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A Simple Tip That Could Easily And Immediately Take Ten Strokes Off Your Game
by Dear Old Dave
A tip from a thirty year Golf Pro that could have you shooting ten shots better by the spring. A Simple Tip That Could Easily And Immediately Take Ten Strokes Off Your Game
Copyright © 2002 by D. A. Bolick (Dear Old Dave) All rights reserved.
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Yeah, I know, you've heard that one before. And I'll bet you've tried a hundred or more of those tips you've read in major golf magazines. And, I'll bet I can guess where all of those stroke shaving tips have gotten you. Confused! There really is hope for you, though. There is!
I've been teaching golf for a tad over thirty years now. I guess you could say I've pretty much heard, tried even seen it all. At least most of it. One conclusion I've come to in all that time, is that there is no magic cure for lack of distance, nor is there one for lack of accuracy. If there was, the game would lose a lot, don't you think? Well, in that bolder than bold headline, though, I made a pretty profound claim. So, I guess I'd better come up with something good, huh?
What could possibly take ten strokes off for, say, a medium to high handicapper?
Something almost none who fall into that group have very much of, usually
..."extension".
Yeah, extension. I know, you expected something a bit more dramatic, didn't you. Well, extension is a pretty dramatic fundamental of a sound and repeatable golf swing. You don't even know what extension is? Never even heard the term in relation to golf? I'm not that surprised. It's something almost every good to great player has a lot of, but it just isn't talked about much. I'll give you an example from another sport that has a technique which is equally as important, but one equally as vague.
I used to teach snow skiing, too. Another misspent youth, you know? And, if asked for one fundamental in skiing that would be relative to extension in golf, in other words, one thing that could greatly accelerate a student's progress on the slopes, but one almost no skier has ever heard of ...that critical fundamental would be ... "angulation". (Dang I hope I spelled that right, it's been a long time since I read anything about it.)
Anyway, maybe you ski, but you've never heard of that concept either. Again, I'm not all that surprised. Both are vitally important techniques to grasp for one to excel at either sport, though. Even given this is a golf article, I am still going to invest a sentence or two of this hallowed space to tell you what angulation is, just in case you do ski.
Angulation is simply leaning your upper body away from the hill. The steeper the slope, the more you need to cant your knees into the hill with your upper body leaning away, over your downhill ski, to hold a good edge. And, when a quick turn on a steep slope is necessary to control your speed, angulation (in this case, leaning your upper body over your turning ski) is essential.
Okay enough about skiing. I hope I've really gotten your golf curiosity up by now.
Okay, extension. What is it, and how the heck do I do it? Well, first of all, let me just say that, not only will better extension help you to hit the ball farther and straighter, it will help your short game immeasurably.
Actually, you can measure it, by how many index points it takes off your handicap over the next year. And, when I use the term better extension, am I insinuating that you already have some extension? Yes, you do. Probably not enough, though to really excel at ball striking.
Enough with the tease.
One way to describe extension is this: the length of your swing arc as the club goes through the hitting area and toward the target after the ball has been struck. Good extension also applies to the takeaway, however. For illustration purposes, we'll assume you are a right handed golfer. As you start your takeaway, if you keep the club low to the ground for the first twelve inches or so, you will increase your extension. Then, if your left shoulder is turning back with the club, and your left arm stays relatively straight, you are increasing your extension. Your biggest possible (correct) extension away from the ball, therefore, would be when your left arm is straight but not rigid at the time it reaches parallel to the ground (waist high on your backswing) and your left shoulder is turned back at least over your right knee on the horizontal plane.
Too complicated? Okay. On your backswing, keep the club low for at least twelve to fifteen inches and make sure your shoulder is at least vertically over your right knee. Do it with a half back swing to get the feel. Just let your left arm reach a point of nine o'clock, parallel to the ground. Look to see if your left shoulder is over your right knee. Make sure your right knee stays vertically over your right foot. (Don't let your weight get onto the outside of your right foot. This is bad.)
