As the Memorial Tournament gets underway tomorrow, let's turn our attention to the man who conceived of the event, the winner of 20 major championships (I also count his two U.S. Amateurs). One of Jack Nicklaus' major full-swing keys--swinging around a steady head--has gained more prominence recently as Stack & Tilt became popular and more teachers and top players talk of "staying on top of the ball" throughout the swing.
Make no mistake, Nicklaus' original tenet, as taught to him by Jack Grout, who used to hold his hair while he swung, was often criticized by such teachers as Jimmy Ballard for being too restrictive and even causing a reverse pivot.
But swinging around a steady head can really help a golfer who has trouble making solid contact or is lacking consistency. Here's what Jack (through Ken Bowden) wrote in Golf Digest some 30 years ago, and it might help you today:
"To me, a very steady, if not rigidly immobile, head is the supreme golfing fundamental, mandatory on every shot from a drive to a tap-in. I even have gone so far as to call this the game's 'one unarguable, universal fundamental.' Here's why I believe it is so critical:
"--The head is the hub of the swing, the axis of the club's rotation around the body. Move the axis and you move the arc along with it. This may not make consistent clubhead delivery impossible, but it sure adds to the challenge.
"-- To me, power in the golf swing comes principally from leverage, which is largely the product of torque--to oversimplify a little, winding yourself up like a coil spring. Try winding a coil spring that has play at its anchored end--the head in the golf swing--and see how much torque is lost. In other words, the more you sway or bob your head, the less leverage you can develop.
"-- Head movement changes the line of vision, and sometimes the sense both of target and swing path that promotes proper downswing form. Also, moving the
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Results for May 2012
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Weekend Tip: Dufner's coach on why you need two swings
I was playing a quick nine the other evening after work with Golf Digest's Design Director, Ken DeLago. Ken is a very good player. He can flat-out crush his driver. He told me when he thinks of sweeping the ball on the upswing, he hits it long and true. That's his key thought. But I observed, after a couple of 280-yard pokes that found the center of the fairway, that he failed to get his wedge approach onto the green. Both times he hit them a little fat.
Finally, in frustration, Ken asked me why when you're hitting the driver well, the irons aren't so good, and vice versa. It reminded me of an article I once did with Golf Digest Teaching Professional Chuck Cook. Chuck came up with the theme: "Why You Need Two Swings."
Chuck coached Payne Stewart, Tom Kite and Corey Pavin in the 1990s and now teaches Jason Dufner. He told me that the ideal driver swing catches the ball slightly on the upswing, because the ball is teed. Also, the club ideally approaches the ball from slightly inside the target line. But short irons and wedges need a level to slightly descending blow. Why? Because the ball is now on the turf, and you want the club to strike the ball, then the ground. It's easier to do this if your path is straighter through and the club bottoms out just after contacting the ball.
Chuck said that when the top tour players go really low, their swings are balanced. They are hitting both the driver and the irons well. So if this sounds like something you'd like to achieve, try these two key thoughts for starters:
When setting up to your driver, tilt your shoulders a bit so the back one is lower than the front one. Also, look at the back of the ball throughout your swing. This will cause you to stay behind the ball better, creating that great ascending blow, which is ideal for the driver.
When setting up to your middle to short irons and wedges, keep your shoulders more level and look at the front of the ball throughout your shot. That will keep your weight more forward, resulting in a descending blow that's perfect for hitting crisp iron shots and pitches.
I hope these thoughts help your game this weekend, and let's hope Ken reads this blog. He's playing in a member-member tournament Saturday and Sunday. If he balances out his swings, he and his partner will be the odds-on favorites!
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman
Read more
Finally, in frustration, Ken asked me why when you're hitting the driver well, the irons aren't so good, and vice versa. It reminded me of an article I once did with Golf Digest Teaching Professional Chuck Cook. Chuck came up with the theme: "Why You Need Two Swings."
Chuck coached Payne Stewart, Tom Kite and Corey Pavin in the 1990s and now teaches Jason Dufner. He told me that the ideal driver swing catches the ball slightly on the upswing, because the ball is teed. Also, the club ideally approaches the ball from slightly inside the target line. But short irons and wedges need a level to slightly descending blow. Why? Because the ball is now on the turf, and you want the club to strike the ball, then the ground. It's easier to do this if your path is straighter through and the club bottoms out just after contacting the ball.
