SMITh - GolfLogix

 SLICE DAVID LE
hook HANK
PUSH butch
pop-up jIM
shank DEAN R
topped ric
toe HIT CHU
drop-kick rand
NO POWER jim
PULL TODD AN
fat/THIN TO
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EADBETTER
NK HANEY
h harmon
IM FLICK
N REINMUTH
rick smith
UCK COOK
N
randy smith
im mclean
ANDERSON
TOM NESS
FAST
FIXES
FOR
EVERY
FAULT.
Golf’s mistakes
can seem pretty
random: You hit
it left one day,
right the next.
The shanks turn
into the fats. But
every golfer has a
basic shot pattern,
and that’s what
you need to identify. Look at your
mis-hits over five
rounds or several
sessions on the
range. Your pattern
will reveal itself.
Are your tee shots
starting right or
curving right? How
about your irons—
fat and thin or offcenter contact?
We bet you can pin
your struggles on
one or two types
of faults. Then use
the fixes here from
11 of Golf Digest’s
Teaching Professionals. You’ll take
the guesswork out
of your game.
—THE EDITORS
FAULT
FIX
If you frequently slice and you’ve seen yourself on video, you’ve probably noticed
how awkward your swing looks shortly after impact (above, left). This look is known
as the “chicken wing,” and it’s created when your left arm bends—instead of staying straight—through impact. Bending the left arm causes the club to slow down
and cut across the ball, resulting in a slice. In most cases, this fault sequence is the
result of gripping the club too tightly and trying to hit at the ball rather than allowing it to get in the way of a free-flowing swing. qTo cure your slice, grip your 7-iron
with both little fingers extended, as if you were sipping from a teacup (above, right).
You should immediately feel a lack of tension in your grip and a better sense for the
weight of the clubhead. Now make three-quarter-length practice swings, and allow
the club to release freely through impact, encouraging the arms to achieve full extension and rotation as the wrists fully rehinge. qYou can hit balls off a tee with
this grip drill as part of your warm-up or practice routine, and you can incorporate
it into your practice swings on the course. Your ultimate goal is to keep the same
tension-free feel when you go back to your normal grip.
David Leadbetter is ranked No. 3 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers. His golf academy is headquartered at ChampionsGate in Florida.
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Chuck Cook is ranked fifth on
Golf Digest’s list of America’s
50 Greatest Teachers. He is based
at Dallas National Golf Club.
all secondary Credits • will go here • as shown
SLICE by David Leadbetter
The most common cause
of hitting off the toe is releasing the club early, the
wrists unhinging and the
right arm straightening
too soon on the downswing. Players who do
that hit a lot of fat shots,
so they learn to yank
the club upward either
by standing up or bending their left elbow. The
problem is, both moves
pull the club toward the
body, closer than it was
at address, which causes
contact off the toe.
The best way to improve
your strikes is to practice
hitting punch shots with
a middle iron (above). The
shorter backswing and
firmer wrists will promote
a hands-leading impact
position with a straight
left arm. This helps you
maintain the radius of the
swing so you bring the
club to a fully extended
impact position for
center-face contact.
COOK, LEADBETTER: STEPHEN SZURLEJ • HANEY: DOM FURORE
TOE HIT
by CHUCK
COOK
HOOK by HANK HANEY
SNAP IT
When experienced players are fighting a hook, it’s usually because they have a really aggressive release with the hands through impact. Controlling the amount of that release is the
simplest way to reduce hook spin. q The textbook way to hold the club in your left hand is to
set it along the base of your fingers (below, left) so you can get a full wrist hinge during the
backswing. But to take away the hook, you have to reduce that hinge—and the amount the
clubface can close through impact—by changing the angle of the grip so it goes across your
palm, roughly following your lifeline (below, right). q By limiting your release, you’ll give up
some clubhead speed, but your shot pattern will be much straighter. It’s a good method for
any player as a controlled go-to shot when you absolutely have to hit the fairway.
all secondary Credits • will go here • as shown
all secondary Credits • will go here • as shown
Hank Haney is ranked No. 2 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers. He runs the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island.
tipsplus To see
video on this lesson,
click golfdigest.com
/go/tipsplus. Or visit
gettag.mobi from
your current smartphone and download
the free app to snap
a photo of this coded
image. For help, go to
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FAULT
FIX
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PULL by TODD ANDERSON
The only way you can pull a shot is to make contact with the outside part of the ball.
