Georgia Hall on Hitting a Stable Drive (Video)

With Georgia Hall having won the Ricoh Women's British Open this past weekend, I thought it might be good to take a quick look at her swing. She did this video on driving for the LET.



I'm not going to focus on any specific tip from this video. Rather, I want you to notice what she calls this video -- "The Stable Drive." As she says, too many players move too much over the ball, and that makes it hard to get consistent and predictable hits.

Georgia's not talking about being immovable over the ball; she specifically says that she works on rhythm, which requires you to stay relaxed. We all tend to get so tight! We freeze over the ball during address, then we jerk around when we finally try to move and we wonder why we can't stay steady over the ball.

If we want to get better, we have to learn to relax and move freely during our swings. And as she says, trying to hit the ball too hard works against that. It's better to accept what feels like a little less clubhead speed at first while we learn how to "swing casual," to borrow an old Han Solo line, then just move a little quicker as we get more relaxed.

Hey, it worked for Georgia Hall. It couldn't hurt to try it, could it?

Denis Pugh on More Consistent Ballstriking (Video)

Francesco Molinari just won the Open, so of course I have a video from his coach Denis Pugh. In this video Pugh is trying to help a player hit the ball more consistently.



Pugh wants -- as I do -- for you to learn how to turn without sliding. When you slide too much toward the target, you do all kinds of crazy things like change your spine angle, change your body position relative to your ball position, and throw your balance off. If you want more consistency, you need to stop that!

As you can see from the video, what Pugh tries to get this student to do is open his legs as he turns through the ball. (That's why he sticks the club shaft between his legs and holds it against the inside of his trailing thigh.) However, you can't hit balls with someone holding a club between your legs, but you can learn this move by using a drill.

Fortunately I have one for you. It's been on my blog for over seven years, and here's a link to it. It's called the Basketball Drill, and it's very simple. You hold a basketball between your knees, and you try to drop the ball during your downswing by moving your lead knee forward -- that gives you the hip opening move that you try to create when you slide -- while your trailing knee doesn't move so much. It minimizes lateral movement toward the target while still letting you unwind your hips as quickly as you can.

I think you'll find this drill actually lets you create more hip speed than the slide does because you don't waste energy pushing your body forward. But -- and this is important -- it DOES allow you to create a weight shift, which moves you toward the target a little but not enough to change your body's position relative to the ball. As a result, you get more consistent contact.

A simple but very effective drill. It may not turn you into Francesco Molinari (that's a matter of practice) but it will teach you the basics of a solid move into the ball.

Martin Hall's "Buckle Before Buttons" Drill (Video)

This is one of Martin Hall's Home School videos, and it is a deceptively simple way to learn what a proper weight shift feels like.



Martin doesn't say this, but you can see it if you watch closely. When you set up next to the wall, you want your lead foot only an inch or two from it -- and when I tested it, I think just an inch worked best.

And note this little tip which you can see but Martin doesn't mention: When you touch your belt buckle to the wall and keep your chest from touching the wall, your spine is pretty much vertical. (There's a very slight arch but that is caused by clasping your hands behind your back, which pulls your shoulders back slightly. That's a naturally balanced position, similar to a soldier standing "at ease.") This drill teaches you to make a straight finish that takes pressure off your back.

Beyond that, it's all pretty simple. In order to (a) touch your belt buckle to the wall while (b) keeping your chest from touching the wall, you have to shift your weight onto your lead foot during your "downswing." If you hang back on your trailing foot, you will not be able to do this drill!

What this drill does is give you a "visual" feel for your finish -- and by visuaI I mean that you can actually see and measure what the desired finish position is like, if you want or need to. You can feel your buckle touching the wall, you can see that your chest doesn't touch, and you can use a mirror to see how close to vertical your back is when you do those two things. That way, you can guarantee that you get in the same position each time you do this drill, and that means you'll get the desired result much more easily and learn to repeat it more quickly. That's what makes a great drill!

Martin Hall on Long Drive Setup (Video)

The Masters is on and you don't have time for instructional videos -- or practice. You're in luck! Martin Hall and Blair O'Neal posted this Night School video just yesterday, and you don't need a club or a trip to the range to improve your driving.



