Hover Craft

I think Jack Nicklaus' preference to hover his club at address could help many players, and I have found it helpful to me with all the clubs--even the putter. Why? It definitely smooths the takeaway and backswing because the club can't catch on the ground and be jerked off plane. It prevents unnecessary tension from forming in the arms and hands which can happen when "snatching" the club off the ground to execute the takeaway; in other words, it helps keep the arms passive in the swing, as it should be. Hovering the club or "underreaching" provides for the feeling of the arms and club hanging freely from the shoulders, so there's an enhanced sense of the club head weight. Fat and thin shots are greatly reduced, because the wrists are allowed to extend more fully at address instead of starting less extended and then extending more in the downswing.

In the case of the driver, it can preprogram your driver head to help find the sweet spot on the downswing. But it's important to hover it properly to promote this: Tee the ball so that you can hover the club to position the ball just a hair above and right of dead center, which is the sweet spot of modern drivers. Therefore, the club is just barely off the ground. Don't hover the bottom of the club even with the bottom of the ball.

With fairway woods I position the club on the barely touching the ground because I like to think of the ground as my tee; with fairway woods, I'm trying sweep the ball like a driver.

With the putter and irons, it's the same: just barely above the ground.

Provided the arm tension and posture remain constant, hovering the club should ensure clean contact. The key is to use your posture with fully extended arms (not locked) to hover the club; don't fall into the trap of lifting the club up with your arms.

...The problem is teeing up higher and placing the driver on the ground at address. For example, let's say that you tee the ball up so that 2/3 of the ball is above the driver head. If you return the driver head to its address position, you will hit a pop-up. So you will have to raise the driver head off the ground at impact. But if you do this, the driver head moves further away from your body and cause heel hits.To fix this and hit it in the middle of your clubface with higher tee height, hover the driver head (off the ground) just behind the ball. I think you will be able to fix your heel hits with this adjustment.

Can't Hit The Driver - Golf Samurai

When I watch a PGA Tour event, Champions Tour event or LPGA Tour event, I'm often struck by how many players hover the club at address. They do not rest it on the ground before starting their takeaway. To name a few players: Bubba Watson (click on the link here), Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Jay Haas, Greg Norman, Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr. Get the picture? Yet, I rarely see average golfers do this. These tour players all hover the club when the ball is teed, but a number also use the same technique on pitches and even putts. You should try it, too, especially if you feel you have difficulty bringing the club back, or would like to smooth out your takeaway, or have trouble making solid contact on pitches from tight lies.

Weekend Tip: Don't sole the club at address: The Instruction Blog: Golf Digest

JIM FLICK: I'm reminded of what the legendary player and teacher Paul Runyan described as "measuring out" or "underreaching" at address. Paul contended that if you didn't sole the club but held it just above the ground, and then kept your grip tension and spine angle constant throughout your swing, you would always hit the ball cleanly.

This principle is especially true for pitch shots, but it also holds for irons, fairway woods and, yes, the driver. And with today's fairways mowed so tightly, it really helps you make perfect contact. You want the club to return to the ball in a precise manner every time.

Jim Flick And Jack Nicklaus: Hover The Club At Address: Golf Digest

Another simple way to stay loose over the ball is to hover the clubhead just off the ground (above, right). Hovering the club promotes a free-flowing movement away from the ball and sets the stage for a smooth, rhythmic backswing. In many instances, when players rest the clubhead on the ground for any length of time, they freeze over the ball, which encourages muscle tension to creep in.

By hovering the clubhead you'll begin to feel the weight of the head. This will help you to start back at a nice, controlled pace.

David Leadbetter: Hover To Beat Tension: Golf Digest

The biggest problem amateur golfers like me and you have when it comes to the short game is chunked shots. To help prevent fat chips, try the under-reach technique. Begin by assuming your address position, with your arms hanging to their natural length. Choke down on the club about an inch (I go even shorter, about two inches), and hover the club just off the ground as you get ready to execute the shot. The combination of choking the grip and hovering the club will help you guard against hitting the shot fat. When you finally make a swing, simply concentrate on contacting the bottom half of the ball.

Golf Short Game Swing Tips at GolfGist.com

 

Shawn Clement's Braced Tilt

I'm a huge fan of Shawn's teachings; plus, he's very generous in that he gives away tons of free instruction via YouTube. Due to his generosity, I send him a PayPal tip each month. You can find his web site here; he also offers very reasonable online video analysis and a DVD instructional series.

