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10 Jun 2015 Corina Pelloni

Some Top Myths of the Golf Swing

1. Myth: Head still / Head down The head moves slightly with the pivot of the swing but not up or down. It should never be ahead of the ball at impact. “Keep your head down” is bad advice because this tends to block the shoulder turn. 2. Myth: Toe of the club points up at the halfway-back position Use the clubface leading edge angle as a checkpoint as the toe of a club can be misleading with its design. In reality, the clubface angle should be somewhere near parallel to the spine angle. When the clubface angle is pointing straight up, it means that the hands have rotated more than necessary. 3. Myth: Hit with Your Legs / Hit the Ball with the Upper Body The legs should provide support and resistance for the torso’s and upper-body’s winding and unwinding. The real key to power in the golf swing is the core – the weight shift and rotation. 4. Myth: Weight should be on the Heels at Address Truth is, the weight should be on the balls of your feet, just like all athletic movements. During the backswing, the weight shifts into the trailing leg’s heel as the backswing loads the club in preparation for the downswing. 5. Myth: No Wrists in the Golf Swing The wrist should be freely swinging in a proper cocking and releasing motion. The wrists provide tremendous power in the golf swing. Sam Snead said the wrists should be “oily.” 6. Myth: Hold the Club for a Late Release One of the biggest myths in golf, as there is no such thing as a late release. The club gradually begins to release as the down swing begins. Attempting to hold back the release often results in the clubface being open at impact, the number-one flaw in golf. Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan. and Lionel Hebert all stated that the club gradually begins to release as the body unwinds. The key is this sequence is initiated by the body. and specifically the torso and hips. 7. Myth: The Over the Top Move Often when someone is “over the top” or casting the club, the teacher tries to get the student to delay the release. The true cure is for the lead-side (core torso) to pull and not be overtaken by the trailing side. One should not try to delay the release. but increase the pull of the torso leading the downswing. 8. Myth: Grip in the Palms of the Hands Actually, the grip should be more in the fingers of the hands. This includes the lead hand. Think about how you throw a ball: the grip is in the fingers. 9. Myth: Causes of the Shank The shank is basically caused by the following or combination thereof: • Incorrect setup (too close, too far, weight placement incorrect, etc.) • Clubface rolled quickly open and inside the intended target line on the move-away • The center of the swing (sternum) is ahead of the ball at impact and/or the weight falling toward the ball 10. Myth: Inside Move on the Downswing Good players do not approach the ball from the “inside” on the downswing. In reality they approach from the original shaft angle or near to this point. Next time you watch a good player, note the direction of his divots. If he were approaching the ball from the inside, his divots would point drastically to the outside of his intended target line. Good players will have very little dispersion off of the intended target line. Some may be slightly one way or the other, but in general, their divots will follow their intended target line. The myth comes from: • Sensation of clubhead lag • Lack of understanding that the swing is three-dimensional • Thinking linear instead of a tilted three-dimensional swing plane • Fact: many good players have a backswing steeper than their downswing. In reality, they are not dropping the club inside but only back to original shaft plane.

10 Jun 2015 Corina Pelloni

TAKING TIME OFF

Recently, one of the college students whom I work with came home from school. He had a wonderful fall season, but didn’t do so well in the spring. He had made a few swing changes, but seemed like he was on a good path. His poor play was something neither of us had seen coming. After meeting and looking at his swing, I was surprised to note that his swing was better than it was before the spring season. The changes looked good, but it didn’t appear as though it felt natural for the student. While talking about the past few months, I could hear the desperation in his voice; he just wanted to play great golf. I knew right then that the problem wasn’t in trusting the swing changes, it was that he was putting too much pressure on himself and hitting the panic button too often. If he didn’t have a fast start, he felt like he was behind. From that point forward, instead of being satisfied with par, he felt like he could never catch up. His swing was tight with poor rhythm and he couldn’t get into a good routine. As competitive golfers, we have all been there, practicing harder than we ever have before, playing more rounds than normal, and analyzing every thought or process about our game. Then, when tournament time rolls around, the moment we have been preparing for, our performance doesn’t match our effort. What happened? We put too much pressure on each shot and don’t allow the scoring to come to us. Going back to my student and how we ended our conversation. I forced him to take two weeks off from golf. No range time, putting green, or even a fun round with buddies. But I did make him watch tournament golf on TV. So that’s what he did: observation, but no play or practice. After the two weeks, we discussed what he learned from this assignment. He talked about how the players he watched seemed like they were playing for a score versus working on their swing. They missed greens in the right places, hit less than driver off the tee on some holes, and didn’t seem too upset when they made a par on an easy par-5, or even a bogey. This is exactly what he needed: a little break to get back to what is important, scoring. If you or a student is in this rut, step back and take some time away from the clubs. It just might do the trick.