The drill is simple. Park your buttt against a wall and, before you start your "backswing," bump your hips a little toward your target. Note that:

• you do this at setup before you make your backswing, not during your downswing, and
• the move is small. Martin says just two inches. You want just enough to get you swinging upward at impact.

If you're observant, you may have noticed Pernilla Lindberg doing something very similar at setup in the video I posted earlier this week.

Why does this work? Because if you set your weight just a bit forward at setup, you'll tend to return to that position at impact. But you don't want to hit down with a driver, and that's why you leave your weight distributed roughly 50-50 between your feet and just bump your hips forward a bit. You'll automatically tilt your spine just slightly away from the target to keep your balance, but it will be enough to create all the good things you want at impact.

So remember: Just a slight hip bump toward the target at setup, which causes a very slight spine tilt away from the target. That will automatically create the weight shift you want on the downswing, along with the upward strike at your teed-up golf ball. Voila! Longer drives.

And you still get to watch the Masters. Just do the drill during commercials!

Brandel Chamblee on "the Magic Move" (Video)

I know many of you don't care for Brandel Chamblee, and you know I don't agree with him on everything either. But this short video he did on what he calls "the Magic Move" is a good explanation of what many successful pros have done to get distance.



I want to focus on that "straight right leg" he mentions. (And add that Arnold Palmer may have been the best example of it.) Bear in mind that you aren't necessarily "locking" that knee; it may have a slight flex in it. But it's a very slight flex -- slight enough that it almost feels locked, but without the stress you feel in a locked knee joint. It's straight enough that it doesn't bend easily.

If you let your trailing knee straighten during your backswing, it may sound as if it will limit your ability to launch into your downswing. What it actually does is stop you from "spinning out" at the top as you start down:

• That straightness makes a fuller hip turn feel more natural, and it almost doesn't require any extra thought on your part. (Automatic moves -- when they're correct -- almost always improve your ballstriking.)
• It makes it easier to stay relatively still over the ball (no sway during your backswing) without putting extra stress on your back.
• Since you have to turn your hips to start the downswing rather than pushing hard with your thigh, it smooths out the start of your downswing.
• You don't have to "drive" forward to get a weight shift to your lead foot -- a straight trailing leg forces you to "fall onto" your lead foot. Instant weight shift!
• And once your upper body begins to turn with your hips during your downswing, your trailing knee will start to bend automatically. That puts you in position to start using the ground to push up at impact, but it keeps the "push up" under control so you don't overdo it and mis-hit the ball.

This straight trailing leg thing isn't for everybody. But once you get over the unusual feel of it -- and let's face it, this is a move that's rarely taught these days -- it's amazing how easy it is to repeat with each swing. It's also a move that can work with a large number of modern swing methods, without having to make major changes to what you already know.

And as Brandel points out, it's really hard to argue with the success of the players who have used it. It's one of those techniques that I put in the "it's worth a try" category, because if it won't work with your swing, you'll know pretty quick and won't have to waste a lot of time trying it.

But if it works for you... well, Arnie had a pretty good record.

Manuel de la Torre on Weight Shift

Manuel de la Torre died in 2016 but his impact on professional and amateur golf was huge. His book Understanding the Golf Swing is considered a classic. Today's quote is from that book.



de la Torre's approach to weight shift was a bit different than that of most modern instructors. But no matter what swing method you use, it's worth considering if what he says might help you.

A common theory claims that the weight should be shifted to the back foot in the backswing. I am convinced that the weight should not be transferred to the back foot in the backswing.

We are all looking for consistency in our games and we should swing the golf club so that it is easy to meet the golf ball with the face of the club at a right angle to the target line. As mentioned before, the golf club is describing a circle when it is swung. Being a circle, it must have a center. If we were describing a circle with a compass, the first thing we would do would be to set the center. If this center moves to different locations, it is impossible to return to the starting point.

The same thing happens in the golf swing. When the center is allowed to move to the right through a weight shift to the back foot, that center must be re-established prior to contacting the golf ball or square impact is impossible. You will observe some of our fine tournament players who do shift their center to the back foot and play well. But bear in mind that those players play every day and practice for hours every day. They have developed the timing and the extra move to achieve square impact. However, some of those same tournament players at times cannot find the timing to meet the ball properly and, especially with the driver, they become very inaccurate and miss more fairways than they should.

