Adjust Your Path As Needed

The relationship of club head path to club face angle at impact determines the shape of your ball flight (i.e., left curve, right curve, or dead straight), while it's mostly club face angle at impact that determines your ball's starting direction. This is all based on the proven "new" ball flight laws (9 potential shapes) and D-Plane theory. Stated simply, the "old" ball flight laws taught that the starting direction of the ball flight was determined by the path, while the face pointed at where the ball flight would finish. The "new" laws state the opposite.

Problem: You usually hit a draw but today you're hitting fades and pull-hooks that are not terrible but are leaving you in the rough. You can't figure out how to get your draw back. You strengthen your grip, close your stance, feel like you're swinging right, rotate your left forearm, and nothing you try is really bringing your nice draw back. Should you be trying to adjust your club path or club face angle? For most golfers who have hit nice draws in the past, they should be trying to fix their path. It's likely that MOST golfers should be scrutinizing their path, especially if their ball is starting on the right line. Because the face and path have a relationship that's actually reasonably fixed with a good grip, adjusting the path will often adjust the face angle automatically, without doing anything different. This is why better players who often "lose" their draw start hitting pull-hooks; the face and path still have the same relationship, but the path is now outside-in. The entire club face-club path relationship shifted left.

No matter what the shape of your backswing, it's the first six to twelve (6-12) inches from the top of the downswing that programs what path the clubhead will take back to the ball. So it's the initial drop of the hands and handle that need your attention, though it's true there are many ways to influence how a particular path witll occur.

When the club head is still above the hands during the transition and downswing, the butt end of the handle is automatically pointing at the path the club head will take into the ball at impact. The club head will always follow where the end of the handle is pointing at this point during the downswing. Try this drill: Go to the top of your backswing and then start down but stop after about 6-12 inches; your hands should be somewhere vertically between your sternum and your waist. Where is the butt end of the club pointing? Chances are it's pointing at the target line or even left of it already. This means you're already over-the-top and swinging outside-in. This may be what you want if you're a skilled player and trying to hit a fade, but that's not the case for most of us. If the butt end of the handle is pointing out to the right, you can probably expect one of the following ball flights: 1) push; 2) push-draw; 3) hook; 4) push-slice. Which of these you see depends entirely on the face angle relative to the amount of inside-out swing path you're using at impact. Could you see a pull-hook with an inside-out swing? The new ball flight laws say yes, but this is a highly improbable occurence, as most golfers--even beginners--would not have the impulse to swing outside 45 degrees with a club face closed the other way (this would make me feel as if I was trying to hit the golf ball with toe edge of the club).

How do you ensure you have an inside path back to the ball? First, ensure you make a good, compact, connected backswing, where you keep both elbows close together--the same distance between the elbows that you started with at address. This may not be a problem for you, but I personally fight a flying right elbow. The right elbow must be able to drop back in front of the body unhindered by crashing into the right side, and keeping good external rotation in the right humerus is crucial. Next, keep your attention on where the butt end of the club handle is pointing during the first 6-12 inches of the downswing (i.e., while the hands and handle are dropping); you must keep it pointing out to the right or towards the left-rear quadrant of the golf ball during this period of the downswing. The only way to do this, you'll find, is to keep your back facing the target just a touch longer during this period, so thinking of where the handle end is pointing helps you automate this move. This keeps you from opening your shoulders too soon, which is a major cause of swinging outside-in.

There are numerous other swing thoughts and feels you can use to achieve an inside-out delivery. I've already alluded to one of them: Keep your back closed while your hands begin to drop. You can also focus on the club head end, ensuring it falls behind you somewhat before arcing down towards the ball.

The Waggle - You Might Need It

Watson Waggle

For the longest time, I avoided really waggling the club. Very few professional touring golfers of the modern era do it, with the notable exception of Jason Dufner and a few others. So I never saw much use in it. I was wrong--at least for me. Virtually every sport that uses an implement to hit a ball, such as baseball and tennis, has some sort of waggle in preparation to perform a hitting action. Basketball players dribble the ball at the freethrow line as their waggle. Billiards players "waggle" the cue back-and-forth several times before taking their shots.

A waggle serves several functions, and I have seen it improve my playing firsthand. First, waggling prevents you from starting the swing from a tense, static position; by waggling, you can work tension out of your fingers, arms, and wrists that might have caused you to snatch the club up into an early off-plane condition (had you started from a static address position). Second, it allows you to essentially take several quick "practice swings" (or really "practice takeaways") in succession, so that you can be assured of at least starting the takeaway on-plane, which apart from the setup is the next most important part of the swing. Third, it allows you to practice and ingrain how the club head will arc back to the ball (usually down and from the inside in equal parts, unless you're trying for a fade). Fourth, the waggle helps you establish rhythm and tempo for the shot you're about to hit; the rhythm and tempo of your full swing should match that of your waggle.

My typical waggle procedure: I perform 1/4th of the swing arc several times (essentially a "takeaway" followed by a simulated "impact") using a loose wrist motion, relaxed fingers, and very little arm or shoulder motion (my right elbow bends slightly, left arm moves back slightly, and my left forearm rotates slightly). I watch the arcing of the club head to ensure the club head is tracking back freely and smoothly, up and inside at the same rate and down and outside at the same rate. My waggle ends when the shaft is on my toe line and parallel to the target line, though it might end earlier if I'm, for example, performing a chipping waggle. If the club head seems to "jerk upward" or unintentionally along the incorrect path during the waggle, I loosen the grip and wrists until it arcs smoothly as described above and I can feel the weight of the club head in my fingers.

While waggling in this manner, I observe that the club head is smoothly arcing upward and inward (especially if my intention is to hit a draw), tracing the path I want the club head to travel in the swing, but traveling no further inward than my toe line. At the same time, I ensure that I'm not opening the club face; the leading edge of the club remains parallel to my "spine angle" and remains perpendicular to the swing arc. As the club head is tracking back to the ball to start the next waggle, I then observe the "return arc" or how the club head is approaching the ball from the inside (or perhaps slightly from the outside for a fade); it should track back on the same arc it took when first moving away from the ball. All the while, I may even slightly move my feet, which Tom Watson recommends as a part of his waggle.

The waggle is not only useful for full swings but also chipping, pitching, and bunker shots--especially bunker shots. You'll notice that a lot of touring pros who don't waggle in their full swings make several waggles in greenside bunkers. For chipping, your waggle shouldn't involve any wrist movements; instead, start with straight arms and a flat left wrist; use your body rotation to make the club head arc back to the inside and then through, arcing to the left, all while keeping your left wrist flat.

