Tiger Woods: Power up your irons
Set the club short of parallel at the top of your swing
BIG TURN: My left shoulder is under my chin, and my left arm is fairly straight -- both signs of stored power.
J.D. Cuban
I'm a proponent of a full shoulder turn -- one of the key sources of power in the swing and necessary for crisp, consistent iron play. It should be accompanied, however, by a proper setting of the club at the top of the backswing.
Some amateurs, when they try to achieve a full shoulder turn, take the club back too far. The shaft drops past parallel, which can compromise timing, clubface position at impact and power.
I allow the club to set naturally at the top of my backswing (right) so the shaft is just short of parallel. Then all I have to do is unleash my stored power on the downswing by rotating through the shot. This thought keeps my swing simple and repeatable.
ASK TIGER
Photo: Emmanuel Dumand/Getty Images
THE NEW PRESIDENT
Q: How do you feel about Barack Obama becoming president?
--George Anderson, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
A: I think it's great. He's multi-racial, and I was hoping to see a person of color become president during my lifetime. These are tough times for a lot of people. I hope he can continue to pull us together and tackle these challenges.
TOE TO TOE WITH JETER
Q: I saw an online clip of you playing a video game against Derek Jeter. Was it just for fun or were you really trying to beat each other?
--Samuel Gilbertie, Bronx, N.Y.
A: That was a promotion for Gillette EA Sports Champions of Gaming Tournament. We played a video boxing game called FaceBreaker, and we were definitely trying to win. Derek is a good friend. We hang out and have dinner when I'm in New York. We were supposed to play a couple games, but I won the first and he won the second, and we wouldn't leave. No way it was ending in a tie. He won the last game, so he has temporary bragging rights.
DESIGNING COURSES
Q: How involved are you with your golf-course design business?
--Sally McKenzie, San Diego
A: We now have three projects, and each has my full attention. I like reading a topographical map and enjoy walking the property, visualizing holes. I'm not going to design many layouts. I want to find great partners and good land and build memorable courses.
Tiger Woods writes instruction articles only for Golf Digest. Ask Tiger a question.
Mark Soltau is a contributing editor to Golf Digest and the editor of TigerWoods.com.
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