If the center is maintained, and the hands are placed on the club in a neutral position, the club can be returned to the exact address position from the end of the backswing and it will be square to the target line without any necessity to manipulate it to square. It is one less thing with which the player has to be concerned.

I contend that the weight should be maintained equally divided on the feet until after impact and then the centrifugal force will transfer its weight to the front foot. [p63-64]

Yes, de la Torre may sound a bit out-of-step with many modern instructors. And it's true that much of his teaching method is based on teachings from the legendary Ernest Jones. But what he says here does simplify your swing a lot, and it doesn't preclude your use of modern lower body power techniques.

What this teaching can do is make it much easier for you to return the club to the ball consistently. And if trying it just quiets your lower body a bit so you don't slide back and forth so much, you'll find it's well worth the effort.

Tommy Armour on the Purpose of Footwork

Today's quotes come from Tommy Armour, the three-time major winner who gained great fame as an instructor. I say "quotes" because I'm picking several bits from a chapter he wrote on footwork.



These thoughts come from How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time, from a chapter called Footwork, the Foundation of Best Golf:

What prevents many ever learning correct footwork is the fact that they don't understand its purpose.

The function of correct footwork is to get the body in the right place for the arms and hands to act with maximum precision and power, and with smoothness.

A great deal of confusion in teaching and learning footwork arises from the fact that the subject really is so simple that people just can't readily believe that there isn't a mysterious and complicated trick to it.

So, what generally happens is a complete reversal of logic; the player endeavors to make his body work his feet, instead of having his feet impel and direct the proper body action.

Let me break here for a minute. Armour spends quite a bit of this chapter explaining the mistakes made by a player who "endeavors to make his body work his feet." I won't repeat all that. But bear in mind what you've read so far -- simply put, footwork is so simple that we tend to try too hard. Take the thoughts that follow as simply as you can!

First, he talks about the backswing. Note the boldface print -- I put that in to emphasize his main point.

Your knees are a reliable index to correct footwork. On the backswing, the left knee moves until it is pointing to a point not too far behind the ball. The left knee is moved into this position by raising the left heel and getting a bit of a push from the inside of the sole of the left foot, but although those foot actions are the motivating elements, they are details I seldom mention when I'm teaching as I want to avoid all possible details. I have the pupils consider knee position as the indicator of proper footwork. When the left knee is in the position it should be at the top of the backswing, the footwork has been performed correctly.

There's only one way to have the left foot function in getting the knee into the desired position, so if the pupil thinks of the result he must get, he doesn't need to worry about the details of cause.

Now he talks about the downswing. He thinks instructions like opening your hips to face the target are counter-productive.

When the right knee comes in toward the direction you're hitting, your right heel comes off the ground, and you're pushing the body around into perfect position for hitting. Your left side is bound to straighten up as your left knee straightens.

But, if you keep your right heel on the ground, it is physically impossible to get your right knee to play its proper part in the swing. Therefore, your entire right side -- the right shoulder and the right hip -- can't get into position for hitting.

The knee action in a good golf swing is practically identical with knee action in throwing a baseball.

The side that delivers the power -- the right side -- is put into position to deliver by correct footwork, and only by correct footwork can this position be attained.

There's a lot of confusion about how and when to get the left heel on the ground at the start of the downswing, but there needn't be. As the right side springs into action from the right foot up, the left heel will simultaneously go to the ground.

All you have to do is let the right side come into the shot by moving the right knee around toward the ball.

That's a long quote, but the basic idea is clear, don't you think? Let me boil it down to one paragraph.

Point your lead knee behind the ball on your backswing, then point your trailing knee toward the ball on the downswing. Don't try to keep both feet flat on the ground; all you'll do is make it impossible to move your feet correctly. If you just think about where you want your knees to point, you'll move your feet properly.

It doesn't get any simpler than that.

In-Gee Chun's Driver Swing (Video)

This video is from 2013, but it's a good video to see how simple In-Gee's swing is. There's something I want you to see that is very plain in this footage.



It's most easily seen in the down-the-line view on the left above. I want you to watch her feet and knees. The first of the side-by-side views begins around the :32 mark.

