Quick Tips

Start Ahead

We all know that powerful drivers of the golf ball have great extension of the arms past the golf ball. After impact, both arms extend toward the target as the body continues to uncoil and rotate toward your forward side (left side for right-handers). Postimpact, a long-hitter’s body weight has already pushed off their right side and into their left leg, which effectively serves as a post for the body to continue rotating around, up and through to the finish.

Only thing is, many amateurs don’t quite do what longer hitters (both on and off the PGA Tour) do so well. Often, I see my students lose a lot of power because they tend to collapse the arms after impact, creating the classic “chicken wing” with the left arm. So what, you ask? What’s it matter what the arms do after impact? Well, the goal with any powerful swing is to create width in the backswing and the early followthrough, which is the “extension” I’m referring to here. If you collapse after impact, it means you were trying to hit into the ball instead of through the ball, causing you to lose a ton of power. If you change your thinking, and try to extend all the way through and after contact, you’ll likely keep accelerating the club well through impact, helping you hit longer tee shots.

A great drill for this is to start with the golf club in a great extension position, as I’m doing in the above picture. Then, swing back from this position and, as you make a downswing, try to get to the same position you started from. It’s good to do this with a couple of practice swings first, and then try to do it with a golf ball. In no time, this drill will help you achieve a better extended position after impact, causing you to hit longer and straighter drives.

Justin Klemballa, PGA, is a Master Instructor at the Jim McLean Golf School at SunRidge Canyon in Fountain Hills, Ariz. Visit sunridgecanyongolf.com for information.

Quick Draw

Wouldn’t it be great if every golf hole was exactly the same? If that was the case, we could find a way to hit one type of shot and never worry about the need to curve the golf ball. But, well, that’s not golf, and no two golf holes are ever exactly the same. Same goes for tee shots, since some golf holes require you to manipulate your ballflight if you want the optimal angle for your approach shot. In this case, I’m on a tee box that’s ripe for a draw. Which if I do hit it right to left, I’ll be in a prime landing area that sets up a really simple approach.

Only problem is, I don’t play a draw. I like to fade it. So, what do I do to hit a draw in a pinch? I don’t want to change the dynamics of my swing, so what gives? The easiest way to hit a quick draw is to understand a couple basic fundamentals. In this case, let’s look at some alignment sticks.

The orange sticks represent a square setup position, which is generally how I’m used to playing golf. The orange sticks represent a clubface facing directly at my aim point in the fairway (right stick), while my feet are aligned parallel (or even slightly open) to the target line (left stick). At impact, I’d like my clubface to be square to the target line stick, which when combined with my slightly outside-in swing path produces the fade I usually play.

Now let’s look at the yellow sticks, which are laid out to indicate in my mind what I need to do to hit a draw. First, I need to adjust my feet slightly to the right (left yellow stick). Second, the other yellow stick indicates that I need to adjust my swing path so I ensure it’s from inside to outside the target line on the downswing. Now, here’s the trick. I didn’t really change anything in my stance, other than shift it a little to the right. My swing path is still the same, relative to my feet/body position. Same goes for ball position and so on. The only thing different is the clubface angle, which is still facing my target.

Most amateurs forget this last step. They align to the right, swing to right, and wonder why they still hit a fade or a blocked shot to the right. It’s because the clubface wasn’t square to the target at address.

That’s really all there is to hitting a draw in a hurry, folks. Feeling as though you need to swing harder with the hands and rotate the clubface closed, or set up square to the target and loop your swing from the inside-out, are not the kinds of things you want to do to force a draw, especially if they’re contrary to your natural swing. Instead, keep it simple. Align your body slightly to the right of your normal stance, but keep that clubface square to the target. From there, trust your setup and swing along your body line. You’ll start hitting draws in no time.

Top-25 Instructor Tom Stickney, PGA, teaches at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif.

Polish Up Your Finish

One of the best ways to get your swing in check is to focus on your finish position. To simplify, I like to think of two ways you can finish your swing, with each way representing the type of shot you wanted to hit.

