever conditions the course dishes out. If a practice round of this type isn’t possible, make some notes during your rounds of carry/roll distances with your clubs, or enlist the help of a laser rangefinder.

_Ê
On all holes, the flagstick location will either be in the front, middle or back portion of the green. The average green is about 30 yards deep, and golf clubs are designed with lofts that produce roughly a 10-yard difference between clubs. That means that there are up to three club possibilities from one position in the fairway, depending on the flagstick location.

The first order of business is to determine the yardage to the flag, not merely to the middle of the green. For example, the sprinkler head right next to your ball indicates you have 150 yards to the middle of the green, but the flagstick is in the back third of the green. If you normally hit a 7-iron a total of 150 yards, then you should choose a 6-iron.

Turn On The Wind Changes
How does the club selection change if you add 30 mph of wind? Playing into the wind is difficult–even for the best players. Tournament scores are always higher on windy days. In order to select the right club in the wind, apply the Ten Miles Per Hour rule. Take one more club (or one less) for each 10 mph of wind speed. For example, if you have 150 yards to the flag (7-iron) and you’re hitting dead into a 30 mph wind, you should use a 4-iron to hit the shot. It’s the correct play because a less-lofted club will help keep the ball low and out of the wind and, because you’re taking plenty of club, you can execute a smooth, controlled swing to produce solid contact and less spin to guard against the ball ballooning up into the wind.

If you’re downwind with this shot, use a pitching wedge and trust the wind to carry it farther without trying to swing harder. A crosswind doesn’t affect your club selection as much. Simply play the wind to your advantage by hitting the ball into the wind and letting it work back to the target.

Elevation Changes
Common sense dictates that an uphill shot requires more club and a downhill shot requires less club. The problem is that sometimes we tend to forget to take a change in elevation into account–especially if it isn’t dramatic or we don’t have a benchmark as to how elevation influences club selection.

As a general rule, select one more (or one less) club for every 10 feet of elevation change. For example, if you’ve got 150 yards to the flag (7-iron), and you estimate the target is about 10 feet below where you’re standing, use an 8-iron for the shot._Ê

Weather & Course Conditions
Again, this may seem like common sense, but the weather and the condition of the course also affect the carry and roll of your golf shots. In addition to being downwind, the ball flies farther than normal from level terrain if: 1) you’re playing well above sea level (starting about 5,000 feet); 2) the temperature is hot; 3) the air is dry; and 4) the ground is hard.

The ball won’t travel as far as normal when: 1) the grass is wet and the ground is soft; 2) the humidity is high; and 3) it’s either cold or raining.

Experienced golfers have a gut feeling for how much the course and weather conditions affect their shots and whether the conditions require a half or a whole club difference.

The Truth About Lies
The lie of your ball should also be considered as you prepare to hit a shot. In general, the lies that will require you to take at least one more club are the following:
-The ball is halfway or more down in the rough.
-The ball is in a divot.
-The lie is uphill (this lie tends to add loft).
-The ball is below your feet (this one tends to fade, so you’ll need to aim little left and play the left-to-right shot).

The lies that require at least one less club are the following:
-The ball is on top of the rough (a flyer lie that produces less-than-normal ball spin and more roll).
-The ball is on a downhill lie (this lie tends to reduce the effective loft of the club).
-The ball is above your feet (the ball tends to fly to the left, and a hooking ball travels farther than a straight or fading one).

No Man’s Land
Using the guidelines above for club selection is all well and good, but you may still arrive at a yardage that puts you right in the middle of two clubs. For example, your tee shot puts you 150 yards from the flag. You have a 10 mph wind in your face (plus one club) and the shot is slightly downhill (minus 5 yards), which gives you a total of 155 yards to the target. The 155-yard distance puts you right in the middle of your 7-iron (which you hit a solid 150 yards) and your 6-iron (which travels 160 yards on average). Welcome to the tweener.

Now, you have a decision to make. Do you hit the 7-iron in a fashion that will produce a few extra yards, or do you make some adjustments to hit the 6-iron a few yards less? In order to handle a situation that puts you in the middle of two clubs, you need to know how to gear down to hit a particular club five yards less, and also how to take the more lofted club and squeeze an extra five yards out of it.