Her left (lead) knee bends and her left heel comes off the ground as she starts her backswing. When she reaches the top of her backswing and starts down, note that her right (trailing) knee starts to bend and her right heel comes off the ground. At the same time her left heel goes back down, flat on the ground.

BUT NOTICE: When her left heel goes back down, her left knee DOES NOT straighten! Instead it stays bent until the club is halfway down in her downswing. It can do this because her left hip is moving away from the ball, which causes her left knee to gradually straighten as the clubhead gets to the ball.

If you watch the face-on view at the same moment, you can see that she doesn't make a big move toward the target during her downswing. It's almost as if she had her weight mostly on her trailing foot, then she just planted her lead foot back on the ground as she stepped onto it. This keeps your body fairly steady over the ball so you can make more consistent contact. That will give you better accuracy AND distance.

In-Gee is yet another of those ladies with a simple, easily repeated swing. That's one reason she's a two-time major winner. And it's a move that's so simple, you can learn to do it too.

So Yeon Ryu's Favorite Drill

This is from a Golf Digest article called The Drill You Need When Your Swing Falls Apart. So Yeon calls it the Stomping Drill, which she says fixes a multitude of problems in your swing.



Do this drill with an iron and address the ball with your feet close together. Essentially you just step away from the target with your trail foot to start your backswing, then step toward the target with your lead foot to start your downswing. That's it.

So Yeon says it takes some practice so you have to start out slow. But she also says it will cure a lot of ills in your swing.

What do I like about it? If you do this properly, you won't slide your hips and tilt your spine during the drill. That causes problems in more swings than most players realize. Give the drill a try and see what you think.

Peter Kostis on Jonas Blixt's Golf Swing (Video)

This is a clip from CBS coverage of the 2014 Greenbriar Classic but anytime Peter Kostis compares your swing to Sam Snead's, it's worth a look. Jonas Blixt has been playing well down in Australia so this is as good a time as any.



I'd like to add a couple of observations to what Kostis says.

• Snead's swing looks more flexible than Blixt's in part because of his equipment. Snead began his career with hickory shafts, which means he learned to create clubhead speed through rhythm rather than power. He focused more on motion than leverage, which is why his swing had a greater range of motion than Blixt's.
• Facts are, Snead was far more flexible than most modern players, even into his later years. Snead himself said he used yoga stretches as part of his training, and the stories about him are legendary. I've heard more than one of his contemporaries say he could kick the top of a doorjamb from a standing position underneath. (Just for the record, Snead was the first player to use weight training, not Gary Player. The difference is that Snead kept it quiet; he liked to keep his training methods to himself.)

Snead used his flexibility to his advantage. In his teaching (he was originally the Greenbriar's teaching pro, you know) he stressed the need to remain relaxed during your golf swing. That also contributes to the extreme "lag" at the top of his backswing; being so flexible, he could start his downswing while the club was still going back. And by staying so relaxed, he didn't put the stress on his back that so many modern players do.

But there certainly are a number of similarities between Blixt and Snead. While Snead's hips turn more in his backswing and open more in his finish, the movement is rotary not lateral. This is more clearly seen in face-on videos, of which there are many on YouTube. Both men are rotating rather than sliding during their swings, which allows them to return the clubface to the ball more consistently. They don't move back and forth over the ball, so the ball position doesn't change between backswing and downswing.

Blixt is struggling a bit this week at the Australian PGA, perhaps because of all the rain they've had down there. (He was -3 at one point but fell back to even on the back nine while I was watching.) But his swing is fundamentally solid and it surprises me how streaky he is. I suspect he tends to think too much about his mechanics so he's never as relaxed as Snead was. When you have as good a swing as Blixt does, sometimes the best thing you can do is just trust it... and focus on where you want the ball to go.

As he proved with his runner-up finish last week, he's more than capable of getting the job done.

Learning from an Old Golf Swing (Video)

The swing belongs to none other than Walter Hagen. Hagen won two US Opens, four Open Championships and five PGA Championships (it was match play back then). Hagen is third on the list of all-time major winners, topped only by Nicklaus and Woods.

Why am I posting this? Because this video shows Hagen in Europe in 1928, which means he was using hickory shafts. Although the USGA okayed steel shafts in 1924, the R&A refused to allow them until 1929. That means the swing you see in this video was made with hickory shafts.