First, lets look at the finish in the larger photo. Looks good, right? Can you guess what type of shot this finish represents? If you guessed a fade, you’re right. As you can see, I’ve rotated my body onto my left side, the clubshaft is behind me, and the hands are about as high as my head position. My left elbow is away from my body pointing behind me, meaning I didn’t have a strong release of the hands. It’s a great position for those who naturally fade the ball, and for those who battle with too much hook spin.

On the other hand, if you’re a player who favors the draw, the smaller photo below is more suited for you. Notice how the club finishes more to my left, and my left elbow is more forward? This indicates I’ve done a good job releasing my hands through the shot and will likely hit a draw as a result. Try to mimic this position if you like hitting it right to left or if you struggle with slicing the ball too much. It just might help.

Despite the differences in my two finishes, both are in perfect balance, with my weight on my left side and my right heel off the ground. Keep those constants in mind, polish up your finish and start seeing better results.

Top-25 Instructor Karen Nannen, PGA, teaches at Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Grip & Release

The golf swing is a series of connected events. The little things that you do, which to many may seem like not that big a deal, can, and in most cases will, greatly affect your ability to swing the club properly.

This is especially true when it comes to the positioning of your hands on the grip. The most common grip position is a grip where both Vs, formed by the index finger and thumb of both hands, point at the right shoulder. This is what I’d consider to be a neutral grip position. And for some, it works just fine in helping the clubhead move through the impact zone, squaring up the clubface at impact and closing the clubhead through the release. But, what if that’s not right for you? What if you have trouble hitting straight shots using a standard grip?

The solution is to first consider the right grip for what you want to achieve. If you struggle with excessively hooking the ball, or if you’re an advanced player and you purposefully want to hit a fade, consider a grip position that lessens the speed of the hands through the impact zone. In the left photo on the opposite page, that means using a grip where the left-hand V points at your center and the right-hand V points vertically. This is what’s known as a “weak” grip position, but I don’t really like to call it that. Sometimes when you say “weak,” it implies you have too little grip pressure and you’re not holding the club firmly enough. Think of this position not as weak, but as a slower grip that has less torque and rotation through impact. (You can see my “weak” left-hand position by looking at how my watch face is oriented.)

The result of the slower grip is less release and rotation of the hands, as you can see in the top photo. This is an anti-hook, slice-friendly position if there ever was one. The heel leads through the impact zone, creating left-to-right spin.

Now, let’s say you want to hit a draw, or counteract your natural tendencies to hit a slice. Try gripping the club with your left-hand V pointing right of your right shoulder, and your right-hand V pointing vertically. The goal is to not have an exceedingly right-hand-powered grip, since the left hand will do the work here. This is what’s known as a “strong” grip, but like the weak grip, I don’t care for that name. I’d like to call it a “faster” grip, since the left hand is likely to engage more in the rotation of the hands through the impact zone, helping to speed up the squaring of the clubface and the closing of the clubhead through the release. Fred Couples grips it like this.

As you can see in the lower photo, the result of this grip is more rotation of the hands. The toe has passed the heel more aggressively through the impact zone, producing a greater right-to-left spin on the ball.

The end goal is this: If you’re struggling with accuracy, either hitting too many hooks, slices or both, consider a grip position that counteracts your shot tendencies. The solution is not to try to maneuver the club through the hit or artificially control how your hands release. Instead, use the correct grip style, and let the hands work in response to your grip.

_È_Top-25 Instructor Tom Stickney, PGA, can be reached at tomstickneygolf.com.

Bunker Control

Without question, most amateurs make playing from the bunker more difficult than it needs to be. Put it this way: A good lie in the bunker is an easier shot than a decent lie in the deep rough. So, why all the fear and hesitation in the sand?

Simple. To hit better bunker shots, you have to make a few key adjustments to your normal golf swing. First, in a regular shot, your body weight naturally shifts from your center, to your right, and finishes on your left. With a bunker shot, there’s much less weight shifting, as your weight should start on your left, stay on your left and finish on your left!

Check out the sequence of my swing here. My shoulders are level, and my weight is predominantly placed over my left leg. Now, because of this limited weight shift, it’s important to also open my stance and align the clubface at the target (or slightly open, depending on how high I want to hit it). Once comfortable, there’s one more thing I have to do. Swing aggressively with the hands and hit the sand before the ball! A left-sided swing will naturally steepen your swing, so be sure to swing those hands through impact with a full release of the hands after impact with the sand, as I’ve done here. To practice with more active hands, I like to hit practice bunker shots with a very narrow stance, as shown in the pics above.