Naysayers. Now, as you might have guessed, there are the usual bunch of detractors out there when it comes to the waggle in golf. Virtually anything that's considered "fundamental" in golf will have some authority advising you not to do it, and that's true for everything from grip to posture to swing planes to anything really. This is one thing that frustrates amateur golfers so much: For every commonly accepted golfing tenet, there will be the inevitable batch of instructors who say that particular tenet is crap, which causes total confusion in the amateur golfing community, especially in this internet age where a simple Google search is all you need to totally confuse and frustrate yourself. So my advice to you with respect to waggling is the same for any aspect of the golf swing that is argued, both pro and con: Try it out for yourself. It helps me. If it doesn't help you then avoid it. But make sure you give it a fair chance, which is something I never did until recently. I didn't because today's touring pros--with a few exceptions--mostly don't waggle, but I realized I'm not a pro and can benefit from the "swing lube" provided by the waggle. Ben Hogan devoted a significant portion of his famous Five Lessons book to the waggle; that should tell you something.

I begin by gripping lightly. I try to feel the weight of the clubhead with my waggle, which keeps me from squeezing the grip. I square the club to the ball, then pick it up and waggle it back and forth twice to keep my hands tension-free, swinging the clubhead back just outside my right foot and returning it to the ball smoothly.

Tom Watson: Why You Should Waggle

Any beginning golfer not being introduced to the waggle is not a good thing. Rather it is a terrible thing that not a single one of my friend’s instructors apparently see the need for a beginner to address the pressure of beginning a golf swing (full, half, chip, lob, pitch, etc.) from a dead stop. That borders on professional malpractice!

The Forgotten Waggle

The waggle sets the stage for the swing path and plane. Let’s say you need to hit a draw. Waggle the club on a slightly inside path to set up the inside-out motion you will need to produce the shot. Likewise, you might waggle on a slightly outside path before attempting to fade. Remember, make each waggle an individual action. Tailor your waggle for the shot you are playing.

The Golf Waggle

So you waggle the golf club to loosen your arms, to pace your swing and to practice swinging the golf club on the correct plane. When you waggle the club it’s mostly with your hands, just a little bit of rotation with your arms but your wrists are cocking up and your arms are rotating just a little. You waggle the golf club right back along the plane of the swing.

Hank Haney - Waggle Before You Swing

The waggle is the movements of the club head just prior to making a swing. Sometimes it’s not one waggle but two, enough to allow you to feel the shot. The waggle is accomplishing several different things. Aside from just feeling the path you are going to take the club back on; you are making adjustments to your grip pressure, re-gripping with fingers from your left and right hand. This will let you to get more comfortable making sure your hands are strong and in control. Make sure you are paying attention to the weight of the sweet spot on the club face. That’s where you want to hit the ball.

The Waggle Dance - A Good Start To Your Golf Swing

As Bill McKinney explains in the video the waggle does 5 important things for your golf swing. First, it rehearses you[r] swing path. By moving the club along the proper path you are reminding yourself seconds before you swing where the right path is.

Next, it reminds your wrists how to cock at the top of the swing. A good waggle also reminds your wrists how to release into impact.

The waggle also helps you feel the right amount of tension in your arms and wrists, remember your arms and wrists should be loose and your grip just tight enough to hang onto the club. If you have too much tension you’ll quickly realize it when you waggle and be able to correct it before it ruins a shot.

Lastly, a good waggle gives you some rhythm, and keeps you from stiffening while standing over the ball. As Bill McKinney explains in the video, the rhythm aspect to the waggle is very similar to a baseball player rhythmically moving the bat before each swing. Starting a swing from a stagnant position nearly always results in a jerking motion, it’s just how our muscles work, but if we are already moving we can be incredibly precise and smooth.

golf waggle

Under pressure, the tendency is to freeze over the ball and put a death grip on the club. To combat this, keep some motion in your fingers and feet (right inset). Waggle the club back and forth. If you lock up, your nerves will get you.

Butch Harmon: Best Tips For Driving

Harbinger of the movement of the club head. The waggle reveals how you are ultimately going to deliver the club head. Therefore, the backward motion of the waggle should be up and inward. It should also feel natural; you shouldn't fill like you are fighting the club. If you are straying up and out or up and away, then you've likely got a poor (weak) grip on the club. I like to feel that my grip is slightly on top of the club.

Ruminations on the Golf Waggle

 

Avoiding the Inside Takeaway

Yes, we amateur golfers hear over and over again that we should swing inside-out and not over-the-top (OTT). In an unconscious effort to achieve this, we often roll the wrists and bring the hands and club inside too quickly, often well below the waist, during the takeaway. This often leads to the very thing we're trying to avoid--an OTT move that is unconsciously utilized to get the club back on line and hit the ball. The result is often pulls and pull-hooks for better players who can close the club face well; for others who can't, it produces a slice. Another symptom of this condition is a very narrow swing arc going back, with the right elbow bending too early and getting too close to the right side. The right elbow will drop into the right side coming down; it's no help to you there early.

Incorrect: club too inside

One should always ensure that the clubhead stays outside of the hands for as long as possible, when viewing the takeaway down the line. In other words, the clubhead should only move inside somewhere in the upper trunk area--around the right shoulder. If it moves inside at waist level or even below, the club is being jerked inside by the hands and/or the right elbow is bending too early. The right elbow should ONLY FULLY bend late in the backswing. The hands stay in front of the body and only move inside due to the correct shoulder rotation. Actually, the correct shoulder turn in the takeaway and backswing SHOULD prevent you from doing this, provided you're not using the small muscles in your arms and hands to move the club.

Watch slow motion video of professional golfers (down-the-line view) and pay attention to the takeaway; specifically, look at their hands in relation to the club face, and pay attention to the bending action of their right elbow. You'll see that the right elbow bends late (and only reaches a full bend REALLY late in the backswing), and you'll notice that the clubhead stays outside of their hands (when viewed down the line) for a long time. The club head only comes inside (passes their mid-body line) somewhere around their right shoulder, not down near the waist like us inside-early schmucks. Their hands remain in front until waist high or even slightly above the waist; in other words, it's as if the hands move backwards in a straight line during the takeaway. And when the club head does finally move inside, it's due only to the motion of the shoulders turning; the arms and hands have nothing to do with it!

