Footwork and Golf

Footwork and Golf

(Lead = Closer to target, Back = Further from target)

Last week, we wrote about making an athletic transition from backswing to throughswing. The quality of your transition will almost always have a direct relation to the quality of your shot. This week, we’ll dive a little deeper, and go over one of the most overlooked aspects of the swing, footwork.

Footwork is often overlooked in golf because it’s difficult to distinguish exactly what is happening. As with any athletic motion, the golf swing begins with the feet. You hear a lot about footwork in other sports; i.e. how Kawhi Leonard plays defense, or how well a cornerback changes direction at the NFL combine, or the way Francisco Lindor goes to his right to field a grounder. Any sport you play, from bowling to tennis to golf, is predicated on footwork.

The feet determine a lot. They influence swing plane, balance, contact, transition, tempo and numerous other aspects. If you can learn to use your feet well, you’re on the path to good golf. You’ll often see kids, when they’re just beginning, move their feet all over the place as the club is throwing them a bit off balance. Rather than trying to work with their swing, it’s best if you can get them to quiet their feet a bit (it’s OK if they want to lift their lead heel off the ground). They’ll begin to learn how to stay in balance and swing the club through the ball naturally.

Although there are a few issues related to footwork, we’ll focus on the one that most golfers have trouble with. Many players, in an attempt to HIT THE BALL HARD, lose their posture through the shot. The hips move towards the ball and invade the space where the arms swing, resulting in bad contact and many times, the dreaded shank.

Loss of posture – the back knee has moved towards the ball and the hips are invading the space.

While most people see this as an issue with the hips (and it’s true that a lack of flexibility can result in a loss of posture), for the most part it’s due to a misunderstanding of how the back foot works.  In our through-swing, the back foot needs to roll inwards, on the instep, then up on the toe. If the back heel simply lifts, our back knee moves towards the ball, and we have to make some sort of compensation with our hands and/or arms to get the sweet spot on the ball. It is not a consistent way to play.

Notice how the hips are back, the arms have room to swing, and the right ankle has rolled inward rather than lifted immediately.

If you’re one of the many golfers who has a loss-of-posture issue, here are a couple drills:

Extremely Closed Stance:

Close your stance drastically by dragging your back toes in line with your left heel (try to keep your shoulders square as best you can). Make some swings, but be sure to keep your right heel on the ground all the way through. If you have a tendency to swing over the top, this will be a very different sensation for you. You now have plenty of space for the arms to swing inside the ball, and it’s impossible to come over the top. You’ll also feel how the club releases past the body. Move your back foot in closer to square, little by little, until you feel the same sensation when your feet are set up parallel to the target.

Closed Stance Drill

Toes Up:

It seems odd that little appendages such as the toes can influence our swing so much, but they do. When we swing hard, our back toes will try to grip the ground for balance (it’s an anatomy thing). This causes the same issue…the back knee kicks in towards the ball and our hips go with it. Try taking some slow swings (50%, or it will be extremely difficult to keep your balance) with your back toes raised up on the inside of your shoe. Keep them there through the entire swing. You’ll see how your back ankle will roll inwards on the through-swing. You now have room for your arms. Progress by just lifting your back big toe, then feel the same sensation with all your toes as normal.

 

Certainly we want to finish up on our back toes, with all our weight on our lead leg in a classic, balanced position. If we try to get there early, however, we’re going to be thrown off balance and lose our posture. Hopefully you can see how improving footwork can make huge differences with the swing. Good luck!

The post Footwork and Golf appeared first on Hart Ranch Golf Course.

Master the Transition

Master the Transition

Over your golfing career, you may have asked yourself why you can’t just start the club at the top of the backswing, set it in a perfect position and swing down through the ball. The truth is, you could, and you may get fairly good at it. You wouldn’t have to worry about a takeaway, swing plane, wrist cock, etc. Just set it there and swing.

Unfortunately, you wouldn’t hit the ball very far. Like any athletic motion, the golf swing is a dynamic and flowing movement that requires a blend and sequencing of various body parts at the correct time.The backswing is how we load power into the swing, the transition maintains that load, and the through swing releases that power into the ball.

Think of throwing a baseball. If we were to stand flat-footed and not use our lower body, just flinging our arm, we wouldn’t be able to throw it very fast or far. Many golfers, for one reason or another, swing the club this way.

Now watch a good pitcher throw a fastball. You’ll see them load their weight on their back foot (backswing), stride towards the plate while their arm moves back (transition) and release the ball (through swing) with tremendous velocity. Good golfers use a very similar movement.