Sometimes this comes from swinging into impact from outside the target line, called
“coming over the top,” but other times the right wrist simply straightens too soon,
which causes the toe of the club to rotate closed (inset). In both cases, you hit the
outside of the ball—and yank it. q Get a feel for hitting the inside part of the ball by
making practice swings with your right hand open on the grip. Focus on keeping the
palm behind the shaft and pointing at the inside quadrant of the ball through impact
(below). You’ll keep the face square and start the ball on line.
TODD ANDERSOn, ranked 20th on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers, is director of instruction at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.
FIX
FAULT
When you drop-kick a
tee shot, it means the
driver is crashing into the
ground and ricocheting
into the ball, which costs
you serious clubhead
speed. It usually happens
when you start with too
much weight on your left
foot, or your weight is
pitched too far onto your
toes. Your right leg will
tend to straighten on the
backswing, and the club
will move on too much of
an up-and-down plane.
When the club moves that
steeply, you usually end
up hanging back to try
to lift the ball—and that
leads to the drop-kick.
To fix it, center your
weight at address. Your
left shoulder and hip
should be set slightly
higher, but your weight
should be evenly distributed. Keep an athletic flex
in your right knee from
the start (above), which
will let you turn into your
right side and avoid the
chain reaction that leads
to the drop-kick.
Randy Smith, ranked 13th on
Golf Digest’s 50 Greatest Teachers,
is the head professional at Royal
Oaks Country Club in Dallas.
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month 2010
ANDERSON, SMITH: DOM FURORE • harmon: j.d. cuban • REINMUTH: JOEY TERRILL
DROP-KICK
by Randy
Smith
FAULT
FIX
SHANK
by DEAN
REINMUTH
Contrary to what many
golfers think, the shank
is not caused by an
improper swing path.
Rather, it’s a result of the
golfer failing to rotate the
clubface from open to
closed through impact.
A swing path that comes
from way outside the
target line can exacerbate the problem, but the
golfer who hits shanks
doesn’t allow the forearms to rotate the clubface toward the target.
This means the face is
open and the hosel makes
contact with the ball.
Correct this mistake
by letting the clubface
“release” through impact.
A great drill for this is to
focus on your thumbs,
because they indicate
the position of the clubface. So at impact, your
thumbs should be pointing directly at the ball
(above). And as you follow
through, they should be
turned and pointing at
your target.
Dean Reinmuth, ranked 48th
on Golf Digest’s list of the 50
Greatest Teachers, is based at the
Santaluz Club in San Diego.
PUSH by BUTCH HARMON
The big push comes from spinning the lower body open too quickly
on the downswing. When the hips and knees turn aggressively like
this (above, left), the club drops behind the body and approaches
the ball too much from the inside. The club never catches up and
never has a chance to release, so the face stays open and the ball
shoots to the right. qThe best way to fix a push is to make the opposite move: Don’t use your lower body as much, and swing your
arms past your chest through impact (above, right). First, set up
in a closed stance, which makes it harder for your lower body to
rotate open. Then, focus on letting your arms extend and release
past you. qSome players think a push comes from shifting too far
toward the target, but this spin-out move is the real cause. When
you spin open, your right shoulder tilts down and the club gets
stuck to the inside. From there, the ball can only go right. So close
your stance, and feel your arms swing past you.
SNAP IT
tipsplus To see
video on this lesson,
click golfdigest.com
/go/tipsplus. Or visit
gettag.mobi from
your current smartphone and download
the free app to snap
a photo of this coded
image. For help, go to
golfdigest.com/go/tag.
