One of the great things about the game of golf is that, on occasion, all of us, even the highest handicapper, will hit a shot like a pro. It might be a well-struck drive, hitting a par-5 in two or holing out a bunker shot.
They may not know it, but several of the best golfers in the world are actually darn good instructors. They may not articulate their moves verbally, but in watching them play, there’s a lot that we as wannabe-Tour pros can learn and pick up from their amazing abilities.
Golf instruction usually is loaded with tips on what you need to do to optimize your downswing and impact position. And while that’s obviously important, I believe it’s just as important to know how to make a proper backswing.
Don’t get us wrong, Anthony Kim still has in our opinion, one of the
most compact and powerful swings on the PGA Tour. As is the case with
this shot, he actually just barely missed green, albeit a long ways to
the right and at the opposite end of the pin which was tucked in the
back left corner.
What’s the most hated
, feared and downright embarrassing shot in golf? Without a doubt, it’s the dreaded shanked shot.. The shank has no limits, often affecting both great players and novices, with varying degrees of effect.
So much has been written about swing plane over the past few years, that students of mine often come to me very confused about what it is. Simply put, to make an “on-plane” swing, all you have to do is swing the club on the same angle it’s at when it rests on the ground.
Why the golf swing is called a “swing” is beyond me. It’s actually more of a turn than a swing, with the body’s weight moving sequentially from one side to another via a rotary motion—not a swinging one.
Most of the time when you read golf instruction pertaining to the hands, it has to do with how you grip the club._Ê
When you compare an average golfer (in this case, we’ll called him JOE) to a Tour player (let’s call him PRO), you notice big differences in each golf swing. For example, the PRO can achieve certain swing positions because he’s more flexible and has stronger golf muscles than JOE. In fact, physical limitations often prevent JOE from reaching the same positions as the PRO, making it critical for him to make certain adjustments to his technique in order to still strike the ball solidly without hurting himself.
Players like Charles Howell III, Rory Sabbatini, Jonathan Byrd, even the budding superstar Anthony Kim, all have something in common. Besides obviously being PGA Tour players, they’re all relatively small guys in both size and stature who manage to hit the ball with tremendous power. How do they do it? Each of these players, as well as a handful of other professionals, understands that true power and control come from swinging the golf club with a powerful core.