Getting An Extra 5-10 Yds
There are a few setup and swing adjustments that are required if you need to squeeze extra yardage out of a particular club. To set up for more distance, take a slightly wider stance than you would normally to provide the solid base that’s required to make a bigger, more powerful golf swing. The ball position should be one inch back of standard, which will move your hand position well in front of the golf ball. Not only does this create a more descending blow, but moving the ball back in your stance changes the effective loft of your 7-iron into that of a 6-iron. All that’s left to do is to add a little extra speed to your swing.

To get the clubhead traveling a little faster, you need to create a longer backswing with an increase in the amount of arm swing and body turn. Not only must the swing be a little longer, but you need to pick up the pace of your swing to increase clubhead speed as well. The pace of the forwardswing should be slightly faster than normal. Most experienced golfers, and certainly the pros, have a little power in reserve when hitting their normal golf shots, so stepping up the speed a notch is no problem for them.

Another factor in getting yardage above normal is related to the type of spin created by the type of shot you hit. The sidespin created by drawing the golf ball–a shot that curves from right to left–will generally have a more boring trajectory and will land a little hotter than normal, running a few extra yards after it lands.

Drawing the golf ball is best accomplished by altering your setup and simply making your normal golf swing. Place the ball slightly back of normal at address, aiming the clubface where you want the ball to end up while you align your body to the right–or the direction the ball should start. This closed stance sets up the required in-to-out path, and if the clubface is aimed at the target correctly, it will be closed relative to the path. The grip pressure in both hands should remain light to encourage the clubface to close a little sooner through the hitting area to impart drawspin on the golf ball.

Taking Off 5-10 Yds
There are times when taking a little extra club and learning to control the distance so the golf ball won’t travel quite as far makes a lot of sense. In fact, this may be the best option for a lesser-skilled player until ballstriking becomes a little more consistent. Taking more club is a good idea for higher-handicapped players because these golfers tend to bank on hitting their shots more solidly than they generally do, so consequently, they often don’t take enough club even for normal shots.

To hit the ball a little shorter than you typically do, grip down one to two inches on the handle and make the length of the backswing and the forwardswing feel about three-quarters. The pace and tempo of the whole swing–hands, arms and body–should be slightly slower than normal. The swing should feel very smooth, but guard against deceleration or quitting on the shot. Teeing the ball up a little higher on tee shots will make the trajectory of the shot higher, fly a little shorter and land softer with less roll.

Just as drawing the golf ball will allow for a few added yards, hitting a fade–a shot that curves from left to right–will subtract a few yards. A fade imparts sidespin much like an undercut tennis shot that drops over the net and stops dead.

To set up to hit a fade, position the ball slightly forward in your stance. With the clubface aimed in the direction the ball should finish, align your body left of the target line or in the direction the ball should start. This open stance will encourage the desired out-to-in path necessary to fade the golf ball, and the clubface will be open relative to your body alignments. Firm up the grip pressure a little in both hands to keep the clubface from closing too soon through the hitting area.

Are You A Hitter Or A Swinger?
For a tweener shot, Greg Norman would take one less club. Ernie Els would take one more. Greg hits it hard, is generally an aggressive player and can easily manufacture five to 10 more yards out of a particular club when necessary. Ernie Els, on the other hand, has a slower tempo and is a swinger of the golf club. He’d do better at making some adjustments to reduce the regular yardage produced with a certain club to hit it five to 10 yards less.

Examine which type of golfer you are and decide what strategy best suits your particular style of play. You may find that this ingredient will sway you in one direction or another when you land between clubs.

Remember, it’s not important what type of golfer you are. What matters is the quality of your shots. If you learn which factors influence distance and direction, the quality of your shots will skyrocket.

Distance Control Drill
Practice distance control by hitting three clubs the same distance on the practice range. Choose a flag on the range with a yardage that corresponds to the distance you normally hit one of your middle irons.

Say you’ve chosen a 150-yard target, which is a perfect 7-iron distance. Hit five 7-irons to the flag. Then choose a 6-iron, making the appropriate setup and swing adjustments, and hit five shots to the same 150-yard target.

Finally, try hitting an 8-iron to the same target, using the setup and swing techniques necessary to get a little more distance than normal. Make note of your success with each series of balls. One approach or the other will best suit your style of golf and afford the best opportunity to hit the ball next to the flagstick.