.Butch Harmon, ranked No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 50 Greatest Teachers, runs the Butch Harmon School of Golf in Henderson, Nev.
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TOPPED by rick smith
RICK SMITH , ranked 11th on Golf Digest’s list of the 50 Greatest Teachers, is based at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich., and Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla.
FAULT
FIX
POP-UP
by jim
flick
If you’re popping up your
drives, with the club going
under the ball through
impact, you’re probably swinging down too
steeply. The club might
also be coming from outside the target line. The
cause of this problem is
usually an overactive right
hand, arm and shoulder
on the downswing.
A good solution is to
practice hitting drivers on the range while
releasing your right hand
from the club just before
impact (above). This drill
trains the left arm to
become the master arm,
so it controls the speed
and angle at which the
clubhead swings into the
ball. Plus, with only your
left hand on the club as it
swings into impact, the
club’s path will become
shallower and travel more
from the inside, which
will improve the quality
of contact. Also, your left
hand will lead the clubshaft through impact,
delofting the face and
allowing it to turn down.
So intersperse five righthand releases with five
normal swings, and you’ll
get rid of the pop-up.
Jim Flick, ranked in the top 10
on Golf Digest’s list of America’s
50 Greatest Teachers, is based at
the TaylorMade Learning Center
in Carlsbad, Calif.
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month 2010
flick, McLEAN, smith: stephen szurlej • NESS: CHRIS STANFORD
Topping is often the result of rising out of your address posture during the downswing.
Your impulse to get the shot airborne makes you hang back and try to scoop the ball
with your wrists or hit up on it, and you stand up in the process (inset). Either of these
moves can lift the bottom of your swing arc, causing the club to glance the top half of
the ball. qTo fix this, you need to get used to maintaining your posture and attacking
the ball on a downward angle. Set up with a clubshaft or stake behind you. When you
start your downswing, stick your butt out and bump the shaft (below). This will keep
your lower body and upper body in the posture you established at address, and you’ll
feel the clubhead moving downward and slightly from inside the target line. Practice
this move through impact, and you’ll get back to solid ball-striking.
FAT/THIN
by TOM
NESS
Fat and thin shots happen
because the shaft passes
the left arm before impact. The left wrist bends
and breaks down, and
the radius of the swing
changes. The club hits the
ground behind the ball, or
you try to save the swing
and hit it thin.
To keep your radius
consistent, try this drill
in a fairway bunker. With
a marker, draw a line
straight down your wrist,
starting from the big
knuckle on your left index
finger. Then draw a line in
the sand two inches behind your left heel. If you
keep your radius the same
length through impact—
keeping that line on your
wrist straight—your swing
should bottom out in the
same place every time,
just in front of the line in
the sand (below). Then
simply play the ball where
the line is, and you’ll make
flush contact.
FAULT
FIX
Tom Ness is ranked 47th on
Golf Digest’s list of the 50 Greatest
Teachers and is based at the
Alpharetta (Ga.) Athletic Club.
NO POWER JIM McLEAN
Unhinging the wrists through impact creates that last-second burst of speed you
see in better players. Amateurs tend to let the wrists unhinge too early, but the
root of the problem is in the lower body. If you fail to make a good lateral move
toward the target on the downswing, your left leg straightens too soon, which
causes you to throw the club away from your body and unhinge your wrists way
before impact (above, left). qHere’s a drill I use with my students who need a better lateral shift. Stick a shaft or similar object in the ground just outside your left
foot and practice hitting drivers trying to bump the shaft with your left knee as
you start down (above, right). You might not actually contact the shaft, but you’ll
shift to your front side, and your arms and the club will drop into a powerful inside
position, with the wrists staying fully hinged. qSo feel as if you’re squatting into
your left leg as you move laterally to your front side. You’ll have a much better
chance of maintaining that powerful wrist hinge as you swing into the ball. ♣
Jim McLean is ranked No. 4 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers. His golf academy is headquartered at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami.
