Recently, the golf channel’s ‘School of Golf’ did an episode (Season 2017, Chapter 4 – Solid Contact) where Martin Hall discusses his number one way to get back to solid contact. It involves placing two tees on the ground – building a ‘gate’ through which one must try to swing the clubhead. Does this technique sound familiar?

It should, if you’ve been reading this blog for any period of time. I have been promoting this technique for the past 15 years – and have used it in my own instructional sessions as well. As far as I know, NO OTHER coach has discovered this method for the simple reason that it was discovered and forgotten over 90 years ago.

And as far as I know, I originally proposed  using two tees as a simplified version of the gate, instead of the elaborate device mentioned in the original text (by J. Douglas Edgar).

So definitely, when Martin Hall starts talking about creating a ‘gate’ by placing two tees on the ground, that rings of plagiarism. At the very least, the Golf Channel needed to acknowledge their source of information.

Okay – thanks for reading through my rant.  How do you get your swing back, in the shortest possible time?

As winter turns to Spring, the golfing itch starts to bother most golfers.  You are eager to go out and play a few holes  – but have been out of touch with your swing. Is there a way you can rapidly get your swing back?

What saves me time and time again is a simple technique that lets one focus on the main objective – solid impact – as opposed to the correct stance, posture, swing path and what not. These are all great things for the intermediate to advanced golfer to work on, but for an absolute beginner, talking about swing paths is a bit heavy.

Quick Swing Fix 1 – The Gate to Golf, Two tees in the ground

This technique was discussed in detail in several previous posts; but it deserves a recap. Close friends who ask me for a golf initiation lesson, get this simple technique taught in return.

The original gate device	My improvised ‘Tees in the ground’ gate

The innocuous looking device above, with the slightly angled placement of two tees,  is called a ‘gate’. The idea is to present your brain with the imagery to swing through the gate as well as to align your body to the gate prior to the swing.  This may sound very straightforward – and it is, but there are several things that automatically take care of themselves as you try to swing through the gate.

1. The club automatically approaches the ball from inside-out, which is the path that all pro-swings take.
2. Flat wrist on top – If you simply align your flat wrist with the gate (basically left shoulder-tip and left wrist are in a straight line – and both point to 7 O’ Clock). If you can maintain the flat wrist all the way to the top of your backswing, you will have  the perfect top-of-the-backswing position. Look at any pro – the wrist break is lateral – and the flatness of the wrist is maintained.
3. 
4. Your setup, distance from the ball, amount of hip bend etc. are all automatically calculated – as you align your left arm along the gate.  
5. Finally, the greatest advantage of this ‘angled tees on the ground gate’ is the psychological advantage you obtain on the course. On the course, when you do not have the luxury of taking along any training device, the gate can still be your friend.  All you need is the visual of the two angled tees around the ball – and construct a mental image of the gate that you need to swing through.  Lo and behold – all the regular distractions of the golf course – the lie of the ball, the hazards in your way – all just disappear – as you shift your focus to swinging through the gate. I guarantee you, even after a single day of practicing with this gate device, you will play a much more confident round of golf – provided you remember to surround each lie with an imaginary gate.

Quick Swing Fix 2– The Impact Snap

This device, a recent arrival on the golf market, can shorten the learning curve by addressing some of the larger issues that affect most amateurs.

1. Issue 1 – The wrist break – In a previous post, we discussed how all power is the result of a wrist break (and release of the wrists through the ball).  Unless your wrists break correctly, they will not release correctly through impact. This device provides a sound as feedback for the wrist break, which, IMO, is a sound technique to learn the proper wrist break.
2. Issue 2 – Extending the arms through impact. I am a big proponent of extending your arms through the ball – and I utilize that swing thought as often as I can. This device, through an innovative yellow ball, provides the correct hand and arm position at impact. With a little practice, your impact position can look like that of the pros.  If you google this ‘impact snap device videos’, there are some great instructional videos on the correct usage of this device – including a few by it’s inventor.

Once you get the hang of using this device, simply doing the movement for a few minutes before a round of golf, can work wonders.

Summary

Before I discovered these simple techniques,  I used to spend a fortune on lessons – just to get back to where I was a year ago! All of that changed when I discovered ‘The Gate to Golf’ and also, more recently, the ‘Impact Snap’ device. It seriously takes me a day, just a day – on the range with these devices – to get back to solid contact.

Happy Golfing – and do comment, share if you enjoyed this post.

Recommended Reading

This is a short, though highly recommended, read. The author is not your everyday golfer, he was the man to reckon with in his prime, having won multiple PGA tournaments. Tragically, he died young (killed by a jealous husband…., that itself, should pique your curiosity ).

