Shawn quickly realized that my main flaw was in my backswing. When I brought the club back, I occasionally pulled my arms toward my body. I wasn’t maintaining the proper distance between my arms or the correct space between my arms and body.
Winning is also about minimizing mistakes. He noted that most players are fortunate if they hit 3 perfect shots during a round. So our focus never was to try to hit more of those perfect shots, but rather to turn the shots that once went out of bounds or into trees or water into shots that at worst, wound up in the rough.
Leave it to one of golf’s greatest gentlemen to remind me that no one truly masters the game. And while the fundamentals of a great swing are much the same as they were 60 years ago, we as individual golfers fluctuate our mechanics, bodies, flexibility, thought processes, and practice habits.
Most intermediate and advanced golfers have been playing for years, so more than likely they have conformed their grip to suit their swing and ball flight. For instance, if their tendency is to slice the ball 15y, they probably have 15y of hook in their grip. In other words, they use a strong grip. Actually, this is a mistake made by players at all levels. They assume the best and easiest way to alter their ball flight is to change their grip. What you will come to understand as you learn the two-position method is that the factors that most influence your ball flight are the plane of your swing (where your golf club is in relation to your arms, hands, body, and setup) and the path of the club as it travels down and through the ball.
The first thing I tell students about the grip is to think of the golf club as though it were an eating utensil. In other words, grip it as much as possible with your fingers.
If you are a beginner, it’s a good idea to start with a neutral to strong grip. Since 90% of beginners slice the ball, it’s better to err toward a strong grip than a weak one.
Using a baseball grip can lead to several swing flaws, but probably the biggest drawback is that your hands tend to separate on the club. This separation causes your right hand to become the dominant hand. In a proper golf swing, your hands should work as one unit.
Generally, the butt of the club should extend about 1 inch from the bottom of your left pinkie finger. How far you choke down on the club can depend on several variables. Many players like to choke down another one or two inches to give them better control, especially when they are hitting 8i, 9i, or wedge. Just remember that when you choke down, it tends to slow your club speed, which means you probably have to hit a lower-numbered club.
At the other extreme, some players make the mistake of not choking down enough. A telltale sign that you may be holding too close to the butt of the club is if you go through a lot of gloves. If holes develop in the palm area, it could mean that the butt of the club is rubbing the glove.
Having too much bend in your knees restricts your lower body, inhibits your upper torso turn, and limits the amount of leg strength you can use in your swing.
When you tilt from your waist and unlock your knees, you should be able to invisibly draw a vertical line from (1) your shoulder blade, to (2) the back of your kneecap, to (3) the balls of your feet.
Probably the most frequently asked question is, “How far do I stand from the ball?” Unfortunately, no instructor that I’m aware of has come up with a precise answer to that question. The best answer I can give is this: return to your setup as if you were going to hit a ball.
Try to pass your fist between the club and each of your thighs. If you can pass your fist through those areas with a little space to spare, you are standing at the correct distance from the ball, or at least as close to correct as you can be.
When you watch a PGA Tour tournament, you never see players standing so far away from the ball that they have to extend their arms to hit it. Just remember that you can’t stand too close, but you can definitely stand too far away.
Many slicers don’t realize that moving the ball forward in their stance causes an even more pronounced slice. The clubhead travels in a circular path. During the downswing, once the clubhead passes your sternum, its circular path starts to arc toward your front foot. So moving the ball forward causes the club to cut across the ball from an even sharper angle, producing more spin.
Conversely, if you position the ball farther back in your stance, you have a much better chance of getting the club into the back of the ball sooner, with less spin. That is why I tell beginning and intermediate players, who are more likely to slice the ball, that if they err in their ball position, err toward the middle of their stance, or even a couple of inches back from the middle.
Advanced players generally can play the ball a few inches forward in their stance, because the path of their swing tends to come from the inside and they usually draw the ball.
Again, once you become comfortable with your new swing and start hitting draws or hooks, you can position the ball slightly forward in your stance.