You may have seen a lot of weird-looking hickory swings, but you won't see that with Hagen. There's a lot you can learn from this sweet move!



A few notable things you might find consider:

• Hagen starts his backswing with a slight forward turn of his hips. That makes the start of his backswing a reaction; he isn't starting from a "frozen" position over the ball.
• Note the full shoulder coil, almost Daly-esque in its length. There's no tension there!
• The footwork is very simple -- the lead heel comes up off the ground and is then replanted, his hips move back freely and he turns freely toward the target. There's no sway during his backswing, no exaggerated slide forward, no leaning backward at impact. He just "steps" to turn away from the target, then "steps" to turn toward the target. Very simple and natural-looking.
• Finally, just look at how relaxed he appears to be all the way through the swing. He's not straining for distance, although he was considered one of the longer hitters of his day. He just makes a long, rhythmic swing that moves pretty fast!

Again, Hagen is using a hickory shaft. Most players think you can't swing a soft shaft with any speed, but Hagen is a great example of how wrong they are. Watch and learn... then give it a try with your own clubs.

A Quick Look at Shanshan Feng's Swing (Videos)

Shanshan Feng (aka Jenny Money) has moved up to #3 in the Rolex World Rankings this week, less than a quarter point behind long-hitting Sung Hyun Park.. I thought it might be instructive to take yet another look at one of the simplest yet most effective swings in women's golf.

This first video shows her swing from straight on, and it includes a slo-mo view of her hands at impact.



And this second video shows her swing from a variety of angles.



Let me point out a few simple things you can learn from Shanshan -- simple things that you can put into action immediately.

• Simple setup. Note that her lead wrist is bent a bit more than most teachers would recommend, but that's because she has the butt end of the shaft pointing at her belly button. In other words, she has the end of the shaft pointing at the center of her body, so it's pointing at her spine.
• She cocks the club a bit earlier than some players, but there's nothing contrived here. She just takes it back in a way that feels comfortable to her, so it's consistent.
• Her backswing isn't extremely long, even with a driver -- it looks more like a three-quarter swing -- but she gets a good shoulder turn and she doesn't slide away from the ball.
• Yes, she starts down by moving her hips forward... but no, she doesn't make some powerful forward thrust with her hips. Physics demand that your lower body has to move first in order to start your downswing, but Shanshan doesn't exaggerate the move. She just moves in a natural way, stepping from her trail foot to her lead foot as she turns toward the target.
• She really uses her hands, arms and shoulders, so her wrists uncock as she hits the ball. The shaft is pointing at her belly button at impact, just the way she set up to the ball. She isn't worried about getting her wrists in some special position; she just points the shaft straight at the ball.
• Her footwork is very simple during her downswing. Again, all she does is just step from her trail foot to her lead foot as her shoulders turn completely into her finish. Since she doesn't stop her shoulders from turning, the club doesn't flip over as she hits the ball. As a result, the ball flies pretty straight.

Nothing fancy, nothing that requires a swing monitor to keep it in check. Shanshan plays golf, not golf swing. She just worries about where the clubface is pointing at impact, and she controls that with her hands -- exactly the same way any other athlete aims a bat or racket or hockey stick.

And bear in mind that Shanshan is notorious for NOT PRACTICING. If you want a dependable swing that doesn't need a lot of attention, you could do a lot worse than copying Jenny Money!

Justin Rose on 3-Wood Approach Shots (Video)

Here's an older Golf Digest video where Justin Rose explains his swing thought for hitting better 3-woods. This is so simple yet so effective.



When Justin says he tries to keep his back to the target at the start of his downswing, he's not suggesting anything new. This is an old thought many players have used. But I mention it because the easiest way to do this is to think about dropping from a small height and landing on your feet.

Just think about it: Your lead heel comes slightly off the ground at the top of your backswing, so if you feel as if you're just landing flatfooted as you start your downswing, you won't start to unwind so quickly. That puts you in a stronger position to move through the ball and helps prevent an over-the-top move.

Justin does this as a rehearsal but it's very effective during your actual swing as well.

Give it a try. You might be surprised how much more solidly you can hit your 3-wood... or any of your clubs.

