by luther blacklock golf monthly contributing editor,...

INSTRUCTION SWING TECHNIQUEBY Luther Blacklock GOLF MONTHLY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, WITH NICK WRIGHT >»

Power

Restore your Iostp0wer, distance andaccuracy with ray special swing reviev vPHOTOGRAPHY MARK NEWCOMBE AT THE MARQUIS COURSE, WOBURN

88 GOLF MONTHLY APRIL 2001

SWING TECHNIQUE

Just as electricity is useless without the proper wires and circuitry, so the effects of your phys-ical strength, flexibility and power will be greatly reduced if you can't transmit them to thegolf club and, in turn, the ball in an uninhibited and efficient way. You only need to look at

Ernie Els and Davis Love III to see that economy of movement combined with solid fundamentalsare the keys to long drives, while an almost flawless posture and swing plane enable the game'sgreatest powerhouse himself, Tiger Woods, to propel the ball prodigious distances.

You may not be able to trade 300 yards with Tiger, Davis and Ernie, but if you take the timeto refine the key power-generating areas of your swing, you'll soon notice that you strike theball more crisply, authoritatively and further, without any extra effort. Sounds good, eh!

( POWER POINT

Aiming the shafta declaration of your intent!To create maximum power at impact with a driver, your left arm and the club must function as a spoke or a lever. You

will struggle to create power and accuracy if your left arm and the shaft are out of line through the ball.

As you can see here at address (above left), my left arm and the club form a straight line. This allows the rest of

my set-up to slot neatly into place, enabling me to automatically find the correct ball position and connecting the

sweetspot of the clubhead with my torso and legs (above right).

Setting the shaft of the driver at right angles to the target line is also a declaration of your intent to make a

powerful and authoritative swing. If the shaft tilts too far away from the target, you risk pulling or hooking your drives,

while if the shaft is too far ahead of the ball, it's easy to slice and push the ball to the right.

• Correct set-up links sweetspot, torso and legs

• Left arm and clubshaft function as a spoke or lever

• Shaft of driver should be vertical behind the ball

• Setting shaft of driver at right angle to target is a declaration of intent

Power drill

Strong handsstrona drives

Regardless of how flawlessyour technique may be, youwon't fulfil your distancepotential unless you'rephysically strong, too.Your hands and forearmsplay a key role in releasingthe clubhead throughimpact. The more power-fully you can do this whilestaying in full control, thefurther and straighteryou'll hit the ball.

To develop strength inyour hands, try this simpleexercise. Take a heavy clublike a sand wedge and holdit with one hand at thevery end of the grip

. Now workthe club up through yourhand with your fingers andthumb, remembering tokeep your arm outstretched

. Soundssimple until you try it, butbelieve me, it won't be toolong before the muscles inyour fingers and forearmsstart telling you to stop!Repeat the exercise regu-larly until you can raise andlower the club throughyour fingers several times.

APRIL 2001 GOLF MONTHLY 89

SWING TECHNIQUE

Power tip

POWER POINT

How to adopt a true athletic postureIt is a principle of weightlifting that, in order to generate full power and leverage, the spine must be inline and at the correct angle. It's the same in golf. Your spine must be straight so that the body can coilfreely around it, while the angle must be correct to produce the optimum swing plane. Overall, thefeeling should be athletic and well balanced (photo above).

Build your posture around the lie of the club. Because of the longer shaft in a fairway wood or driver,for example, your posture will obviously be a little more upright than when hitting a pitching wedge,when you will need to create more of an angle with your upper body to lower your hands to the grip.

It's also important to remember that your weight should be spread evenly across your feet -between your heels and toes. Setting your weight too much toward your toes can lead to an overlysteep swing, while sitting back on your heels will almost certainly cause you to swing the club toomuch around yourself.

• Spine must be straight for body to coil freely

• Length of club determines angle of the spine

• Tilt forwards from the hips to set spine angle

• Distribute weight evenly between heels and toes

It's easy to apply extra pressure whenyou've got the driver in your hands.One safety precaution you can taketo prevent yourself gripping the clubtoo tightly is to waggle the clubheada couple of times before you startyour swing . If you build thisinto your routine, it will constantlyremind you of your grip pressure,while at the same time giving youa mini-rehearsal of the feelings youwant in your takeaway.

Creating good posture soundssimple, but if you're not usedto the correct feelings it canfeel strange and requirepractice to get right. Standingupright with a club across yourthighs like this , tiltforwards from your hipswhile moving your jAkarms away slowly awayfrom your body at thesame time S^BFor the perfect driver _.posture, you will only needto tilt forwards and moveyour arms away slightly, •:but to simulate the pitching 'wedge posture, for example,you'll need to increase the tiltand move your hands and armsfurther away from your body.