Let’s start with the wrists because your swing largely is built around proper wrist action. Your wrists are the igniters, providing the final bursts of speed and power through impact. Moreover, if you cock your wrists correctly, your hands and forearms usually are positioned properly as well, because those parts are so intertwined where you swing is concerned.
Most players never learn how to use their wrists correctly and consequently never really get their games off the ground. That is because poor wrist action makes it extremely difficult to get the clubface square to the ball at impact. Hitting slices becomes all but a certainty.
If you are pulling shots, then you are overstating the club. If you are pushing shots, then you are not cocking your wrists correctly on the takeaway or correctly rotating your forearms, wrists, and hands prior to and through impact.
A question students often ask is, “How much should my hips turn during the takeaway or backswing?” Novices see PGA Tour players’ swings analyzed in slow motion on TV and notice that the pros’ hips turn very little. The problem with that comparison is that most tour players are more supple than the average man or woman.
Many beginners and intermediate players tend to pull their arms toward their body during their backswing. This decreases the width, or radius, of the swing, which makes it extremely difficult to get consistent results. Usually, it also causes a significant loss of power.
Often, my students gain a better understanding of what they’re supposed to do by looking in the mirror rather than by watching themselves on videotape.
With beginners and novices, I view the swing as motion into positions. For intermediate and advanced players, I teach it as positions put into motion.
The most important thing you need to remember is to keep the club out in front of you. You absolutely need to maintain spacing between your arms and body. Many players tend to bring the club back too low and inside. When you bring the club back too low and too much inside, the clubhead tend to rise too steeply. Some players actually have too much wrist cock. The arms and wrists of such players need to be a little more passive.
Now if a player errs, I would prefer he do so in the correct direction. In the case of the takeaway, I would rather see a player take the club back too much to the outside rather than too far inside.
If you can manage a perfectly sequenced takeaway every time you draw the club back, you’re practically a professional. It’s an awful lot to ask.
Position One is the takeaway, Position Two the backswing.
So many players transition from the takeaway to the backswing mainly with their arms. Consequently, they usually stiffen their arms.
The following key point bears reemphasizing: in order to go to Position Two, your shoulders and upper torso turn your arms. Do not use your arms to turn your shoulders.
Time and again, I see players set up to the ball with their arms as straight and stiff as boards. What those players don’t realize is that the more relaxed the arms are, the easier it is to cock the wrists during the takeaway. Your wrists are your igniters, and your swing largely is built around proper wrist action. Do not render your wrists powerless in your swing by stiffening your arms.
While turning your shoulders, it’s important to keep your head up so that your shoulders can turn under your chin. Your head needs to tilts with your shoulders. The old cliche of keeping your head still will cause more problems than you want. The best point of reference I can give you is your right ear should tilt slightly toward your right shoulder as you turn your shoulders.
I often find that when players are learning Position Two, they tend to lift one or both of their arms near the top of their backswing. They see pro players take the club so far back that the club shaft is parallel to their shoulders, but what fans don’t realize is that pros still maintain the L to the very peak of their backswing.
Remember, you never want to decrease the distance between your hands and body once you begin your backswing.
I have found that checking the height of your hands while facing the mirror also gives you a great visual of how the width of your backswing should look. Width, remember, is the amount of space you need to maintain not only between your arms, but also between your hands and your shoulders.
Advanced players, having had years to refine their timing and synchronization, generally start their downswing with a balanced mixture of arms, shoulders, and body. But when they start hitting the ball particularly well, what often happens is greedy thoughts creep in: “Hey, my swing is in such a groove, I bet if I swing harder the ball will go even farther.” This is simply human nature and a product of how the mind works. Again, confusing force with speed, advanced players try to swing harder and unknowingly get off the track fundamentally. They swing harder, put more body thrust into it, and suddenly, their fine-line balance of arms, shoulders, and body is out of sync.