Chuck said that when the top tour players go really low, their swings are balanced. They are hitting both the driver and the irons well. So if this sounds like something you'd like to achieve, try these two key thoughts for starters:
When setting up to your driver, tilt your shoulders a bit so the back one is lower than the front one. Also, look at the back of the ball throughout your swing. This will cause you to stay behind the ball better, creating that great ascending blow, which is ideal for the driver.
When setting up to your middle to short irons and wedges, keep your shoulders more level and look at the front of the ball throughout your shot. That will keep your weight more forward, resulting in a descending blow that's perfect for hitting crisp iron shots and pitches.
I hope these thoughts help your game this weekend, and let's hope Ken reads this blog. He's playing in a member-member tournament Saturday and Sunday. If he balances out his swings, he and his partner will be the odds-on favorites!
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman
Read more
Fitness Friday: Leave the cart in the barn
Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske,
Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction
Blog. This week he talks about the benefits of walking, and why there's really no excuse for taking a cart. Look for Weekend Tip
tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
The point I'm trying to make is that walking does NOT slow down play. I often hear golf courses use this excuse as a reason for making players take a cart or restricting the times a golfer is allowed to walk (usually late in the day). The truth, more often than not, is that a golf course wants cart revenue so they hide behind a "no-walking-to-keep-play-moving policy."
I'm going off on a rant here, because golf season is in full gear, and it's time to encourage as many golfers as possible to leave the cart in the barn and walk when they play. If you currently play a course that allows walking, and you're physically capable, there's no excuse for getting a cart. And if you currently play a course that doesn't allow walking, ask the pro or manager for permission. Tell him or her that you promise to keep up with the group in front of you and if you don't, they can kick you off the course. Some walkers even offer to pay a "trail fee" so they can walk and the course gets the revenue. If they still say "no," then tell them you'll find another place to play.
The benefits are too numerous to ignore. Whether you carry your bag or use a push/pull cart, walking counts as a moderately intense physical activity by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Council for Exercise. Walking 18 holes, when compared to riding in a cart, burns at least 630 more calories. It also improves strength and flexibility in several muscle groups--most notably the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings. Finally, it improves blood flow and heart strength and reduces the risks of Type II diabetes and high cholesterol (LDL).
Golf Digest recently teamed up with Humana for its "Walk It" program. Thousands of pedometers were given away to help encourage golfers to not only walk, but track their steps. Also launching a walking campaign is the Hospital for Special Surgery and the PGA of America. In addition to giving away thousands of pedometers at the Senior PGA Championship, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup later this year, a new website was just launched where you can track how far you've treaded. Go to http://www.hss.edu/golf to check it out.
So how far do you walk when you play 18? And do you walk farther if you spray the ball versus keeping it in the fairway? Back in 2009, fellow editors Ashley Mayo (@ashleykmayo) and Jeff Patterson (@1stiwasafraid) helped me put together an article in Golf Digest tracking the distance traveled by golfers (male and female) who rode in a cart with no restrictions, who rode in a cart with a "cart-path-only" restriction and who walked. This study was done on several courses over several months counting every step for each round. Their findings should convince you, once and for all, to get out of the cart. Click here to see the results.
Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
Mid-week Lesson: It's all about feel
As you get ready for your upcoming weekend of golf, I thought you might consider a few thoughts from one of the game's foremost instructors, Golf Digest Teaching Professional Jim Flick.
Flick, in his earlier teaching career, was very mechanically oriented. But I've noticed a distinct change in recent years. He now talks a lot more about creating feel--for the club, for the swing, for the shot. He's been having a lot of success recently with junior players, especially in California. Beau Hossler is a great example. Beau qualified for the U.S. Open last year at age 16 and has won a number of junior events this year. Flick takes great pride in Beau's accomplishments. Jim tells me much of Beau's success is due to learning how to feel the "instrument," as Flick describes the golf club.
Here are three tips from Flick for gaining--or regaining--your feel so you can play to your potential:
1. Learn to feel the club. Grip a middle iron. First cock your wrists so you hold the club straight up. You'll see that it feels too light. Next, hold it straight out, and it will feel too heavy. Finally, hold it at a 45-degree angle. That angle lets you feel the proper weight of the clubhead, and the correct gripping sensation in your hands and arms. Now maintain that grip pressure as you swing.