Senior Instruction Editor and 1999 PGA Teacher of the Year Mike McGetrick owns and operates the McGetrick Golf Academy, located outside Denver, Colo. Mike coaches golfers of all levels, including players on the PGA and LPGA Tours who have a combined total of 40 worldwide wins and 9 Major Championships. Mike is proud to have coached five players on the victorious 12-member 2002 Solheim Cup team. LPGA Class A member and author Lana Ortega is a lead instructor at the Academy (www.mcgetrickgolf.com).

Tighten Up!

How many times have you been told to relax your grip, your arms or your entire body to better your golf shots?Everyone has, most often by a well-meaning playing partner hoping to pull you from the depths of a horrible round. However, such misguided advice can wreak havoc on your swing. Most golfers would be better served by tightening up their swings rather than making them looser or, to coin a phrase, more fluid. The next time a tournament airs on TV, check out Ernie Els or my old college teammate David Toms. When golfers of this caliber swing the club, their motion is undeniably fluid. However, professional swings are anything but loose, indicated by these three common swing traits:

_Ê The hands never come off the club

_Ê The left arm doesn’t fold and the elbows never split apart in the backswing

_Ê The upper body turns significantly more than the lower body in the backswing

Grip solidity, arm structure and backswing coil are difficult to create in a swing that’s overly loose or relaxed. These are elements of a tight-knit, yet well-oiled motion. Here’s how to achieve such a swing.

Grip Pressure
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the words grip pressure? For most, the words conjure up phrases such as hold the club like you’re holding a small bird or grab the handle like a tube of toothpaste or any number of sayings handed down from generation to generation to relay the idea that you can’t hold the club too tightly.

While it’s true that you should never put a death grip on the handle, it’s important to grip the club strongly enough to pass what I like to call the Hogan Test. Ben Hogan could hit shot after shot after shot without ever taking his hands off the club or changing his grip. Most recreational players have at least one grip change during every swing, let alone between swings. This is hardly the recipe for solid and consistent shotmaking.

The in-swing regrip phenomenon occurs because the lesser-skilled player’s hands are too loose, and they fail to achieve adequate pressure in three key areas of the grip: in the last three fingers of the left hand, the lifeline of the right hand and the right forefinger. If you can maintain adequate pressure here, you’ll be able to pass the Hogan Test. The Shoelace Drill should help you develop constant grip pressure in the three key areas.

Shoelace Drill
Run a shoelace in between the butt of the grip and the last three fingers of your left hand. Continue it up and over your left thumb and then to the right side of the shaft where your right forefinger rests. You should feel a constant pressure that will hold the shoestring in between the last three fingers of your left hand and the club, between the lifeline of your right hand and your left thumb, and between your right forefinger and the shaft. Maintain that pressure throughout the swing.

Arm Pressure
Arm pressure is perhaps one of the most misunderstood—or at least, worst applied—concepts in golf. Many of my students complain that they hit the ball too much with their arms and don’t use enough legs and hips. While this may well be the correct diagnosis, the common solution—relaxing the arms—causes more harm than good. When recreational golfers choose to relax their arms, more often than not their arms turn into limp noodles and their elbows execute undue folding and unfolding. Obviously, this is too loose, too slack. And too much slack leads to too much slap and robs your swing of power.

To keep your arms from going limp and, more importantly, your elbows from folding too much on the backswing and straightening too early in the downswing, use the Tac-Tic and Ball drills. Note: If you choose to tighten up your backswing structure, make sure to work on this from address to the top. A straight left arm at the top isn’t something that simply happens. A straight left arm begins at address and is maintained throughout the backswing.

Tac-Tic Drill
The Elbow Tac-Tic training aid is a great learning tool, as it gives audio feedback when you excessively fold your arms in the backswing. With the Elbow Tac-Tic properly in place, make your normal backswing move. If your elbows lose their correct structure (above, left), the Tac-Tic will produce a clicking noise. Repeat your swing until you can properly hinge to the top without hearing the Tac-Tic click.

