Fundamentals and Swing Keys

Not just YES but absolutely YES!

First being solid fundamentals–the grip is first as it’s the only connection to the club and controls the club face. I like the V’s in both hands for a right hand player to point to the middle of their right collar bone. Next is posture–you won’t see ANY tour player with sloppy posture. Look at and try to copy Tiger or Nelly Korda’s posture both face on and down the line. Next is ball position–you need to adjust it to strike the ball 3 different ways depending on the club being swung. Descending for irons. sweeping for fairways and hybrids off the ground and ascending for woods off a tee.

As for the swing–it’s very important to get the trail side loaded on the backswing over a stable lower body. By turning the trail side shoulder and hip away from the target line you’ll achieve this and stay centered rather than swaying off the ball. The sequence reverses itself as you start down. The lower body initiates with a shift of the weight back to the lead leg followed by a turning of the lead side hip out of the way. Get the arms to work with this motion and not overuse them and you’ll start to build a decent golf swing.

A great drill I give just about all my students is to get set up in a good athletic posture and feel like you’ve got a 2-3 lb. medicine ball in your hands. Now start tossing the “medicine” ball with a golf swing motion. At first just toss it a short distance and feel the body turn, the arms move and load into the trail side, then feel the weight shift and rotation of the hips as you “toss” the ball. Gradually start making the toss longer.