Pilot your Golf Swing for Better Golf Shots

I am always trying to think of creative ways to help golfers better understand the golf swing.  Following is an idea or picture which will help you visualize and feel a correct club head path for straighter and more solid golf shots!

I am comparing the club head path to that of a plane practicing "touch and go" landings on an aircraft carrier.  The plane heads in from the left side of the carrier, lines up with the runway (yellow arrow), makes a brief touch down and then takes off again and circles back to the left to repeat the process. 

As you can see in my driver downswing, I am coming sightly from the inside or left of the target line before traveling down the "runway" toward the target.  As my body rotates, the club follows that rotation and begins to swing left around my body to the finish.  Remember there are no straight lines in the golf swing...everything is a circle.

 

 

The aircraft is following the same principle.  The YELLOW arrow indicates the aircraft is coming in from slightly left of the carrier and then is lining up for a successful landing on the runway.  If the aircraft followed the LOWER RED arrow, the path would be too much from the left or inside the correct path and the plane would not make it to the runway.  In the golf swing, we call this being too "shallow" and will cause you to either top the ball or hit way behind the ball.  In addition, this inside path could cause you to hit shots way out to the right, or you would flip the club with your hands and hook the ball.

If the aircraft followed the UPPER RED line, that would be too steep of an approach and would not lead to a successful landing.

Nose first!

In the golf swing, a path which is too steep and coming from the outside or right of the target line could cause you to hit behind the ball (or deep divots), hit pop ups with your woods, and more than likely hit slices to the right or pulls to the left.  This path is commonly referred to as being "over the top".

Above is a view of the club starting to swing back to the left of the target line after it leaves the runway.   It is the same as the flight path as the plane coming off the deck and beginning to circle around to repeat the process.

The bottom line for your golf swing is you want a path which comes slightly from the inside, down the target line and then back to the inside of the target line to the finish.

Drill to improve club head path

In the picture above I am demonstrating a drill in which I placed a 3' long, 2x4 board about three inches to the left of my golf ball. I placed the ball about 4 inches from the front of the board.  My goal is to make small swings and not strike the board.  If I come too much from the inside I would strike the board and not the ball (OUCH!).  If I come "over the top" I would clip the board on my follow through, again very body jarring!  I recommend using an alignment rod in place of the board until you get very proficient at not striking the rod on the downswing.  And again, make 1/2 swings to get started.

By the way, I really admire and appreciate the skilled and brave pilots who put their life on the line on a daily basis!

Short Game Secrets

Terry Dill, retired PGA TOUR and Champions TOUR player (and winner), developed an intricate short game system which covers everything from chipping, pitching, bunker shots and full wedges.

I helped him put all of this information into writing after peering through pages and pages of notes he had taken over his professional career.  The end result is a very comprehensive short game program in which he was so kind to share with me so that I can now share with my students.

This is a video which briefly explains some of the details of his ideas about the short game. 
I have incorporated this information into all of the short game improvement programs I offer. 

A great short game will improve your score and any short game work you put in will help your full swing as well. 

Enjoy the video!

Short Game Shot Selection is a Tale of Two Lies

When faced with a shot from around the green, the lie of the ball will dictate your club and shot selection.

In this video I am demonstrating two shots from the rough about 60' from the pin.  On one shot the ball is sitting "up" and on the other the ball is sitting "down".  Each of these lies will require a different club selection, but the shot shapes are very similar.  In both instances, the ball flight is low.

When the ball is sitting up in the rough, a sweep shot is the best selection, but when the ball is sitting down in the rough, the pinch shot is required.

There are situations which may call for a flop shot or a higher ball flight and I will review those in the near future.

Learn to Finish your Golf Swing in Balance with Proper Footwork

These are two simple drills which will help you finish your golf swing in great balance.  Make sure your are swinging smoothly from backswing to downswing.  Any sudden shift of power will disrupt your foot work!

No Standing Ovation for this Swing!

If you are consistently hitting the ball thin (not taking a divot with irons) and to the right of your target, then you may be "standing up" in the downswing.  In other words, you have not maintained the posture needed to compress the golf ball.  In the picture below, the body is too upright and the club is trailing too far behind the body.  The hips have been thrust toward the golf ball instead of rotating as they should.  From this position it will be difficult to square the club face by impact and my club is destined to hit the 2x4 on the ground I have used for alignment...OUCH!

The correct position would look like the picture below.  Note how my spine has more angle than the above picture.  The golf club is in a much better position to deliver the ball to the target.  This is due to my hips staying in position and not moving closer to the ball as they have in the picture above. The hips are rotating as they should and this will be evident in my finish.  My club is now traveling down the target line.

Try this drill is you are hitting shots as described above.

Set up with a 7 iron and place a guide in the ground touching your backside.  Here I have used an old shaft inside a foam noodle.  An alignment rod would work as well. Make sure you copy the above set up.  My shoulders are over my toes and my arms are hanging very relaxed from my shoulders.

On the backswing, try to keep in contact with the guide, but more importantly, on the downswing, you want to remain in contact as well.

Correct downswing!

If the hips rotate properly, your finish will look like this.  Once I have made impact, the hips complete their rotation and I finish tall with my hips square to the target.

Let's Find you More Clubhead Speed!

While stretching is very good for your golf swing, I also like to use these training aids to help you find more clubhead speed.  I recommend doing a little work with these training aids daily to help you find more flexibility and balance in your golf swing.

Backswing Drill to get you on the Correct Circle

I like to think of the backswing as a "tilted" circle.  The angle of this circle would be considered the "plane" of the backswing.  A plane which is too steep or too shallow will cause ball contact and directional issues.  This is a great drill to help you feel and develop a proper backswing. 

Work on small shots with a lofted club such as a 9 iron.  Give yourself some room so you do not hit the alignment rod which is set at an angle. I recommend placing the rod at least two feet behind your golf ball and set at the same angle as the shaft at address.