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Weekend Tip: Like Tiger, check your posture

Saturday, May 12, 2012 Comments
Tiger2012_Masters_Tues019.JPGTiger 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

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Fitness Friday: Keep your body in balance and avoid injury

Friday, May 11, 2012 Comments

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

Here's Ron: Remember Shingo Katayama? He's the diminutive golfer with the funny cowboy hat who won 26 times on the Japan Golf Tour and has played in many PGA Tour events over the past decade. The first time I saw Katayama on the range at a PGA Tour event, I watched him hit shots right-handed and then flip around and hit shots left-handed. At first I thought he might be doing it as part of some bizarre drill or as a goof. He was actually pretty good at it. But then I was told he did it to maintain body balance.
 
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
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Weekend Tip: 3 Ways to Regain Your Feel--Fast

Saturday, May 5, 2012 Comments
So the weather across most of the country is finally starting to act like spring, golf course superintendents are beginning to mow their greens down to mid-season levels, and golfers are starting to turn up at the first tee, ready to put their games on display. At my own club, New Seabury on Cape Cod, this weekend's tee sheet is jammed full, and our Saturday morning group has more players than ever.

But what if you're one of those golfers coming out for the first time this year, and you feel like, as Dan Jenkins once said, the golf club feels like a parking meter in your hands? That's where this column will help you. Here are three tips, from some of the game's top feel players and teachers, to get your touch back fast. The last thing you want to do is three-putt all day, or take extra shots from just off the green, or snap-hook your tee shots.

1. Feeling your hands. When you haven't played in a while, your hands feel weak. So it's only natural to grip the club tighter to compensate. Resist that and do the opposite. As Davis Love Jr. and Bob Toski wrote in How to Feel A Real Golf Swing, with Bob Carney, "Your hands generate clubhead speed. They control the face. They shape the path of your swing. But nothing can sabotage a good grip or good swing quicker than excessive or inconsistent grip pressure. Tension is the enemy of the swing, and it emanates from the grip. Pick up a pencil and write your name. How tightly did you hold the pencil? Just tightly enough to accomplish the task at hand. Which is how you hold your steering wheel, how you hold a book, how you hold your sweetheart's hand. For most golfers, holding a golf club only as tightly as enables the club to swing will seem much lighter than normal." So remember to hold the club lightly, and you'll regain your feel in no time.

2. Feeling the putter. Gain control by giving up control. Sport psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella once told Paul Azinger that he could see tension and artificiality in his stroke. In his book, Putting Out of Your Mind, Rotella recounts how he told Azinger to putt like he hit bunker shots. "I just look at where I want it to go," Azinger said, "splash the sand, and it goes there." Rotella told Paul he had to become relaxed, even nonchalant, at the moment of truth in putting as well. Try it and your stroke will free up and become more natural. You'll regain your stroke very quickly.

3. Feeling your feet. When you've had a long layoff, usually your feet and legs are a little slow; you've lost some agility. Get that footwork back by trying this piece of advice, from Tommy Armour's book How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time. "In simplifying footwork, I'll give you one little tip that probably will greatly improve the hitting portion of your swing. Have the right knee come in fast at the right time. The knee action in a good golf swing is practically identical with knee action in throwing a baseball."

So give these thoughts a try and good luck with your game this weekend. I'll be pulling for you (unless I'm playing against you).

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman 


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How He Hits That: Learn from Dufner's Trademark Waggle

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 Comments

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 looks at not one shot in particular, but how Jason Dufner, who won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a two-hole sudden-death playoff over Ernie Els, uses his distinct waggle to hit great shots, time after time. Perhaps you, too, can improve your game simply by adopting an effective waggle.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter: @RogerSchiffman

By Kevin Hinton
In general, the purpose of the waggle is to prevent tension from building into the golfer's hands and body prior to hitting a shot. Tension is a huge killer of the golf swing, and movement prevents tension. Most instructors, including myself, would advise that small movements are typically better than large movements, and it is important to do the same thing every time prior to hitting a shot.

Jason Dufner, who works with Golf Digest Teaching Professional Chuck Cook, breaks both of those rules. His waggle is not small, and the number of times he does his "thing" (let's call it the Dufner Dance until a better name surfaces) varies greatly. Throughout the final round, Jason hit some shots where he'd waggle four to seven times, other shots where he'd waggle more than 10 times. It varies because he's waiting to feel comfortable and able to visualize his shot prior to starting his swing. This is an important lesson. Do your best to never hit a shot without a clear image of how you want the ball to fly. Visualize the shape of your ball-flight, and "see" your shot landing at your target. 



Once Dufner does set the club behind the ball, he begins his swing almost immediately. This is a really good aspect to copy because the longer the club sits in a stationary position, the greater the chance that tension can build. Of course, there are always exceptions...Jack Nicklaus is a significant example. Nicklaus would often stand over the ball for what seemed like an eternity prior to beginning his swing. Typically, this is ill-advised, but Jack never hit a shot before he was ready, and that is super important. And he did keep his arms and hands moving until he took the club back.




