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Tips From The Tour

Improve your game by learning from the pros

Sergio has the clubshaft right on his forearm as he nears delivery. This indicates an inside approach.

Patience, Patience
Sergio Garcia is in the perfect delivery position approaching impact (right). The club is on-plane, running through his right forearm. His knees are flexed, and both the clubface and his left arm are perpendicular to the ground. The key to this position is keeping the shoulders closed to the target while the lower body shifts weight to the front heel and begins to rotate. Proper left-arm alignment is key—if the shoulders spin open to begin the downswing, the arm will shoot out, creating an outside-in attack, which leads to pulls and slices. With the arm perpendicular, squaring the clubface at impact is easier because the hips, shoulders and arms are working in sync. Because this alignment is so neutral, it makes working the ball in both directions easier. More importantly, getting the club on the proper plane in the downswing is critical to solid ballstriking, distance and accuracy.

Justin Rose is right on top of the ball through impact, which leads to tons of compression and a nice, crisp sound.

Cover The Ball
Tour players’ iron shots make a unique sound because they consistently make ball-first contact (ball, then grass). This type of contact creates compression, meaning the ball is squeezed between the clubface and the turf. This is the real key to the tremendous distance Tour players create with seemingly little effort, as well as their impressive control and accuracy. The impact position of Justin Rose is ideal for creating the desired, pro-style contact (right). Notice how he maintains the forward bend of his upper body with his chest over his stomach. This is critical—it enables the hands to lead the clubhead through impact, producing solid, compressed shots. There are no glancing blows created with this impact position, which goes a long way to eliminating variances in both distance and direction. If you want to be a real player, mimicking this position is key.

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