Rickie Fowlers golf swing Part 3

Why is it important to be able to produce a “draw” ball flight ? The answer, not just because ” a draw”, has been proven to produce more yardage off the tee, which it does, but because the average player can only produce an ineffective, uncontrollable “slice” ball flight.

Tour players have plenty of power, and there are many who play a “fade” and are very effective with it. The ” fade” is an effective ball flight. The “slice” is not. The truth is that good players are able to make the ball go either direction at will.

The problem for high handicappers is that they are victims of only being able to produce the “slice”, because they are not able to create an “inside” path on their downswing.

To reaffirm the reason for this post, Rickie’s swing is a great example of the “inside” path. I am always happy when I am able to help my students produce a more effective downswing from the “inside”. It is a real game changer for a player who has only been able to “slice” the ball.

Picture below left is the club going up on the backswing, picture below right is the club moving on the inside path to impact, on the downswing. A slightly higher plane going up and a slightly lower plane coming down.

Note that the picture on the right is the optimized position to apply the club to the ball from the “inside”. Rickie actually drops the club “down” on the first move of the downswing, waiting for his hips to “push out” and move the club from the inside to the ball. Unfortunately, the high handicap player starts the club “OUT”, on the first move in the downswing, putting the club in a very steep position, causing a delivery of the club on an “outside” path. The further outside the club approaches the ball, the bigger the slice, and the more loss of power!

Please view the Amazing Angle training video displayed on this site. If you have tried to change your downswing but have been unable to do so, the Amazing Angle can help you make the change to an “inside” delivery and a more consistent and effective “draw” ball flight.

Practice “slowly and deliberately”.

 

5 Factors that influence Distance and Directional Control in the Golf Swing

Yesterday while conducting a lesson with one of my regular students, I had a clarifying moment about the golf swing.

The 5 factors that I have listed in this post should be, in my opinion, defined as the most important factors that influence both Distance and Directional control in the golf swing.

Swing fundamentals are discussed ad nauseum. In my opinion, most of these discussions center on swing preferences for “style” not real swing fundamentals.

These are the fundamentals that my students must understand to improve their golf swings.

1. The direction that you aim your body parts at address, relative to the target line.

2. The direction of the club as it approaches the ball in the downswing prior to impact, (swing path).

3. The speed of the club to and through impact.

4. The angle of the club face at impact, relative to the swing path and target line.(face angle).

5. The ability to hit the back of the ball at impact and create a forward divot. (bottom of swing arc).

These are the true fundamentals of striking the ball and playing the game of golf.

When you practice, are you able to focus on anything that resembles these factors ? If not, I bet you are not improving.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please email me at jkhpro@pga.com.

Practice deliberately and slowly.

 

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.

 

Does it matter what your swing looks like ?

We frequently see golf magazine articles heralding the swings of the “hot” tour pro of the week.
Is the article and information interesting? Yes, for sure. Should you try to copy that swing ? Maybe and maybe not. You have probably habituated some good moves and some bad moves just by playing over the years. Change for the goal of improvement is a good thing. Just remember a better ” impact position” and “ball strike” is the goal. The swing change is only successful if it produces better contact and ball flight. Don’t change your swing just for style points. The Amazing Angle can help you experience the correct positions and movements in the golf swing. Check it out at http://www.keithhaleygolf.com