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• Place a club along the target line.
• Place ANOTHER club on your toe line.
• Align your eyes with the club on the target line.
• Align your shoulders slightly LEFT of the target line.
• Align your hips parallel to the target line…

I revolted against all such recipes. It cannot be that difficult to align – after all, this is a ‘side-on’’ sport – where you hit the ball while standing on one side of it.   Not unlike Tennis or Baseball – both of which are also ‘side-on’ sports. Since we do not agonize over alignment in Tennis or Baseball, why should golf be any different?

After reviewing several alignment techniques, I found one that worked extremely well – and took no longer than a couple of seconds to accomplish. It has continued to work for several years – both for the long game and also for the short game.

Anika Sorenstam’s Alignment Technique (The HEEL line)

Forget about the toe line – it can be very misleading. Instead, focus on your HEELS. It is MUCH easier to line up your heels along the target line. Try it –  it doesn’t take much to figure out whether your heels are in a straight line or not.

Now, the beauty of this technique is that the HIPS follow the heels.  So the hips are automatically aligned along the target line.  And the shoulders follow the hips.  At the end of this simple alignment technique, your hips and shoulders – should be pointed along the target line (parallel to the HEEL line).

Summary

One does not have the luxury of going through a 5 step alignment process before playing every shot. 

All you have time for is a simple, 1 step approach. Align your HEELS parallel to the target line – and do a quick check to ensure that your hips and shoulders are also aligned to the heel line.

This technique works well for the short game as well – especially PUTTING – where lining up correctly takes on a little more importance.

Try this alignment technique and see if it works for you.

Questions? Comments?

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In Jack Nicklaus’ biographical account (Golf My Way), Jack recounts an episode where his game was going haywire. All that was needed was for his teacher (Jack Grout) to point out that his shoulders were aligned waaaay right of target. With that simple fix, he was back to winning tournaments. If alignment (lack thereof) can adversely affect the game of the greatest golfer that ever lived, imagine the effect it can have on everyday mortals!

    Here is a tip that will help your alignment (also, read the post on ‘shirt button alignment’).

Your swing path will naturally track your EYE LINE.

That’s right, your eyes dictate the path the club follows on the downswing.  While setting up, hold the golf club parallel to the ground – and aligned parallel to your knees (or thighs). Align your eyes on top of the golf club – and leave them there. Now, you know where your eyes need to be, so even if they stray a bit, you can bring them back to the target line. To summarize:

1. Align  your KNEES parallel to target line
2. Hold your club above your knees (and parallel to the knees)
3. Align your eyes to your club shaft

Now here’s the catch. While it is easy to align the eyes at ADDRESS (by ensuring that your EYE LINE is parallel to the target line), it is equally easy to disrupt this alignment on your backswing. Most people have a fair amount of ‘head movement’ and often, lower body movement (sideways swaying) – both of which can result in a disorientation of your meticulously placed eye-line.

The fix?

Keeping your head ‘steady’ (not fixed). This is easier said than done, but it is a habit worth inculcating. Its benefits extend beyond the full swing. Your short game will see an improvement as well (most people have waaaay too much sway/upper body movement in their short game). Keeping your head ‘fixed’ is typically bad advice – as it introduces an unnecessary rigidity into the swing.

Summary

Correct alignment has proven to be a challenge for golf pros and amateurs alike.  While most coaches emphasize lining up the BODY with the target line (using alignment rods), they ignore the importance of aligning the EYES. The eye-line is where your mind is trained to take your body – regardless of how and where your body may be lined up. Hence, it is important to get the eyes aligned parallel to the target line. This post illustrates how one might end up accomplishing that alignment.

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When you  are standing erect, do you know where your center of gravity lies? How about when you lean over?  While the answer to these questions may be in the realm of physics, it is of paramount importance to the golf setup.

What happens to your center of gravity when you place a 300 gram weight in your hands?

As you place a golf club in your hands, your center of gravity shifts forward a little (you are adding a significant MASS directly ahead of you). Your body responds to this by tightening the upper body (just as if you were about to lift a heavy weight). This tightening is not the best thing for your golf swing – as it engages the upper body muscles – to the exclusion of the lower body.  Which means – when you start your backswing – you will be mostly arms  and hands – and a little bit of chest. You will tend to ‘whip’ the club back.

How do you avoid getting into this situation (tightening of upper body)?

Let us revisit how we got into this situation – we got here because we engaged our upper body (solely) when placing the club behind the ball. If we try to bend from the hips – keeping our weight along our hip line – we can resist the tightening of the upper body. In other words, think of LIFTING the club with the hip muscles (I know it sounds a little unconventional) instead of the upper body muscles. If you engage your lower body muscles as you lift this 300 gram weight, you can avoid the upper body getting involved.