Kevin Weeks on Body Rotation (Video)

I bet you'll look at this video and say, "Oh, I know that drill." No, you don't -- at least, you don't understand it. Instructor Kevin Weeks has given this drill a twist (pun intended) that you won't believe until you do it.



The standard version of the drill goes something like this: Place a glove or something under your lead arm, in your armpit, and hit balls. It's okay for the glove to drop to the ground when you reach the top of your finish. This teaches you connection.

THAT IS NOT THIS DRILL. Let me explain the Weeks version to you.

You use a towel and fold it up. You want it so that if your arm separates from your chest too much, that baby is going to open up even if it doesn't drop. Then you hold your club in your lead hand ONLY and make swings without dropping the towel at any point in your swing. Why?

Because this drill isn't about connection. It's about body rotation.

You have trouble with slices because you don't finish your rotation during your downswing. You have trouble with chicken wings because you don't finish your rotation during your downswing. You have trouble with weight shift because you don't finish your rotation during your downswing.

Do you understand? Many of your swing problems happen because you don't finish your rotation during your downswing. This drill teaches you what complete rotation feels like.

Weeks says you should only hit the ball around 25 yards or so. That creates enough speed to pull your arm away from your body if you don't rotate completely to your finish, but not so much that your arm goes high and you drop the towel. Your elbow will have to fold and your body will have to turn in order to keep that towel in place.

Learning what rotation to a complete finish feels like is vital if you're going to develop consistency in your shotmaking. This is a great drill that will help you. Give it a try!

A Thought on Starting Down from the Top

Today I have a simple quote from an old book called Such a Little Secret by John W. Barrett. It concerns the change of direction and the start of the downswing. I'm passing this on because it seems to be a good description of what happens, one that is helpful no matter what swing method you use.

Barrett likes to give movements numbers, so when you see Element Number Three in the text, that's just how he refers to the order of the change of direction in the swing sequence. Also, note that he assumes you're righthanded, so you lefties out there should substitute "right" for "left."

The correct hitting stroke should definitely commence with a transferring of the weight below the waist to the left foot and leg (Element Number Three). In many instructional articles this movement is invariably described as "shifting the weight" -- a misnomer that has bred more misunderstanding and early disenchantment with the game than anything else. If "shifting the weight" is ambiguous, then "Let the weight all flow to the left" or "Everything must move to the left with the shot" can be downright damaging. In fact it is only some of the weight which is transferred, that below the waist.

As the transfer is made, the upper body and head must retain their position in a vertical plane, remaining well behind the object to be hit.

The movement of the hips to the left should be just enough to plant the left heel firmly to the ground and lift the right heel from it as the weight transfers. Rotation of the hips occurs simultaneously with their small lateral move to the left. [p132-133]

Let me point out a couple of things here.

First, Barrett says "only some of the weight" is transferred, and that little bit is below the waist. He says at a later point that a "massive hip and knees slide" causes the upper body to move far too much, but that such a move is unfortunately taught all too often. If you keep those exaggerations out of the lateral move, you'll find that your upper body doesn't lurch forward when you swing. That problem is the result of using your legs incorrectly.

Second -- and this is the part that really caught my attention, because he stated it so well in that final paragraph -- is that the hips move toward the target just enough to replant the lead heel and lift the trailing heel. He also says that the hips rotate simultaneously with that small lateral move.

You got that? None of that "slide and turn" stuff. That is an exaggeration that changes all the correct posture you tried so hard to create at address! In past posts I've explained it as "almost falling" from the top of the backswing, because that lets gravity help create the small weight shift you need to get everything moving toward the target without overdoing it. But it doesn't matter how you feel it, so long as you don't overdo it!

This is a very simple tip, but it will do wonders to help improve both your accuracy and your distance, simply because it will help you deliver the clubhead to the ball with more consistency. And if there's a Holy Grail in this game, it's consistency.

John Richman on Weight Shift VS Pressure (Video)

I want all of you to watch this short GC video. GCA instructor John Richman may be the first instructor on TV I've heard make a point of differentiating between weight shift and "pressure."



Richman is talking about how to create more torque when you aren't all that flexible. That's a problem everybody has as they get older, and many of you younger players have the problem as well.