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103
butch harmon
/ lesso n tee /
How to tame your 3-wood
Move the ball back, and take a little divot
I see golfers in our schools play
these perfect 5- and 7-wood
shots, but give them a 3-wood
and they can’t hit it.
First, they play the ball up
in their stance, like a driver,
and try to help it in the air. As
a result, they top it or skim it
along the ground.
Second, they swing too hard.
The green is usually out of
reach, so they think, The longer
I hit this, the better. But those
hard swings rarely end well.
For better 3-woods, position
the ball a few inches inside
your front heel. And then don’t
be afraid to hit down on it. Ben
Hogan used to take a little
divot with every fairway wood
he hit, and so does Tiger.
When it comes to tempo,
think of your 3-wood as any
other club: It has a distance
maximum, whether yours is
250 yards or 150. Use the same
tempo you would for an iron
shot—don’t try to squeeze out
that extra 10 yards. ‹›
too far forward
This is the most common
fault I see with amateurs.
With the ball up this far,
you’ll catch it thin or top it.
butch’s basics
Make sure your 3-wood has
enough loft, 15 or 16 degrees.
A lot of golfers are carrying
13-degree models, which just
scream for you to help them get
the ball up. When you hit range
balls with your 3-wood, tee it
up sometimes. You need to get
used to the idea that you can hit
down on the ball and get plenty
of height on the shot. You need to
learn to trust the club’s loft.
by Butch Harmon
Golf Digest
Teaching Professional
Ranked No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 50 Greatest
Teachers, Harmon runs the Butch Harmon
School of Golf, at Rio Secco, Henderson, Nev.
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june 2008
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y
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J.D. Cuban
/ L E S S O N TEE /
david leadbetter
2
1
move your right arm the right way
Think ‘on top then under’ as you take the club back
The right arm’s role in the backswing is underrated and often
misunderstood. In fact, many
amateurs do the opposite of what
they should do.
Simply put: The right arm should
be on top of the left arm (1) as
you start the backswing, and then
it should move under the left arm
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(2) as you swing the club to the top.
Many amateurs fold and shorten
the right arm too early as they
snatch the club away. What you
really want is a relatively straight
right arm during the initial part of
the backswing as this promotes
width and good pace—keys to
hitting solid shots.
As your right arm continues
toward the top of the backswing,
november 2008
it should start to fold and move
under your left, which encourages
your wrists to set and load correctly
and helps your upper body to
make a full coil. This combination
of width and the proper body turn
sets you in the ideal position for
the downswing.
So remember, when it comes to
the right arm, think “on top then
under” as you swing back, and
you’ll have a great start to the
whole swing. n
by David Leadbetter
Golf Digest
Teaching Professional
Based at ChampionsGate near Orlando,
Leadbetter runs 30 academies worldwide.
For more tips, click golfdigest.com/instruction.
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y
/
DOM FURORE
lesso n tee
Rick
smith
TIP
➞ FOR A VIDEO LESSON, CLICK
GOLFDIGEST.COM/GO/TIPSPLUS.
rhythm check
TAKE
YOUR
TIME
Don’t be in
a rush to hit
long putts
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Strive for a 2-to-1
ratio, the backstroke
twice as slow as
the through-stroke.
The problem many amateurs
have with long putts is that they
abandon their normal, steady
stroke. Their impulse is to make a
quicker, harder stroke to get the
ball to the hole, but this often
results in a breakdown of good
mechanics. A great way to preserve
your technique—and rhythm—
when facing a long putt is to count
in your head, One thousand one.
Take the putter back as you say
to yourself, One thousand, and
hit the ball as you say, one. This
thought will help you make a
controlled, accelerating motion.
Your backstroke should take twice
as long as your through-stroke. n
by Rick Smith
Golf Digest
Teaching Professional
Ranked No. 8 on Golf Digest’s
50 Greatest Teachers,
Smith is based at Treetops
Resort near Gaylord, Mich.,
and Tiburón in Naples, Fla.
P H OTO G R A P H B Y
/
J.D. Cuban