Summary

As you place the club behind the ball, ensure that you first bend from the hips . This will automatically shift you center of gravity LOWER (towards the hips). This is exactly where you want it to stay for the entire golf swing. Try to imagine a plane table – pushing your hips back (the plane image should suggest LEVEL hips). And try to maintain this hip-line throughout your swing. This will ensure that you do not overpower your takeaway with the upper body (do not get too handsy) – and will ensure a proper downswing plane as well.

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However, there are other muscle groups that are equally capable of helping with this aspect of the golf swing. The most notable one, IMO, is the lower back. A strong lower back can serve the same purpose as a strong core – keep the swing grounded – and keep the golfer from swaying or losing his/her balance.

Fortunately, building lower back strength, is a little easier (again, based on my own experience) than building a strong core. The key exercise for the golfer’s lower back is the SQUAT.   With roughly 5 minutes of squats every day, you can be on your way to a strong lower back.

Now that you have identified an appropriate grounding ELEMENT (the lower back), how exactly do you incorporate that into your setup and swing?

INCORPORATING the LOWER back into your SETUP

The final backswing position should be the lateral wrist break. How you get to this wrist break will depend upon you – some people break their wrists early (Johnny Miller was a huge proponent of this), others break it late. Regardless of an early  or late wrist break, two fundamentals about the wrist  break :

1. It is an effect, not a direct goal – in other words , do not TRY to break your wrists, LET your wrists break due to the arms being carried up by the body.
2. The wrist break HAS to be lateral. There is not a single good golfer who gets away with an overly ‘un-flat’ wrist break. Right at the top of their backswings, their left forearm is parallel to the golf clubface. This is a lateral wrist break – also sometimes known as a ‘flat’ wrist on top.

Again, regardless of an early or late wrist break, the end result (at the top of the backswing) is the same for all pro golfers.

Now that we have identified WHAT we need our backswing to do (end in a flat wrist), how exactly do we get there?

Start by supporting your stance on your lower back muscle. Bend slightly from the ‘lower back part of your hips’ – if that makes sense. After this bend, the rest of your back stays flat (in line with the bend). Watch Rory’s golf setup position to get an idea of what this looks like.

Once you have this GROUNDING element in place, you are ready to use your upper body to SWING your arms. You do not directly SWING your arms – you let the upper body muscles carry the arms and throw them back. The feeling is analogous to throwing a sack of flour backwards (you would use your upper body strength to throw the sack back, the arms would just go along for the ride).

If you can attain this SWINGING of the arms with the support of the upper body, your wrists will break automatically. You will not need to force a break. This is the natural wrist hinge in golf – and is central to generating any kind of power in the hitting zone. No wrist break (hinge), no power! It is the RELEASE of the wrists (through impact) that sends the golf ball flying. All this while, your swing is being supported by your lower back. It is your lower back that keeps you from losing your balance.

Summary

Most amateurs sway or lose their balance – either on the backswing, the downswing or both. To keep your balance in check, your swing needs a GROUNDING element – a group of muscles that keeps the body grounded while you swing your club back. The lower back can serve as this grounding element.

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As long as you make a good SWING, the straightness will take care of itself.

Once you have a swing you can trust, all you do is try to repeat that swing. This involves reproducing the same ‘feel’ over and over again.

This simple idea cannot be carried too far. Instead of going to the range to ‘hit a bunch of balls’, go with the idea of ‘making a bunch of swings’. I know it sounds trivial but it is an important psychological shift.

Summary

Most of us, do not work on reproducing a ‘feel’. We work on reproducing certain ‘positions’ –  both during the backswing and during our through swing.  This is incorrect – and will not result in a repeatable swing. Only a correct pre-swing feel results in a repeatable swing.

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On the Driving Range

Instead of practicing technical positions (flat wrist on bacskwing etc…), you would be much better served by practicing a certain feel – i.e. trying to reproduce a certain feel. While certain checkpoints can be helpful, you only need checkpoints if your swing is not based on feel. In other words, if your feel is correct (see below),. your swing will automatically hit the right positions on the back (and down) swing.

What FEEL should I work on?

The correct feel should allow you to ‘throw’ your weight back – catch it with your right side – and throw it forward again – catching it with your left side.

If you hold a sack of flour in your palms – and practice throwing that back – and through again – you will get close to the feel needed for the golf swing. Try and stay glued to the ground – i.e. – try and not lose your footing while you practice this throwing motion.

