January 2012: The Instruction Blog: Golf Digest

How He Hit That: The fairway bunker shot that Rocked Tiger

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Editor's Note: Regular readers of the Instruction Blog have come to appreciate the weekly analysis provided by Kevin Hinton, the Director of Instruction at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers. This week, Hinton examines the crucial fairway bunker shot Robert Rock knocked to within eight feet for a birdie 3 on the 14th hole. The shot, while playing head to head with Tiger Woods, propelled Rock to a dramatic one-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in the United Emirates.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

Here's Kevin: Robert Rock's fairway bunker shot on the 14th hole of the final round was a key to his win. Rock hit a pure 6-iron from 190 yards to eight feet, then rolled in his birdie putt and cruised to victory despite a shaky bogey on the final hole. Rock went on to birdie the 16th as well with another great iron shot. Let's take a closer look at Rock's stellar fairway bunker shot, which can be seen in the video here.

Photo by Getty Images

The first thing to remember in playing a fairway bunker shot is that it is not at all similar to how a greenside bunker shot is played. In a greenside bunker, your goal is to hit the sand, not the ball, and have the sand propel the ball onto the green (see Mark Wilson's holed bunker shot from last week's "How he hit that"). In a fairway bunker it is essential to contact the ball first, then the sand. If there is any sand between the ball and the clubface at impact you'll lose considerable distance. Rock's contact had to be perfect to hit a 6-iron 190 yards from a bunker. Here are the keys to good fairway bunker play...

Setup
At address, dig your feet into the sand enough to solidify your base. Because you've effectively lowered yourself, be sure to grip down a bit on the club. Play the ball in the middle of your stance, with the shaft and weight leaning slightly toward the target. Be careful not to overdo this. Otherwise you'll create too steep an angle of attack into the sand. In general, your setup should feel quite "normal."

Backswing
For the average player, it's a good idea to take one extra club. This will allow for a slight mis-hit, as well as encouraging a more controlled swing. Rock hitting 6-iron from 190 obviously was a full swing. One thing that Rock does well is keep his body very stable in his backswing.

Weekend Tip: More help from Toski & Flick

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Readers of this blog know that this past week I had the privilege of spending time with Bob Toski and Jim Flick. They gave a clinic for TaylorMade at the PGA Show in Orlando. (See photo below.)

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

This reunion of the two Hall of Fame teachers reminded me of the landmark book they wrote back in 1984, How to Become a Complete Golfer, with Larry Dennis. Even though that was 27 years ago, the principles they espoused then still hold

true today. Here are passages from that book that will help your game this weekend:

1. Control the speed
We've heard it said that if you swing the club back too slowly, you will snatch it down from the top. Maybe. But for every player we've seen take the club back too slowly we've seen 10,000 who go back too fast. What is too fast? If you take the club back so slowly that you have no sense of rhythm and flow, no sense of motion, that's too slow. That can happen, but it's a rare problem. You can swing the club with control only as fast as the strength of your hands and forearms can bear. In swinging the club back and during the change of direction at the top, you should have a feeling of ease. You should never feel you are swinging the club hard. If you lose that feeling of ease, you have swung the club too fast and are going out of control.

2. Feel the swing force
At the same time, you must have motion in your swing. There must be a smooth, rhythmic flow to your swing that allows you to generate clubhead speed as effortlessly as possible. A stilted, contrived swing that lacks motion, no matter
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Fitness Friday: Ramping up the plank

Friday, January 27, 2012

Many of my Twitter followers have been patiently waiting for an advanced version of my 20-in-20 workout. It's coming soon, I promise. But while we're on the topic of advanced workouts, you should know that almost all the exercises in your current program can be amped up in several ways.

Simply increasing the external load or resistance in a movement is the most obvious. A 20-pound dumbbell overhead press can become a 25-pound press. But two other ways that are equally if not more beneficial for golfers are to perform the exercise in an unstable position or challenge more muscles in a similar activity.

The coordinated movement of a golf swing requires not only several muscle groups to function properly, but it also requires several muscle groups to function properly when instability, balance and fatigue become real issues. Things such as making a good swing from an uneven lie or trying to finish strong on a 98-degree day are why golfers should eventually advance from basic exercises to ones that challenge stability and muscle coordination.

Doing exercises in an unstable position could be anything from lying back on a physio ball instead of on a sturdy flat bench while doing chest presses to doing lunges while the toe of your back leg is resting on a platform. If your body feels unstable, it's going to work extra hard to try to create stability while you perform the movement.

Challenging more muscles to work together also is key. If you normally do a push-up with both arms and both legs on the ground, now try doing them with both arms but only one leg resting on the ground. Just don't forget that if you train one side of your body, be sure to train the other.

One of my favorite advanced exercises is adding an internal hip rotation to a plank. Let's face it, planks are great for golfers because they help stabilize the body during the swing by strengthening the abdominal muscles. But they're also boring. And hip hugs are good for golfers because they help with posture and the proper rotation during a swing. Still, they aren't very challenging for an experienced athlete.

