golf swing tips

Take Some Lumber to your Game

Ted Odorico April 11, 2026

Instruction

This might sound like a stupid question but do you want to hit the ball further? Well, there are many things that can go right or wrong during the golf swing, but one thing is for sure, the golf ball really cares about what happens at the moment of impact. It is at that precise moment the golf ball is given all its flight data from the golf club. It really doesn’t care about what your swing looks like. Even on the PGA Tour today there are different styles of golf swings. Some people might consider Matt Wolfe to have a very upright swing plane, Matt Kucher flat arms at the top of his swing, or Adam Scott just picture perfect. Is one swing better than another? To be honest, all the golf ball cares about is that the clubface angle is square to its intended target, the club is traveling on the correct plane, and that you make a divot after the golf ball with all your clubs except a driver and of course, a putter.

A lot of the golfers I see want to hit the golf ball further. More often than not they aren’t being efficient at impact. Common issues I see with amateurs at impact are: weight is on their back foot, their hands are behind the ball, and the left wrist (for a right handed golfer) is cupped. Not only is their ball striking not crisp, but the contact on the club face is not centered. Ultimately the club is ascending into the ball and there is a significant loss of distance.

In order to improve your ball striking and impact you first have to “educate the hands and arms” to be in the right position. If you are a right handed golfer your left hand specifically controls the club face. If your grip isn’t fundamentally sound you’re unlikely to have a square clubface at impact. Your right hand and arm influences the plane angle of the swing as well as shaft lean at impact. The right arm is a major sauce of power in your golf swing because of the levers in your right wrist and elbow. The concept of leading with the left arm and letting the right arm go along for the ride simply doesn’t hold true. You have to use your dominate arm as much as you can in the golf swing.

There are certain drills that can over correct a problem but this impact drill will have you hitting your shots better and maximizing your golf swings efficiency.

Setup: Make sure that your fundamentals are in place and you haven’t cut any corners

Before you proceed with the 2×4 impact drill, make sure that your setup fundamentals are in place and you haven’t cut any corners. Using a short iron, place the 2×4 approximately one foot behind the ball, perpendicular to your toe line. The golf ball should be positioned in the middle of your stance. Your setup should look like you are getting ready to make a full swing.

The Take Back: Take the golf club back until your left arm is parallel to the ground and the shaft is set at a 90 degree angle.

When you’re focusing on improving your impact position in the golf swing, start by making slow half swings. Take the golf club back until your left arm is parallel to the ground and the shaft is set at a 90 degree angle. To ensure that your clubface remains square, make sure that your left wrist remains flat and the right wrist is fully cocked. Your right arm should feel relaxed and soft like a wet noodle and you should have little to no tension in your left arm.

The Down Shift: To start your down swing you have to start transferring your weight toward your front heel.

As you start your down swing you have to start transferring your weight toward your front heel. If you don’t shift you are likely to hit the 2×4 before you get back to the golf ball. Make sure that you are keeping your wrists fully cocked while at the same time making sure that left wrist is flat. All this will ensure that you avoid releasing the club head early and casting. Remember, your hands will lead the charge back towards the golf ball.

The Moment of Truth: Feel like your right arm is extending and driving the club head through the ball and into the ground.

As the club continues to travel on a descending path towards the ball you should feel like your right arm is extending and driving the club head through the ball and into the ground. The most critical moment at impact is when the club reaches the low point in the swing arc and bottoms out. Your low point at impact should be in line with your left heel (approximately 4 inches past the ball) and will be identified as the end point of your divot. It is the only position in the swing that both left and right arms are fully extended at the same time. Other key points to recognize at impact are that your left wrist is still flat and right wrist is bent. The majority of your weight is on your left foot and your right heel is slightly raised.

Stick the Landing: Your weight is on your left leg, you should be able to maintain a balanced abbreviated finish position.

As you continue to rotate your body into the swings finish position, maintain extension in both arms to avoid the dreaded “Chicken Wing Left Arm”. As long as your right arm pushed down through impact and your weight finished on your left leg, you should be able to maintain a balanced abbreviated finish position. Remember these two key points; if you hit the 2×4 on your down swing it was because your weight remained behind the golf ball. If you were unable to take a divot it is because your right arm didn’t drive the club head into the turf.

Secret to Seamless Transition and Explosive Delivery

Ted Odorico April 4, 2026

Pro golfer in a golf swing, using a driver golf club, rear view

Instruction

Letting Gravity Do the Heavy Lifting in Your Downswing.