Ball Drill
Here’s an easy drill to keep your upper body from becoming too loose. Place a small ball between your elbows at address, making your elbow width the same as the diameter of the ball. This width shouldn’t increase as you swing to the top. Therefore, as you execute your backswing, your elbows should hold the ball in place. If the ball drops, then your elbows split apart, introducing a slack element to your motion. It’s not impossible to hit good golf shots if your elbows don’t maintain their width, but it’s certainly a more complicated task. Nevertheless, maintaining proper elbow width is key to developing a tight, well-structured swing.

Pivot Pressure
Now that you’ve tightened up your grip and arms, it’s time to get to the meat of the matter: tightening up what’s going to propel those hands, arms and club powerfully and efficiently through the golf ball.

If you analyze the swings of the world’s best golfers, you’ll discover a key trend: The hips are more open than the shoulders at the point of impact. This is a critical feature of quality swings, and one you should strive to create in your own. One way to build this fantastic move into your swing is to work on creating your very own upper body/lower body differential or, specifically, creating as large a differential as possible.

To do so, practice turning your shoulders in your backswing without turning your hips. Such a pivot creates a nice, tight backswing coil and tons of potential energy. Depending on your flexibility, you should be able to create a large differential between the amounts of upper body and lower body turn. If you can maintain your max differential to the top of the backswing and then maintain or increase that differential as you start the downswing all the way through impact, you’ll be primed for greatness. To do so, your lower body needs to initiate and lead your upper body in the downswing. In fact, your lower body should start moving targetward even before your clubhead reaches the top. This is a difficult move to master, but if you concentrate solely on creating and maintaining upper body/lower body differential from takeaway to impact, your ballstriking will improve dramatically.

For those golfers who regrip, bend the arms incorrectly and don’t pivot properly, you’ll never achieve good, consistent contact without tightening up your body and swing. However, the one thing you shouldn’t tighten is your mind! If you’re accustomed to hitting less-than-spectacular shots, it’s easy to become mentally tight. But if you tighten up your swing, you’ll gain consistency and be able to control the flight of your golf ball. Once that’s accomplished, your mind can and will relax!

PGA professional and Senior Instruction Editor Chuck Winstead is the Director of Instruction at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La., and English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans, La.

The Chicken Swing

Most teachers will instruct you to fold your left arm into your left side during your followthrough so your hands and arms can release the clubhead down the target line. That’s certainly good advice, but at times, especially in pressure-packed situations where you absolutely have to hit the ball onto the green with an iron or drive it into the center of the fairway off the tee, not folding your left arm into your side can pay huge dividends.

Allowing your left arm to remain bent into the followthrough is known as chicken-winging. Typically, it’s a move associated with a lower-level swing and can produce a variety of poor shots. However, when used in the hands of an expert shotmaker, the chicken-wing swing is a low-risk, high-reward option.

The chicken swing is a shot made famous by Lee Trevino, and is often used by many of today’s golf superstars, including Tiger Woods. Nick Faldo employed the chicken swing to win the 1992 British Open at Muirfield, where he hit the final 18 greens in regulation and bested John Cook by a single stroke. Faldo, aware of the tremendous pressure he’d face during Sunday’s final round, practiced the chicken swing long in advance of the tournament to groove what may not have been the prettiest motion in the world, but one that was laser-accurate on demand. If you want to take it low like the pros do when the heat is on, put some range work into the chicken swing–it’s a delicacy under pressure.

The Technique
To hit the chicken swing, use one more club than normal and aim slightly left of your target. The key, on the backswing, is to stop at three-quarters. The downswing key is to shuttle your hips toward the target to begin your move back to the ball and then rotate them out of the way to give your arms room to return to the front of your body at impact. Since you don’t want the toe of your club to pass over the heel, keep your right wrist bent just as it was at address throughout the entire swing. If you can retain this wrist angle, you should finish with your hands in front of your chest and your clubface looking at the sky.

The critical ingredient of the chicken swing is to stop the rotation of your forearms postimpact by allowing your left elbow to float up and away from your side as you clear your hips through the hitting zone. This will keep your clubface slightly open to the target well past impact. The shot will fly lower than normal because you’ve taken an extra club, but a soft left-to-right sidespin will help the ball stop as if hit on its normal arc.

A word of caution: If you allow both elbows to chicken wing, you’re likely to contact the ball on the neck of your club. Therefore, as your left elbow drifts away from your left side through the hitting area, keep your right elbow as close to your right side as possible.