2. Learn to feel your swing. First, from your normal address position, hinge your wrists, fold your elbows and let the clubshaft rest on your right shoulder. Second, turn your upper torso until your left shoulder is over your right knee, your hips staying level. Third, push your arms up into a desired backswing position with the wrists under and supporting the shaft. That's the way the club should feel at the top of your swing. (Close your eyes and let that position register.) Finally, practice your downswing, holding your shoulders back. allowing your arms to swing down on an inside path. Then repeat and hit the ball.
3. Feel your greens. When golfers three-putt, the reason is usually poor distance control, not direction. You can hit a putt as much as two feet off line, but if you have feel for the proper distance, your next putt will be at most a two-footer. Golfers with poor feel, however, often hit the first putt more than two fee past the hole or leave it well short. No matter how accurate their directional control, they'll have to deal with a missable second putt. Practice the Ladder Drill: Place five clubs on the practice green, like the rungs on a ladder, a couple of feet apart, so you have a 10-footer, a 12-footer, a 14-footer, and so on. Then putt five balls, one to each club. Develop your feel by concentrating on how much effort each stroke takes to roll the ball the proper distance. When you go out to play, your feel for distance will be superb.
I'm sure these thoughts from Jim Flick will help your game.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman
Flick, in his earlier teaching career, was very mechanically oriented. But I've noticed a distinct change in recent years. He now talks a lot more about creating feel--for the club, for the swing, for the shot. He's been having a lot of success recently with junior players, especially in California. Beau Hossler is a great example. Beau qualified for the U.S. Open last year at age 16 and has won a number of junior events this year. Flick takes great pride in Beau's accomplishments. Jim tells me much of Beau's success is due to learning how to feel the "instrument," as Flick describes the golf club.
Here are three tips from Flick for gaining--or regaining--your feel so you can play to your potential:
1. Learn to feel the club. Grip a middle iron. First cock your wrists so you hold the club straight up. You'll see that it feels too light. Next, hold it straight out, and it will feel too heavy. Finally, hold it at a 45-degree angle. That angle lets you feel the proper weight of the clubhead, and the correct gripping sensation in your hands and arms. Now maintain that grip pressure as you swing.
2. Learn to feel your swing. First, from your normal address position, hinge your wrists, fold your elbows and let the clubshaft rest on your right shoulder. Second, turn your upper torso until your left shoulder is over your right knee, your hips staying level. Third, push your arms up into a desired backswing position with the wrists under and supporting the shaft. That's the way the club should feel at the top of your swing. (Close your eyes and let that position register.) Finally, practice your downswing, holding your shoulders back. allowing your arms to swing down on an inside path. Then repeat and hit the ball.
3. Feel your greens. When golfers three-putt, the reason is usually poor distance control, not direction. You can hit a putt as much as two feet off line, but if you have feel for the proper distance, your next putt will be at most a two-footer. Golfers with poor feel, however, often hit the first putt more than two fee past the hole or leave it well short. No matter how accurate their directional control, they'll have to deal with a missable second putt. Practice the Ladder Drill: Place five clubs on the practice green, like the rungs on a ladder, a couple of feet apart, so you have a 10-footer, a 12-footer, a 14-footer, and so on. Then putt five balls, one to each club. Develop your feel by concentrating on how much effort each stroke takes to roll the ball the proper distance. When you go out to play, your feel for distance will be superb.
I'm sure these thoughts from Jim Flick will help your game.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman
Weekend Tip: 3 Ways to Jumpstart Your Swing
After watching the perils of Kevin Na last week, and all the pontificating about the trouble he's been having starting his swing, it occurred to me that this is actually a problem common to a lot of golfers. Especially when you're under pressure, with trouble on either side of the fairway or green, it can be really hard to make a confident swing. And a confident swing starts with an unimpeded takeaway.
Most sport psychologists will tell you that you need to make golf a reactionary sport, like tennis or a batter in baseball. In those sports, you don't have much time to think. You have to get in the flow and just let the swing happen. You see the ball coming your way, and so you step in and hit it. The best golfers have figured out a way to "step in and hit it."
According to Golf Digest Teaching Professional Butch Harmon, it begins with a swing trigger, and just about every top player has one. Here are three you can try, as practiced by three major professionals:
1. Kick in your right knee: This was the trademark for Gary Player (see video below). Just before he takes the club back, he moves his right knee in toward his left, which serves to get his body--and swing--in motion. Golf Digest Teaching Professional Jim Flick once told me that the key to this move is to do it slowly, at the same pace you want to swing the club back. A fast, jerky knee-kick will do more harm than good. Make it smooth, and your swing will be smooth.