But if you put the two together into one exercise, suddenly you have a great golf-training movement. So don't be afraid to try advanced versions of your current exercises. So go ahead and develop your own advanced workout. Just do it safely and prudently.

To see me demonstrate a hip-rotation plank, click on the link below.

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest

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Mid-week Lesson: Toski-Flick explain what controls the swing

Thursday, January 26, 2012

At the PGA Show's Demo Day yesterday, I was lucky enough to witness the reunion of two of the game's most influential teachers, Bob Toski (85 years young) and Jim Flick (82). What a treat to see them both in action, giving a clinic for a couple of hundred club professionals and media. They started the Golf Digest Schools back in the 1970s and wrote the definitive golf instruction book How to Become a Complete Golfer with the late Dick Aultman.

Jim Flick (left) and Bob Toski at yesterday's PGA Show Demo Day, at Orange County National, outside Orlando.

It reminded me of one of the great principles they still teach by: The arms control the body in the swing, not the other way around. So much has been taught recently that the big muscles control the swing, but Toski says he doesn't even have any big muscles, yet, at his age he can still hit it out there 250. How does he do it? With speed. Light grip pressure. Soft arms. Great footwork.

As Flick pointed out to me for the umpteenth time, if you keep your shoulders relaxed and let the arms--not the shoulders--take the club back, the club goes on a proper path (not severely inside). Then, if you keep your shoulders quiet in the transition (most poor players start down with their shoulders in an over-the-top move), the club will swing into the ball on an inside path. You must always start the downswing with the left foot, knee, thigh and hip, in that order. But never start down with the shoulders.

It makes so much sense for the average golfer. Thank you, Mr. Toski and Mr. Flick. Look for more great thoughts from Toski and Flick to help your game this weekend on the Instruction Blog.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

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How He Hit That: Wilson's holed bunker shot

Monday, January 23, 2012

Editor's Note: Regular readers of the Instruction Blog have come to appreciate the weekly analysis provided by Kevin Hinton, the Director of Instruction at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers. This week, Hinton examines the bunker shot Mark Wilson holed in the final round, leading to his two-stroke win in the Humana Challenge.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

Kevin Hinton: Mark Wilson's holed bunker shot on the 12th hole of Sunday's final round was the catalyst to his fifth PGA Tour victory. With the birdie, Wilson regained a one-shot lead and never looked back. He noted after the round that the sand seemed firmer in that 12th-hole bunker, so he adjusted accordingly and the ball rolled into the cup like a putt. His follow-through was a little tighter and he landed the ball shorter, allowing for more roll. Here are the keys to proficient greenside bunker play, including from firmer sand. Practice them, and you'll start getting your bunker shots closer, and you might even hole one occasionally, like Wilson did.

Remember . . . the technique of a standard bunker shot is unique in golf. If executed properly, it is the only shot in which the club never contacts the ball--at least intentionally. Your goal is to hit the sand, not the ball, thereby forming a cushion of sand between the ball and the clubface, which will propel the ball onto the green. Here's how it's done:

Address
-- Weight 60 percent on front foot
-- Play the ball forward
-- Slightly open clubface (pointing to the right)
-- Slightly open stance (aiming to the left)
-- Dig your feet in
-- Don't grip down (unless the shot is extremely short)

Swing
-- Aim two to four inches behind the ball (in firm sand, err on the closer side in firm sand and keep your swing tighter)
-- Make a normal, three-quarter backswing (in advanced bunker play, it's OK to apply a cut swing--outside in--when extreme height is needed. Otherwise, make your "stock" backswing)
-- Get to your finish (on all shots, you must rotate your body, but limit how far the club swings through on shorter shots)
-- If the sand doesn't leave the bunker, the ball will not likely leave the bunker (the skull is the exception)

Notes
In hard sand/bad lies, you must make the club more of a "digger"...by nature, a lob wedge has less bounce than a sand wedge, so it digs more. A sand wedge is more of a "skimmer." Favor it in fluffy sand conditions. Finally, opening the clubface adds bounce, squaring the face and leaning the shaft forward reduces bounce... adjust accordingly.

Discuss this tip, and other pieces of instruction, on our partner site, GolfWRX.com.

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Weekend Tip: Practice against a wall

Saturday, January 21, 2012

It's about 20 degrees today in the Northeast, and the forecast is calling for some light snow. So while I'm dreaming of those overseeded fairways at the Humana Challenge in Palm Springs, I decided to thumb through one of my favorite instruction books for some indoor tips. The Golf Digest Book of Drills, by Jim McLean, contains a tip that is especially good, because it addresses both your backswing and through swing. Give it a try this weekend to keep your swing in check while you can't play. And even if you're in a warmer climate, it's a great way to tune up for your next round.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @Roger.Schiffman

Purpose: Because the club is out of sight during much of the swing, many players have no sense of where it is positioned in relation to the hands, arms and body. Very often they unknowingly swing the club too much around the body on the backswing and, on the forward swing, heave the club outside the target line and cut across the ball from outside to in. The following drill makes these movements impossible and will improve both your back and through swings.