If you're guilty of this huge golfing transgression, you will feel like you're taking the club OUTSIDE the line when you first start doing the correct motion. But you're not going outside as long as you move everything--shoulders, arms, and hands--back together. You're on your way to achieving WIDTH in your backswing, which will help in numerous ways.

Correct: Club outside hands

Coming down, the right elbow will drop in close to the right side around the right hip, as you fire through. In essence, the swing is going from wide to narrow to wide again in the through swing. In other words, the swing flattens some coming down, and if you traced the club head all the way through, you would see that the club head actually loops up and then under a bit, giving your swing an inside-out path naturally. The OTT swing has the opposite loop: up and over.

Another key point: When you move the arms and club back in this way with the club head staying outside your hands, you'll be prone to swaying your hips to the right, especially if that's already one of your problems. To counter this, imagine that your right hip moves straight back and towards the target in the takeaway to counter the weight of the club head staying outside the hands. In a sense, you want to think of them moving in opposite directions. Sounds silly, I know, but if you look at DTL video of pro swings, you'll notice that their right hip moves backwards slightly during the takeaway. This will get you swinging the club back on the right plane without your swing center moving off the ball.

With any "fundamental" in golf there come the gotchas. For this aspect of the takeaway, remember that the arms and hands should simply move up during the takeaway in relations to the chest, while the club head stays outside the hands! In reality, the hands also move inside (inside or back, and up simultaneously), but the inside part of the equation happens only because the shoulders are turning. The hands and arms should not roll the club open, pull the club inside, nor should they move out away from you; if your hands move out away from your body and not inside and up during the takeaway, you're setting up for an OTT swing even if the club head stays outside the hands.

This is an especially good thought for the open-clubface-at-impact slicer. Most of these slicers create their open clubface because they roll the club wide-open during the first three feet of the swing. As a result, the club usually gets way behind them at the top, and from that position, it is very difficult to square it up. There must be some wild, compensating move made coming down. If you think "hands inside, club head outside", this will keep your clubface square at waist high, and will also help put you in the proper shape at the top of your swing. It will definitely prevent that clockwise, rolling-open action of your forearms and club, which has led to many disastrous shots over the years. So remember, "your hands are in, the club head is out...as a result, you will be square throughout".

Golf Tips - Hands Inside the Club Head During The Swing

Take the club straight back low to the ground and allow the turning of your shoulder to bring the club inside on the back swing. Do not pull the club to the inside with your hands and wrists but also guard against reaching too far back. Reaching will cause you to sway off the ball. Prevent reaching by keeping your weight on the inside of your right foot.

golf long drive take away and back swing

Another great practice drill requires the use of two alignment clubs. First, place a club above the ball, parallel to the target line. Then place a second club eight to 10 inches inside this line. You’ll notice the two clubs form a path, which should be your track on which to swing the club. At first, it will probably feel like the club is moving to the outside of the target line, but after a number of repetitions, the proper swing path will begin to feel normal. Practicing this drill will help keep your shoulders, hips and feet in alignment, and promote a more on-plane backswing.

Staying On-Plane | GolfTipsMag.com

My point in that article, and in this tip, is, if you will make a conscious effort to take the club back straight for as long as possible, you'll give yourself the optimum chance for a powerful, square-faced return of the clubface to the ball.

Instruction Tip #39 - The Takeaway

The most influential component of swing arc is the position of the right arm throughout the backswing. A player with a narrow swing arc tends to fold the right arm too early or keep it unnaturally pinned to the right side all the way to the top. Both flaws pull the club in too close to the body. The player with this flaw will feel the need to free the club by throwing it way over the top and away from the body.

Stop Coming Over The Top | GolfTipsMag.com

The best way to fix an inside golf swing takeaway is to work on your wrists and the role they play. The first initial movement should be the hinging of the wrists vertically instead of horizontally. You need to ensure your left wrist does not flatten out too early which pulls the golf club on the inside. Next you need to move the golf club across your chest as you hinge your golf club vertically.

How Your Golf Swing Takeaway Is Destroying Your Golf & How To Fix It In Just 5 Minutes

What is the one flaw in the golf swing that leads to inconsistent golf shots time and time again? If you hook, slice, hit fat or thin shots and can’t figure out the cause, you may be bringing the golf club back too far to the inside. If you want to master the takeaway, then you must keep the golf club outside of your hands in the backswing. In this article, we are you to cover a few simple golf tips that you can use to stop taking the club back too far to the inside.

Stop Taking the Club Back to the Inside: Fix Your Takeaway Today!

To determine if your hands and clubhead are properly positioned, assume your normal golf stance with a full-length mirror to your right (left, if you’re left-handed). Watch your takeaway and note where the shaft points when your hands have reached the right pocket. If it points in front of you, good – the clubhead is outside your hands. If it’s already parallel to the target line or pointing behind you, your takeaway is too far inside.

A simple way to instill a “clubhead outside the hands” takeaway is to keep the butt of the club pointing at the right hip as it passes by. If the butt points left of this spot, you’ve got too much wrist action and/or an inside path.

Be mindful of the rotation of your forearms on the takeaway. If you pull the club straight back without the arms and hands rolling naturally, the clubface will become closed. Check the toe’s position at the parallel point as described above; if it points well in front of you, it’s closed.

Think “Clubhead Outside the Hands” for Solid Takeaway

A good takeaway sets the pace for a good swing. Unfortunately, many amateurs get off to a shaky start: They lift the club and roll their hands away from their body, which draws the clubhead inside and opens the face. As a result, they make erratic contact.

Perfect your takeaway - Golf.com - GOLF.com

Driver Shaft Lean at Address

I've noticed that I can set up to hit a driver with the shaft leaning too far forward when I'm not paying attention, with the club shaft pointing at my left hip. The mishits from a shot like this include fat shots and pop-ups, because this sort of setup encourages a downward hit into the ball. With the woods, we want an upward angle of attack.

If you look at video or photographs of professional golfers showing their driver setup positions, you will notice that most set up with their hands directly over or just behind the club head (and thus ball) at address, and the club shaft is either vertical or leaning slightly away from the target. The club shaft will point at the belt buckle or just to the left of it, and the angle of the club shaft matches the angle of the left leg. In other words, the club DOES NOT lean towards the target as it does for iron shots.

Setting up with the shaft vertical or leaning very slightly away from the target will encourage a sweeping driver or wood swing rather than a downward driver swing, which is encouraged by the opposite setup. To reach this position, don't move the arms; rather, adjust the stance to get the shaft (and thus ball position) adjusted properly.