2. Turn your chin: Jack Nicklaus used this trigger throughout his career (see video below). Just before taking the club back, he tilted his head so his eyes focused on a spot about a foot behind the ball. But he still saw the ball out of the corner of his left eye. He told me a couple of years ago that the way he cocked his head served as a preview for the path of his club. In other words, if he wanted to hit a draw, he turned his head so his eyes tracked on a slightly inside path. For a fade, they moved along a line slightly to the outside.
3. Bend your knees: About midway through Tom Kite's career, he made a significant swing change, working with Golf Digest Teaching Professional Chuck Cook. Chuck had Kite widen his stance, and flare out his left foot. Then he told him to keep his left heel down, flat to the ground, on the backswing. (Kite's left heel used to come well off the ground.) But the final wrinkle to Kite's new swing was a slight bend of the knees just before he took the club back. This move got Kite feeling more athletic at address, but it also served to trigger his swing.
So if you're having trouble getting your swing started, adopt one of these techniques. Or develop one of your own. You'll find that under pressure, it's much easier to take the club back and make a confident swing.
Good luck with your game this weekend, and remember to follow me on Twitter @RogerSchiffman.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Most sport psychologists will tell you that you need to make golf a reactionary sport, like tennis or a batter in baseball. In those sports, you don't have much time to think. You have to get in the flow and just let the swing happen. You see the ball coming your way, and so you step in and hit it. The best golfers have figured out a way to "step in and hit it."
According to Golf Digest Teaching Professional Butch Harmon, it begins with a swing trigger, and just about every top player has one. Here are three you can try, as practiced by three major professionals:
1. Kick in your right knee: This was the trademark for Gary Player (see video below). Just before he takes the club back, he moves his right knee in toward his left, which serves to get his body--and swing--in motion. Golf Digest Teaching Professional Jim Flick once told me that the key to this move is to do it slowly, at the same pace you want to swing the club back. A fast, jerky knee-kick will do more harm than good. Make it smooth, and your swing will be smooth.
2. Turn your chin: Jack Nicklaus used this trigger throughout his career (see video below). Just before taking the club back, he tilted his head so his eyes focused on a spot about a foot behind the ball. But he still saw the ball out of the corner of his left eye. He told me a couple of years ago that the way he cocked his head served as a preview for the path of his club. In other words, if he wanted to hit a draw, he turned his head so his eyes tracked on a slightly inside path. For a fade, they moved along a line slightly to the outside.
3. Bend your knees: About midway through Tom Kite's career, he made a significant swing change, working with Golf Digest Teaching Professional Chuck Cook. Chuck had Kite widen his stance, and flare out his left foot. Then he told him to keep his left heel down, flat to the ground, on the backswing. (Kite's left heel used to come well off the ground.) But the final wrinkle to Kite's new swing was a slight bend of the knees just before he took the club back. This move got Kite feeling more athletic at address, but it also served to trigger his swing.
So if you're having trouble getting your swing started, adopt one of these techniques. Or develop one of your own. You'll find that under pressure, it's much easier to take the club back and make a confident swing.
Good luck with your game this weekend, and remember to follow me on Twitter @RogerSchiffman.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Fitness Friday: Like Bud Cauley, you can generate more clubhead speed
Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske,
Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction
Blog. This week he shows you how to increase your clubhead speed, no matter whether you're small in stature like Bud Cauley or built like Craig Stadler. By the way, the video at the end is definitely worth watching. Look for Weekend Tip
tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Here's Ron: PGA Tour Rookie of the Year candidate Bud Cauley is 5-feet-7, 150 pounds. Well, he says 158, but you get the point. Bud is not a big man.
Nevertheless, Cauley averages more than 290 yards off the tee and is frequently mentioned by his peers as a very talented ball-striker. The sound of his shots resonate.
So how does a 158-pound golfer frequently drive the ball 300 yards? Center-face contact with a driver helps, but Cauley's secret is explosive power, says his trainer Jeff Fronk. Cauley is able to utilize his fast-twitch muscles better than most. He recruits things such as hip speed, leg thrust and a strong torso rotation to swing the club faster.