For many of us, this doesn’t come naturally, because it doesn’t feel very powerful. We’re not actually striding in golf, and we feel much stronger when we try to rip the club down from the top with our hands, arms or upper body. Yes, this does make the club move very fast, but it’s at the top of the swing, not at the ball. In fact, the club is decelerating tremendously long before impact, resulting in weak shots, bad contact and inconsistency.

Here’s a drill to try if you suffer from this common affliction. Go to the top of the backswing, moving your left shoulder over your right leg and making sure you can feel pressure in the ground under the inside of your right foot (1). Keeping your arms tension-free and your back to the target, press your left foot into the ground and rotate your hips so your belt buckle is facing the ball again (make sure to keep your upper-body behind the ball, don’t lurch forward). Your arms should have naturally dropped a bit (this is called “the slot” in golf lingo) and you may feel a stretch in your stomach/oblique muscles and/or hips (2). From here, go ahead and swing your arms through the ball into a full, balanced finish (3). Be sure to stop fully after each segment.

This is the sequence we must have to play good golf. Breaking it down into three segments lets us feel the correct movements in order. When you blend these together into a normal swing, the backswing (1) will smoothly move into the transition (2) and finally into the through swing (3). In fact, just before the backswing is completed (right around when the club is vertical in the backswing) we want the transition to begin with our lower body. The club will still be moving back as we start the lower body forward. This stretches our core muscles into a taught position that will release powerfully into the ball. If it helps, you can silently count 1, 2, 3 at each part of the swing when you practice.

This is actually how  that elusive “lag” is created. It happens naturally when our arms and wrists are tension free and we sequence correctly (try throwing a ball with your arm or wrist extremely tense, it won’t work). If you try to create lag by actively holding your wrists in position, the club won’t release and you’ll probably hit a monster push-slice, or flip the club at the last second and hit a hook.

This comes with a caveat…it’s not necessarily easy to do. If you’re just beginning the game, it’s best to focus on fundamentals like grip, aim and posture, and learn to hit the ball in the air consistently. Also, if you have injuries or lack flexibility, it’s going to be difficult to separate your upper and lower body and move them in two different directions at the same time. There are other ways to play golf, but this is how the vast majority of elite players get it done.
Next time you watch a PGA or LPGA Tour event, see if you can spot this sequence. Watch how smoothly they transition from backswing to downswing, with the lower body starting just before the backswing is completed. It’s challenging, and you don’t want to think about it while you play, but if you can master the transition, you’ll start to strike the ball much better. Good luck and happy golfing!

The post Master the Transition appeared first on Hart Ranch Golf Course.

2017 Masters Preview

2017 Masters Preview

Lucky enough to be cruising down Magnolia Lane this year? Me either. Like every other golf fan, however, I will be watching the best weekend the game has to offer. It’s an overdone statement, but The Masters gives us the most unusual tournament in golf. It’s all about tradition and odd customs that don’t exist outside of Augusta National. It looks like the usually vibrant color may be a little dull this year, but not to worry. Holes named after plants, cheap pimento cheese sandwiches and Sunday choke-jobs abound.  Alister Mackenzie’s (great golf name) ghost is sure to haunt a few favorites.   .

Let’s take a look at the contenders, sleepers and those who just don’t have a chance. Augusta is a shot-maker’s course, meaning the contemporary style of learning how to swing really well rather than play golf really well eliminates the chances of a few solid players. That’s why Phil and Bubba have had a lot of success (besides being lefties that can bomb fades). They are extremely creative around the greens and can curve shots into places others can’t. Sergio has the same type of game, but has taken so many mental beatings that unless something has drastically changed, he’s doomed. Of course great putters like Spieth can contend, as every three-footer is a tester and eliminates the chances of trouble putters like Webb Simpson. The forecast now looks clear and sunny with no rain, so let’s see who has a shot:

Favorites –

Dustin Johnson –

If he makes it four straight with a win at Augusta as an exclamation, it’ll be one of the best streaks in golf history, especially in today’s age where winning twice a year is considered a fantastic season. He has the firepower to win anywhere, and if he putts well we could see records fall.

Jason Day –

Something unfortunately always seems to come up for Jason Day. His mother is currently fighting cancer, and he’s been away from the game for a bit as he’s dealt with a difficult family situation. It would be a great story if he won. He has a perfect game for Augusta, hitting high bombs that land like bags of flour on Augusta’s nasty complexes. I don’t always root for him, but might here.