Remember to keep the shaft pointing towards the belt buckle and this will assist in getting the driver shaft in the correct position. Also keep in mind that ball position in the stance is directly associated with the degree of shaft lean, either forward or backward, at address. The ball position for the driver should be relative to the hands and upper body, not the feet, and poorer players tend to push the ball position to far forward, especially when hoping to hit a push-draw.

It's important to experiment. It's possible that a hand position very slightly forward of the ball with a driver might assist in hitting inside-out and promoting a push-draw. Taken too far, however, will cause fat shots, pop-ups, pushes, and push-slices.

So if your hands are ahead at address, they will try to be ahead of the ball at impact promoting a "compression" of the golf ball equaling more distance and accuracy. The backward lean of the driver will promote a "sweeping" of the ball off the tee to create the optimal launch angle for your drives.

Jake Spott Golf Instruction: Shaft Lean Angle

One of the most common errors with the driver is to lean the club shaft too far forward. This club shaft alignment promotes a steep attack angle, robbing you of power and accuracy. Rory [McIlroy] is a great example of someone who doesn’t lean the driver forward at address, allowing him to get behind it and achieve the necessary attack angle.

Tip from Travis: Avoid the shaft lean « PGATOUR.com The Tour Report

The shaft of the club will appear to lean slightly toward the target with your short irons because the ball is positioned in the center of your stance. With your middle irons, the shaft of the club will lean only slightly toward the target (or not at all) since the ball is forward of center. With long irons and woods, your hands and the shaft of the club will appear to be in line. Again, as the ball position moves forward, the hands stay in the same place so the lean of the shaft disappears. With a driver, the shaft will lean away from the target.

Golf Setup - Proper Positions

With the driver, most golfers play the ball too far forward and stand too far away from it. This might feel powerful, but it sets some bad things in motion.

Lesson Tee: Butch Harmon: Rule No. 1: Position The Ball: Golf Digest

 

Belt Buckle Basics

I've written about the belt buckle in previous posts on golf's triangles and always keeping the club in front, so I thought I'd write a little bit to unify the ideas, especially since this can be a key swing thought. This may be the most crucial golf swing thought for the full swing. Simple swing thoughts are best, and using the belt buckle is one way to unify a lot of swing thoughts and fundamentals and keep the approach to golf as simple as possible.

Your belt and belt buckle--especially when related to the butt end of the club handle--can show you a lot of things.

First, the belt buckle shows you whether you've made a good setup posture and address position. As Brian Manzella has stated, the belt buckle should point down toward the ball at address (at an angle) and the butt end of the club should point toward the belt buckle. It's almost as if your club is an extension of your belt buckle; in a sense, your belt is a loop around which the swing is powered. This will ensure that you have the correct pelvic tilt (i.e., protruding rear end) and that the club (and thus hands and arms) is in the correct orientation.

Second, the belt buckle shows you how to do a good takeaway or pivot back. In the beginning of your swing, the belt buckle and butt end of the club should maintain a close relationship. That is, the butt end of the club will continue pointing at the belt buckle, or remain close to the belt buckle, during the takeaway. Only once your club reaches waist height should the wrists begin hinging the club upward; the butt end of the club will begin to point down the target line but will still be in close proximity to the belt buckle, before the right arm folds into the full backswing. Think of the club shaft as an extension of the belt buckle in the takeaway.

Third, the belt buckle leads the downswing. As the downswing begins, the club's butt end and belt buckle become the most disassociated, with the club handle trailing the belt buckle. During the swing, the butt end of the club and the belt buckle quickly and dynamically become reassociated at impact, when the left arm and club reach an inline condition. In other words, the club handle quickly catches up with the belt buckle through impact. The club and hands finally pass the belt buckle on the followthrough and fully disassociate again at the top of the finish. Simply moving the belt buckle over your left leg WHILE AT THE SAME TIME turning the belt buckle to the target (while the shoulders remain closed and arms remain unengaged) may be the best swing thought for the downswing, as this reflects starting the downswing from the ground up (i.e., leading with the hips). Think of the club shaft as an extension of your belt buckle and imagine you're hitting the ball with your belt buckle (as if a club was extending from it). This thought will help you time the arms with the body and not get stuck (arms trailing too far behind); in other words, this thought is great for properly synchronizing the arms with the body rotation. Remember, the club shaft and belt buckle disassociate and reassociate based on vertical movement of the arms from the shoulder joints, not horizontal movement; the club, hands, and arms should always stay in front of the torso!

Finally, the belt buckle shows you where your ball is heading. Turn the body through so that the belt buckle points towards your starting line. If your belt buckle points right at the end of your swing, your ball is likely starting there (with the right spin, it may not end up there). Same thing if pointing left.

Another way to consider this concept is to visualize a 4-inch elastic cord connecting the end of your club to your belt buckle (there have been similar training aids available on the market). At address and during the takeaway, the 4-inch distance is maintained, but the cord begins to stretch in the backswing, creating stored energy. As the belt buckle dynamically turns towards the target and the left leg straightens, the energy is released and the elastic cord quickly returns to its original 4-inch length at impact (when the left arm and club reach an inline condition). Finally, the cord again stretches on the followthrough and to the top of the finish.

The belt and the belt buckle is a terrific alignment tool you can legally use on the course for a number of good things in the address position, posture, and swing. The butt end of the club handle (and thus the hands) are closely associated with the belt buckle in the takeaway, slowly disassociated from it to the top of the backswing, and then QUICKLY reassociated with it through the downswing and into impact. Then they dissassociate again on the other side. But remember, the hands and club handle should be close to the belt buckle again at impact (almost as if extending out of it, center-mast)!

In order for your belt buckle to point at the target on your finish, you must rotate your hips powerfully through the ball on the downswing. Powerful hip rotation alone, however, is not enough. You must also have a proper release and good lag on your downswing. But one of the easiest things to think about and visualize is where your belt buckle ends up as you complete your swing. Therein lies the power of the tip.

Golf Swing Tip: Finish With Your Belt Buckle Facing the Target Like Rory McIlroy

For each, square the face, angle the shaft, then stand to the handle so the grip points at your belt. That establishes the correct ball position.

Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers: Travis Fulton: Golf Digest

Top 100 Teacher Shawn Humphries says to keep your club pointed at your belt to stay on plane and hit better shots.

Hump Day Tip: Perfect Takeaway - Video | GOLF.com

At impact the golfer’s belt buckle will have shifted well left of the golf ball and will have begun turning left. The hands will also preferably be past the ball on all shots but the driver.

