February 2012 Golf Pro Tip

Restrict your swing, free your potential
by Stephen Vedder, Silver Sage Golf Professional

It is no secret, that the game of golf often seems to make no sense at all to the avid player.  It is a game of opposites, and many times doing what makes good sense to fix a problem only makes it worse.  Slicing the ball way right?  Aim further left…correct?  Wrong!  That will only result in a bigger slice.  To fix a slice you must square up your stance, essentially aiming further right.  Huh?  It is true.  What about distance?  If you want to hit the ball farther, you must swing longer and harder… right?  Wrong!  Believe it or not, the reason most people do not live up to their distance potential is over swinging.  By trying to get the most out of your swing, you can often get out of position, lose speed and power.  I will never ask someone to swing softer—that reduces speed and often causes players to decelerate, making the ball go all over the place.  Swing as hard as you want.  However, tighten your turn and create a compact, efficient move through the ball.  This swing thought is amazing for improving both distance and direction:  “Keep your chest pointing at the ball throughout your swing.”  This fixes many common swing faults that cause poor contact and kill speed like lifting and dipping, casting, swaying, and spinning out.  How is this done?  Simple.  Try to keep your chest still as you take the club back with your arms and shoulders.  This will limit your backswing and keep the club in front of your body.  When you approach the top of the swing your chest will release slightly but will still be pointing in the general direction of the ball.  You should feel definite tension at the top of the swing, like you could not hold that position for more than a few seconds comfortably.  To begin the down-swing, drop your arms down in front of you, again trying to keep your chest pointing at the ball.  All that built up tension will release through the ball, and you will wind up at a full finish.  Tour pros talk about this move all the time.  They call it “staying on top of the ball,” or “covering the ball,” and nearly all of them do it…the ones that win anyway.  If you really work on this move and keep your chest still, you will not believe the rewards.