Despite what you may have heard, seen, or read, the following things should not occur during your downswing: your arms should not be pulled by your shoulders, your body should not turn first, your left knee should not move toward the target, and your hips should not slide toward the target.
If you lead slightly with your arms, maintaining the width and plane you created with P1 and P2, you need very little body movement, if any, to generate club speed and distance.
Understand that your downswing is only as good as your backswing. Your backswing is only as good as your takeaway. Your takeaway is only as good as your grip, posture, setup, and wrist cock.
If your club is coming in too steeply (at too sharp an angle) and hitting too much ground, there is a good chance you are lowering your right shoulder or lowering the club with your body. Remember, those are symptoms of trying to swing too hard, of mistaking force for speed, or of not allowing your arms, hands, and club to start your downswing.
I simply know from experience that golfers who focus too much on keeping their head down often experience unnecessary havoc in their swing.
It’s not surprising that you see a wide variety of finishes from tour players to recreational golfers, because the finish is a product of the downswing. The finish is affected not only by the path, but also by the speed of the downswing.
Players who draw or hook the ball almost always finish with their right hand square to their wrist. Players who slice the ball almost always finish with their right hand bent back toward their wrist, creating a cupped appearance.
I recommend that you continue to hit off of tees until you become comfortable and consistent with all of your clubs. You have worked so hard to improve your execution and knowledge while raising your confidence and comfort levels that attempting to hit balls off the ground too soon can be counterproductive, both fundamentally and psychologically.
Still, the butt end of the club is the same distance from your body as with the 7i or any other club.
As a teacher who spends approximately 1.5K hours giving lessons per year, I can tell you that 90% of beginners and novices stand too far from the ball. Remember what Byron Nelson said: “You cannot stand too close to the ball.”
As in the case of hitting long irons, the most important thing to do is to stay patient. During the backswing, downswing, and follow-through, using a metal wood feels much different from swinging an iron.
Since it is a much longer club, the arc of the swing is wider. Your arms are at the same distance from your body; however, they feel like they are farther away because of the club’s length.
Notice that when you swing 5i to wedge, you are much more likely to brush turf along with the tee. The reason is the shorter the club, the steeper the plane.
With a longer club like fairway wood or 4i you really don’t want to brush much ground. If you brush the ground, then the club is coming in too steeply and you’ll probably hit a slice.
When inexperienced players initially struggled with fairway woods, they sometimes conclude that they simply can’t hit the club. They start improvising and looking for shortcuts. They might change their grip. Or they might alter their takeaway and backswing.
Improvising is the worst mistake you can make. If you hit a string of poor shots, retrace your steps, rehearse P1 and P2, and get back on track.
If you are a beginner or novice, I recommend that you don’t hit a driver, even on the practice tee, until after you are comfortable and confident with the rest of your fairway woods. The driver is by far the most difficult club to master, no matter what swing philosophy you subscribe to, because the club has such minimal loft.
Since wedges are shorter, you also have to bend over a little more. The more you bend, the more vertical your plane gets. For even though the club is short, it still has to brush the tee and the correct amount of turf. When hitting wedges, many beginners and novices have difficulty maintaining their spine angle from P1 to P2 and through the downswing. They aren’t used to bending over that far at address, so when they bring the club back, they subconsciously return to the body tilt they use when hitting, for instance, a 7i.
Once beginners and novices more from the practice tee to the course, they are caught off guard by how often they find themselves 20-80y from the green. Such shots aren’t the type they normally practice, so sometimes they panic.
There are 2 types of golf swings: the full swing and the chip shot. The full swing entails bringing the club all the way back and executing a full follow-through; a chip shot is what you hit from just off the green to bump-and-run the ball to the hole. Some players confuse pitch shots with chip shots. But pitch shots fundamentally are just like hitting a full iron shot except you don’t take the backswing all the way to the top.
