From the mind of Roger Wyatt

Recovering My Golf Swing

I've been revamping my swing for a while now

Ever since I went to a practice round at the Masters in 2008, I have been revamping my swing to improve my distance. I had always been a relatively short hitter, having started playing late in life, but very accurate. However, I reached a point where no amount of improved accuracy would overcome the lack of distance off the tee and with my irons. I was hitting mid and long irons into too many greens which challenged me with getting close to the hole. Very rarely was I hitting wedge or 9-iron into a green. More common for me was 5-7 irons. The only time I hit 9 or wedge was on a par-5 - on my 3rd shot. I had my handicap down to 10 and was pretty happy about that fact considering I only took up the game 2 years earlier.

Ian Poulter Ruined My Golf Game

Okay, not entirely fair to Ian. My wife going on bedrest with my 3rd child ruined my game, but it was a video of Ian's swing that caused me to revamp my own swing. I discovered where Ian and other pro's get their incredible distance with such apparent minimal effort. Ian destroyed my swing by degrees - the angle between his forearm and the club. I put the video of his swing into V1Home and carefully measured the angles at different points in the swing. Then I put my own video in and did the same. I found that while I was accurate, I was not storing up enough energy in the clubhead properly. So I set out to rework my swing to gain more distance while keeping the accuracy.

Something Had To Give

I worked on growing my ability to let my wrists stay flexible throughout the swing. It meant that my forearm strength had to get better. You see, I realized the physics involved meant that the closer the clubhead (the heavy part) could stay to the center of rotation, the more whip I could generate in the club. Looking at my old video, the clubhead was leaving the center of rotation early and it meant that I was working way too hard. In no time, I gained 10yds with every club in my bag - and my swing was getting more and more effortless. That's the funny thing about golf, it's a game of opposites. Swing harder, hit shorter - swing easier, hit farther. I have kept working on it and now I am up to 20+ yds more with each club, but in the ensuing time my accuracy had dropped.

More Video Provided The Answer

I got sloppy in 2 areas - I started swaying my hips (see my 6 rules to hit the ball straight, and I started coming over the top. It was obvious and should have been obvious as my sloppiness increased, but since I was getting 20yds more with an easier swing I didn't really notice. I didn't notice until I looked at my divots. It was clear. So I had work to do. I went back to my 6 rules and added in my new ability to keep my clubhead under control and everything popped into place. My divots are now straight down the line, my distance picked up a few more yards, my accuracy came back, and I still can control the ball flight like I want. I am working on getting the accuracy back with the driver now before I get back to playing.

How Far I have Come

When I was a 10 handicap, I got there by being very accurate with every club in the bag, but I was not a long hitter. It put a lot of pressure on my short game so I had to be good chipping and putting to make par. Well, I also changed my game attitude which resulted in more birdies and less bogeys. I'll write about that later.

Here the chart with the old and new distances.
PW - 100 - 130
9i - 120 - 150
8i - 130 - 157
7i - 140 - 165
6i - 150 - 175
5i - 160 - 185
4i - 170 - 195
3hyrid - 180 - 210

I think I could still stretch the 8i a bit, don't know why it didn't move up more. I'm pleased with the PW and 9i having made the most jump in those clubs - probably because I work with them more. It is nice that I have extended my clubs and have been able to maintain my accuracy. Once I start playing regularly again, we'll see how it affects my handicap. I'm still not super long, but I'm comfortable with the results. It was a long road, but a fun one. The first time I hit 15 balls from 175 with a 6i and had 10 on the green (where I practice has a green to hit to) and I never felt like I was swinging hard was such a revelation. I knew then I was on the right track - I just needed to get it ingrained in my.

... and it's not too bad for a guy who has had 2 lessons and only been playing for 4 years

Six +1 steps to instantly hit straight golf shots

Everybody slices (okay, almost everyone) and hitting the ball straight is one of the most puzzling things to learn. Let me clue you in to the six things you need to do to hit the ball straight instantly. I picked up the game late in life and, being the geek that I am, I became engrossed with the idea of how to learn to hit it straight. I am not the longest hitter by far, but what I lost in distance, I made up for quickly in accuracy and got to a 10 handicap shortly after figuring out these techniques.

There are only six things that are necessary to hit the ball straight

At this point, people usually say (I can't remember six things -- it's too hard). Well, quit whining, once you learn them, they become natural and you don't have to think again. The six things are:

1) Grip
2) Keep the club head low on takeaway
3) Feel tension on the inside of the knee on your back leg
4) Keep the club as far away from your body as possible
5) Rotate your forward butt cheek back to start the downswing
6) Aim to hit the inside, rear quadrant of the ball towards 1st base.

That's it. You see, you really only have to remember 2 things during the critical part of the swing. Let's break it down.

Grip

You need to learn the proper grip. It's been written up everywhere on the web and in magazines so I'm not going to repeat it here.

Keep the clubhead low on takeaway

This prevents you from "picking up the club" which is one of the main causes of the "over the top" motion. Put a tee in the ground behind the ball (about 6-9 inches depending on the club you are using) and knock it over when you taking the club back.

Feel tension on the inside of the knee on your back leg

If your feet are planted and you haven't swayed your hips, you will feel tension on the tendons on the inside of your knee on your back leg (I'm a righty so it's my right leg). If you feel no tension, you probably have swayed your hips and will end up slicing the ball. Tension means that you have rotated your body, not swayed.

Keep the club as far away from your body as possible

As you are winding up you should be feeling as if you are putting the butt of the club as far away from your body as possible. Two things will happen when you do this: you will keep your left (if you're a righty like me) arm straight, and you will be seeing the ball over your shoulder. If you are winding up correctly, you should see the ball over your shoulder.

Rotate your forward butt cheek back to start the downswing

Now that you are wound up, it's time to let it go. It starts from the bottom. If you rotate your butt cheek, a lot of good things will happen. You will not sway forward and you will set up the next move automatically (see, it's really not that difficult).

Aim to hit the inside, rear quadrant of the ball towards 1st base

This is something that people have problems conceptualizing and, to be fair, I read this on one of the golf boards and tried it. It turned out to be the last key I was looking for in my quest to understand the swing. If you picture the ball as you are addressing it with a crosshairs on top, you want to try and hit the inside back corner and hit it towards an imaginary first base. You won't hit it towards 1st base. Because the swing is a circle on an incline, it's easier to think of it this way. Trying to think "hit down the target line" causes you to swing over the top and you end up with a nasty slice. Thinking this way clears your head. You will find your divots are straight down the line.

(Plus one) Release the club

It's important to roll your hands and release the clubhead. This takes practice to get your own rythmn. You want to avoid breaking your wrists, but if you don't release the club you will mishit the ball. I practice by listening to the "whiff" on my practice swings and noticing when the sound shows up. If I hear it after I've passed by the "ball" on my practice swing, then I know I've released late.

That's it!

So, go try it. You will find that it's really easy to hit it straight. Once you can hit straight, then you can work on your distance. You may find that it's harder to add distance and stay in control because your instinct is to swing harder which will cause you to blow your technique. These 6 things are my way to remember my technique. When I screw up, I can tell you exactly what I did wrong.