McLean's Tee Drill

*The ultimate judge of your swing is the flight of the ball.> Ben Hogan

Reader Art Lin writes that Jim McLean's Tee Drill really worked for him.

I actually teed the ball about 2" farther from my old position. I think it forced me to extend my arms and >

throw the club-head at the ball from inside (or I wouldn't be able to reach and hit the the ball).

The result is exciting, the ball flew straighter and longer by about 20', consistently.

Art, Golf Digest did a video with Jim on great practice drills (The Drill System for Better Golf) and this drill was one of them. A lot of these drills are now up in the Golf Digest Challenge area of our web site. Jim did another drill that will get you swinging from the inside. He had each of us, myself and the crew, throw a club. Just take it by the grip and fire it down the fairway. Well, fire, is a bit of a misnomer. And fairway is also inaccurate. I flung fifty yards left the first time I tried it and only after several tries, got the hang of coming from the inside and getting the club to go straight. I encourage you to try it, but clear all spectators and small animals because you won't know where it's going that first toss. A milder version of this same idea is Jim Flick's drill of swinging the club with your right hand only and, when you get the hang of that, hitting balls while swinging with right hand only. Like the tee drill, great for developing that inside-out motion.

Thanks for the letter...

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Stephen Szurlej)