7 parts of a great golf swing – IMPACT

Finally, the moment of truth. Regardless of what different mannerisms good players might have in the prior 4 parts of the golf swing, all good players have the following factors present at impact. You should be able to demonstrate a quality impact position with all types of swings, from driver to chipping stroke. Have a good look at the pictures below.

On the left is Rory Mcilroy and on the right is a generic depiction of impact that I use every day with my students. Years ago I created a word device that helps my students understand what qualities a great impact position contains. HIPS-HEAD-HANDS, also known as the 3 H’s. if you reinspect the pictures you will note the following: 1. Hips are pushed out to a 45degree open position to the target line, 2. Head is back, 3. Hands are in the right wrist bent position, both prior to impact,(left), and post impact, (right). Sometimes if my students are really struggling with their ball striking it is a good thing to go back to pitch shots and the “line” drill to reacquaint themselves with the 3 H’s. after some quality time spent on this important drill, (see the training video), students always comment that impact is better and easier. Below see a depiction of practicing impact with the Amazing Angle, the beat way to practice impact indoors!

Please practice slowly and deliberately ! Merry Christmas and A very Happy New Year from Keith Haley Golf. In the next post, we take on the issue of “straightening our angles”

 

7 parts of a great golf swing – part 4 “lagging the club to impact “

It would be a great idea to review part 3 before beginning part 4 !

Look at the 2 pictures below which depict the club dropping as the “inside” unwinds.

You can clearly see what I have referred to as the “bump” of the hips and knees, which continue to move through the yellow line and begin to rotate. This movement shows how the “inside” (body), moves the “outside (hands, arms, and club, and the movement clearly begins from the ground up. Unfortunately, for most golfers that don’t play well, this movement occurs in reverse. The “outside” (hands, arms, and club) moves first, from the top down. We refer to this as being “over the top”, which can include a “casting of the club” and is a devastating power destroyer and precipitator of unpredictable ball flight direction.

Please note that “lagging” the club is represented by the arms dropping and the angle between the arms and club shaft is maintained. Follow the continuation of the body unwinding in the pictures below.

Notice how in these pictures, that the hips are rotating out. Here is one of the most interesting movements of the downswing. Appreciate how the head moves down and stays back. In a centrifugal force system, the swing center (inside), must stay centered which speeds up the (outside). The head moves slightly downward because the lower body is moving forward prior to rotation. These days, the body’s ability to rotate successfully is a hot topic. Athletic trainers believe that most golfers, especially poor players, may not be strong enough in their core muscles and hips to execute this action. Certainly if you are a “slicer” or if you don’t hit the ball as far as you should, this issue should be addressed!

The picture above shows how you can practice your downswing and perfect your ability to “lag” the club to impact with the Amazing Angle, anytime and anywhere. Be sure to return for the next post addressing the all important “impact” position. Practice slowly and deliberately!

 

7 parts of a great golf swing – part 3 “the transition”

This is a very important series of pictures. If any type of movement occurs at this point, other than what is pictured, your golf swing loses power and consistency in directional flight.

If you closely inspect the pictures above, you can see that the from left to right, in the second picture, the club has not changed positions but the lower body has moved into the white leg line. In the third picture, below, the butt of the club has clearly dropped as the lower body has moved past the white leg line. The key to the “transition” is that the lower body starts the downswing.

Remember, when practicing this specific move that you must complete the backswing before an effective “transition” can occur.

Practice slowly and deliberately. Next step, “lagging” the club to delivery.

 

7 parts of a great golf swing part 2 – the end of the backswing

Take a real good look at the pictures above. These are pictures of one of the new young guns on tour, Rory Mcilroy. This swing is being lauded as one of the most effective swings of this generation of great players. This swing has obviously held up under major tournament pressure. As you are trying to improve your swing, you would do well to try to emulate the following points concerning this “end of backswing” position.

Referred to as “P2”, the end of the backswing position contains these qualities :
1. Back coiled to the target, inside moving outside.
2. Lower body, feet, knees and hips resisting upper body coil.
3. Club, arms and hands, “moved” to this position by upper body coil. No lifting!
4. Spine center maintained, while wight shifts to right side. (Pivot)
5. Left arm radius maintained.
6. Angle between arm and club shaft approximately 50 to 70 degrees. It is important to achieve a position no longer than “parallel to the ground and target line”, at this position. I am generally trying to get students to a more “compact” position”. It is highly unlikely for someone who is struggling to make good contact with the ball, to be in “too” compact of a position at this point!

The picture above is a great depiction of what I try to get my students to feel at the end of the backswing! It is a tight, compact position! Practicing with the Amazing Angle, assures you of being in the perfect position! Perform 1000 of these repetitions with the Amazing Angle golf swing trainer and you will have a good start on habituating an effective end of backswing position!

YOU CANNOT START THE DOWNSWING EFFECTIVELY UNLESS YOU ARE IN THIS QUALITY POSITION!

Please practice slowly and deliberately, and tune in to the next article, the critical beginning of the downswing. Address all inquiries to Keith Haley at jkhpro@pga.com.

 

Key parts of a great golf swing part 1 – moving the club away

When I am teaching, I have one important concept that I always discuss with my students. This concept is involved in every movement and position in the golf swing!