The Gravity Drop: Mastering the Transition from Load to Lead

Welcome to Day Three. This is the moment of truth. Over the last two days, you’ve built a professional foundation and wound your torso into a high-tension spring. You have the posture of an athlete and the potential energy of a coiled cobra. But now comes the part where most amateur games fall apart: the delivery. If the backswing is about building the engine, the downswing is about the transmission. Most golfers panic at the top of the swing. They see the ball sitting there and their brain screams, “Hit it!” In response, they “cast” the club from the top, throwing their hands and shoulders at the ball like they’re trying to swat a fly against a wall. This move—the dreaded “Over-the-Top” move—is the primary cause of the weak slice and the pulled shot. The pros do the exact opposite. They don’t try to “hit” the ball; they let gravity and sequencing do the work. They understand that speed isn’t created by shoving the club downward; it’s created by letting the club “drop” into the slot so it can arrive at the ball with clinical precision and maximum velocity.

The Secret of Sequencing: The “Bottom-Up” Engine

In a perfect golf swing, the downswing starts before the backswing even finishes. Think about a professional pitcher or a quarterback. They don’t wait for their arm to reach the furthest point back before they start stepping toward their target. Their lower body moves forward while their upper body is still finishing its load. This creates “separation.” When your lower body starts moving toward the target while your shoulders are still turned away from it, you create even more tension. This is the “Gravity Drop.” By shifting your weight to your lead side first, the club naturally falls into a shallower, more inside path. When you “cast” with your hands, you pull the club outside the line, forcing a steep, across-the-ball strike. When you lead with your hips, the club “slingshots” behind you, allowing you to hit the back of the ball rather than the side of it. Today, we are going to force your body to feel this professional sequence.

The Drill: The “Step-In” Transition

To master this, we’re going to use a dynamic drill that makes it impossible to “cast” the club. This drill forces your lower body to take the lead in the dance, creating a natural, effortless transition.

The Mission: To force your lead side to “re-center” and clear the path before your hands have a chance to take over.

1. The Starting Block: Set up to a ball (or just a spot on the ground) with your feet touching—heels and toes side-by-side. Hold the club in your normal grip, but keep your stance completely narrow.

2. The Move: Start your backswing as you normally would, focusing on that “Shoulder-to-Chin” rotation we practiced yesterday.

3. The Action: Here is the key: Just as the club reaches about 75% of the way to the top—before you’ve finished your backswing—take a small “stride” (about 6 to 10 inches) toward the target with your lead foot.

4. The Follow-Through: Once that lead foot plants firmly on the ground, let your hips turn and allow the club to swing through.

5. The Payoff: This “re-centering” move is a game-changer. It forces your hips to clear and your weight to shift forward before your hands can fire. You’ll feel the club “drop” onto an inside path, ensuring you hit the back of the ball with a compressed, powerful strike.

When you tried the Step-In drill, did you find it difficult to time the stride while the club was still moving backward?

Why “Effortless” Speed is the Fastest Speed

There is a massive difference between “swinging hard” and “swinging fast.” When you swing hard with your arms, your muscles tense up, which actually slows the clubhead down. When you sequence the swing correctly—starting from the ground up—you create a “whip” effect. Imagine a long bullwhip. To make it crack, you don’t throw the tip of the whip at the ground. You move the handle forward, then snap it back. The handle (your hips) leads, and the tip (the clubhead) follows with massive, multiplied speed. By using the Step-In Transition, you are training your body to be the handle, not the tip. This is how players like Fred Couples or Ernie Els look like they’re barely trying while the ball screaming off the face.

Summary: Power is Sequenced, Not Forced

The transition is the bridge between your preparation and your result. If that bridge is shaky, the result will be inconsistent. By letting the lower body lead the downswing, you eliminate the “handsy” compensations that lead to fat shots, thinned shots, and slices. You’ve learned that the downswing isn’t a race to the ball; it’s a controlled release of the tension you built in Part 2. When you trust the “drop,” you stop fighting the club and start letting the club work for you.

What’s Next?

You’ve made contact, and if you’ve followed the sequence, it probably felt like butter. You’ve felt the “click” of a compressed ball and seen the higher, more penetrating ball flight. But the work isn’t done. Are you falling over your own feet after the strike? Are you “walking after” your shots because you’re off-balance? A great swing doesn’t end at impact; it ends in a position of total control. Tomorrow, we wrap the series by mastering the “Statue Finish.” This is the secret to consistency that the cameras love, your playing partners envy, and your scorecard desperately needs.

Check back tomorrow for Part 4, the final piece of the puzzle that ensures every shot you hit is as repeatable as the last.

The Coil: Building the Human Slingshot

Ted Odorico April 3, 2026

Hombre jugando al golf. Silueta de un golfista con fondo negro y blanco. Top de backswing o subida.

Instruction

Stop Lifting the Club and Start Loading the Engine.

