! MJ\’s Tips

We see a huge amount of golfers aim left of target with their body alignment when addressing the ball, or open as we term it in teaching.  A simple and very effective way of combating this is, when addressing the ball, having got the clubface aligned correctly, always place the left hand on the club first.  By putting the left-hand on first you immediately get the left side of your body slightly forward and then all you have to do is tuck the right hand on the club and not change the alignment of the shoulders as you do so.  This is especially helpful when addressing woods, as it gives you the feeling of being tucked in behind the ball, with the right side of your body nice and low, even the weight slightly favouring the right leg, all good pointers when trying to sweep the ball cleanly from the tee, with a nice ascending blow.

Ever taken a slow motion swing?  Yep that’s what I thought until I spoke to Jayne Storey!!  Jayne is a Tai Chi expert and good friend of mine, she showed me a great drill to get real feedback and awareness of what is going on during your swing.

I’ve always been a fan of slow motion swings for my clients, as it helps them piece together their swing and create awareness of certain aspects that at full speed cannot be fully realized.  But this is taking it to another level, so starting off by taking 30 seconds at first and then a full minute to make the full swing.  Boy do you get some feel for what each part of the body does during the swing and it really helps you become aware of problem areas that need some shall we say fine tuning! This works with every club in the bag and no matter what your current swing thought is, this will help you become more aware of that particular area.

So no cheating now, 30 seconds to start with and when you feel that is under control then onto taking a full minute to make that swing.  

PS. One for the range not the course, I don’t want complaints of 6 hour rounds please!!

The situation –

Loosing too many shots weak to the right and having to hit two extra clubs compared to your buddies? Seen enough of those divots pointing way left of target and ever wondered how to cure this?

The Cause –

It could well be that the club is approaching the ball from what we term as an out to in swing path. If the club face remains open, then we tend to hit those weak shots that tail off to the right of target. Although the root cause of this problem can be varied to say the least, the end result through impact is the same out to in swing path.

The Solution –

A really simple, yet effective way of curing this out to in motion, is a practice drill using two old golf club shafts. Pop them on the ground as in the picture enclosed and then, hover the club head above the point where they cross. Simply make a back swing over the steel shaft and then return through your down swing swinging in the direction of the graphite shaft. This will give you a very new feel, with the club head approaching the ball very much from the inside path. Do this drill several times as a warm up and then at stages through your session on the range, so that you keep topping up the feel of the correct shape to your swing. The ball flight should change quickly with many shots starting more on target and the strike should feel more solid.

Always address the ball, by starting with your feet together and placing the club head behind the ball. Getting the club positioned behind the ball, helps you to consistently achieve the correct position to build your swing from. Once the club is in squarely positioned then place the correct grip on the club, left hand first if you’re a right hander, then the right hand snugly on top. Finally the feet into the correct position, making sure you’re the correct distance from the ball. So consistent golf starts with a consistent routine and set-up!

A simply yet effective tip for feeling the correct weight distribution and balance at address is to be able to tap your heels having addressed the ball. This will give you the feeling of positioning the weight more on the balls of the feet, giving you improved balance during the swing.

I know this sounds simple to some of you, but recently a client who reads a lot of golf books was using the phrases strong and weak in relation to his grip, but the wrong way round. This can obviously cause major problems so here are the correct definitions of those phrases, just in case you want to use them.

Strong Grip – Either the right or left hand placed too far to the right hand side of the grip. When looking down on the left hand in this situation you would be able to see 3 or 4 knuckles visible and the back of the left hand would almost be facing the sky. Your right hand might be very much under the club shaft, with the grip positioned more in the palm of the hand than it should be and the thumb and fleshy pad of the right hand on the right hand side of the grip. Termed as strong this grip would close the club face, take loft off the club and hit more powerful shots, normally lower and to the left. It also tends to feel very strong and powerful but that does not mean it helps your game!

Weak Grip – Either the right or left hand placed too far to the left hand side of the grip. When looking down at the left hand in this situation you would basically see maybe 1 knuckle visible, the back of the left hand almost facing down towards the ground. Your right hand will then have stretched over the top with the thumb too much towards the left hand side of the grip and the back of the right hand almost facing the sky. Termed as a weak grip, the club face would be very open, adding loft to the club and normally resulting in a high weak shot that slices off to the right of target. It also tends to feel very weak, which is another good reason for doing something about it!

Hopefully that sorts out the terms strong and weak in relation to your grip! Kind of important that we know, don’t you think?

A good percentage of golfers we see here at the academy picture a line down through their shirt buttons and you turn around this centered point. Unfortunately this can lead into a classic reverse pivot motion, with the weight normally moving to the left leg during the back swing and then having to lean back out of the way onto the right leg during the down swing. So if your hitting weak, high shots and falling back at the finish of the swing then this could be you!!

To get a true and dynamic range of motion during your swing, generating a powerful and repetitive ball flight then picture using the right leg as the pivot point on the back swing and the left leg as the pivot point for the down swing! (Based on you right handed golfers, opposite for you lefties) So feel like you are turning into that right leg, almost sitting into the knee is a sensation I like to have. Feeling like the right knee remains flexed and the weight is as much as 70 to 80% into that right leg at the top of the back swing. From here it’s a case of allowing the weight to shift back to the left side with a little bump of the left knee and hip and when you finish that follow through, your weight should be fully onto the left leg, with the tip toe of the right shoe, the only point of contact with the ground and your tummy facing the target. Hold this pose for several seconds as it brings your swing to a nice composed finish and is a good gauge as to your level of balance in your swing.

If you ever feel that your back swing lacks width, either the right hand gets too close to the right shoulder or the left arm collapses, then this width drill is for you. Grip down the club with your right hand, just above the shaft, then make a swing to the top of the back swing. Right elbow pointing down and arm relaxed, almost like a waiter holding a tray! Then gently stretch the left hand/arm across to reach the grip and place your hand on the club. You should feel a real stretch in the left shoulder/back muscle, due to the added width you feel. This drill not only gives you a fantastic feel of a wide and powerful back swing, but helps you get the correct sensation of a coiled turn behind the ball, with the shoulders very much through 90 degrees! Depending on your amount of turn normally and general range of motion, it might be that you wont be able to reach the club, but no worries, a little bit each day and you will soon loosen up!

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