Sergio’s left shoulder points down toward the ground and behind the ball late into the downswing. This serves two purposes: First, the steeper shoulder angle keeps the left arm close to the body and enables him to create his famous lag. Second, the closed position of the shoulders prevents the club from coming over the top.
By now, you’ve probably seen footage of Tiger Woods snapping his 4-iron against a tree in the 2007 Masters. If you haven’t, it happened on the 11th hole when he found his ball at the base of a tree. Tiger had three choices: hit it backward or backhanded (two choices that would have probably led to a bogey) or advance it down the fairway. Of course, Tiger chose the latter, but to pull it off, he had to sacrifice his 4-iron.
The best players in the world are as proficient as they are for very good reasons. Not only do they possess an incredibly high level of talent and athletic ability, but they also have sound fundamentals and outstanding overall technique. If you’re going to learn from anyone, these are the guys you want to study.
The main difference between good iron play and poor iron play is quality of contact. Everyone that plays golf knows the difference. We all can hear the difference and we certainly can feel the difference. And while we all know that striking the ball with a descending blow is a must, most of us just can’t get it done consistently._Ê
Golf, at its core, is a game that can be learned and practiced without ever swinging a club. By learning what we call the fundamentals (mind-set, grip, posture, ball position and aim/alignment), you’ll train your body and mind so they’re in all the right positions before you swing the club.
A good backswing creates torque and is achieved by rotating the body away from the ground using the feet as an anchor. Except for unusually flexible players, the knees, hips, core, back and shoulders should all be used to create torque. Once you get the feel of creating leverage against the ground, your power will increase significantly.
In the last issue of Golf Tips, I showed you how to use the edge of a wall to help improve your chipping. This month, I’m going to show you how a simple household item, such as a doorjamb, can help you hit the ball farther.
At 46 years of age, you’d think Tour veteran Kenny Perry would be struggling to keep up with today’s young guns. After all, the closer players get to the Champions Tour, the shorter they’re supposed to hit it. Not Perry. As of this year’s PLAYERS Championship, the Kentuckian is ranked 21st in Driving Distance, placing him six spots (and 1.1 yards) ahead of Tiger Woods.
One of the most common swing flaws occurs when golfers take the club too far inside the target line on the backswing. Usually, this move is caused by a backswing that’s controlled by the hips and the dipping of the shoulders away from the ball. And, as you may guess, this move leads to a handful of bad shots, including pushes, topped shots, slices and duck hooks.
Many players tell me that they’re trying to load their right side or get to their right side in the backswing, but in almost all cases, that player is sliding back instead of turning.