Weight Shift in Golf Swing – Herman Williams Golf

Point the butt of the club at your belt buckle and your belt line toward the ball.

"Belt line at the ball - Brian Manzella"

THE CLUB STAYS IN FRONT OF ME

My coach, Chuck Cook, says I do a great job of keeping the club in front of my body throughout the swing. Amateurs tend to swing mostly with their arms, so the body lags behind; better players can get fast with the body turn, so the arms lag behind. If you focus on turning back and through with the club staying in front of your chest, you'll find it easier to square the clubface and hit straighter shots.

Golf Instruction: Jason Dufner: Duf's Moves To Hit It Solid: Golf Digest

 

Grip: The Ultimate Fundamental

How many times have we all heard it? "A good swing starts with a good grip." There have been any number of such aphorisms uttered about the grip in golf. It has been repeated so much that we all sort of get sick of hearing it. There's a reason it's repeated so often, however. Because it's true. The grip is the ultimate fundamental in golf. Some pros teach the acronym GASP (grip--aim/alignment--setup/stance--posture) as the bedrock fundamentals around which we should build our swings.

The Grip chapter is the first one in most golf books and the first one we usually ignore. We ignore it because we think we know it already. But I can tell you from experience, the grip deserves thorough and CONTINUOUS study. It really can affect how your backswing and downswing come off. It can, when performed correctly, AUTOMATICALLY create other often touted fundamentals in your swing, such as a flat left wrist and lag. With a neutral-ish to strong grip, it's easier to shape the ball flight or hit it straight.

I'm not talking about Vardon versus Overlap or strong versus weak, necessarily. I'm talking, simply, about how you hold the club--how you put your hands and fingers on it. You would think that wouldn't be so important, but it is!! When you put your hands on correctly, you'll have a good grip--one that's neither too strong nor too weak. You'll have the Goldilocks grip: it will be JUST right.

The first thing I recommend that you do is pick up a copy of Hogan's book, Five Lessons. Read the Grip chapter. Then read it again. Study it until you could teach it yourself. Actually work on the grip as you read--try out what's being illustrated. Then look around at other reputable golf instructors--such as Hank Haney, Shawn Clement, and Herman Williams--and see the similarities to Hogan's teachings. Fundamentals are fundamentals for a reason. Yes, I know that pros use all sorts of grips and play well, but again--YOU'RE NOT A PRO. You'll have better results going with a good, fundamental grip and building a swing around it.

Hogan's LH grip.

If you're anything like me, it might be a year or so after picking up a club before you go back and give the grip serious attention. And when you do (if you're like me), you'll discover that your grip was TOO STRONG. A grip that's too strong may be better than weak, but it's still a compensating grip that can change your swing for the worse.

Having said that, it's important to note that Hogan was fighting a hook and used a weaker grip. Most pro golfers today advocate for and use a stronger grip. Tom Watson stated that you should use as strong a grip as you can without hooking the ball. Shawn Clement advocates for a stronger grip. There aren't just three grips--weak, neutral, and strong. There isn't a switch on your hands that causes you to neatly segue from one to the other. Instead, grips occupy a spectrum in terms of strength: They blend from one to the other and you must find which position suits you and your swing.

You may also discover that your "Vs" and knuckles all seemed right but that you still WERE NOT gripping the club correctly. Where you have the club sitting in the palm and fingers (different for each hand) is SO IMPORTANT.

• For the left hand (always grip with this hand first), have the club sit diagonally across the open left hand, such that the grip rests on the first phalange of the index finger and the heel pad rests on the end of the grip. Close the hand around the grip. The club should feel both in the palm slightly and in the fingers slightly. Checkpoints: Thumb/index finger are close together. Pressure in bottom 3 fingers. V points to the right. You can see two to three knuckles. The thumb is right-center of the shaft and it's a "short" thumb (the tip of the thumb is just past the index finger). If you were to loosen all fingers except for the index finger, the grip would balance perfectly against the heel pad and first phalange of the index finger (as illustrated in Hogan's book). The club shaft and club head leading edge should feel like a straight line extension of the left arm, with the club face corresponding to the back of the left hand.

• 
  For the right hand, place the middle two fingers on the club. As described by Hogan, place the club along the first phalanges of these two fingers. DO NOT place the club along the base knuckles of these fingers (i.e., more towards the palm). The right hand grip should feel far more in the fingers than the left hand grip, which help eliminate excessive right hand action that can cause flipping or excessive delofting of the club. Slide the hand down over the left and place the left thumb into the life line of the right hand. Form either a Vardon or interlocking grip with the right pinky. Checkpoints: Thumb/index finger are close together, appearing pincer-like. Pressure is only in the two middle fingers and on top of the left thumb (not in the palm of base knuckle). The V points to the right of the chin or right of the neck. The left thumb is covered. The right thumb is left-center of the shaft.
• For both grips, adjust the grip pressure by ensuring it's not too tight or too loose. A light grip pressure that can keep the club from moving in the hands is all that's needed. A looser grip will relax the arms and allow the generation of more speed and increased capacity to close the club coming through.

A more NEUTRAL grip will feel really weak if you're used to a strong grip and vice versa; but trust me...you need to learn to adjust if you want to get better.

I think that the right hand grip should preferably be neutral (and the right wrist should be *level and *vertical) - irrespective of the strength of the left hand grip. The idea of the palms facing each other across the grip should only apply to a dual neutral grip - where both the left hand grip is neutral (or weak) and the right hand grip is neutral.

Grip

So get your grip right, and stick to it. If you can't play golf with an orthodox grip, it's your swing that needs attention . . . not your grip. You can't cure a bad swing with an equally bad grip...

Note that when the arm and hand is correctly placed on the shaft the possibility of independent wrist movement (breaking or rolling of the wrist through the ball) is eliminated. The hand and arm is firm, and will remain so through the stroke...

Hence grips in which the right hand is either on top of, or under the shaft have no logical basis whatsoever! Thus, the right hand is placed on the shaft so that the palm squarely faces the target. this is the sole guiding principle for the placement of the right hand in the grip.

Golf Lessons - Lesson 2 from Golf Today

Humans definitely don’t walk around with the right palm facing up, but they will sure put it on a golf club that way if left unsupervised.

Golf Grip: How to Grip a Golf Club – Herman Williams Golf Instruction

 

Unified Grip On All Shots

Invariably, one always comes back to the TOP golf fundamental: the grip.