“THE INSIDE MOVES THE OUTSIDE”

Since this may be the first time that you have heard this phrase, I will explain. Your upper torso, legs and feet are the inside, and the arms hands and club are the outside.

So, because the focus of this article is the “move away”, or the beginning of the backswing, I like to make it clear that I believe that the swing starts with the inside moving the outside! In this case, if we have started from a perfect posture at address, I tell my students to move the club away with a downward and backward movement of the forward shoulder. (Left shoulder for righties). This would be what is referred to as an on plane move of the shoulders, not up or down, but rotating on top of a correctly postured spine angle. The club, hands and arms are “moved away” by the shoulders, part of the “inside”!

A picture is worth a thousand words, except in my case a million words, so look at the following pictures. The spine is at an angle of about 30 degrees or at about 1:00 on the clock, at address.

You can see that in the bottom picture the club has moved to a position I call “P1”, where it is parallel to the ground and the target line, in what is referred to as an “on plane” position.

Notice how the club head looks slightly “outside” the hands at this point. A club in this position, at this point in the backswing, is more likely to drop back down inside on the downswing. Something I strongly advocate to my students. More about the effects of the downswing path later, but if you are trying to “build” a proper backswing then you should practice this position, meticulously ! Again, if you are not practicing this position, slowly and deliberately, you are wasting your practice time!

Look at the picture below, it is the corresponding position that my students practice with the Amazing Angle. 1000 repetitions would be a good start! All good swings start with this “move away position”. Lets get busy and practice “slowly and deliberately”. Next post: the end of the backswing.

Contact me at jkhpro@pga.com with questions or comments!

 

Key parts of a great golf swing

Every person who has picked up a golf club and has experienced the thrill of a great shot and the agony of a “shank”, inevitably comes to the question,” why can’t I hit the ball well consistently “?

Here is my take on the answer. I think that most golfers learn how to inadvertently and sporadically make good shots out of bad golf swings. Does this mean that they don’t have fun? I don’t think so, because I see a lot of golfers who are not so good, playing a lot of golf. It is wonderful that people can play bad and have fun. That is what golf is supposed to be about, having fun.

However, lets get real. When was the last time that you played with one of your friends or someone that was added to your group who just wasn’t very good. Do you think they were happy to shoot 109? I doubt it, or worse, maybe 109 was a good score for them. In either case I think that it is common to hear those golfers ask something like this, “why can’t I get the ball to go straight”? Or, “why can I only hit the ball 175 yards off the tee”?

Here is the hard cold truth. These players won’t get better without help. Even if they find a qualified instructor, they may still not get much better. I think the reason that they may not improve is that they are, ” NOT PREPARED BY THEIR INSTRUCTORS TO PRACTICE CORRECTLY”!

Golfers who go to the range to “practice”, by and large are wasting their time. I applaud the effort, but they are generally wasting their time. The thought is that if they hit enough balls they will get better. It will not happen. You must have a solid, directed practice plan. If you don’t start at the beginning, and work at perfecting the proper sequential positions and movements, from address position, through moving the club away, to finish position, you are not really practicing you are just hitting balls.

So, in coming articles I will introduce a practice plan for any of you out there who are not satisfied shooting bad scores and are not improving. Hint, you can do this indoors this winter.

Please practice slowly and deliberately. My email if you have questions! jkhpro@pga.com.

 

Donald Constable gets PGA tour card

Congratulations to Mr. Donald Constable. One of 3 successful new PGA tour players who went the total distance from pre qualification to top 25 players, receiving totally exempt status.

The fact that Constable was successful in a tournament, which included a final stage of 6 grueling rounds of golf, up against current and former PGA tour and Web.com tour players, is simply an amazing feet.

These guys were playing for their life when one bad swing can end tournament hopes. The pressure had to be immense. Some players handle it and some don’t.

As for Donald, he handled it with an amazing amount of Grace, right down to the post tournament interviews. Donald has a sense of “peace” about him. He seems to be grounded and has a very decent confidence about him, accompanied by a serious will to win. He will truly be one of the new “good guys” on the PGA tour.

It is true that you need to learn how to “win out there”. I think if any player can do it, Donald will be a guy who can. Good luck Donald and all the best. You have achieved hometown favorite status as well as PGA tour player status.

 

Tour Qualifying School

What is Tour Qualifying School? “School” is somewhat of a misnomer! There are no degrees upon graduation, but if you play well there may be an invitation to play on the greatest golf tour in the world, the American PGA Tour.

The “Q School” experience consists of 3 stages, a pre qualification tournament, first stage qualifying tournament, second stage qualifying tournament, and finally a 6 round tournament against 175 of the best players in the world, with only the top 25 receiving playing privileges on the PGA tour.

This is without a doubt the most grueling experience of a professional golfers life. Huge rewards, facing the ultimate of golf pressure.

One of my nephew David Haley’s teammates from the University of Minnesota, Donald Constable, is now participating in the final stage of Tour Qualifying School and is doing very well. At the end of the 5th round, he is 1 shot out of the top 25, perfectly placed for a good final round and a spot at the big dance.

Good luck Donald! A Q School wrap up report tomorrow.