The moral of the story here is, waggles are an important part of your swing, and they vary greatly among the top players. Historically, Lee Trevino kind of walked into his swing, from left to right previewing an open stance and fade. Gary Player kicked in his right knee to trigger his backswing. And Bobby Jones kept his entire body in flow with little hesitation into his swing.



The point is, great players all do something prior to beginning the swing, and you need to find what works best for you. Be sure to practice your waggle, just like you would any other part of your game. It doesn't need to be as dramatic as the Dufner Dance, nor does it need to take so long. Develop one that helps eliminate tension and helps facilitate a smooth beginning to your swing. Don't ignore it...it's more important than you might think.

Finally, check out Ben Hogan's waggle here:

 
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Weekend Tip: Three keys for playing in the wind

Saturday, April 28, 2012 Comments
On Friday, the 50,000-pound Space Shuttle Enterprise made its final flight, piggybacking atop a Boeing 747, which soared over the Hudson River on its way to landing at JFK. Some concerns about 30 mph winds buffeting the giant cargo proved to be unfounded. (See video below, and listen to the wind as the Enterprise sails overhead.)



If only our golf balls could bore through the wind with such grace and ease. But of course, 30 mph winds can play havoc with our dimpled little friends that weigh only 1.68 ounces. So how do you play when the wind is howling outside, as it tends to do in many parts of the country at this time of year? Here are three tips, from three of the game's all-time great wind players:

Tom Watson: Watson didn't win five British Opens, all in Scotland, without a keen understanding of playing great in the wind. He says he learned early on that the key to handling British Open venues on windswept links is to feel as if you're hitting long chip shots around the course. You rarely want to swing full bore in high winds, Watson says. Swinging all-out only makes the ball spin more, which causes it to balloon and be affected by higher velocities and gusts. By thinking of hitting long chip shots you reduce backspin so the ball stays lower, where it's less affected by the wind. In windy conditions, a ball rolling along the ground is generally easier to control than one that flies high through the air.

Payne Stewart: Before he passed away, the three-time major champion and Ryder Cup star wrote an article for Golf Digest about playing in poor conditions. Stewart advocated riding the wind with the driver to get maximum carry and distance, but to curve the ball into the wind on iron shots and other approaches for better control. For example, if he were teeing off in a strong left-right wind, Stewart would intentionally aim left and play a power fade. The ball would curve in the same direction as the wind was blowing, thereby allowing the wind to carry it for optimum distance. However, on an approach with, say, a left-to-right wind, he would intentionally aim to the right and play a draw that curved into the wind. The wind served as a backdrop to "hold" the ball on the green. Likewise, he would intentionally fade his approaches into a right-to-left wind.

Paul Azinger: Paul's strong grip and strong turn resulted in an ability to hit very low shots, even with his wedges and short irons. Paul would play the ball back of center in his stance and hit knockdown shots where he limited his follow-through. "Finish low to hit it low," he often said. Another secret Paul revealed to me years ago was to hit the ball lower, not higher, when playing iron shots downwind. The conventional wisdom is to hit the ball high downwind to take advantage of the breeze. But Paul contended that doing so caused you to lose control of the shot's distance. By hitting a low knockdown, you keep the ball under the wind so the ball is less affected, and therefore you can better control your distance on approach shots.

Give these techniques a try this weekend or anytime it's windy. And good luck with your game. I'll be pulling for you.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman
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Moe Norman: How to hit the ball dead straight

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Comments
Moephoto.gifLorne Rubenstein knew the legendary Moe Norman better than any other writer. And he has put that relationship to good use with his book Moe & Me: Encounters with Moe Norman, Golf's Mysterious Genius, published recently by ECW Press in Canada. The book is full of great anecdotes, told in a first-hand approach by a writer who knows his stuff. Rubenstein has written a column on golf for The Globe and Mail for more than 30 years, and is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. I've gleaned a few quick tips here from Moe through Lorne that I think could help your game, especially if you're having trouble finding the fairway. Certainly Norman rarely had that trouble.

Norman, who died in 2004, might be known as the straightest driver the game has ever known. But he could also score. He won eight of nine Canadian Senior championships between 1979 and 1987.

The book is available on Amazon.com. I highly recommend it, not just for the instruction but also for the stories. We're indebted to Rubenstein for recounting them for the record.

Below are some of Moe's gems for hitting the ball with accuracy.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman

"Quiet hands through the swing. 'Fingers are fast, fingers are fast, palms are calm, palms are calm.' Moe said to hold the club in the palms of your hands, not in the fingers. 

