Chisag's Tip Of The Day #14

[chisag]

… I played with a guy yesterday that was confused by years of Golf Magazine articles showing him the best way to hit a golf ball. Trouble was, he tried to incorporate them all and was in no mans land changing constantly during the round. Basically he wanted to know if it is best to have a body driven swing, an arm driven swing or a hands driven swing. My answer was it is different for every individual. He was really struggling so I did something I normally would not recommend. While we waited on the par five 15th tee box, I had him do a drill. He teed up 2 balls and with his 7 iron I had him take a full swing standing on his left foot only, then the 2nd standing on his right foot only. This drill can identify a myriad of problems from weight shift to over swinging but you must use your body, arms and hands together or you will lose your balance. It can also help identify if you are individually over using your body, arms or hands.

… It is almost impossible to make decent contact by dragging the club away without a natural wrist cock. Granted some cock sooner or later in the backswing but dragging it back and then attempting to hit with the body is a common flaw, and exactly what Bucky was doing. He could not even start the drill without falling off of one leg. I showed him how to use his hands to cock the club while his arms and body moved in support and keep his balance. He thought the whole idea was to take the hands out of the swing and let the big muscles control the swing. I told him to think of a MLB pitcher throwing the ball at 100 mph and did he think they took their hands out of throwing the ball? He replied of course not and I said the golf wing is the same kind of kinetic chain. A pitcher pushes off his back foot, continues the forward moving by turning his hips first, then the upper body follows with the arms accelerating and the hands providing the final whip. Every successful golf swing incorporates the same movements. Now individuals may "feel” like those movements are more body driven if the have over active hands or feel it is more hand movement if they have an over active body. We all perceive a similar motion differently but a good swing incorporates the entire body from feet to hands.

… If you struggle with swing thoughts or feel your swing is inconsistent from swing to swing, try the one legged drill. First take swings off the front foot only, then swings off the back foot only. It will force you to use a proper sequence and not over swing to keep your balance and make solid contact. Keeping your balance on one foot with your follow thru is best, but at the completion of the swing moving forward taking a step to your target is OK too. Falling backward or forward is not, so continue to swing on one leg until you can do so in balance and making good contact and then use that same feel with a normal stance and swing. 

[GolfSpy_BOS]

Thanks for the tip!  I'm going to show this to my brother tonight as he is just getting into golf and has a lot of questions about the swing, but I don't want to tell him too many things to think about.  He's going to take some adult group lessons, but I think this will be good to help him get an idea of balance.

[dlow206]

Going to try this for myself, will probably fall over lol.

I don't have the best balance in general. Unrelated to golf, I was doing single leg deadlifts today and had trouble balancing with those.

[GolfSpy_BOS]

I gave it a shot... what do you think coach!?

[GolfSpy_BOS]

Duplicate post

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

6 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

I gave it a shot... what do you think coach!?
 

What was harder back or front? I feel like I would be better balanced on my back (right) foot? I’ll have to do a video and see

[GolfSpy_BOS]

8 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

What was harder back or front? I feel like I would be better balanced on my back (right) foot? I’ll have to do a video and see

I didnt find either particularly difficult, but holding the finish on my back foot was hard because I wanted to turn that back foot.  I'll wait for coach's diagnosis though. haha

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Just now, B.Boston said:

I didnt find either particularly difficult, but holding the finish on my back foot was hard because I wanted to turn that back foot.  I'll wait for coach's diagnosis though. haha

What’s the verdict coach 

For all you cheers fans 

[chisag]

... In the words of Dennis Hopper talking to Christian Slater in True Romance "Slow it down man!"    Just go at it slower to get a feel for your balance and maintain it all the way to your follow thru. Once you can swing and maintain your balance on one foot, then you can increase your speed slowly until you can't maintain your balance any longer. That is right where your speed and tempo need to be for most golfers. That said, if you can take an aggressive cut like your last swing and hit fairways and greens you are good to go. But most importantly, do it with a ball. We can all take great practice swings, doing it while hitting ball changes the dynamics for most of us. 

[GolfSpy_BOS]

I didn’t record my brothers attempt at this drill because his legs were shaking just trying to stand on one leg at address. 
 

he is still really trying to get a feel for the flow of a golf swing and loosening up his stiff body. He’s way more into it now than he has been before because he’s asking a lot of the right questions and I’m doing my best not to lead him astray until his group lessons start. 
 

ive got him working on NOT trying to force his swing to “get to parallel” like he sees other people doing because to do that he needs to bend his left elbow 90 degrees in the backswing. I have him trying to think wide on the backswing which seems to put him on a good plane. i don’t want him thinking about anything on his downswing so he can build up some speed and starting getting his own feels. I said just sling it down and through. When we get to the range I can show him what each ball flight means for how he delivered the club. 
 

he’s definitely a “learn by doing” person so reading and watching is not a great was for him to learn. It’s been a few weeks and his Rhythm already looks 1000% better but he doesn’t have much face awareness yet. 

