Golf Tips

So I haven't had much time to play, but I've snuck in some practice here and there when I can, as I did this morning.

I have a pretty weak stroke - my drives are at best 230 to a level LZ unless I accidentally crank it. I've been trying broaden my swing plane to get more speed, but that has an unintended effect - it pulls my torso laterally - and then I wind up cracking a pull hook.

Overall, it just feels that I am turning, but my arms are doing too much work. Add to that that I am counting on my arms to try and start grooving an inside to out swing plane, and it's no wonder why I hit the ball so short.

Today I learned a little something. The best learned techniques are the ones that don't totally throw something else off. So far so good.

What did I figure out? I focused on turning back farther, so that my shoulder and back are partially facing the ball. By focusing on turning with my torso, instead of trying to crank my spine back with my arms, I was not getting that lateral movement. I did this by trying to glimpse the back of my shoulder at the top of my backswing. Obviously that has to be peripheral, or I'll never make solid contact. I definitely felt the stretch. And the results were a solid 10-15yard gain on average.

Another nice side effect is that by turning farther, I'm getting a flatter, inside out swing plane. Which helps counteract any bad arm movement on my part. So fades were diminishing, and the drives were much lower trajectory - I suffer from pop fly drives.

It worked so well, that I am considering putting a little nib of medical tape on my shoulder next time - so I have that visual cue without having to look for it as much. I do have to say that the Superquad I got last summer really is a nice driver. I had gone through as many drivers as I had years under my belt, but it was worth it. What is nice is that the new CGB drivers now make the superquad somewhat obsolete, so they've already come down in price. Maybe next summer they'll be cheap enough that I can pick up a fresh one. The CGBs are nice, but they can't actually adjust the height of the ball flight, just counteracting slices and hooks. Personally, I am of the mind that you should learn and practice to eliminate your slice - buying equipment to mask it will eventually make it worse, because it will enable those bad habits further. I keep my driver set for a low neutral ball flight.