"If you aren't training for speed, you'll lose the ability to be quick as you get older," Fronk says.
Two medicine-ball exercises he uses with Cauley can help you train for speed, too. To watch Cauley in action, click on the video below.
Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
How He Hit That: Kuchar's 5-iron bunker shot
Editor's Note: Every Monday Kevin Hinton, Director of Instruction at
Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best
Young Teachers, tells you how a tour player hits a key shot. This week,
Kevin examines Matt Kuchar's fairway-bunker 5-iron over a tree onto the green on the 14th hole at the Players Championship on Sunday. Of course, Kuchar went on to win by two strokes for the most significant victory in his career. For Kevin's analysis of Kuchar's full swing, click here, then read below to see what you can learn from Kuchar and Hinton on fairway bunker play . . .
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter: @RogerSchiffman
Twitter: @KevinHintonGolf
Kuchar's extremely flat swing is custom-made for hitting fairway bunker shots. Matt's 5-iron on the 14th hole during the final round may have been the most clutch of his career. Although greenside bunker shots benefit from elevating the club quickly in the backswing, allowing for a steeper angle of attack into the sand, fairway bunker shots require the opposite. These shots call for taking much less sand, and it is essential that any sand taken comes after the club first contacts the ball. You will not see tour players making excessively upright backswings that lead to deep, gouging cuts of sand. Matt's swing will produce a shallow approach in the impact area, nearly picking the ball clean. His "rounded" backswing is a great image for any player who gets too much sand and often comes up well short of the green. Here are a few more ideas that can help your fairway bunker play . . .
1. Take more club
It is always a good idea to take one extra club from a fairway bunker. This will encourage a more controlled swing and also compensate for the distance loss that comes from gripping down slightly on the club. This will also help to get your ball closer to pin high if your contact is less than perfect.
2. Keep legs stable
Excessive leg action, especially in the backswing, makes pure contact very difficult. I encourage my students to set a little extra weight on the front leg at address, and try to keep it there during the backswing. The more players move the lower half and transfer weight into the back leg, the more they tend to struggle with contact. Try to feel an extremely braced lower body in the backswing, and avoid any feel of aggressive leg action in the downswing. While it is important to get your weight off of your back foot in the downswing, shoot for a very smooth transition. This will also encourage a more controlled swing.
3. Know when to take your medicine
Course management is a big part of golf, and many errors often come from fairway bunkers. If you find yourself about to hit a shot, you must be 100 percent certain that a well-executed shot will come out at a trajectory that clears the lip of the bunker. If you have any doubt, you just can't use that club. At this point, you must swallow your pride and select a club that easily gets you out of the bunker. Don't be a hero . . . get the ball out and rely on your short game. Avoiding big numbers is the most important key to shooting low scores.
Weekend Tip: Like Tiger, check your posture
Tiger works on his setup under the watchful eye of swing coach Sean Foley at this year's Masters. They both say the key to his swing is posture. Photo by Dom Furore
There has been a lot of chatter the last few months about Tiger Woods' swing changes under Sean Foley. But last week the specific subject of Tiger's posture at address came up--first in a self-made video from Tiger, then in some remarks by Foley. They said that Tiger's problems at Augusta mostly revolved around his posture at address. The week before, at Bay Hill, Tiger must have had his posture in good shape--he struck the ball beautifully off the tee and won by five.
Tiger's trademark has always been a ramrod-straight back at address, a slight bend from the hips, and legs flexed. But Foley alluded to the fact that Tiger had gotten too crouched at address, which he says can happen when you practice and play in the wind.
Certainly, it is difficult to stand to the ball nice and tall, bending from the hips so your arms hang straight down. But that position at address allows the arms to swing back and through freely, so the club can release fully.
Here's what Foley had to say to Rex Hoggard on GolfChannel.com:
"Alignment and posture was really the main thing. Once that changes, you can have the best swing in the world, but it doesn't matter. When you get too far away from the ball and [your] pelvis is losing its tilt, the shoulders get turning too level in the backswing and the hips go into early extension on the downswing so the club [gets] stuck under.
"If someone is playing in the wind for three days the ball starts moving back (in a player's stance), they start leaning on their left leg. Now all these angles change. It's the same swing but now at impact it's totally different."
What can you learn from this?
