Approach Shots
The Drill You Need When Your Swing Falls Apart
Photo by J.D. Cuban
With two wins and two second-place finishes—and moving to No. 1 in the world in the Rolex ranking—I'm having the best year of my career. But that doesn't mean my golf swing is always perfect. There are times when I'm not hitting it nearly as well as I want. That's when I go back to the range. A drill I use to turn things around can help you get your swing back, too.
My instructor, Cameron McCormick, showed me this Stomping Drill. You might know Cameron because of his work with Jordan Spieth. I love this drill because it can improve your timing, balance, weight shift, footwork and more. I have a bad habit of letting my body rotate toward the target too soon when I hit irons, but this drill helps hold off that rotation. Delaying that rotation also can cure a slice, because it improves swing path. You won't cut across the ball as much.
Here's how it works: Grab an iron and get in your address posture with your feet close together. As you start your backswing, take a sidestep away from the target with your back foot. Then, as you reach the top of your backswing, lift your front foot up (above) and sidestep toward the target, planting that foot again before swinging down into the ball. Sidestepping with each foot trains you to shift your weight correctly. It also helps complete the backswing before starting the downswing, great for syncing things up. As a bonus, it helps you feel how to push off the ground to generate more power.
It's going to takea little practice to do this drill correctly, so go slow at first. But it will help you get your swing back. —With Keely Levins
So Yeon Ryu has five wins on the LPGA Tour and is the No. 1 player in the world.