Final Keys
To pull off this shot, you must keep rotating your body to ensure that your clubhead lags behind the hands through impact. If you stop your body rotation, the clubhead will shoot past the shaft and cause the face to move off-line. Remember, even though the chicken swing is a dead-arm motion, it doesn’t mean the arms should move slowly or, worse, stop. It’s simply a case of them not rotating or turning over as they do during a regular swing.

Wrong Wing, Wrong Swing
The incorrectly executed chicken wing finds the shoulders spinning to start the downswing, but the hips and lower body lagging behind. This forces the club out toward the target line, resulting in a weak sideswipe at impact. For most high-handicappers, the chicken wing is the bane of their games, but if used correctly and on-call, it can stop the ball from going left–the mistake most good players fear.

The reasons why average players have trouble with the chicken swing is: 1) they don’t do it correctly, and 2) they don’t do it on purpose. The chart below shows the differences.

_ÊChicken Swing	_Ê	_Ê
_Ê	Incorrect	Correct
_ÊBackswing	Too long	_ÊThree-quarters, under control
_ÊDownswing Initiation	Shoulder spin	_ÊWeight transfer to front hip
_ÊWeight	_ÊHangs on right side	_ÊLateral hip shift moves weight to left side
_ÊArms	_ÊOutrace the body	Drop downward in sync with body
_ÊPath	_ÊOutside-in	Inside-out
_ÊRight Wrist	_ÊLoses its angle	Retains its angle through impact
_ÊLeft Wrist	_ÊCollapses (flips) toward the target	Remains in-line with forearm (no flipping)
_ÊElbows	Both chicken-wing	_ÊLeft chicken-wings, right stays tucked to hip
Face Position	Open or closed, producing erratic results	Slightly open, producing consistent results

PGA professional Dr. T.J. Tomasi is regarded as one of the top 100 teachers in America. He instructs at Pistol Creek Golf Club located outside Hartford, Conn.

Post-Up For Precision

Do you have a problem striking the ball solidly on a consistent basis? Do you tend to hit behind the ball? Do you struggle getting the ball to go into the air? Do you lack power? If so, it could be that you have too much lateral body movement through impact.

This isn’t to say lateral movement isn’t allowed. In fact, the left hip should shift laterally forward until it’s directly over the left heel. The key is to shift laterally, not by flexing your left knee, but by transferring your weight to a straight left leg. This is called posting-up.

Posting-up simply means straightening your left leg as you drive your weight into the finish position. You can check this by either videotaping your swing or having your playing partner watch your lower body through impact. As you drive into the ball, your left knee (for a right-handed golfer) should be straight and devoid of flex. This creates a lower-body motion that can be easily repeated and that provides a consistent impact position.

At impact, PGA tour players achieve a position that situates their left hip higher than their right. Put another way, their left leg is longer than the right leg. At GolfTEC, we define this as hip tilt. The PGA tour players’ average hip tilt at impact is 14 degrees to the right. Amateurs typically don’t post-up well and generally have around three degrees of right hip tilt at impact.

Use your lower body efficiently by posting-up. When you do, you’ll hit the ball farther and with greater accuracy.

PGA teaching professional Scott Young is the Director of Instruction at the GolfTEC learning center in Dallas, Texas.

Reduce Spin, Add Distance

Tour players are hitting the ball dramatically farther these days. Improvements in clubs and balls are contributing factors, but so is the fact that professionals have learned to reduce the amount of spin on their drives. Today’s players put in long hours finding ways to reduce backspin and create the optimal launch angle. Work on the tips below to take spin off your tee shots and hit longer, more penetrating drives.

Spin robs drives of their maximum distance. Golfers who can master the art of reducing spin on their tee shots will add extra yards to their drives. Here’s how to go about it.

First, tee the ball higher. Acquire some extra-long (23__ã4 inches) tees and peg the ball as high as possible. This promotes swinging up on the ball–rather than flat or, even worse, downward–and helps create launch angles of 10 degrees or higher and spin rates of 3,000 rpm and lower, proven to be the ideal launch conditions.

Second, never sole the driver at address. This will help promote an upward strike on the ball, too. It also increases a golfer’s chances of making contact with the clubface in the center or slightly above. Drives struck one or two grooves below the center of the clubface will have too much spin and a trajectory that starts low and then climbs.

