Coaches Corner!
"Practice with a purpose"
For ages it has been said that golfers should practice with a purpose;
which means if you want to accomplish something on the range or other practice area don't just go out there and hit balls. Have a clear purpose in mind and hit each shot with intention.
I believe this advice is solid and I would add a piece to it:
"Practice Positions"- whether you are self taught with Youtube videos, you just watch a better player on the range, or you have taken lessons. Practice the positions better players get to in their swing and try to get to those positions with your own swing. These positions are not random and the people hitting them are not superhuman. They are positions that if you can get into them with your swing you will no doubt play better golf.
1. Start with the address position. Your legs should be spread enough to support a fast swing but not so wide you can't turn your hips. Your grip should be a standard grip, get in front of a mirror or take a picture (if your grip doesn't look exactly like a pga tour grip then change it).
2. Half-way back. Your club should still be in line with your toes and shoulders. If the club is pointing behind your back at this point or if it is parallel to the ground you will have a hard time getting it up to the proper position.
3. Top of swing. Your lead arm should be nearly straight, so many people have a bent left arm costing them distance and consistency. The club should be pointing in the general direction of the target, if it is wrapping around your head you will struggle to get it back down to the ball consistently. Your wrist should be flat or almost flat in line with your forearm. Most people cup the wrist too much at the top leaving the clubface open.
4. Half-way down. You hit a beautiful 90 degree angle with your club and wrists at the top of the swing. You need to maintain that on the downswing until your hands get close to your trail leg. If you lose that angle too quickly you will likely flip with the hands and cause all sorts of problems.
5. Impact. Weight should be pushing to the front foot and hips should already be partially turned toward the target. If you are flat footed with no hip turn you will get the dreaded "Chicken Wing" appearance at impact. We want that lead arm straight at impact!
6. Finish. Possibly the most important position to hit. You must finish on your front foot with very little if any weight on the back foot. This takes effort to achieve. Find a good finish image of a professional and work to get in that position exactly. If you can't get to the same position then you likely missed positions along the way.
Pick it or Divot? Spin or no Spin?
Most people watch the professionals and wonder how they get the ball to do the things it does. It's like they are playing a different game. Well, they really are......
The average golfer tries to pick the ball off the turf or "sweep it". This results in all the various mishits. The ball either comes out low and rockets through the green or they hit behind the ball and it lands halfway to the green. The dreaded top shot is the most frustrating one; you take a huge swing and the ball makes an awful sound as it takes a large hop and then rolls 30 feet. Every once in a while the timing is perfect and the ball lands on the green and stays.
The professional golfer aggressively tilts their body toward the target and creates tremendous force into the ground with the leading edge of the club hitting just below the ball as the ball hits squarely in the center of the clubface. They never even think about trying to hit the ball up, they just mash down on the ball. It shoots out like a guided missile, hits the green then either stops after one hop or even spins backward. It's sooooo different.
My advice to most players is to decide if you have the time to learn how to hit down on the ball or accept that you will be limited to a few good shots per round for your entire golfing career. There's no shame in realizing you don't want to put the time in. You can break 100, you can even break 90 if you have an amazing short game. But if you ever want to live in the 80's more permanently or become one of the few to shoot in the 70's, you must learn to make center face contact by hitting down on the ball.
This is attainable for all. First you learn how to shift your weight forward on the downswing. Then you make the club shaft lean forward as it gets near impact. Next you get that leading edge of the club to enter the ground at the same time it hits the ball. Poof! the ball compresses and the best feeling in the golfing world is yours. The ball flies high and lands with a lot of spin. It's glorious, and now you're playing the same game as the pros!