If you're having trouble with your shots and are not sure why, Golf Digest Teaching Professional Jim Flick says to check your alignment at address by placing clubs along your stance line and the target line on the range. Check to be sure you're aligned where you think you are. Then, look at your address posture in a mirror or reflection in a window.
The main thing is to make sure you're not standing too far from the ball. Reaching for it at address is the most common problem, according to Flick. That causes you to take the club back on too flat a plane, which usually results in either a push-hook or an over-the-top downswing. Flick says it's better to be too close to the ball than too far from it. That allows you to stand tall and bend from the hips so your arms swing the club going back, resulting in a full shoulder turn to the top. If you stay in that good posture at the top, your arms and club can swing freely down and through the ball to a full finish. As Tiger and Foley would contend, it all starts with posture.
I hope this helps you to hit some great shots this weekend. Good luck with your game!
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman
Fitness Friday: Keep your body in balance and avoid injury
Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske,
Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction
Blog. This week he shows you how to keep your golf muscles in proper balance so you can stay injury-free. Look for Weekend Tip
tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Katayama knows that golf is a one-sided sport and if he doesn't train muscles on the right side of his body the same way he uses the muscles on the left side of his body, it could lead to pain and injury. While I don't think it's necessary for you to make right-handed and left-handed swings to achieve body balance, your workout routine should always include exercises that move the body in one direction and then the opposite direction. In other words, train as if you could play golf either left-handed or right-handed. For obvious reasons, exercises that focus on the transverse (rotational) plane of motion are great, but you should also consider ones that isolate specific muscle groups on one side of the body. Just remember to train the opposite group of muscles, too.
Dr. Craig Davies, a PGA Tour trainer and author of Golf Anatomy, says in our June issue that the pain you feel after a round is often a result of asymmetrical strength. To check if you have asymmetries, do any one-sided exercise to the point of exhaustion with the left side of your body and then do it with the right. You should be able to get within 90 percent of the reps on one side that you can do on the other.
For more information on achieving body balance, see Davies' article in our June issue here:
Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
How He Hit That: Rickie Fowler's killer wedge
Editor's Note: Every Monday Kevin Hinton, Director of Instruction at
Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y. and one of Golf Digest's Best
Young Teachers, tells you how a tour player hits a key shot. This week,
Kevin analyzes the pinpoint wedge shot from 131 yards that Rickie Fowler hit in the first playoff hole on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship. He bested World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points to claim his first victory on the PGA Tour.
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter: @RogerSchiffman
Twitter: @KevinHintonGolf
Here are a few thoughts on hitting great short-iron shots, as well as what you can take from Rickie Fowler's unique, but extremely effective, golf swing. Check out the video here and notice how Fowler keeps his weight left throughout his swing, and flattens the shaft on his dowswing.
1. Left is right. I believe the average player benefits from setting more weight on the left side at address when hitting higher-lofted irons, say 8-iron through lob wedge. It's an approximation, but I'd shoot for about 60 percent on your forward leg. In your backswing, avoid transferring any weight onto your back leg with these lofted clubs. This is a bit of a hot-bed issue among teachers, but from my experience, I see the average golfer making better contact this way. It also helps to keep the ball flight lower, minimizing the effect the wind will have on the ball, and helping your accuracy.
2. 80 percent max. Rarely will you see a tour player hitting short irons at 100-percent effort. I give my students the 80-percent rule. When you swing harder than this, you are inviting poor contact and less directional control. Also, when you swing at 100 percent, the ball often doesn't go farther, only higher. Unless you're hitting over a tall tree, this is not helpful. One of my favorite examples is Tiger's holed pitching wedge on No. 15 at Pebble Beach in 2000 during his chase of Byron Nelson for consecutive wins on tour. This controlled action is a great image to copy.
3. Steep stinks. Rickie's extreme flattening of the shaft in the downswing is one reason he is such a good short-iron player. This shallow approach into the ball is great for accurate wedge play. Tour players don't like to see huge, gouging divots on these shots. Rather, a smaller, shallower divot implies that their angle of attack was not excessively steep. While you certainly need to hit down on these shots (which will happen automatically when you follow point No. 1 above), doing it to excess makes it hard to control the spin and the distance the ball flies. Take note of the size of Rickie's divot from the video. It's not very big. Many great iron players throughout history have had similar looks--re-routing the club to the inside or flattening the shaft on the downswing. Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Nick Price and Hubert Green are all great examples.
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