You'll find thousands of golf tutorials on the web claiming "How to... ...like Tiger Woods". I suspect the latter may not be that happy with how his name is abused by every second aspiring golf coach. All the same, there's some really handy tips and instructions available online at no cost - except for your internet data costs off course.One way of quickly finding very helpful golf swing information is to search for 'swingvision' on YouTube.
Attie, a golfing buddy of mine, from the Attie Heunis Says blog, sent me a hyperlink earlier today for a YouTube video titled 'How to swing a golf club like Tiger Woods' (the video follows below). There's that name again! The 9-minute 'VideoJug' video, which does not feature Woods..., is very instructive - even if experts and not-so-expert commentators may argue about some of the finer points therein. The only advice I would add to the video is not to try all of the steps they mention at once, you have to be a genius to process and execute all of that information in the short space of time that a golf swing lasts. By all means follow a string of setup routine steps. But when you get to the actual swing look at one or two pointers per phase - i.e. address (pre-backswing), backswing, downswing, follow through.
My personal pointers / swing routine
I adjust my routine continually to try and address issues in my swing as they arise. This is off course not a perfect science, as any golfer would appreciate. At present my routine and personal pointers are as follows:
- Setup
- I stand a few steps behind the ball in line with the target, which is not necessarily the pin. Then I try to find a closer object (e.g. a leave, knoll of grass) to aim at - which will put my shot, if well executed, on the target line. Then I step up to the ball and align my feet to be parallel to the line between the ball and the closer target object I've just chosen.
- I like executing a practice swing or two before I actually address the ball, it helps me to get a feel for the weight and rhythm of the shot I'm about to play. - Address
- Straight left arm & eyes on the back of the ball.
- Relax, breathe deeply and don't hurry. - Backswing
- I move the club face back on the imaginary extension of the target line, i.e. parallel with my feet, keeping my left arm straight for as long as possible. I do this by rotating my shoulders to a position 90deg to the ball (I don't worry about my hips, they'll follow my shoulders), which means that I'll be looking down at the ball over my left shoulder (I'm right-handed).
- Easy does it, I try not to hurry the back swing.
- Eyes on the back of the ball. - Downswing
- At the top of my backswing I pause briefly to consolidate control and thoughts, I try not to hurry into the downswing.
- In the downswing I keep my eyes on the back of the ball, at least up to the point of impact.
- I try to rotate my body through the swing, which extends into the follow through (personally I focus on rotating my shoulders - although most instruction videos will emphasize rotating from your hips up).
- I endeavour to once again return to the straight left arm position at the point of contact, as I was during the 'address' position above. - Follow through
Strictly speaking you're thinking about your follow through during your downswing, it's impossible to adjust your swing once you get to the follow through itself.
- I endeavour to swing through the ball, i.e. not to hit the ball.
- The club needs to swing through more-or-less on the target line, i.e. not around my body.
- Complete a full swing (aborting halfway up my body is a 'half-swing', which probably either mean that I have 'hit' the ball as opposed to swinging through it or that I've swung around my body).
- Complete the rotation of my shoulders so that they end up 90deg to the target. - Cut yourself some slack!
I'm not a professional, which means that sooner or later I will hook / fade / dovetail a drive. It's no use to punish myself over it. Analyse what went wrong, e.g. I fell backwards after the swing - did I swing around my body? Then make a mental note not to repeat it - even work through a mock / practice swing to address the issue. But very importantly accept that you had a bad swing and that it DOES NOT MEAN that the rest of your game is going to fall apart. Keep your composure, refocus and most importantly relax. The best way for me to sink my game is by stressing up.