Shawn has a lot of great ideas and methods that are highly effective. His drills should be mandatory for every golfer, regardless of whether you agree with his instruction or even try his swing method. The drills include his classic perpetual motion drill, feet-together drill, and one-leg drill. You can use these to ingrain the fundamentals of the Clement swing, which in my opinion is focused on helping the novice golfer learn to stay centered, the opposite of which (swaying) may very well be the biggest error a beginning golfer makes. I've written about the pivot in several other posts, but Shawn's method may be the one to develop a consistent pivot and swing, resulting in fantastic compression and contact with relative ease. In a sense, most of the effort is spent in the setup fundamentals and the rest left to physics.

Shawn teaches "bracing against a firm left side" with the body tilting away from the target starting at address and all the way through the swing. This involves presetting some secondary axis tilt, such that more weight is on the left leg at address, the head is behind the ball (until well after impact), and the weight in the right leg is concentrated on the right instep (he describes the address weight distribution as 60% left - 40% right). The backswing pivot is more a turning of the posterior than anything else, and the slight backwards weight shift is concentrated on the inside of the right leg and inside of the right foot; there should be a feeling of pressure ONLY on the inside of the right leg and right instep, and the right knee and right hip should feel "locked" in place briefly at the top, before the transition of weight back to the left leg. Another description is that it feels like sitting back on the right leg, so you should really feel it in the right hip.

Before you start thinking this is Stack-&-Tilt, it isn't, because Shawn teaches a backward and forward weight shift during the backswing and downswing, respectively. It's just that the weight shift he describes is very minute; he states that it is "about an inch long." I would describe it as: address, 60-40; backswing, 50-50 (or maybe 45-55) onto the inside of the right leg due to the weight of the arms and club; downswing, 60-40; and finish, 95-5 (again due to the weight of the arms and club). By contrast, S&T has the golfer starting 55-45 and leaning left at address, with no weight shift on the backswing (the upper body continues leaning left throughout); the weight favors the left side at address and progresses more and more left until the finish.

Shawn's swinging motion is passive and he describes it as "assisting momentum towards a target." In other words, one tosses the "arm-club unit" to the right on the backswing (the club feels somewhat weightless at the top) and then one allows it to fall on the downswing, with one's posterior providing a counterweight to the swing. In a sense, the golfer is setting up as a crane or catapult, and the butt acts as the means to propel the club. Shawn even says that the downswing weight shift "happens behind you," such that the butt moves left ("about an inch long") to shift the weight back into the left leg before the club comes through. The right butt cheek moves backwards on the backswing, and then the left butt check turns back to join it in a line on the downswing.

The result of this swing method is a tighter, circular motion that doesn't waste as much energy, and a stable low point. This results in increased consistency, compression, power, and divots in front of the ball.

Characteristics of Shawn's swing method include hips that turn nearly as much as the shoulders (don't go looking for McClean's X-Factor here), head staying behind the ball, arms and hands staying in front of the body, left foot prevented from spinning out, right foot staying planted longer, left knee ticking in towards the right leg on the backswing (even at address), allowable head movement, left heel unconsciously coming up on the backswing, passive arms (i.e., tossing the arms to the top and letting them fall), wrists that hinge naturally up-and-down due to the club's weight (i.e., float loading), and a takeaway that begins with a slight leftward move, as if one is already in motion at address (hence the perpetual motion drill). Shawn feels that a slight move that mimicks a throughswing as a starting motion (catching the next backswing) is best for keeping the swing relaxed and effortless.

My personal experience with this method is that it really adds distance and makes the golf swing "easy." However, I start coming off the rails with this swing by producing fat and thin shots, and the reason is two-fold: 1) there MUST be a move into the right leg on the backswing (even if it is very slight), and the correct feeling is one of pressure on the inside of the right leg with the right knee and right hip locked in place (i.e., I can occasionlly get too frozen over that left leg in the backswing); 2) the head--it must start behind the ball at address and remain there until post-impact (this one goes along with the first error--keeping the weight too left on the backswing can have the tendency to cause the head to be too far left).

Passive arms: It's important to simply get to the top and leave the hands and arms there, especially with the driver. Toss the arms to the top and then let them fall and/or move in response to the lower body's movement. Don't do anything else--pull or push. Allow the arms to simply drop and whip through in response to the lower body motion. Any attempt to consciously or unconsciously steer, pull, push, or guide the club will contribute to errors. Picking up on this in oneself is difficult because the difference between steering and just letting it happen is very subtle.

I have so many videos that explain what you are asking here; they all start with "Braced Tilt", "Braced Tilt Part 2", "Tilted Spiral" part 1, 2 and 3 and my latest, "Feel the Braced Tilt" which will explain so much for you; it all comes down to 60% on the lead leg; Use the trail leg as a support post to keep you against the led leg which is your leaning post.

One Leg Drill Amazing Power Compression; #1 Most Popular Golf Teacher on You Tube Shawn Clement - YouTube

 

The Rope Drill

This is an old (but great drill) that can help take the "hit" out of a golf swing and make it a "swing."