"Wide stance. He [keeps] his feet on the ground as long as possible, thereby ensuring the clubhead will travel as far along the line as possible and not turn over. Moe wants the sensation of the ball on the clubhead all the way through
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How He Hit That: Louis Oosthuizen's technically-sound swing

Monday, April 16, 2012 Comments

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 how Masters runner-up Louis Oosthuizen used his superb ball striking to bounce back from his close call at Augusta National and win the Malaysian Open.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter: @RogerSchiffman

By Kevin Hinton

It didn't take long for Louis Oosthuizen to rebound from his playoff loss at the Masters -- actually, it only took seven days. With his final-round 68 at the the Malaysian Open, Oosthuizen secured the victory and his 5th European Tour title. The win moved Louis to 12th place in the Official World Golf Rankings. Once again, Louis' ball striking proved valuable as he continued to drive the ball well, while hitting more than 81% of his greens in regulation for the week. Take a look at these videos of his driver and iron swings, and keep reading to see what you can learn from them.

Driver: Louis does many things exceptionally well in his swing, but here are two simple tips you can learn from his driver swing.

1) Shaft Position at Address: In this video, notice that Louis sets up to his driver with the shaft leaning slightly back. Many great drivers have done this throughout history. I encourage my students to have the shaft set in a neutral position, but if they were to err one way or the other, I'd much rather they have the shaft leaning slightly back like Louis. Leaning the shaft forward de-lofts the driver and encourages hitting down on the golf ball. Both those things make it difficult for the average player to drive the ball. You can't go wrong by copying Louis' driver setup.

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Fitness Friday: Let's get your golf muscles in shape

Friday, April 13, 2012 Comments
Every week my colleague Ron Kaspriske, Golf Digest Fitness Editor, presents Fitness Friday on the Instruction Blog. This week he adds two more exercises to his 20-in-20 workout to get your golf muscles in shape. Look for Weekend Tip tomorrow, and remember to follow me on Twitter: @RogerSchiffman.

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest

Here's Ron: Two more exercises in the advanced 20-in-20 workout are debuting this week (click on the video below). The 20-in-20 name comes from the fact that you're doing two sets of 10 different exercises in 20 minutes. This workout is designed to hit all the muscle groups needed to play golf safely and effectively and also improve your endurance. It's designed to promote muscle symmetry as well. Your left side should be about as strong as your right, but that often is not the case for golfers because we play in one direction. Perhaps the best feature of the 20-in-20 is that you get a cardio and strength-training workout in one. Surely you have 20 minutes of your day to spare!

This week, I'm giving you the fifth and sixth exercises (there will be 10 total) to add to your workout. You'll receive the remaining four over the next two weeks (plus I'll have some bonus exercises in the ensuing weeks that you can use to keep the workout from getting stale). You can refer to the last two weeks' Fitness Friday posts for the first four exercises in the new 20-in-20.

As I stated in the introduction video, these exercises are NOT for beginners or anyone with existing medical conditions. Before attempting them, consult with a doctor or certified physical trainer. But if you're cleared to work out, be prepared. The 20-in-20 is not for the squeamish!
 

Ron Kaspriske
Fitness Editor
Golf Digest
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The Resurgence of Hogan, a la McLean

Thursday, April 12, 2012 Comments
Driving to work this morning I listened, as I often do, to the Fairways of Life Show with Matt Adams on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Today he interviewed Jim McLean, No. 3 among Golf Digest's 50 Best Teachers in America, about Jim's new book, The Complete Hogan. As I've said before, I love this book, even though I've never been a huge fan of the Hogan swing as it pertains to the average golfer. I also thought Hogan's swing was better after the accident (post 1950). But Jim enlightens us with the point that Hogan himself said he played his best golf in the late 1940s, which is when these film stills were taken.

For better players, and anyone who is a student of the golf swing, this book is a must read, as are Hogan's books Five Lessons and Power Golf. For the complete interview with McLean, click on the interview link below. Go to the 9:22 mark to listen to Jim discuss how he produced the Hogan book.


Listen to the interview

--Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
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Weekend Tip: Like Yani, set up for power

Saturday, April 7, 2012 Comments
So much has been written this past week about players at the Masters, and with social media, you just can't get away from it. For example, teacher Gary Gilchrist Tweeted Friday about one of his students, Peter Hanson, when he tied for the lead midway through the second round. But Gilchrist has a more-famous student, and here's what you can learn from her:

In the new May issue of Golf Digest (Butch Harmon on the cover), which is in subscribers hands and on some newsstands starting today, Gilchrist analyzes Yani Tseng's full driver swing. Yani is so far ahead of the other LPGA players in the Rolex World Rankings that she could take the rest of the year off and still be No 1! Check the video of her full driver swing below (she led 2011 in driving distance with a 269.2-yard average).

One of the key points that you can use in your driver game this weekend is how Yani sets up with a lot of spine tilt to her right. She takes a fairly wide stance, her right shoulder noticeably lower than her left. As Gilchrist says in the article, "She's setting up with her right hip lower now, which causes more restriction in her hip turn, helps get her chest over her right knee at the top, and stops her left arm from getting too high."



Try this on your own driver setup. It will result in a more powerful, ascending approach into the ball, and longer shots off the tee.

Good luck with your game this weekend. And don't forget to tune into the Masters. Peter Hanson might still be in contention!

Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman  
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