Chisag Tip of The Day #10

[chisag]

...There are many "tips" we hear and either ignore them or think we will address them later in our development. Here is one you should address now if it applies to your swing. I played with a Dad and his 24yr old son yesterday. The Dad is a manual laborer with strong hands and forearms. His son just graduated from college and is a normal red blooded American male, a little over weight and lacking muscle. When I taught, I always believed there are many ways to hit a golf ball but basically found players fell into one of three categories: Hitters, Swingers or a combination of both. I think swinging the golf club like Sam Snead is the most efficient, repeatable and easiest way to hit a golf ball. But I sure can't argue with the success Arnold Palmer had muscling the ball either. 

... The Dad had a firm grip and hit the ball hard and was relatively successful doing it. The son had clearly used his dad as a role model and tried to do the same thing with much less success because he was fighting his natural tendencies as well as his physical capabilities. He found out I taught golf and asked my how I hit the ball as far as his Dad while swinging with so little effort and if he could do the same thing. I told him my swing has a longer arc and builds speed as his dad's swing is short and fast with speed the entire time. I told him the most important element to "swinging" the golf club is loose arms and a loose grip. Sam Snead said  to hold the grip firm enough like you have a baby bird you don't want to let get away but loose enough so you don't hurt it. When I played serve and volley tennis, I had a big first serve and held my grip so loose, it occasionally came completely out of my hand. Like Freddie and VJ, my right hand comes off the grip thru impact and re-attaches because the I am barely holding on allowing the club to move faster as it builds up speed. It is like I am holding on for a ride instead of supplying the power. 

... Here is how you find out if swinging is for you and just how much faster the clubbed can move. Without a ball address a tee with your feet together and your knees locked. Using your normal grip swing the club back cocking it fully but your arms moving no more than or just short of 9 o'clock. Swing forward letting the club uncock thru the impact zone with your arms ending up at 3 o'clock or no more than 2 o'clock. Now do it without stopping, swishing the club over and over again and start loosening your grip while you swing until it is almost coming out of your hands. Once you get the feel for this, you can address a ball and attempt to do the same thing actually hitting it. Some of you may experience the desire to hit the ball with more effort and that is natural. If that is the case, address the ball just inside and do the drill until you feel a loose grip with no effort to hit the ball and the step forward while swinging and actually swing thru the ball. You can instantly tell if you increased your effort or just swung like there was no ball there. 

... This should tell you 1 of 2 things. You are gripping the club too tightly and are not allowing it to swing freely, robbing yourself of speed OR this isn't for you because you are a hitter and prefer to power thru the ball. I had the son do the drill and he was amazed at how much faster his driver was moving, but of course when actually trying to drive the ball he still had that hit impulse and was basically in no mans land between trying to do something new but still having his old swing impulse. Again, perfectly natural and it takes time doing the drill over and over again until it starts to become muscle memory more than your impulse to hit. Good luck! 

[golfertrb]

What a great drill! I am a swinger - always had a long flowing arc but after taking so much time off from playing golf due to my back injury, when I came back I was as you described the young man "in no man's land." I was trying to control the clubhead and the ball was going on nowhere. I used to have a swing cue I used of reminding myself to swing the clubhead and I heard a teacher on YouTube I saw in passing that said if you are going to swing the clubhead than really swing the clubhead. The next time I was playing, I was on the par 4 4th hole where I typically hit a 3 wood for position and I said to myself "if you are going to swing the clubhead - really swing the clubhead" I did a swing very similar to your drill and the ball just took off! I hit it further than I had in a long time and most importantly, I remembered the way I swing the club. It literally turned my game around this year. I have never been a hitter but I have been guilty of "guiding" the ball which is always disastrous. Anyway - great tip and great drill.


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