Third, eliminate any downward action in the swing. To reduce spin and maximize distance, golfers need to adopt the uppercut swing of a home-run hitter in baseball, not the flat swing of a contact hitter.

Fourth, stay behind the ball. Any tendency to slide ahead of the ball at impact will lower the launch angle and create more spin. Stay down and through the shot at impact, swinging the club up, out and away from the body, not down and across it.

Two-time national long drive champion Art Sellinger is a member of the Pinnacle Distance Team. He uses the Cobra 427 in his power exhibitions and represents the Four Seasons Resort and Club, Las Colinas. Copies of Art’s Power Guarantee training system are available by calling (817) 329-8262 or visiting www.artoflongdriving.com.

Hacks, Lies And Videotape

Using Video to analyze and improve your golf swing is the essence of being a serious student of the game. Attempting to tackle the golf swing without taking advantage of video technology is a tremendous handicap. In fact, there’s no question in my mind that one of the main reasons we’re seeing so many young superstars in golf today is the use of video analysis. The ability to actually see what’s happening, and not having to rely on feel, accelerates the learning process immeasurably. Video not only holds the instructor partially accountable for the student’s progress, but also puts more responsibility on the student to actually practice and attempt to improve his or her technique. To borrow a saying from Homer Kelly (author of The Golfing Machine), it’s the blind struggle versus the guided one.

The only real tools you’ll need to successfully videotape your golf swing are a tripod and a camera. VHS cameras work well, as do digital cameras. Of course, digital cameras give you the added benefit of allowing for computer-aided analysis, but that’s not absolutely necessary. As long as your camera has a high-speed shutter setting, 1__ã2000 sec. or the like, you’ll be fine._Ê

To begin, set the camera at a height slightly above your navel and prepare to shoot yourself from the down-the-line angle. To properly position the camera, take a comfortable setup; then, lay a club on the ground facing the target and along the line your hands will travel during the swing (perpendicular to your feet). Walk approximately six paces behind you and aim the camera so the club is basically in the middle of the frame when you look through the viewfinder. This position will give you a solid view of the golf swing.
_Ê
Things To Look For: In preparation for analysis, you need to create a template on your TV screen using a dry-erase pen. It’s easy, and all you really need are three lines (for a down-the-line view), one vertical line from the top of the buttocks to the ground, one short vertical line just in front of the knees, and one line tracing the shaft of the club, running from the golf ball through the body and beyond (see photo, bottom right).

Once you have this template, you’re ready to begin. The seven positions you’ll want to monitor are setup, takeaway, halfway back, the top, delivery, impact and release. These positions represent critical parts of the golf swing and should be worked on regularly if you’re serious about improving.

Down-Target View	_Ê
Address: In the address position, there are several things to look for. First, a line that’s drawn vertically down from the front of the shoulders should run through the right index finger. This will ensure the hands aren’t too close or too far away from the ball. Next, a line drawn from the top of the head to the middle of the right hip should be perpendicular to the clubshaft. Achieving this position ensures that your spine angle is correct. This angle should be maintained throughout the swing. While the shoulders can be slightly rounded at setup, the small of the back should be flat.	Takeaway: The right half of the buttocks should remain against the line of the template while the right hip moves slightly to the inside. The clubhead should move directly up the diagonal template line, while the butt of the club remains pointed at the navel. The upper-left arm should remain connected to the body, while the left hand remains hidden behind the right. The key is to dominate the takeaway with the body, not the hands and arms. Developing this type of takeaway will help keep your swing smooth and synchronized._Ê

Halfway Back: The buttocks should still be against the line, while the right knee is moving away from its original position. The clubshaft is now more upright than at setup, as illustrated by its relationship to the line drawn to the ball along the original shaft line. This position helps create a shallow plane on the downswing, which almost all good players have. Also, notice that the right elbow is slightly higher than the left. This helps to create the proper downswing path and prevents the left wrist from cupping excessively.	At The Top: The buttocks should still be against the vertical line. The outside of the left arm is parallel to the shaft line at setup and the leading edge of the clubface is parallel to both the left arm and the shaft line. This creates a very neutral, top-of-the-backswing position, which is critical for straight shots. Other good indications of a neutral top position are the club being parallel to the club on the ground (used for alignment), the inside of the right forearm is parallel to the outside of the body, and the right elbow is slightly higher than the left._Ê