POWER POINT

Coil left shoulder underthroat and avoid the"one-piece" takeawayAssuming your basics at address are good, all that's required to set theclub on a perfect plane during the backswing is to turn your leftshoulder underneath your throat (photo left).

One well-intended piece of advice worth steering clear of is theneed to make a wide, one-piece takeaway. While this is a greatconcept for the first 1 Sin of the backswing, if taken too literally it canhave the effect of locking the arms and elbows and hooding theclubface. Ignite the takeaway with your left shoulder, left arm and theclub firing simultaneously. Assuming that your grip is neutral and thatthere is no tension in your hands and forearms, your wrists shouldhinge freely to a full 90°

However, like any kind of generator, there must be a controlmechanism to harness the power. In the swing, it's your spine angleand right knee.

To enable your shoulders to rotate freely, you must maintain thespine angle you created with your posture at address, and also retainthe flex and resistance in your right knee to anchor.

• Left shoulder Ignites the backswing

• Left shoulder, arm and olubshaft move

simultaneously

• Relaxed wrists will automatically hinge SO0

• Retain spine angle and knee flex throughout

backswing

Power drill 'Axe" swing automatically finds perfect plane*j j

To see how simple it is to achieve theperfect swing plane, stand up and pretendyou're going to chop a tree down with anaxe. Hold the club out in front of you withthe clubhead in line with your sternum

. This is basically a fully

upright version of your address position. Asyou swing the "axe" away, you'll instinc-tively slot the club on to a perfect plane.The clubface rotates 90°, your wrists hingea full 90° and your shoulders turn through

how your sternum, forearms, shoulders andclubhead are all perfectly in line

, as are the clubhead and the ster-num at impact S^B

Simply recreate the very same feelings90°. At the simulated top of your swing, see when you stand over the ball for real.


SWING TECHNIQUE

POWER POINT

Release your forearms fora distance-producing drawAll things being equal, draw spin will always create more distancethan fade spin. For maximum power, the clubhead must release freelyand the right forearm must cross over the left through and beyondimpact. However, this piece of advice must not be misconstrued as alicence to become "wristy" or "flicky" through the ball. The bestanalogy is to imagine the feeling of hitting a forehand topspin winnerdown the line in a tennis match. The motion flows all the way throughyour right shoulder, forearm, hands and legs.

• Draw spin produces more distance than fade spin

n foreh

APRIL 2001 GOLF MONTHLY 93

SWING TECHNIQUE

SUMMARY

POWER POINT

Consistent spine angle is your swing axisTo demonstrate the importance of a stable axis for generating speed and power, imagine an ice skater in a spin.

To rotate freely and quickly, he must do so on the same spot. If the skater continually moves position, he'll lose

balance, speed and stability and eventually topple over. In your swing, the spine angle you create at address is

your axis and, for maximum power, your upper body must rotate freely around it (photos above).

If your spine angle shifts up and down, you'll lose control, speed and distance. Maintaining this angle will

enable you to create more leverage, clubhead speed and a more consistent swing path.

• Consistent; spine angle allows shoulders to rotate freely

• Fixed axis maintains height throughout the swing

• Raising or lowering spine angle will reduce swing speed

Power drillIf your posture and spine angle

are good at address, there's every

chance that you'll maintain those

attributes throughout your swing.

Even so, it still won't do you any

harm to perform this practice

exercise on a regular basis.

Holding a club across your

chest, assume a good posture

with your spine straight and your

earn to turn around your spineknees lightly flexed. As you turn

your left shoulder under your

throat, maintain the same spine

angle and resist the movement

with your right knee

. It should feel very com-

pact. Rehearse the backswing a

few times and then move into the

downswing, maintaining your

spine angle until just past impact.

Putting itall togetherConcentrating on many areas

of your swing at once while

trying to remain sane on the

course is not practical. Work

on the ideas I've suggested in

practice, then distil them into

one workable thought for the

backswing and another for

the downswing. I find "coil:

swish" or "turn: release"

work well for most golfers.

However, you may have a

problem where your right

knee straightens, in which

case "flex: release" may

work better.

Begin to think of yourself

as a shot-maker, not a swing-

maker. If you know the shot

you want to hit, your swing

will instinctively improve to

produce the desired flight and

pattern. The process starts

with visualising the shot

(photos above) and then

setting up accordingly. [cEl


by luther blacklock golf monthly contributing editor,...

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