The Power of the Coil: Why “Loading” Beats “Moving” Every Time

Welcome back to Day Two of your transformation. Yesterday, we tore down your old, shaky foundation and replaced it with a rock-solid, athletic setup. You’ve mastered the hip hinge, your weight is over the balls of your feet, and your arms are hanging with professional “dead weight” relaxation. You finally look like a golfer who means business.

But here is the hard truth: standing like an athlete is only half the battle. Now that you’re standing like one, it’s time to move—but “moving” isn’t actually the goal. “Loading” is.

The biggest mistake amateurs make is equating a “big swing” with a “powerful swing.” They see a pro like Rory McIlroy or Dustin Johnson and try to mimic the length of their backswing. To get there, they “sway” their hips away from the target or “lift” the club into the air with their shoulders. In doing so, they bleed energy out of the back of the swing like a leaky tire. Real distance isn’t born in the length of your arms; it’s born in the friction between your upper and lower body. Today, we’re turning your torso into a high-tension coil that’s begging to be released.

Movement vs. Torque: Understanding the “X-Factor”

In the world of high-level golf instruction, we talk a lot about “X-Factor.” This is the difference in rotation between your hips and your shoulders. If your hips and shoulders turn the same amount, you aren’t a golfer—you’re a revolving door. There is no tension, no stretch, and therefore, no speed.

To hit the ball a long way, your lower body needs to act as an anchor while your upper body winds up against it. Think of a slingshot: if you move the entire slingshot backward, nothing happens. But if you hold the frame still and pull the elastic back, you create potential energy.

When you “sway” or “slide” off the ball, you’re moving the whole slingshot. When you “coil” while keeping your trail leg stable, you are stretching the elastic. Today’s mission is to teach you how to feel that stretch for the first time.

The Drill: The “Shoulder-to-Chin” Rotation

This drill is designed to take the club out of your hands so you can’t “cheat” the turn with your arms. We are going to use the posture you built yesterday to create maximum torque without sliding an inch off the ball.

The Mission: To find your “max load” point and ensure your lead shoulder is doing the heavy lifting, not your hands.

1. The Setup: Assume your “Wall-Butt” posture from Day One. Instead of holding a club normally, take a mid-iron and hold it horizontally across your chest. Pin it against your shoulders with your arms crossed over your chest (left arm over right for right-handers).

2. The Target: Look down and pick out a specific blade of grass (or a coin on the carpet) directly between your feet. This is your “center.”

3. The Action: Without letting your hips slide toward your trail side, turn your torso back. Focus on moving your lead shoulder (the one closest to the target) down and across. Keep turning until the end of the club points behind that blade of grass.

4. The Checkpoint: At the top of this turn, your lead shoulder should be tucked neatly under your chin. Your back should be facing the target, and your trail leg should feel like a pillar of concrete holding your weight in place.

5. The Payoff: If you’ve done this correctly, you will feel a deep, slightly uncomfortable stretch in your lead lat and your trail hip. That isn’t pain—that is stored energy. You have officially turned your body into a high-tension spring.

During the Shoulder-to-Chin drill, did you find it difficult to keep your eyes on the blade of grass while completing your turn?

The Myth of the “Long” Backswing

Many golfers believe that if they can just get the clubhead further behind them, they’ll hit it further. This leads to “collapsing” the lead arm or over-rotating the hips. The result? You lose your connection to the ground and your timing goes out the window.

A compact, coiled turn will out-drive a long, loose swing every single time. Why? Because a coiled swing is ready to fire instantly. A loose, long swing requires a “gathering” phase at the top just to get back into position. By the time the loose swinger gets back to the ball, the coiled golfer has already zipped through the impact zone with effortless velocity. When you practice the “Shoulder-to-Chin” rotation, don’t worry about how far the club points. Worry about how much resistance you feel in your core. That resistance is your fuel tank.

Summary: Resistance is the Secret to Speed

The backswing isn’t a position you “get to”; it’s a tension you “build up.” By mastering the relationship between your shoulders and your hips, you eliminate the power leaks that cause weak fades and “short-armed” shots. When you create a centered turn, you stay over the ball, making solid contact almost certain. You’ve moved away from “hitting at” the ball and toward “releasing through” the ball.

What’s Next?

You’re loaded, you’re tense, and you’re ready to explode. You’ve built the engine, and you’ve filled the tank with high-octane tension. But here is the danger: if you fire too early, or if you fire from the top with your hands, you’ll lose all that beautiful energy in the first six inches of the downswing.

Most golfers waste their coil before they even get to the ball. Tomorrow, we’re going to show you how to spend that energy wisely. Join us for Part 3, where we reveal the “Gravity Drop”—the move that turns stored tension into pure, effortless speed.

Check back tomorrow for Part 3 as we transition from the backswing to the most critical move in golf: the start of the downswing.