When you turn during your backswing and downswing, you don't have to move sideways to create pressure. In golf, we tend to use the terms weight shift and pressure interchangeably, because they feel the same. When you move your weight toward one side or the other, you increase the amount of pressure you feel in your leg and foot on that side. But you can increase the pressure WITHOUT moving your body to one side or the other. Richman demonstrates this in the video.



How does this happen? When you turn, the leg on that side has to resist your body's attempt to slide over that leg. And since you have to "dig in" with that foot to stabilize yourself, you increase the pressure you feel in that leg. Years ago I used this 2011 post to link to a drill called Body Movin', and I recommend you use that post to go to the drill. I summed up some points in that post you should take notice of, plus I included a photo there that no longer shows up in the article I linked to. (Why has it vanished? I don't know... but it's still in my original post and I've included a large, albeit blurry version above.) Using that drill will help you feel the pressure without sliding your body from side to side.

Likewise, this post about Paula Creamer's anti-sway drill will also help you feel the move that Richman is talking about. It's a different approach that may work better for some of you.

My point is, Richman is trying to get you to turn without sliding and swaying. If your flexibility is limited, that's the only way you'll create any serious clubhead speed without sacrificing your accuracy.

Danielle Kang on Hitting Driver (Videos)

I found a series of tip videos that Danielle Kang -- last week's KPMG Women's PGA winner -- did for Golfing World a couple of months ago. This is the first one, about how to hit your driver.



I want to call your attention to some seemingly contradictory advice Danielle gives here. She says "you always have to keep your body moving through the ball in order to get your acceleration." But if you watch her swing, you'll see that she doesn't drive her lower body forward at the start of her downswing as much as you would expect.

That's because when she talks about keeping your lower body moving, she's not talking about how you start your downswing. Look at her position around the 1:18 mark. Note how both of her feet are flat on the ground and her arms are halfway down. She's talking about players who stop their body rotation at that point, long before they reach the end of their finish.

Danielle's drill to help prevent that is an interesting one. She (as a right-hander) tries to get up on her right toes early in the downswing. For a lot of you, that simply isn't going to work because it will affect your ball contact in a bad way, so it's not a drill I would recommend because I think it will lead most of you into bad habits. I say "most of you" because everybody's different and clearly it works for Danielle. But I just want you to understand the drill's purpose.

Apparently, when Danielle's body stops rotating too early, it's because she gets stiff-legged. Her knees don't stay relaxed; instead, they tense up and lock her in that position at the 1:18 point in the video. Why does that happen? Because she's trying to hit the ball hard, and most players tend to tense up when they try to generate power with their legs.

Pushing off with her trailing toes forces her knees to relax and let her weight shift to her lead foot. That relaxation is what you're after. The Ben Hogan hip-to-hip drill -- which I've posted on this blog numerous times and will post again now -- can help you get used to the proper feel.



So there you go -- two drills to help you create the body turn that Danielle says you need. Just remember that any time you have trouble getting "through the ball," check for excess tension in your legs and knees. That's the culprit more times than you might think.

A Quick Look at Byron Nelson's Swing (Video)

Since the AT&T Byron Nelson starts today, I thought I'd give you a quick lesson on how he hit the ball so straight. This is his swing in 1945, when he set all those records.



This video starts with a regular-speed swing, then runs it in extremely slow motion. There are other videos that use this footage, but this one made it easier to see both of the things I want to point out.

First thing: Everybody talks about Hogan's waggle, but there are other ways to start your swing. This video clearly shows how Nelson bent his trailing knee toward the ball to start his backswing. He's not the only player to have done this -- Gary Player comes to mind -- but he may have been the first.

Second thing: And this is the key to his accuracy. You know how every teacher tells you to start your hips before you start your shoulders, so you can increase the angle between your shoulders and hips on the way down to increase power? Nelson doesn't do it! Instead, you can clearly see that the angle between his shoulders and hips doesn't change. In fact, his upper body moves forward, toward his target.

Personally, I'd rather you didn't move your upper body so far forward as you start your downswing. That causes you to lose some clubhead speed. But Nelson starts with so much weight on his lead leg that it can't really be helped -- he has to move away from the target during his backswing or he'll reverse pivot during his downswing. You'll want to keep your weight more centered when you address the ball so you don't have to move your upper body so much.