Rory McIlroy –

A shot at the career Grand Slam is once again on the line for Rory. He certainly has the pop and high ball flight to win here, but the putter can be streaky. It will take an awesome personal performance on the greens for him to best everybody, but he can ball-strike Augusta into submission if he’s on.

Jordan Spieth –

The short game gives him an excellent shot, even if he lacks in distance off the tee. He’s a fantastic chipper and putter, and that’s a weapon at Augusta. He’ll have to overcome the mental hurdle of what happened last year, but he’s mentally sturdy enough to do it.

Hideki Matsuyama –

His striking gives him a chance. He’s carrying Japan on his shoulders now, so Sunday will test his mental fortitude if he’s in it. The putter is a question mark, but if he’s rolling it he has as good a chance as anyone.

Henrik Stenson –

He has not fared well at Augusta, but can strike it with anyone. He’ll have to putt like he did in the Open last year, or hope the greens are so difficult it becomes an equalizer. His putter issue is a good segway into our next section…

Maybe?!?!?

Sergio Garcia –

It has to happen sometime doesn’t it? He has some of the best hands of all-time and the ability to shape shots either way, but as always, the putter is a question mark. Saying in 2012 he needed to play for second or third doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence, but the game is there to pull it off.

Patrick Reed –

After a tumultuous ride at Georgia, Reed played college golf at Augusta State. Yes, that Augusta State. He knows the course, he’s brash and he hits a draw as a righty. I took him in our PGA Tour Season Preview, and will do so again. I’ll be wrong.

Justin Rose –

The putter is an issue.

Adam Scott –

See above.

Louis Oosthuizen –

The smoothest swing out there, and he certainly has a chance. He’s just got to put together four rounds. Unfortunately, his weakness is his putter. See a theme here?

Jon Rahm –

This is a wildcard. It’s his debut at Augusta, but he’s playing better than everyone not named Dustin Johnson. Monster high draws off the tee and fantastic form…who knows?

Rickie Fowler –

I will not triple bogey on Sunday….I will not triple bogey on Sunday….I will not triple bogey on Sunday….

Phil Mickelson –

Knows the course too well to miss the cut, right? Will either be in the top three or not play the weekend.

Justin Thomas –

Another wildcard who tends to obliterate easy(ier) courses. Once he takes the next step, it could be off to the races. I like his chances if he starts out well.

No Chance –

Zach Johnson –

Not enough distance here to win without bad weather. You can’t hit hybrids and long irons into greens when others are hitting 8 irons over four days.

Matt Kuchar –

Will probably make the cut, but needs some lucky breaks to flat-out win. He doesn’t have the distance to hang with the contenders.

Bubba Watson –

Distance isn’t an issue, but he’s been weird mentally as of late. He loves Augusta obviously, but he can’t get off to a bad start or he’ll surrender. Not in good form lately.

Tiger Woods –

In my only correct prediction, Tiger Woods will not win because he’s not playing.

Sleepers –

Danny Willett –

No one saw it coming last year. Why not again?

Lee Westwood –

He needs to pound fairways and greens and hope he doesn’t have to rely on the short game. Age may be starting to catch up to him.

Jimmy Walker –

Hits it high enough.

Paul Casey –

Great record at Augusta without winning. Gigantic forearms give him a shot.

Brooks Koepka –

Bomber.

Predictions –

Winner – Patrick Reed

Runner-Up – Rory McIlroy (Hopefully playing against each other in the final group)

Third – Hideki Matsuyama

Fourth – Dustin Johnson

Fifth – Someone We’ve Never Heard Of

Sixth – Sergio Garcia

Seventh – Justin Rose

Eighth- Paul Casey

Ninth – Jhonnatan Vegas

Tenth – Someone Else We’ve Never Heard Of

Fun Facts –

The Masters gave us much of what we know of professional golf tournaments today. It was the first to have 72 holes spread out over four days, the first to be covered nationwide (on radio), the first to use rope galleries, the first to use an on-course scoreboard and the first to use the over/under par system (rather than total shots). It’s by far the best viewing of any major, due to only four one-minute commercial breaks per hour. The food is really cheap for a large-scale event (a pimento cheese sandwich is $1.50).. The total membership at the course is around 300, but it’s virtually impossible to become one. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Condoleeza Rice are members (the initiation fee is only $30,000, however, which is on the low end of big-time country clubs). No one has ever won the par 3 contest and the tournament in the same year.
Augusta is its own little universe. Have a great golf weekend, and enjoy the inevitable Matt Kuchar victory.

The post 2017 Masters Preview appeared first on Hart Ranch Golf Course.