Procedure: Find a wall and, using an old club, stand with your back to it, your heels about two feet away. Make your normal backswing and try to avoid hitting the wall. If the club strikes the
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Fitness Friday: For solid contact, keep your hamstrings strong

Friday, January 20, 2012

Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for keeping your hamstrings healthy so you can stay in your posture and hit solid shots. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: One of golf's most common swing flaws is failing to maintain the posture created at address. Many amateurs rise out of their stance as they swing the club down from the top, and this causes them to make poor contact with the ball. Fat and thin shots are a typical result.

Golf instructors will often try to fix this issue with various drills that help keep students from "standing up" when they swing down and through the impact zone. An example would be to hold a golf shaft just over a student's head and have the student make swings trying not to bump the shaft. Another would be to the student maintain the knee flex created at address.

Both are effective, and often a golfer with this stand-up problem will immediately start hitting solid shots after using these drills. The teacher and student shake hands and go on their merry ways. Problem solved, right?

Not always.

It's easy to correct this problem for a swing or two, or even half a round. But without strong, flexible hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your thighs), the problem will come back; Read more

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How He Hit That: Johnson Wagner's Par 5 Strategy

Monday, January 16, 2012

Editor's Note: Regular readers of the Instruction Blog have come to appreciate the weekly analysis provided by Kevin Hinton, the Director of Instruction at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers. In 2012, Hinton will be taking that analysis to an even deeper level by breaking down a crucial moment or sequence in the previous week's tournament. This week, Hinton looks at how Johnson Wagner's play on the par 5s at Waialae Country Club was instrumental in his two-stroke win in the Sony Open.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

Kevin Hinton: Johnson Wagner's stellar play on the par 5s at Waialae Country Club was a significant key to his victory. Waialae is a par 70 and has eight par 5s. That's eight total par 5's for the week. Johnson played those eight holes in nine under, eagling the 18th hole in the second and third rounds.

To gain some insight into Wagner's par-5 strategy, I spoke with his coach Bobby Heins, who is the head professional at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y. Bobby gives much of the credit to Johnson's working relationship with his caddie Matt Hauser, as well as improved wedge play. Bobby says that, "Johnson is still an aggressive player and goes for many par 5s in two. However, he has become more willing to lay up and make birdie with his wedge when the situation calls for it. Much of that comes from knowing that his wedge game has improved, as well as good communication and decision-making with his caddie."

(Wagner, above, has learned to weigh the risks when deciding to go for it on par 5s. Photo by Getty Images.)

In my view, a good coach, a good caddie, and a good wedge game sure seems to be a winning recipe for Johnson's par-5 success.

Weekend Tip: Hit down with your driver. That's right, hit down

Saturday, January 14, 2012

In the February (Hot List) issue of Golf Digest, currently on the newsstands with the melting red driver on the cover, there's an article by Sean Foley discussing whether you should sweep your driver or think of hitting down with it. Of course, Foley teaches Tiger Woods and Justin Rose, among other top players.

Foley, surprisingly, says that if you frequently hit slices and pulls, you should NOT heed the common advice of sweeping your driver. He says that will likely only make your slice worse because you'll hang back on the downswing and make contact with your weight on your rear foot.

This is contrary to what I've always been taught and have read and heard for years. But when you think about it, Foley makes a lot of sense. Here's his reasoning:

"If you already have an open clubface and an out-to-in swing through impact--as most slicers do--hanging back will cause even bigger slices, as well as thin hits," he says. "To cure your slices and pulls, hit down on the ball with your driver. A good thought is to try to take a little divot after impact or to hit with the shaft leaning toward the target (left). This will help you shift to your front side on the downswing and swing into impact from inside the target line."

Foley doesn't mention how high to tee the ball, but I've noticed that Tiger, at least, usually tees it fairly low, and the equator of Foley's ball is just below the top of his driver, which is a little lower than what you commonly hear today.

Foley acknowledges that this thought of swinging down with the driver is counterintuitive. But he points out that two of the players he works with--Tiger and Hunter Mahan--almost always hit down with the driver, and they are not exactly short hitters.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

Photo by Stephen Szurlej/Golf Digest

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Fitness Friday: Protect your shoulder joints

Friday, January 13, 2012

Every week Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. Here's his advice for avoiding injury to your rotator cuff. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: Dave Stockton recently dropped by Golf Digest's offices to talk to the editors about his short-game philosphy. He explained that putting and chipping are the only two facets of the game where right-handed players should let the left hand control the stroke. He was speaking purely about swing mechanics, but the advice Stockton gave is also great from a biomechanics standpoint.

Right-handed golfers who rely on their left arm to pull the club through impact are a lot more susceptible to rotator-cuff tears. Just ask Al Geiberger who used to be a left-arm puller and eventually had to have surgery to repair that shoulder's rotator cuff. Dr. Lewis Yocum is the man who performed that surgery back in 1994, and he recently told me that while most people think pitchers are the only ones who injure the four muscles of the rotator cuff, golfers also are at a high risk. Read more

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