Here's a drill you should try.

Get yourself a piece of rope about 42" long and 1"thick.
Take a normal grip, take it to the top of your swing and let the rope rest on the top of your shoulder. As you start down with your lower body "feel" like the rope stays on your shoulder as your hands head toward the ball. Let the momentum of the rope finish the swing. By allowing the rope to lag behind, you'll sense what it's like to draw the club like "the arrow out of the quiver".

You will also note that in order to accelerate the rope, you will have to pivot properly and pull it lengthwise, it's almost impossible to come over the top.

[From Gotham Golf Blog: The Rope and The Pivot]

If you are using your core properly the rope will wrap around your body smoothly at the end of your back swing, straighten out at the bottom of your swing and re-wrap around your body during your follow through.

If your swing is all arms the rope will be "whippy," it will be moving all over the place, and it will slap you hard on the back. This is how you know that you are not effectively swinging and using your core.

It's like a shock collar for your swing. If your swing is all arms you will find out quickly and want to fix it as soon as possible.

The easiest place to see this is in the very beginning of your swing. Never initiate your swing with your hands. If you are doing this the end of the rope won't move at first when you cock your wrists. This is bad.

[From Stop Leaking Power From Your Golf Swing Using This Weird Trick]

Swing Sequencing and Passivity

I've learned that normal instincts and proper swing actions diverge dramatically. Golf is full of these contradictions (i.e., swing left to make the ball go right, hit down to make the ball go up, etc.). Understanding these tenets intellectually is easy; putting them into practice is tough.

The swing instinct of the beginning golfer is to use the hands and arms to hit the ball; that's what feels natural. The resulting swing sequence of that instinct is something well known to frustrated golfers: the upper body leads the downswing, club gets laid off or across the line, the shoulders spin out, the arms are thrown out and away from the body, posture is lost, club casting, coming over the top, the knuckles of the left hand point up, and the ball pulls, hooks, and slices, depending on the club face position at impact.

At some point, with enough effort, the beginning golfer begins to implement the fundamentals that all the great teachers espouse: upper body turn on backswing (lower body resists), arms stay in front of the body, lower body leads on downswing (shoulders and arms resist), hips bump and turn, the club comes from the inside (drops in the slot), lag is maintained (no casting), no flying elbows (chicken wings), full extension, good release, left hand knuckles turn down, square/closing club face, etc. The feeling is described as effortless, passive, and a good impact feels like the ball isn't even there. The ball flight is either straight or a controlled fade or draw in the target direction. Of course, it takes time to implement the elements of a good swing and then to learn the proper order or sequence of those events. At some point, they move from being separate thoughts and actions that may occur asynchronously to a free-flowing, coordinated, sequenced series of moves that result in a passive, effortless swing and great, consistent impact.

The golf swing has vertical movement and horizontal movement movement. The vertical movement comes from the arms lifting up and down in front of the body; the horizontal movement is provided by the turning of the body. The small muscles in the chest, shoulders, and arms ARE NOT INVOLVED in getting the club back to the ball. The golfer must surrender to the quite correct tenet that he is not controlling anything with the arms; he is merely setting up properly (so that the ball is in the way) and then assisting natural physical forces to propel an object; when you feel "out of control" with the arms and small muscles, you're starting to learn the right feeling, which runs counter to intuition to use the arms in order to hit the ball.

• One piece takeaway and backswing, where the arms stay in front of the body in a triangular formation and the right knee keeps the bend established at address.
• Completed backswing has the shoulders turned 90 degrees (back facing target) and loaded into inside of flexed right leg. The arms are extended away from but still in front of the chest in their triangle shape. The right elbow folds naturally and the wrists set naturally, creating a "box" shape at the top of the swing that one should try to maintain for as long as possible. The club is pointing at the target at the top (not laid off).
• Transition has the arms simply dropping (triangle still in front of the body) while the back remains turned and the weight shifts to the left leg and the left hip immediately rotates backward. The shoulders haven't rotated yet, so an X Factor is created between the shoulders and hips.
• Get the feeling that the arms get to the top and stay there while the lower body moves and the arms drop down from the top (maintaining the "box" shape); the arms, hands, and small muscles should be completely passive and make no effort to swing or steer the club!
• Downswing: As the still folded right elbow nears the right hip (from the arm dropping action), the hips rotate fully toward the target. This gets the arms coming from the inside--they cannot be thrown over the top in this manner.