Allowing your hands to hinge, unhinge and hinge again not only helps prevent you from digging too much into the sand, but also helps the ball fly higher and with added spin. You don’t need to feel as though the clubface needs to stay open all the way through the shot–this is bad advice, and usually makes matters worse for amateurs. Remember, even though you’re in the sand, you still need to make a swing, not a shoveling move. Instead, swing with a steep swing from your left side and aggressively hinge, unhinge and hinge those hands. You’ll see better bunker shots in no time.

_È_ Andrew Getson teaches at the Grayhawk Learning Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information, visit andrewgetsongolf.com.

Dance The Waltz

Sometimes the simplest way to improve your golf game is to concentrate on basic fundamentals. This means honing in on your rhythm, timing and coordination, much as a dancer would do in rehearsing his or her steps. If I had to pick, I’d say the golf swing best resembles a sophisticated waltz, with a series of related moves that must be done in sequence to maintain the proper flow and control of the dance.

I have just the drill for you to help you rehearse your swing. I call it the “Dance the Waltz” drill. Grab an iron (any will do), and get ready to make a few practice swings. As you initiate the backswing, allow your forward foot (left foot for right-handed players) to lift off the ground and come to rest by your right foot. This should happen just as the club reaches the top of your backswing, at a count of 1…2… “One” represents the clubhead/hands, which start the backswing. Two represents the rotation of the upper body away from the golf ball. Once your lower body fully turns, you should reach …3.

Now that you’re at the top of the swing with your feet together on your right side, it’s time to swing down and through. As the downswing begins, lift your left foot off the ground and place it back in its original position at address. As you do this, you should be swinging the club through the impact zone. You should feel your body weight shifting as the club passes through the downswing, and you’ll begin to develop a sense of proper tempo and balance in your swing. This is where you need to reverse your steps and count 3…2…1 as you move your left foot forward and swing down and through the impact area.

As you practice this drill, both physically and verbally, go ahead and give it a try and strike some practice balls. You’ll quickly feel the proper rhythm for your golf swing (we all have slightly different rhythms), and hopefully be on your way to making better swings and crisper contact and, ultimately, shooting lower scores.

_È_Charlotta Sorenstam is the Director of Golf Operations at the Annika Academy in Orlando, Fla. Visit theannikaacademy.com for info.

Ballpark It!

When it comes to making a golf swing, it’s safe to say that there’s really no one right way to do it. Reason being, we all are made up of different sizes and have different swing tendencies, physical abilities and so forth. Sure, there are some basic fundamentals that you need to master to play your best golf, but even that means there’s some leeway toward one way or another.

With regards to the onset of the backswing, this holds true. There’s no ideal or perfect takeaway to begin the golf swing. I have seen great ballstrikers take the club back outside the target line, while others have swung the club back toward the inside of the target line. Sure, you can exaggerate too much on both sides, causing all sorts of swing problems, but when it comes to slightly outside or inside the target line, it’s not that big a deal. An inch or so here or there will not ruin your backswing!

The key is to keep the club in a comfortable ballpark range that’s not too inside or outside the target line. A backswing that’s too inside often leads to pushes to the right, and an outside backswing tends to create sliced shots or smother hooks. But an inch or so over or under should not cause any problems. And by the way, if you’re focused too much on taking the club straight back, you’ll likely force the club too far to the outside, leading to a slice! Instead, focus on things that do matter, like maintaining a smooth tempo, a solid rotation of the body and extension of the arms. The club should move inside the target line by itself. No need to force it either way.

If you pay more attention to those details and don’t attempt to take the club back on a perfectly straight line, I bet you’ll start seeing better drives right away.

Top-25 Instructor Barry Goldstein can be reached via email at drforgolf@aol.com.

Weighing In

Why am I standing on two scales? Read below to find out the secret to a good weight shift.

I know that many of my students may think they understand how their balance shifts throughout their swings, but they often don’t really feel it until I show them this drill.