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Just did this drill. TOUGH! No video but will get one another day. Fell backward a few times. Felt more balanced on my right foot more overall and had better swings on that foot.

Felt like it required me to use my core a hell of a lot more and not overturning. Will definitely be putting this into a weekly+ routine.

[cksurfdude]

On 6/29/2020 at 1:23 PM, chisag said:

… If you struggle with swing thoughts or feel your swing is inconsistent from swing to swing, try the one legged drill.

Def gonna work on this .. THX @chisag!!!
 

[ole gray]

@chisag  any good advice on hitting fairway wood shots consistent would be appreciative. 

[chisag]

31 minutes ago, ole gray said:

@chisag  any good advice on hitting fairway wood shots consistent would be appreciative. 

 

... Tough clubs to hit for many players, mostly because they try and help the ball into the air. Of course they are the longest clubs you hit from the fairway so it makes sense they are the most difficult. Combine that with poor shots in the past and they just aren't for everyone. That out of the way, one of my old tips is still the best. Place a ball about 2 feet in front of the ball you are hitting. Then with your normal swing, try and make your ball hit the ball 2 feet in front of your ball. It is important you make zero adjustments but instead of envisioning your ball flying far and high, imagine it hitting the ball in front. Do not try and have more shaft lean or keep your hands leading thru impact but take your normal swing and just focus on a different target. For most, they will hit straight thru their ball instead of trying to lift it in the air. Like most drills, if you concentrate on accomplishing the drill without caring about results, it can be very illuminating. I hope this helps.

[aerospace_ray]

8 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Tough clubs to hit for many players, mostly because they try and help the ball into the air. Of course they are the longest clubs you hit from the fairway so it makes sense they are the most difficult. Combine that with poor shots in the past and they just aren't for everyone. That out of the way, one of my old tips is still the best. Place a ball about 2 feet in front of the ball you are hitting. Then with your normal swing, try and make your ball hit the ball 2 feet in front of your ball. It is important you make zero adjustments but instead of envisioning your ball flying far and high, imagine it hitting the ball in front. Do not try and have more shaft lean or keep your hands leading thru impact but take your normal swing and just focus on a different target. For most, they will hit straight thru their ball instead of trying to lift it in the air. Like most drills, if you concentrate on accomplishing the drill without caring about results, it can be very illuminating. I hope this helps.

That is a very good advice/drill. I used that drill many many years ago (persimmon fairway wood days) . 

Curious, what is you opinion regarding this video discussion : ( https://www.secretgolf.com/videos/vintage-vault/legends-of-the-game/ben-hogan--hitting-down-on-fairway-woods ) ?

[ole gray]

15 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Tough clubs to hit for many players, mostly because they try and help the ball into the air. Of course they are the longest clubs you hit from the fairway so it makes sense they are the most difficult. Combine that with poor shots in the past and they just aren't for everyone. That out of the way, one of my old tips is still the best. Place a ball about 2 feet in front of the ball you are hitting. Then with your normal swing, try and make your ball hit the ball 2 feet in front of your ball. It is important you make zero adjustments but instead of envisioning your ball flying far and high, imagine it hitting the ball in front. Do not try and have more shaft lean or keep your hands leading thru impact but take your normal swing and just focus on a different target. For most, they will hit straight thru their ball instead of trying to lift it in the air. Like most drills, if you concentrate on accomplishing the drill without caring about results, it can be very illuminating. I hope this helps.

Sounds like a plan to me and we appreciate your wisdom!

[ole gray]

7 hours ago, aerospace_ray said:

That is a very good advice/drill. I used that drill many many years ago (persimmon fairway wood days) . 

Curious, what is you opinion regarding this video discussion : ( https://www.secretgolf.com/videos/vintage-vault/legends-of-the-game/ben-hogan--hitting-down-on-fairway-woods ) ?

I like this too! Like @chisag said, most folks including myself, try to help the fairway wood shots up.  In the process we see more topped shots than good ones. 

[chisag]

9 hours ago, aerospace_ray said:

That is a very good advice/drill. I used that drill many many years ago (persimmon fairway wood days) . 

Curious, what is you opinion regarding this video discussion : ( https://www.secretgolf.com/videos/vintage-vault/legends-of-the-game/ben-hogan--hitting-down-on-fairway-woods ) ?

 

... Lots of ways to play this game. Some great fairway wood players take healthy divots with their fairway woods like Tiger and Sergio. I am more of a sweeper that brushes the ground in front of the ball or occasionally takes a very shallow divot. 

[JamesMor]

Great tips! Keep it simple in terms of swing thoughts is a good advice as well. This article  https://admission-writer.com/blog/emory-supplement-essay would explain you how to write an Emory supplement essay!