Excellent! You did it. You achieved almost maximum extension. Now you are on track to make a swing that has a big enough arc to generate a lot of club head speed. From this position, swing slowly back to where the ball would be and down your imaginary target line until your right arm is extended to its fullest at waist high on the target side. Your right shoulder should be over your left knee and your club pointed exactly at your target. This is a mirror image of what you just did on your back swing.
Now notice what has happened. Without your even thinking about it, you have made almost a full golf swing. Most of the rest of it is from the momentum of this action in each direction. Your shoulders have rotated to their fullest. Your torso and hips have rotated the proper amount right along with your shoulders. And, you have generated a really big swing arc.
Practice this on your carpet. Do it slowly and consciously the first few times so as not to take any divots out of a place that will be really hard to explain to your spouse. Get that feeling of controlled reaching with your left arm on your backswing, (your right elbow should be bent slightly and close to your left elbow) and with your right arm on your forward swing (your left elbow should be bent slightly and close to your left elbow). You should be making what feels like about a half of a swing. Make sure your shoulders extend also. Your left shoulder over your right hip on the half backswing, and right shoulder over your left hip on your half follow through.
When you take this to the driving range, finally, make half shots only the first day with your shorter irons, say the six through the sand wedge. I promise you these half shots will be worth your time.
First of all, you will begin to feel what it is like to "trap" the ball against the ground. This trapping motion will cause the ball to roll up the clubface slightly after impact, producing the much coveted back spin. This trapping action will also pop the ball into the air on a trajectory that the really smart engineer who designed your clubs intended. With a full swing, this trapping action will produce backspin that will hold the ball in the air longer, (more distance, perhaps a lot more) and will make it stop quicker when it reaches its destination.
As you extend your arms through impact, the club will travel toward the target longer, producing straighter shots. If you have even reasonable athletic ability, you will soon be hearing that coveted "click" the hidden TV microphones pick up at Professional Tour Events. You'll also see the ball "rocket" off the club head and be gone so fast you hardly even feel the impact. Even if you aren't blessed with well-toned muscles and world class "timing", you will still get to this point with a reasonable amount of practice. You just have to stick with it long enough for everything to "click".
You will readily understand how this extension increasing exercise will help your long game. But, how is this going to help your short game? You will now be controlling the ball, rather than letting the ball control you.
Every shot will have consistent spin. With a bit of practice from different distances, you will see how loft and length of swing can control the ball, and stop it quickly when you need it to. Also, better extension will keep you from breaking your wrists too early, in an unconscious effort to get the ball in the air. This scooping action is the major cause of tops and fat shots around the green, also loss of distance on longer swings.
You'll also learn how to hit your wedges predictable, varying distances by controlling the length and extension of your swing. Practice these half shots until you master them. The extension will translate to your longer swings, you'll be a hundred times better wind player, and you will be able to "control" your shots. It works, friends, Dear Old Dave guarantees it.
Dear Old Dave Is The President of A-D Trading Publishers And Marketers. He Is Also A Webmaster, Author, PGA Golf Professional, Gourmet Cook, Retailer, Wholesaler And A Very Serious Student of Internet And Conventional Marketing. Business Opportunities And Free Newsletter at http://www.marketbetter.com
About the Author
Dear Old Dave, President, A-D Trading Publishers and Marketers, adtrading@marketbetter.com Dave has owned or operated more than ten Retail, Wholesale and Golf-Related businesses, and has studied every aspect of successful marketing for more than thirty years now. He is a PGA Golf Professional, Author, Web Master, Wine Connoisseur, Gourmet Cook, former Snow Skiing Instructor and Editor of the free newsletter "Small Business Owners Unite!". Sign up at http://www.marketbetter.com D-O-D's other informational web sites include: http://www.reprint-gold.com http://www.dearolddave.com http://www.dodsgoldengoose.com
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