However, keeping that shoulder-hip angle fairly constant as you start your downswing is a key to increasing your accuracy. When you increase that angle, you do increase power -- but you also alter your spine angle, and that changes your downswing plane, sometimes dramatically. (This dramatic change is a cornerstone of Hogan's downswing, btw. Virtually every good ballstriker's downswing plane is a bit flatter than the backswing plane, but a big change costs you accuracy.)

While you may lose a bit of clubhead speed with this move, you'll also hit the ball more solidly. Given the design of modern equipment, that will add some distance on its own.

And just for the record, the Nelson approach is easier on your lower back as well. More accuracy means more consistent ball contact, and less back pain means... well, less back pain. It's a win-win situation.

Cristie Kerr's Downswing Move #2 (Video)

Yesterday I posted a face-on video of Cristie Kerr smacking a driver, to help you learn a better move down to the ball. Today I want to add a bit to that instruction, and I'm using a down-the-line video of Cristie's drive to help you see this part better.



I quoted this from the Golf Digest article I referred to in yesterday's post:

"Most amateurs are moving their hands hard down toward the ball and moving their bodies toward the target. The key move is to avoid letting your right hip rotate toward the target too early as you move your hands and the club away."

And I said that it's easier to get that result if you focus on your arm and shoulder motion by keeping your trailing elbow straighter, rather than focusing on lower body action. I'm not changing that at all. However, I'm going to tie that advice to another tip I've mentioned many times, a tip that works very well with the arm motion I recommended.

In fact, this tip will make the arm motion much easier to learn.

I have often written that I would rather see you move DOWN to start your downswing, not forward toward the target the way many teachers suggest. That's how Sam Snead used to do it, and they didn't call him "Slammin' Sam" for nothing! Cristie does this as well, and the above video will not only help you understand why I recommend this move, but it will help you start your downswing smoothly.

The second and third swings on the above video are slow -- and the third one is REALLY slow, just like yesterday's video, so it's the easiest one to see the move in. When Cristie gets to the top of her backswing, her trailing knee (her right one) is almost straight. But to start her downswing, she bends that knee. That starts her weight moving downward, and that in turn helps pull the club down without changing the amount of bend in her trailing elbow.

But it does more. Bending her trailing knee -- a mini-squat, if you like -- pulls her trailing hip forward, toward the ball, and shifts her weight onto her lead leg. (It has to. If it didn't, she'd lose her balance and fall down!) It's almost as if she fell onto her lead leg and braced herself with it... and since her lead knee is already bent, it automatically "loads up" to push her upward at impact, effectively "using the ground."

That one downward move -- bending her trailing knee to start her downswing and pull her arms downward without changing the angles created at the top by her trailing elbow -- creates both hip rotation AND weight shift without any kind of dramatic hip or leg action... and that means you stay stable over the ball, creating better contact. It also stops you from uncocking your wrists too early in your downswing, so you create more clubhead speed as well.

If you watch both videos and try to feel the rhythm of her backswing-to-downswing move, and then try it out on your own, I think you'll be pleased with the results you get after just a little practice. It's a simple, natural way to use the physics of your swing to create more clubhead speed with less effort.

A Different Take on a Toski Drill

Today I'm borrowing -- and altering -- a drill Bob Toski made popular in his book How to Feel a Real Golf Swing. The drill is called the "Hitchhiker Drill" and it's on page 33 of the book. Here's the illustration:



Toski uses this drill to teach proper hand motion during your swing. The drill focuses on your lead arm -- in this case, it's his left arm.

But today I want you to do this drill while focusing on your TRAILING arm. Why? Because if you do, the Hitchhiker Drill is a wonderful way to improve your footwork and help you learn to turn to a full finish.

To get your trailing hand into the same position as the illustration of Toski's lead hand, you simply MUST make a full release into your finish. For many of you, this drill will minimize your slices and hooks because you'll learn to swing your hands and arms in sequence with your body. Slicers tend to stop their swing before the clubface can square up. Hookers tend to stop their swing and then flip their wrists to square up the clubface. Two different problems with the same basic cause -- a body turn that stops too soon!

So give this variation of the Hitchhiker Drill a try. In fact, try it both ways! You might be surprised just how many problems this one little drill can help eliminate... and you don't even need a club to do it.