I just returned from a business trip and went golfing with my old boss. He gave me a putting tip that I think might be applicable to all shots in golf. (His tip had me making a lot more putts right away!) And ironically, this is something about which I once thought often, but it went by the wayside in favor of other swing tweaks and experiments.

Golfers learn early that the grip is very important in putting, because if one hand dominates the other, all sorts of misses can occur (the yips). We're taught to place the hands on the club with palms facing one another, with a reverse overlap grip and the club in the lifeline of the left hand. But when one closes the fingers, it's nearly impossible to keep the palms perfectly square; as a result (without continued attention to this fundamental), the hands can "wander away" from each other ever so slightly, and this distance is enough to introduce the yips: in my case, a right hand that tries to take over.

Golfers, including professionals, fight this tendency to drift away from the fundamentals. You can even see pros adopting all sorts of new grips and long putters to fight off the yips. I'm not so sure any of that is necessary; Phil Mickelson recently threw away the belly putter and returned to his traditional putter, and his putting improved! Maybe one simply needs to refocus on the fundamentals.

In putting, I have a tendency for the left hand grip to drift back to a stronger position like I use on full shots (i.e., the club gets out of my lifeline…out of my palm). And for the right hand, the grip becomes less overlapped (slightly drifts away from the left towards the club head), and this keeps my hands from acting in a more unified manner (really, really critical in putting). Done correctly, the grip feels like both hands have been melted together!

So, I'm starting to wonder if a more unified feel would help ALL SHOTS. I'm now trying to ensure that I pull my right hand up firmly into my left to prevent any gaps from forming with my Vardon grip. Clearly, forms of the overlapped grip (like Tiger and Jack use) are designed to keep the hands from becoming disassociated. I have a tendency to become to right-hand dominant in my golf shots, which occasionally causes my left wrist to cup and open the club face (it's obvious what can happen with putting and chipping). I think one can still have a united feel on all shots using a Vardon (or maybe even 10-finger) grip by ensuring the hands have an overlapped or unified feeling (i.e., feel melted together). Some of this involves equalization of grip pressure between both hands so that there's one pressure. This way, the hands form a single pivot point for the club and the arms.

Any feel of the hands acting separately in the golf swing is not a good thing.

There are no gaps ... everything fits nicely together. The hands are compact and unified. The grip pressure is created by the form of the grip. [From The Right Grip Produces a Solid Swing | GolfLink.com]

The Vardon Grip, which Vardon said best unified the hands for a more consistent swing, is to this day used by the majority of the world's golfers. Vardon was also known for his accuracy, which he allied with considerable power, but it was the latter that his first American audiences admired most.

[From HowStuffWorks "Harry Vardon"]

 

Putting Tips and Yip Cures

I've already posted about lag putting and how I simply avoid looking at the ball to help control distance on long putts (more so as a drill than during play). But in reality, there's more to it than that. After all, one wants to roll it close, so there's always a marriage of distance and line.

I've noticed that if I'm not paying attention, my right hand becomes overly active in all my golf shots--including my putts. This can cause the left wrist to break down and flip. One often hears the analogy that putting is like rolling a ball toward the hole; many pros (like Jackie Burke) favor an active right hand with a passive left hand, while Dave Stockton likes the left hand/wrist and arm leading (with a forward leaning shaft with the left wrist tracking right down the line). This is often called the "forward press." However, a forward press can cause problems depending on the style of putter (see below on putter style) and the lie of the putter on the ground. In other words, pressing too much can cause hitting down on the ball and applying backspin, which will cause the ball to hop at impact and then stop well short of the target. Instead, I focus on keeping my wrists and hands out of the motion, with my arms and club forming a firm Y shape, so that only my shoulder motion transfers energy into the ball. My left wrist is straight (slight forward press) but unmoving, and my right wrist is bent more but still unmoving. The longer the putt, the less grip pressure I use, such that the weight of the club head is utilized to transfer maximum energy into the ball. The shorter the putt, the more grip pressure, because this makes for a more accurate putt that stays on its line.

But as important as the forward press is, it's also crucial to keep the hands unified during the putt (as if the hands were melted together). The closer the palms can be to each other (mirroring each other in a "praying hands" style), the better the putt will be. This is why a reverse-overlap grip with the putter running through the lifeline of the palm is also important. Another way to think of it is that the forearms should be on the same plane, facing each other (i.e., the right forearm should not extend above the left forearm at address) and forming a Y shape. Then, you just rock the shoulders to move the Y back and forth. Sometimes, I tend to let the club wander from that lifeline in my palm, and this can produce too much hand action; the putt should be driven by shoulder motion only.

Also, be careful with the angle of the wrists and position of the ball relative to the head/eyes. One should be looking in at one's hands when in the address position. The ball should SEEM like it's on the inside of the eye line, but if you plum bob using your putter, you'll see that the ball is actually directly below the eyes.

I have to concentrate on NOT moving my lower body and ONLY rocking my shoulders (again, with firm wrists). If I'm not careful, I will move my lower body like in a chip shot. The legs must remain perfectly still, and the upper body should NEVER turn to face the target (even slightly). The best way to do this is to keep the head down until after the putt is away; take practice strokes focusing on keeping the lower body completely still. It's a huge mistake to look up early, as the tendency will be to unconsciously steer the putt instead of relying on the initial line and practiced motion relative to that starting line.

I have to remind myself to get the putter head close to the ball during setup, as this can also affect the spin put on the ball (ideal spin is end-over-end or topspin). Believe it or not, it's easy to slice or hook putts just like full swing shots. It's also easy to apply backspin (if you hit down, the ball will often hop and then stop well short of the hole because it checks up). It's also important for me to slightly raise the heel of the putter off the ground (toe more down), which makes the shaft more vertical and allows for more of a straight-back-and-through stroke.

The style of putter also has an effect on the address position and chosen stroke style. The putter I'm currently using is a Nike OZ-2 blade style putter, with an offset shaft. The offset is designed so that one can address the ball with the hands and eyes directly over the ball with a vertical shaft; too much forward pressing (leaning the shaft forward and locking in the left wrist in too straight a position) causes backspin with this putter. This offset makes it easy to take a neutral stroke--either arcing or straight-back-straight-through.

Finally, it's important for me to hover the putter head ever so slightly before stroking the ball. If I begin the stroke with the putter resting on the ground, I have a tendency to jerk the club either too much outside or inside, whereas hovering it allows for a pure back-and-through roll.

