Tilts & Turns!

If you want the ball to get moving you’ve got to get your body moving and this very simple exercise is a little gem that we all should be practicing on a regular basis. I find it to be an excellent reminder of the tilts, turns and stretches we need to incorporate into the golf swing. Watch…

A few checkpoint to keep in mind when doing the exercise:

• Hold a club across your shoulders by crossing your arms across your chest

• Position the handle of the club on the lead/target side of your body

• In the backswing get the handle to point at the ball or where the ball would be

• Allow the trail side to extend and the trail knee to straighten

• The lead side should feel low and the trail side high as it stretches and extends

• Repeat these feels as the swing moves into the downswing and follow through

• In the post impact portion of the swing the trail side lowers/shortens while the lead side will elevate and extend

This exercise does such a good job at reminding us what a real swing should FEEL like. While the positions of the drill are a little extreme they carry through nicely into an actual shot. I know this simple, take home exercise will go a long way towards helping a large percentage of the golfers that show up on my lesson tee. Give it a try!

The Shoulder Pivot (Part 3 of a Four Part Series)

The Proper Shoulder Pivot

I often hear golfers speaking about 'turn' and getting their lead shoulder 'behind' the ball.  In my opinion these thoughts very often cause a golfer to pivot the body incorrectly; thus making it difficult to get into a sound impact position.

In my research conducted on the top golfers of all time one of the few factors that was consistent to each of them was the manner in which they wound/pivoted their shoulders.

As the picture illustrates, at halfway through the backswing the right forearm is always above the left forearm (speaking as a right hander).  This forearm position indicates that the lead shoulder is traveling down and the back shoulder is, conversely, working up.  When executed correctly this move will give the golfer a sense of torque building up in the body, without a great deal of length to the swing.  A correct shoulder pivot also deters the upper body from any unnecessary lateral movement.

As an exercise, place a club across the front of your shoulders with the grip pointing toward the target.  Positon a ball where it would normally be and assume your normal posture.  As you pivot into the backswing try to get the grip of the club to point at the ball.  While this gets the shoulders a little too steep it will serve you well in conveying the sense required to get the shoulders to work correctly.

This is one of the very few elements that top golfers have in common.

Shouldn't you have it in your swing?

Things to ponder:

• Is Charles Howell really that bad with the putter?
• Boo Weekley will win the Players Championship!
• Jerry Kelly pulled an Angel - he vanished for most of the final round and then slipped back in the back door. Well done!
• How does Sabbatini play the way he does with that move of his?
• I played Callawassie Island for the first time yesterday and  would highly recommend it to anybody in the area!