The result is that the ball is hit effortlessly and the arms don't really do anything consciously (they're passive), which is the opposite of what one tries to do when beginning golf. The body can appear to move very slowly but the club head is actually moving quite fast; this is how pros like Ernie Els and Fred Couples can hit the ball far but appear to be moving in slow motion. A good ball flight with good distance results. The finish is natural and balanced (one can easily lift the right leg and remain balanced over the left). In short, it feels good, correct, and easy. Swinging faster is simply a matter of turning the hips faster; swinging harder is out the window, because there's no muscle tension involved. The body is learning to assist gravity and physics to let the club do the work. But the body's gut instinct is to tense up and rip it, which will result--consistently--in looking for one's ball in the trees.

It is important that a golfer understand that Hogan implied in his book that the arms/clubshaft are passively pulled down to waist level as a result of the lower body movement, and that a golfer shouldn't have to actively pull the arms/clubshaft down to waist level as a totally separate/independent action. Ben Hogan stated that his arms/hands "get a free-ride" down to waist level when he shift-rotates his pelvis at the start of the downswing [4].

[From Downswing]

Most amateurs try to help the club toward the ball by pulling on it from the top of the swing. They are, in effect, trying to help gravity—one of the greatest forces in the world. Mother Nature doesn’t need your help. She’ll get it done—if you don’t pull on the club.

When you’re at the top of the backswing in good balance, you literally let (key word even if it’s small) your arms drop through space as you turn your hips left and get your weight onto your left heel at the completion of what’s a lateral turn.

[From Golf Tips - The Fire Drill]

Williams, focusing on the speed of [Bobby] Jones's swing, calculated that from the top of his backswing to the point of contact with his ball Jones's hands and arms were accelerating at a rate of just over thirty-four feet per second per second.

What makes that interesting is that if you were to extend your arm and drop a golf ball, its acceleration rate as it fell to Mother Earth would be just over thirty-two feet per second per second. See where I'm going with this? It means that in the beautiful golf swing that propelled a ball 260 yards with a hickory-shafted driver, the great Bobby Jones did only a little more than let his arms fall out of the sky.

Bobby Jones depended on gravity to build his golf swing.

[From Ruthless Golf: Those Amazing Relaxed Swings]

Transferring your weight to start your downswing is crucial to an "inside" delivery-the key to cracking 90. From the top, you should transfer your weight from the back leg to the front. Resist the temptation to start your upper body or the club first. It's like a throwing or kicking motion.

[From Breaking 100-90-80: A monthly guide to the scoring basics - golf tips | Golf Digest | Find Articles]

Let the Hips Drive the Swing

Going "hand-in-hand" with the idea of finding the "slot" by making a "reverse loop" downswing, the golfer should fire the hips forward to get the required power. The feeling I have is that my right hip leads my arms into impact, while the arms make ZERO muscle movements once set at the top of the backswing (they simply fall and rotate out due to momentum of the lower body). Both butt cheeks should be visible from DTL at impact due to this hip rotation (most beginning golfers commit the error of returning the hips to the address position).

Another thought is to use is to think of the knees, which may cause less problems than concentrating on the hips. If the swing is driven from the ground up (as we've heard countless times), the knees should turn and drive towards the target first while the upper body stays back. The hips and everything else will follow in sequence. Consider the footage below of Rory McIlroy. Pay attention to his knees at the top of the backswing and then as he transitions into the downswing; the knees move around and towards the target first and everything else follows. This also helps keep his head behind the ball and prevents too early a weight shift.

All of the golfers that can hit the ball a long way have one thing in common. They are firing their hips around on the downswing. Another common fault I see in teaching is the student's hips not being open enough at impact. GolfTEC's motion analysis computer measures how many degrees the hips have turned open (towards the target) at the impact position.

[From Get hip to drive the ball farther - Tips at GolfInstruction.com]

Here are some swing thoughts that a handful of my students think of when trying to turn the hips more through impact.

"Fire the right hip around."
"Fire the right knee towards the left knee."
"Get my left leg straight and left hip turned behind me"
"Get my right pocket turned to the ball as soon as possible."
"Turn my belt buckle towards the target"
"Hit the ball with my right hip."

[From Get hip to drive the ball farther - Tips at GolfInstruction.com]

Exaggerate the hip rotation for a fade and hold off the forearm rotation by tightening the grip.

I call it "holding off the shot." I'm keeping my arms quiet with far less forearm rotation and delaying the closing of the clubface. I think of it as squaring the face with my body rotation. You can see here my hips have turned significantly toward the target before the club has reached the ball. That's a good fade feel for me.

[From Adam Scott: Steal My Feel: Golf Digest]

Consider the images below of Mattero Mannasero and Jim Furyk. Both use a reversed loop downswing to hit from the inside, and look at how open their hips are at impact. The right hip clearly leads them into the ball, much like Ben Hogan's timeless swing.