When the hands hold the golf club
too tightly in effort to control it, they add tension to the arms, which in
turn produces slower clubhead speed and inconsistent shots.
For a more repeatable golf swing,
while pivoting the body, focus on keeping the hands passive throughout the
swing. This creates clubhead lag (clubhead trails behind hands) until the
moment of impact when the club automatically releases and in essence “whips”
out and “impacts” the ball with incredible “thrust.”
To illustrate… imagine a line of
ice skaters holding hands. If the inside skater starts to rotate… the outside
skater in the line is “whipped” around at tremendous speed… basically holding
on for dear life! If something got in her way while being whipped around…
YIKES!
Think of the golf swing in the
same way. Your body… is the inside ice skater. Your clubhead is the outside
skater. And the arms, hands, and clubshaft are like the skaters who connect the
two together. When the body rotates… the clubhead gets whipped around, “impacting”
the ball with great speed and power.
A drill I prescribe to my
students is known as the “float load” drill (I’ve attached a video of me
demonstrating the drill below). It’s called “float load”
because during the transition from backswing to downswing… the club “floats” a
bit before changing direction.
Using a mid-iron, set up as if
you’re going to hit a full shot. Release the tension of the hands to a grip pressure
of about a “3-4” on a scale of “1-10” where “1” is loose and “10” is “death
grip!” Focus on maintaining this constant “3-4” grip pressure as you start
your backswing with your chest, shoulders, and arms. Continue maintaining the
soft grip pressure as you begin to rotate your body toward the target, allowing
the club to lag behind the hands.
Keep the hands soft throughout
the entire swing as the ball gets in the way of the club’s path. Resist the
urge to “push” the clubhead back to the ball. Trust it! The clubhead will find
it!
When watching the video… notice
how the angle between my arms and clubshaft decreases on the way down toward
the ball… NOT on the backswing. The club is really lagging behind the hands.
An indicator that I’m holding the club lightly. For many amateurs… this
angle expands… indicating that they are using their hands in attempt to hit the
ball.
Finish with the club low, hands
about waist high, and target-side wrist flat (left hand wrist for right-handed
golfers). At finish, you should “feel” the weightiness of the club in your
hands and the grip pressure should STILL be about a “3-4.” Seriously… I’m not
kidding.
Once you’ve hit a bazillion (and
one) “float load” drills… I want you to hit full shots while being very aware of
the soft grip pressure during the downswing and follow-through. Let the club
control the release of the hands into impact!
It is important to note that although
I speak of softening the grip pressure on the club, I am not asking you to slow
down your swing! “Softer” is not synonymous with “slower.” Stay aggressive with
your body pivot while keeping the hands passive. Make sure you make a complete
backswing… follow-through… and finish!
Use the float load drill for
warming up. And when practicing… alternate between float load drills and full
swings. Eventually you will create a more repeatable golf swing that will
produce consistency in your game.
By the way… have you noticed the new eBook
“If Your Swing
Thought is Longer than a Tweet… It’s Too Long!”
I’m offering at the top of my blog? It’s filled with hundreds of my most popular Twitter-length
golf tips to assist you with your golf game! Organized by categories for
easy viewing.
The cost? Less than a full pack
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email address. I’ll email you the eBook within 24 hours! THANKS and ENJOY!
Peace… Love… Golf!
8 comments:
Right, that's why it's essential to read guides on how to swing for different situations, at the same time, practicing each swing to perfection.
The most important thing in a golf swing is a nice, smooth tempo. You should always have only one thought in your head while you are swinging, whether it be tempo, weight transfer, straight-left arm, ect.
Yes... One "key" swing thought is about all the mind can handle. Well said. When we over complivpcate the swing while playing, it's like playing four songs on a guitar at the same time... It can't be done! You can take your time with setup, grip, stance, posture, ball position, alignment... But after that, it's time to pull the trigger and trust that everything you've been working on is there and you just have to stay out of your own way and allow it to happen... rather than thinking your swing through and "trying" to make it happen. My swing trigger? Trust! Thanks for the comments!
As a golf beginner, this post is very helpful for me. I am still checking out online golf stores to look for a good golf club because I am quite having a hard time swinging it. I guess the perfect handling and a good club would make a perfect swing.
Aside from a perfect day spent at the golf course, the best way to spend my holiday at this place would be if they have something like a spa long island that I have been so used to. Would anyone care to update me on that please? Cheers!
I couldn't perfect my golf swing until I replaced my golf club set. It's a bit pricey but it's worth it because I became more comfortable with my new golf club.
Continue posting about this topic because it's very interesting. Mine I started my blog with very basic.Thanks for the post.
I think soft touch would be more appropriate rather than calling it soft hands. It is often ignored because most people focus on the swing for torque to generate power. Proper hand form can lead to more control making it crucial to the overall swing.
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