Good day Everyone and although the wet conditions persist, the lighter mornings, the blossoming fauna and the Masters is on the horizon so spring is on its way! Clearly our golf has been hampered by course closures and uninviting soggy fairways. You will however be glad to know that on my recent trip to Portugal the weather was superb and I hadn't really appreciated the joy of stepping on firm fairways as much as I did! Hence the jolly picture on the front of this newsletter. However, I appreciate that you may want to throw darts at it!
A good idea to make a positive start to the season is to check our fundamentals and the thought P.G.A is a good one - Posture, Grip, Alignment.
Firstly Posture and after a lay off, plus when we have played it has been in extra layers and waterproofs, classic errors are slumping forward, head down, chin too close to the chest, spine too curved and often legs too straight. The key is to work on what I call a "sporting" position which in other sports are de rigueur with knees flexed, back fairly straight, chin clear of the chest and arms hanging freely from the shoulders.
As the grip is our only contact with the club it is essential we establish the correct position as this will control the club face. I always like to use a mirror and then you can check your angles and marry the image with the feel. Here are three of our junior members checking their fundamentals.
Ideally the hands will blend as a unit. The Vs formed from the hands will be parallel which in turn controls the club.
One of the common errors in alignment is players line their feet to the flag rather than the club. This creates a closed position that
causes issues with the path of your swing.
Looking at the picture the line furthest from my feet is aiming at the target and the line nearest is parallel to it. Now place your club face directly on the target line and set your feet, hips and shoulders square to that line. We are now in position to make a free swing without any unnecessary complications.
Finally, establishing a good tempo is crucial, whether it's your first medal of the year or in the height of summer, when we are playing two or three times a week! Good swings have a metronome type quality and the club loads smoothly to the top of the backswing, then a leisurely change of direction and gradual acceleration through impact to a controlled finish. Ideally no forced or sudden moves or bursts of acceleration at any point.
A great way of establishing a good tempo is to hit some shots with a half swing, so waist high to waist high using a short or medium iron. My other favourite and of many players including Tiger Woods is to hit balls with your feet together. Swinging from such a narrow stance slows our tempo down, as if you swing too hard you are likely to loose your balance. This helps us feel 'centred' as no chance of swaying improves our arm swing which is the basis of a good tempo.
One of the rising stars of world golf is Ludvig Aberg, who last June was ranked 900th in the world and this month is now 10th! His golf swing is a great model for us to copy and I thought you might find the article that I wrote about his swing from last years Ryder Cup interesting. Have a look here.
I hope some of these ideas help you in your early spring golf.
All the best
Barney
Fellow of the PGA