Though I admire the rolling analogy (because I know how to roll a ball with my right hand), I think I putt better--especially on closer putts--if I can take my right hand out of it more. I've tried cross-handed putting and the "eagle claw" putting grip, but I don't really think they help in the long run (many gimmicks like this often seem to help at first). What I'm trying now is to flatten my left wrist (and thus lean the shaft forward).

One caveat to the firms wrists: Don't be afraid to release the right hand to lag long putts closer.

Mr. [Jackie] Burke tells me out on the practice putting green. "Just let the weight of the putter make the swing and you stay the hell out of the way. Whatever speed you go back with, that's the speed you want going forward."

[From Putting Tips From the Master - WSJ.com]

Hold the putter with the top hand with about a 4 pressure (on a scale of 1 to 10) and use the bottom hand to only guide it while holding it with a pressure of about 2. Make the stroke primarily with the top hand. This will prevent the wrist from breaking and also keep the putter in line during the stroke.

[From Best Putting Tips - Golfers Share Most Helpful Advice They've Received]

An amazingly simple tip that will help you get those long putts closer is just to stand taller.

Seem to easy?

[From Avoiding 3 Putts – Stand Tall on Long Putt | Perfect Connection Golf Swing]

The key to rolling a long putt close to the hole, or even knocking in a few of them, is to make a long, flowing stroke. And the best way to do that is to stand taller.

[From Stand tall on long putts: to lag it close from across the green, pretend you're tossing a ball | Golf Digest | Find Articles]

 

 

Reverse the Loop

I recently took a few online video lessons with Hank Haney's cadre of instructors and learned some really good information. First (probably left over from my S&T days), I tended to be a little upright in my swing plane and I took the club inside, which caused a slight over-the-top move with an opening club face through impact and a nasty push-slice. Yes, I managed to get some in-to-out motion occasionally with that steeper inside swing and occasionally drew the ball as I intended, but I also hit more than my share of straight-slices, pushes, push-slices, and even pull hooks. Why the hooks? Because in addition to trying to force in-to-out motion using a steep approach, I was having to make manipulations with my hands and forearms to try to square the club face (or use a stronger grip which doesn't feel natural to me). When I didn't hit the ball fat, my divots on the target side of the ball were always DEEP…too deep, starting shallow but ending an inch or two down into the turf.

I knew about all of the positions I was told I should be in, and I would always get confused by the instructors who would contradict each other--some saying those positions happened naturally and some saying they had to be conscious thoughts. You've heard about these positions and characteristics of a good swing before (i.e., flat left wrist at impact, rolling forearms, retained lag, foreword leaning shaft, retracing the backswing plane with the downswing plane, etc.).

So, during a recent 9-hole practice round, I decided to copy some advice I heard Hank Haney give several of his famous pupils on The Haney Project who suffered from some of my identical mistakes: Learn to reverse the OTT loop--take the club back slightly OUTSIDE the line and then come UNDER the plane with the club head on the downswing. This move gets the golfer approaching more naturally from the inside on a shallower downswing plane. The feeling that I had was that my hands and right elbow were dropping towards my right hip with the hips leading (the club dropping slightly behind me and flattening); the club made a shallow arc when in the vicinity of the ball. I could feel slight tension in my grip and left forearm, as it rotated and squared the club into impact; the feeling I could best associate with this is like closing a gate with the back of my left arm. The club stayed in the middle of my body, even into the followthrough. My divots shallowed out and my contact was better. I was drawing my 3-hybrid and 4-iron and the ball was launched on line!!! And the real test? I left with the same two balls with which I started! I usually push-sliced the devil out of that 4-iron, sometimes ending up 30 yards right of my target or out of bounds. Let's not even discuss the driver, which I would usually push, push-slice, or hook into trouble. Occasionally, I would get a low draw that would put me in the fairway, but with no real distance.

In reality, what's causing the hands and elbow to drop towards the right hip is FEELING THE WEIGHT OF THE CLUB HEAD FALLING BEHIND ME, making a loop (see Jim McClean's video below on the slot swing). And all of this means that the RIGHT SHOULDER IS ACTUALLY DIPPING DOWN while the back is still turned to the ball. All of this creates a Figure-8 oval shape with the club head. Keeping a loose grip at this stage of the swing really helps to feel the weight of the club head, and this also means that the transition from backswing to downswing feels more continuous (i.e., no real pause in the motion).

I also should add another important point I got from my online lesson; the instructor noticed that I set my wrists late and suggested that I set them earlier to increase my lag. So I work to set my wrists once the club passes above my waist, and this seems to work really great along with dropping the club head and reversing the loop. Also important: 90-deg shoulder turn. Getting a full 90-deg really helps with getting an inside swing path (in a sense, it helps automate the loop).

I have focused on this halfway-back position via what's become known as an 'early wrist set'. It's quite simple: I look for my wrists to be fully hinged and the club 'set' up on a good plane by the time my left arm is at horizontal.

[From How to plug in a repeating swing - Nick Faldo]

Bobby Jones in his book Bobby Jones on Golf had similar advice on bringing the right elbow in close and keeping the wrists set:

If you look around on the internet long enough, you'll see this theme repeat over and over:

Start the downswing by stepping down on your left heel and letting your left hip move slightly toward the target. As your lower body starts to move, pull your hands down, keeping your right elbow close to your right hip as long as possible.

[From Take our advice: Put your golf slice in the past]

Jim McClean calls this the Slot Swing:

Here's a drill from Jeff Ritter that uses the waggle to prep the body to hit a looping swing ("…your slice will be gone forever.")

So, after that wonderful practice round, I decided to do some research on the subject and found Bradley Hughes--a retired golf professional from Australia who now teaches in South Carolina. Hank Haney's teaching differs from Hughes in so many areas, but in this one area--the reversed loop 2-plane swing--they seem to agree. And the common thread seems to be a universally admired golfing hero--Ben Hogan. Both Haney and Hughes admire Hogan and incorporate his teachings to various degrees (Hughes more so). Whereas Haney seems to gravitate towards this approach as a last ditch effort, Hughes seems to embrace it as the only way to swing.