If you start to feel sleepish about taking more time to hit pitch shots, just watch a tour event. Tour player often take 6 or 7 more practice swings before a pitch shot than before any other kind of shot.
Recreational golfers try to hit wedge shots a lot farther than they actually can. Great players never max out with their swing speed. They always remain at roughly 80%. Why? At this speed it is easier to keep everything sequenced — arms, wrists, shoulders, body, and most important, the club.
Boil down the equivalent of weeks or months of lessons into an easy-to-navigate book that you can refer to for years to come.
What they don’t take into account is that most driving ranges are 100y wide. It’s difficult for them to get a true gauge of how well or poorly they’re hitting the ball, or of their consistency level. They get lulled into a false sense of security.
The golfers become consumed with what the course presents - they become nervous. They become so engulfed by what is in front of them that they completely forget that they’ve been working on and what has gotten them that far. This is natural reaction, especially for those relatively new to the game. But if you carry that type of apprehension onto the course, you have lost the battle and the war.
If you hit a poor shot, get up to the next one and go through the steps:
- Grip
- Posture and setup
- P1
- P2
- Downswing
- Brush the tee
- Follow through
Rather than allowing your head to fill with thoughts like, “Gosh, I hope I don’t go into the water,” or “Keep it away from that bunker,” or “I have to get it onto the green,” concentrate on the process.
When Tiger struggles, it’s usually from getting the club a little too far behind his body on the downswing, which causes his ball flight to be high and right, or sometimes even a snap hook.
The detrimental thing about that type of advice is that it’s reactionary. What you are doing is stacking a mistake on top of a mistake. If you correct every error with another error, pretty soon they’ll be stacked so high that it will take a miracle to unpile them.
About 90% of amateur golfers hit mostly slices. Most players who have double-digit handicaps are slicers.
The quick fix is to strengthen your grip by moving your left hand well over the top of the club. That’s unwise because again, you are stacking a mistake on top of a mistake without getting to the root of the problem.
If you are slicing shots, the first thing you should do is check your ball position. Many players tend to place the ball too far forward in their stance, believing that it makes it easier to get their shoulders behind the ball on their backswing, thereby adding power and distance. Actually, having the ball too far forward makes slices even more pronounced. Since the golf swing is somewhat circular, your club is likely to cut across the ball if the ball is positioned too far forward.
The next step is to go back to P1 and P2 to see why your plane is too vertical. Remember, you want to make sure you aren’t bringing the club back too low and inside. And go through the P2 checklist: Are you hands in front of your sternum at the top of the backswing? Is the back of your left hand square to the back of your forearm? Is the back of your left hand pointing in the same direction as the clubface?
Elevating your game takes a lot of work, no matter your level of ability. Improving from 8-handicap to a 5 requires just as much time and persistence as improving from 25-handicap to a 15. But as much as it requires work, it also requires thought. Change happens when you think about it the most.
During the takeaway and backswing, you either maintain the original spine angle, or raise your upper body, or lower your supper body. Make sure you maintain the original angle.
Weight: You are either on the balls of your feet, or on your heels, or on your toes. In this case, don’t err. Make sure your weight is on the balls of your feet.
Ball position: It is either just right, or too far forward, or too far back in your stance. If you err, do so toward the back of your stance.
The takeaway: You either bring the club back on the right path (parallel with your feet line), or too far to the inside, or too much to the outside. If you err, do so slightly to the outside. Bringing it back too much to the inside causes your plane to be too steep and leads to slices.
The backswing: If you have created the L and turned your shoulders to P2, the club is either on the correct plane, or too flat, or too vertical. In this case, it’s best to stay on plane.
The grip: It is either neutral, or too strong, or too weak. If you err, do so toward the strong side. But make sure your left thumb doesn’t exceed the 2 o’clock position.
The swing bottoms out either at the midpoint of your stance, or at the high point (front of your stance), or at the low point (the back of your stance). If you err, you want it to bottom out toward the low point. Players who hit draws tend to bottom out at the low point.