All I’ve done here is bring out two scales to illustrate how my weight shifts. Although I wouldn’t suggest hitting balls from on top of the scales (being higher than you nor-mally would stand will lead to inconsistent ballstriking), I do think it’s a simple, visual way of determining how your weight does (or does not) shift. Try this drill the next time you’re on the range and check how the needle moves during the following four checkpoints. Then retain that feeling on your full swings.

1. When addressing the ball on a normal iron shot, your weight should be distributed close to 50/50 between your left and right foot.

2. At the top of the swing, 80% of your weight should be on your dominant side. For most golfers, that means weight on the inside of their right foot.

3. At impact, your weight should be transferring to your weaker side so that 70% of your weight is on your front foot, while 30% remains on your back foot.

4. When I finish, I want 90% of my weight on my left side, while 10% remains on my right. Another way of saying this is, in your finish, show me the sole of your dominant foot.

If your weight shift gets out of whack (say, you finish with 90% of your weight on your dominant side and fall backwards), then you’ll be making dreaded “over-the-top” swings. This “out-to-in” path leads to big slices and weak, ugly shots. To ensure you make the best contact, work on this weight drill and see how it impacts your path. Then take it out to the course and make sure you retain the same weight shifts!

Frank O’Connell, PGA, teaches at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club near Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information, visit frankoconnellgolf.com.

Flip It To Stick It!

This is the trailing edge I’m talking about. Let that sweep underneath the ball.

If you’ve ever found yourself short-sided in the rough, as I am here, then you know you need to execute a shot that gets the ball up high and in a hurry–and lands soft. Here’s a more advanced way to play this rough flop shot.

I want to use the trailing edge of my lob wedge, so the club doesn’t dig into the turf. (If you use the leading edge, your club might stick in the turf!) It’s a bit like a bunker shot and requires a decent lie. If your ball is buried or if you have a tight lie, it’s that much more challenging to execute this shot successfully.

Note at setup how my hands are close to my body. I do this because it helps to promote a steeper swing plane. The closer my hands are to my body, the more I have to pick up the club (so much so that it approaches 90_¡). I hinge my wrists early and think “flip.” Then I return the club to impact and deliver a blow into the ball with the trailing edge and think “flip” again after impact so I unhinge my wrists, keeping them close to my body. The result will be a ball that soars high and lands soft, with very little rollout.


1 My hands are behind the ball, the clubface is open, and I play the ball toward my forward foot.	2 I’ve picked the club up quickly because my hands were close to my body at address.


3 Look at how fast that ball shot up in the air! I really flipped my wrists on that one.	4 No need for a big followthrough on such a short shot.

Andrew Getson, PGA, teaches at the Grayhawk Learning Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information, visitandrewgetsongolf.com.

Swing A Wet Mop

One of the most critical parts of the golf swing is what you do in the first few inches of the takeaway. Often, I see amateurs begin their takeaway by lifting the club upward, which then creates a very upright backswing that later becomes a reverse pivot. Yikes! This then leads to all sorts of trouble on the downswing and at impact.

The right way to start the backswing is to apply the “low and slow” approach. By staying low and slow, you’ll activate a bigger, wider arc and body turn, resulting in a golf swing that’s both more consistent and more powerful. A great way to practice a low and slow approach is to imagine swinging a wet mop on your backswing. Better yet, if you actually have a wet mop available, give this drill a try.

1

2

3

NO!

As you take the mop back, the weight and length of the mop will force you to stay low and slow. As you take the club farther back to the top of your backswing, make sure the wet end of the mop gets behind your body. If it hangs over your head at the top, you’ll get drenched!

The goal behind this drill is to not only help you avoid lifting the club too early in the takeaway, but also help you round out your backswing for a bigger, fuller body turn. And if you can’t find a mop nearby, then use a club, but imagine you’re actually swinging a big, heavy, wet mop. You’ll quickly begin to ingrain the proper takeaway motion and be on your way to hitting not only longer, but also straighter shots.

Wally Armstrong competed in more than 300 PGA Tour events, is a Lifetime Member of the PGA Tour and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from the University of Florida. For more information, visit wallyarmstronggolf.com.