Hogan (and many of the professional golfers preceding him and following him up until the 1990s or so) swung the golf club this old way. Even Tiger swung this way in the beginning, using the older wooden clubs with flatter lie angles. Hogan was so flat coming down that many 'experts' criticized him as being laid off. Jim Furyk receive the same criticism. But Hogan's results are undeniable, and many of the professionals who swung like him coming down were also consistent greats, including Jack Nicklaus--the greatest of all time based on results. I'm not talking about their backswings, which are irrelevant according to Hughes. Nicklaus was fairly upright on the backswing. Consider Jim Furyk's backswing--it's nearly vertical, but he loops, drops his hands and right elbow to his waist coming down, and hits a nice, shallow, powerful ball, and then ends with a high finish (no pushing the upper left into the chest on the followthrough--the so called "connected" finish). He and Sergio Garcia are two examples of the few modern professionals who still swing the old way but get criticized for it, unfortunately. If Garcia could putt better (and he's working on that), he would be one of the best EVER! In some cases (like with Garcia) it's hard to notice by looking only at the hands and right elbow (pay attention to the club head).

And low and behold, several other positive benefits happen, according to Hughes. The flat left wrist, bent right wrist, lag, forward shaft lean, head behind ball, bent knees, and so on all happen naturally when using this downswing. No artificial rolling of the arms or flipping the wrists is necessary to square the face. Hughes says to forget the backswing and grip--so many differences in those fundamentals among players that they should not be considered fundamentals. The impact area is the only true fundamental.

The cherished ball strikers of days gone by (see below) all had the common theme of retaining their knee flex....and swinging on a shallower plane into impact....which allowed the right arm to stay quieter UNTIL well after impact.

This bred the consistency of their ball striking and allowed them to play much more flawless, easier hassle free golf without having to conjure up miracle shots and have to hole 25 foot putts on every green to salvage a score.

[From BradleyHughesGolf.com | Page 8]

Still not convinced? Look at these videos and articles (there are MANY others):
Brad Redding: Reverse Your Loop
Fire Your Lower Body
Haney to Romano: Reverse the Loop!
If You Slice, Read This
How to Fix an Outside Swing in Golf
Over the Top Golf Swing
How to Fix Your Golf Slice
Learn From Sean O'Hair's Downswing Loop
10-Yard Guarantee: Right Elbow, Right Hip
Drop the Hands to Hit Inside-Out (my previous blog post on the subject)

ALWAYS Keep the Arms and Hands in Front

When we watch good golfers swing a golf club, it's easy to be tricked into seeing something that isn't occurring. Golf is full of optical illusions. One GREAT example that is a key fundamental is what the arms do on the backswing and downswing. Speaking for myself, I've struggled with pulling the club WAY TOO FAR behind me on the backswing, because I concluded this was the proper motion by looking at still images of great professionals in their backswings. I felt--because of what I thought I observed--that the arms were made to move around the body horizontally--in a circle (a problem which can cause one to be laid off). And then I would do all sorts of weird contortions on the downswing to correct for the awful backswing (usually with disastrous results).

Now, let me say that, yes, there are many different kinds of backswings and downswings among great players, but there's only one kind of GOOD impact. And many pros do things that they correct through some compensation (e.g., look at Jim Furyk's backswing and follow-on downswing as an example). But all of these guys and gals end up with great contact. Hey, they're professional athletes. And I'm not! 

At any rate, I feel a top fundamental for us mortal golfers is to keep the arms in front of the body at all times--takeaway, backswing, transition, downswing, and followthrough (and that's using all clubs and situations). This means the arms, wrists, and club simply lift the club up and lower it down vertically in front of the body, while the club is moved horizontally by the backswing pivot and downswing. Shawn Clement and Steven Bahn's videos explains it best, though you can find many other such examples on youtube (including this one) and elsewhere.

Drill (Proper Motion): Take your address position with a 7-iron and then stand up from the hips; the club should be roughly parallel to the ground. Now, without any body pivot at all, cock the wrists upward; the left wrist with a neutral grip will be slightly cupped. Now bend the right elbow slightly (<=90 deg) while keeping pressure in PP1 (right palm on left thumb) to ensure the left arm is straight. You'll notice the arms and hands raise almost vertically in front of the torso only a few inches. Practice this up-and-down motion for a few moments. This represents the correct vertical motion of the arms, wrists, and club during the golf swing--somewhat like hammering or chopping wood. Coupled and timed with the correct torso turn back-and-through, this is the entire swing--a simple motion.

Drill (Improper Motion): Perform the same address procedure in the previous drill, standing erect as before. Now raise the arms while moving the hands to the right, pulling the left arm tightly across the chest. The right arm bends more. The left arm will tend to collapse. The hands move to the outside of the right shoulder. This is more of a horizontal motion and is what causes the club to get laid off and stuck.

The arms DO NOT need to provide the horizontal or circular movement, because the pivot does that; the arms, wrists, and club should move roughly up-and-down in front of the chest during the entire swing and move around simply because of the pivot. If you catch yourself pushing OUT on the shaft with your right arm to get back to the ball, you're trying to supply horizontal motion with your arms and you'll be OTT. 

Your arms and hands don't move very much during a full swing.

Think about it. The hands are in the center of your body (ie., in front of your belt buckle) at setup. When the hands are waist-high, they're still in the center of your body. That means your shoulders have moved and not much else. Then, from the waist-high position, your right elbow bends and your left elbow doesn't, which causes you left shoulder joint to pivot up.

So your hands have only moved from your waist to just above your right shoulder, and most of that movement comes from bending your right elbow. That's not much movement at all!

Ruthless Golf: More Thoughts on Keeping Your Hands in Front of You

...while maintaining your address posture, lift the club and lay it on your right shoulder next to your neck, with your elbows bent and close together (2). Now turn your shoulders and hips away from the target exactly as you would if you were making a full backswing (3). When your turn is complete, simply extend your left arm out until it's nearly straight (4).

[From Tom Watson: How To Feel A Great Backswing: Golf Digest]

Clark is so accurate, even under pressure, partly because he swings with his elbows exceptionally close together. He had a physical problem as a child that forced him to keep his elbows together, but those close elbows have become a blessing to his swing. Most amateurs have elbows flying around in the downswing, and that causes your club to go off plane and your shots to go wayward. By keeping your elbows close together, especially in the downswing, you'll find it's much easier to have a repetitive motion in which you keep your wrists cocked and the club on plane.

[From Big Play: Hit tee shots under pressure like Tim Clark | GOLF.com]

THE CLUB STAYS IN FRONT OF ME

My coach, Chuck Cook, says I do a great job of keeping the club in front of my body throughout the swing. Amateurs tend to swing mostly with their arms, so the body lags behind; better players can get fast with the body turn, so the arms lag behind. If you focus on turning back and through with the club staying in front of your chest, you'll find it easier to square the clubface and hit straighter shots.

Golf Instruction: Jason Dufner: Duf's Moves To Hit It Solid: Golf Digest