Delivery: The buttocks remain against the vertical line, while the knees have pulled back away from the line they started against. This ensures that the body remains away from the ball, giving the arms the proper space to move freely. The clubshaft is now parallel to the shaft line established at setup, which keeps the club attacking the ball at the proper angle and from the proper direction. The clubface should be square, hanging perpendicular to the ground while the upper body remains pitched at the same angle it started.	Impact: The buttocks are still against the line, yet have moved slightly left of where they were at address. The right knee remains behind the line it started against, giving the arms and club plenty of room to extend through impact, a huge source of power and consistency. The clubshaft is slightly more upright than it was at setup, the result of the shift of the body to the target and the slight increase in side bend at impact. A straight line is present between the clubshaft and the right forearm._Ê

Release: The lower body remains in its lane established at setup while the club goes by. This gives more room for the arms to extend and create power. The butt end of the club is still pointed at the navel, illustrating how the arms and the body work in sync during the swing. The leading edge of the clubface is square, perpendicular to the ground, and there’s still space between the hands and the body. This demonstrates the proper extension through the ball and a release of stored energy.	_Ê

Face-On View	_Ê
Address: In the face-on view, the vertical line on the left of the screen runs from the right shoulder to the ground, while the vertical line on the right side of the screen runs through both the left shoulder and the left leg. This illustrates the proper spine tilt, which will allow the shoulders to rotate on the proper plane. Notice that a line drawn straight up from the ball runs through the emblem on the shirt– this indicates the proper ball position for an iron. The shaft should be perpendicular to the ground.	Takeaway: As the body moves the arms and the arms move the club, the head should also begin to move away from the target, as indicated by some lateral motion in the template circle. At the same time, the hips haven’t moved laterally and the right hip is staying inside the template line. There’s no one part of the body taking control of the takeaway; it’s a quiet motion powered by the proper pivot of the body. There should be no noticeable dragging of the club or excessive hinging of the wrists. The legs should act as a foundation. _Ê

Halfway Back: The head has moved laterally in the circle and the right hip should now be inside the template line. This creates the proper movement of weight away from the target with the upper body, while creating the necessary room for the arms to work correctly as a result of the hip turn. The right forearm should still be seen above the left while the right shoulder moves behind the head. This shows the hands and arms have been passive in the takeaway, helping to get the club up on-plane while the shoulders continue to turn.	At The Top: There’s a noticeable space between where the right hip began and where it is at the top of the backswing. The head also has maintained its lateral drift at the top. These changes are critical to making a proper turn with the hips while moving the weight away from the target with the upper body. The clubshaft is still short of parallel to the ground, with the hands well away from the head, a sign of great width in the backswing. There’s still space between the knees, indicating a quiet and stable lower body.

Delivery: The left shoulder has now returned to its original location from setup as the upper body moves toward the target. The head also has begun to shift and is almost all the way back to its original position. The right hip has created even more space than it had at the top from its original line. A strong angle is still present between the left arm and clubshaft, illustrating stored energy. (Be careful not to create too sharp an angle here, as it will affect your accuracy.) Also, the body should be in a solid, stacked position.	Impact: The head is just slightly behind its original position while the left shoulder is now closer to the target. This moves the hands directly under the left shoulder, creating a straight line between the left shoulder, arm and clubshaft at impact. Notice how the right hip is much closer to the target at impact than at setup. Moving the body into the correct position at impact puts the bottom of the swing slightly in front of the ball. This creates consistent contact between the club, ball and ground at impact.

Release: The chest begins to pass the line originally occupied by the left shoulder while the head begins to move toward the target. This shows that the body is relaxed and the momentum of the club passing the body is pulling the body through to the finish. The body remains stacked up, with the right side of the torso from the shoulder to the knee still perpendicular to the ground. This eliminates any tendency to create a reverse C and cause possible injury to the back.	_Ê

PGA Professional and Golf Tips_¨ Senior Instruction Editor Brady Riggs is the Director of Instruction at Woodley Lakes Golf Course in Van Nuys, Calif.