The Power of The Sand Drill

THE POWER OF THE SAND DRILL

When I went to Quail Ridge in Carmel California, to work with Ben Doyle many years ago, I was introduced to the sand drill. I knew the sand drill was important, but it wasn’t until I introduced it to my students that I realized how important it was.

I quickly found out that most students, especially the high handicappers did not know where their divots started. I also found that many students were confused about where the divot was “supposed” to start. I couldn’t believe that some of my new students thought the divot started behind the position of the ball. I was amazed at how many people were playing golf with no idea that the divot should occur after the ball is struck. Without this basic information, there is not much hope for progress.

In the “Impact Zone”, Bobby Clampett, made it clear that moving the bottom of the swing arc forward is one of the most important factors in improving students’ ball striking.

You can easily see where your divot begins when you have scribed a line in the bunker.

These days one of my most important weapons on the lesson tee is a paint striping gun. I spend more time with all of my students inspecting the quality of their divots by striking shots off of the paint line. The bunker is very effective in determining the bottom of your swing arc, but any type of line on the practice range works. As soon as the student really understands the concept of “moving the bottom of the swing arc forward” the student’s ability to hit good shots improves rapidly.

Thanks to the Impact Zone, teaching these days is less about style points and more about why and how a ball should be struck correctly.

 

Impact. The golden moment of truth

For all you golfers that are struggling with your swing, and aren’t we all on occasion, help is on the way. You need to know that your problem is at impact and that problem usually boils down to where the club is coming from,(your swing path)’ or the face angle of the golf club at impact. Sometimes the problem can be diagnosed by inspecting your divot, hopefully there is one. If the divot is struck behind the ball ( fat shot), and is severely pointing left, I probably don’t need to tell you that there is a problem.

The golf club must return to the ball on a path coming from inside the target line, not outside. The most common problem of the hands “flipping” through impact results in the inability to actually strike the ball. If you can’t get the ball to go up, it is a severe case of the dreaded “flip at impact”. The hands must be trained to get the correct position at impact. The closer you get to the correct impact position the more you will improve your ability to make the ball fly correctly and consistently.

 

The effects of improper “shoulder plane” on impact position

In any type of golf swing the way your shoulders rotate around your spine can help create a great golf shot. If you fail to posture yourself correctly you may not be able to rotate your shoulders “on plane” effectively. Your inability to posture yourself correctly will inevitably lead to your failure to hit good solid golf shots. Don’t trust your current feel that your posture and shoulder rotation is sufficient. If you have recently lost power and directional control, have a qualified instructor check your posture. The Amazing Angle is the “gold standard” of all golf swing trainers. The Amazing Angle will help you feel and habituate a proper shoulder rotation. Check it out at http://www.keithhaleygolf.com