Summary

If you simply practice the throwing motion described above, you will learn to set up to the ball with just that motion in mind. Your body will be primed for the ‘throw’. This priming of the body is the right ‘feel’ – it is hard to have a better setup position than this.  It will provide a full weight shift going back – and a full weight transfer going forward.  In the actual golf swing , think about throwing out to the right, instead of straight down the line. The golf arc is such that , if you start rightwards (right field), the clubface will square up at the bottom of the swing!

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a) What I said – Body Clearance

Months ago, I made a quick analysis of Rory’s swing. The first thing that struck me about his swing was his SETUP position. How much CLEARANCE (body clearance) he had.

a) What Rory said – Body Clearance

Rory also points this out in his first tip – how to get into an active address position. He talks  about having enough ‘clearance’ for the arms to swing freely. Of course, a pre-requisite for that is to have your arms hanging freely at setup

b) What I said – bend from the hips, so your upper body can turn freely

b) What Rory said – Flat back – bend from the hips (Activate your address position)

There are some more similarities between the post I wrote long before Rory provided his own analysis of his golf setup. However, the main takeaway is the body clearance concept. With Rory’s setup, it is the most telling and most obvious element. His whole body is already ‘out of his way’ – for him to freely swing his arms. From here, as long as he keeps his balance on his backswing – he is bound to get the club back in the correct slot – and be able to swing down freely, with all his might.

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The Importance of keeping the spine angle constant throughout the swing is emphasized almost universally by golf instructors. The trouble is –  how do you know you are doing it correctly? Coaches talk about maintaining this angle throughout the golf swing – but offer little insight into how to accomplish this.

What the heck is my SPINE angle?

I don’t know about you, but I am unable to SEE my spine. Not the base of my spine, not the top – nor the middle. So – it is a little hard to visualize the STRAIGHTNESS of my spine – or it’s tilt angle (as measured from a level ground).

The COLLAR BONE angle

Enter the collarbone. While I find it difficult to visualize my spine, I can (practically) SEE – and FEEL my collarbone. Armed with this insight, I discovered something interesting:

If my collarbone retains its angle, so does my spine !

It was really as simple as that. Shifting your attention away from the spine  – and toward the collarbone  – will help you maintain a constant spine angle throughout your swing.  It will also force you to RAISE your chin – so that your shoulders can turn under it (this was something that Tiger himself struggled with – and needed correction from time to time).

Summary

The (unassuming) COLLARBONE provides a simple and effective way to MAINTAIN your spine angle throughout the swing.  Keeping this angle fixed prevents your head from bobbing up and down (as well as your hips from sinking) – and achieves the objective of maintaining the spine angle. Let us know what you think – if this works for you or not.  If you have a better suggestion for maintaining the spine angle, please feel free to share.

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Rory’s SETUP (Lot of Body Clearance)

I like to imagine two VERTICAL WOOD PANELS – one touching my forehead – and the other touching my butt. The entire body fits between these  two panels.  The FRONT panel (the one touching my forehead) – needs to be a certain distance from the ball. This distance is what gives the ARMS , the CLEARANCE they need to swing freely. Most amateurs have their BODY somewhere in the way of their downswing – thereby, interfering with this CLEARANCE.

As seen below, Rory keeps a LOT of clearance between the tip of his body (forehead) and the ball. This is what allows him to swing FAST and FEARLESSLY.

Rory’s TEMPO

Rory’s backswing is SO fast, that it almost feels like a  YANK away. Lots of instructors spend hours emphasizing a SLOW and METICULOUS takeaway, which IMO, is completely flawed. Thankfully, fast swingers like Rory and Tiger have proven that a SLOOOOOW takeaway is not only unnecessary, but probably detrimental to your overall swing tempo.  When you take your tennis racquet back, you do not meticulously plan out its path – and then swing back. You just swing back. Super fast. That’s how it should be with the golf club.

The only pre-requisite is that with golf, you need to be correctly SETUP – to swing back in this speedy fashion. The SETUP actually has to allow for a lot of CLEARANCE – both going back – and coming back down.

Once Rory finishes his fast backswing, he has the illusion of a momentary PAUSE on the top. From here, he UNLEASHES his downswing.

The TEMPO  here is – fast backswing, (short) PAUSE and fast downswing. This is Rory’s tempo. This is the tempo of ANY non-golf sport (tennis, table tennis, baseball, cricket….).   Shouldn’t it be your golf swing tempo as well?

Summary

Rory has one of the most uncomplicated swings of all the pros. This makes it possible to dissect his swing and possibly try and emulate it.

Two pre-requisites  for emulating his swing are :

1. Setup with a LOT of BODY CLEARANCE.
2. Swing with a FAST tempo.

Another pre-requisite is – Work out your upper and lower body – especially your LOWER body and CORE. This makes the powerful stance possible – and makes it possible to swing FAST without losing your balance.

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