Retieft Goosen has one of the best rhythms in golf.  Here’s Retief at setup.

At backswing, Retief is right on-plane.  Now, there’s 2 types of planes that 99% of tour pros use.

One plane is the plane formed by the ball to the middle of the shoulder sockets (the top red line) and the other one is the plane formed by the ball to the belly. (the bottom red line)

Retief here uses the 2nd type of plane, which is what David Leadbetter promotes whereas Butch Harmon does the other.

The impotant thing is to keep your plane within the two different types of plane.  Anything higher or lower will make your swing a lot harder to keep up and cause back problems.

Jack Nicklaus probably breaks this swing plane rule but that explains why he needed a ceramic hip replacement.

At the top of the backswing, Retief has a beautiful triangle.  His club is pointing slight to the right of parallel meaning he will probably hit from inside-out and a slight draw.   This can become a problem for Retief if his club starts pointing more right and cause blocks to the right under pressure.

At downswing, Retief is actually a little too “steep”.  This can again cause blocks to the right.  But Retief manages to get back on plane right before impact:

As you can see, Retief is coming in a little too much inside-out.  His shoulders are still inside-out.  He might hit a good 15 yard draw on this drive but again, this type of too much inside-out action will cause blocks to the right.

However, it’s always better to error on the inside-out plane than outside-in plane since you do hit the ball more accurately this way.

After impact, Retieft shows he hit the ball perfectly as his club and right arm are in plane with the ball.

This is the secret.  No matter how bad your backswing is, if you can end up in this position, you will hit the ball very very good like Retief Goosen.

Here’s the video:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Butch Harmon, david leadbetter, hip replacement, jack nicklaus, planes, red line, Retief Goosen, rhythms, right arm, shoulders, sockets, swing analysis, swing plane, triangle Butch Harmon, david leadbetter, hip replacement, jack nicklaus, planes, red line, Retief Goosen, rhythms, right arm, shoulders, sockets, swing analysis, swing plane, triangle If you like this post, please subscribe to the ProGolferDigest via RSS or via E-Mail to receive updates.

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

Adam Baddeley has one of the simplest swings in golf.

As you can see Adam at address, he’s perfectly balanced, ready to go.  I set up the big red line from the clubhead through middle of his shoulder sockets.  (That is important as I will explain later…)

Adam’s new swing is actually a little flatter than most other tour pros but it’s perfectly acceptable position here.  He “rotates” more laterally than the other players, which is part of his swing technique.

At the top of his swing, again, Adam is very flat compared to most other tour pros but he does remind me of Ben Hogan, who swung even flatter than Adam.

The important thing to note is how “well balanced’ he is, he looks like he’s almost just standing tall without the club in his hand. (for the lower body)

At downswing, Adam is perfectly ready to launch the ball with his swing plane slight flatter than the red line from the ball through his shoulder sockets.  This means he’s coming into the slightly inside-out, meaning he will hit a nice powerful draw.

At impact, again, Adam is in perfect balance.  If you watch his spine and lower body only, you can tell how well balanced he is, almost standing normal.

That is the key, you always want to feel like you are simply standing up tall throughout the swing.  It lets your body balance itself automatically.

Now, here’s the secret.  Notice that red line from the ball through the shoulder sockets?  Well his clubs right on it after impact.  This ball probably was hit almost perfectly.

Here’s the video:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

baddeley, Ben Hogan, body balance, clubhead, downswing, perfect-balance, red line, sockets, spine, swing analysis, swing plane, swing technique, swings, tour pros baddeley, Ben Hogan, body balance, clubhead, downswing, perfect-balance, red line, sockets, spine, swing analysis, swing plane, swing technique, swings, tour pros

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

Here’s swing analysis of K. J. Choi, a very good Korean golfer on the PGA Tour.

Here’s his takeaway, Choi breaks his wrists early but the important part is how well he kept his triangle. (the triangle formed by his arms and shoulder)

On his 3/4 backswing, you can see that KJ has fully cocked his wrists and notice how steady his lower body is. That might be secret to his consistency.

At the top of Choi’s swing, you can see a very good lower body balance and he does not overswing, stopping slight before the club reaches parallel point to the surface.  What I like most about his backswing is it looks so stable as if he’s ready to give a nice knock out punch.

Balance is the key on the backswing.  You should be able to be in this position in perfect balance.

On his downswing, Choi dips his head a little too much, which is explanation why he took such a big divot on this 6-iron shot.   Other than that, he does transfer weight well to his left feet and also maintains a very good 90 degree angle between his arms and the club, a must for any A-class golfer.

What you should learn from this position is Choi’s lower body transfer, this is where all his power comes from, the rotation and the weight transfer.

At impact, watch how straight his left arm and the club are together.  This guarantees you to hit the ball very very straight, although KJ is currently working on the power fade.  You will see this position on any pro golfer who wins a lot of tournaments.

Finally, but not least, check out how well KJ extends both of his arms after the ball is hit.  This is another key factor in a good swing.  (Check out the triangle, isn’t it beautiful?  Great golf swings always have triangles everywhere)

Now here’s a video of it in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

body balance, consistency, degree angle, dips, divot, golf swings, great golf, k j choi, K.J. Choi, kj, knock out punch, left arm, left feet, perfect-balance, pga-tour, pro golfer, swing analysis, swing check, triangle, triangles body balance, consistency, degree angle, dips, divot, golf swings, great golf, k j choi, K.J. Choi, kj, knock out punch, left arm, left feet, perfect-balance, pga-tour, pro golfer, swing analysis, swing check, triangle, triangles

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Well, I was just browsing through Youtube today and found this great video of Adam Scott’s knockdown shot.

If you fast foward to the last part where Butch Harmon is standing, that’s how you should hit a knockdown shot.

Really try to play over and over to hear the crisp sound of the ball being hit.  If you listen very carefully, he made almost no divot on the knockdown shot and only the ball.  When you hit the knockdown shot correctly, you should be able to hear the “knock” sound.  It’s the sound that’s made when you “almost” hit it a little thin.

Next time you go on the range, try to see if you can make that “thud” or “knock” sound, that is the secret to great knockdown shots with minimal backspin and drop and hop action.

Adam Scott, backspin, Butch Harmon, crisp sound, divot, knockdown, thud Adam Scott, backspin, Butch Harmon, crisp sound, divot, knockdown, thud

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

Well, one of our readers asked about her 15 year daughter coming down with a serious Golf Flu and asked me how to practice and what kind of program she should follow.

As a person who went through all that, here are my answers:

Lessons, how often and from whom?

For lessons, you need to first find a good teacher.  Try to sought out a local pro who has “experience” in pro tournament play.  It doesn’t have to be the PGA Tour, but the pro you take lessons should at least be able to break par every now and then.  Try to find a pro who gives you a “personalized” lesson, not a “do it this way or you die” type of a pro.

Every golfer has their own perfect swing.  A great teacher will help him/her find that.   There’s no textbook “set way” on how to swing the club.  Pros who condone that are the ones to stay away from.

There are lots of self-claimed “pros” that have no tournament experience and will not get your kid to play well under pressure nor teach well.  DO NOT take lessons from pros who sit on a chair all day.  Try to find someone who is also willing to take your kid out on the course for course strategy lessons.

Are the golf academies worth it?

Golf academies are worthless.  Most golf academies put you with several teachers that will only confuse your junior golfer.  Try to stick with “private” one-on-one lessons and get personalized lessons.  But golf camps are fun for the junior golfers.

How much and how often should you practice?

Your junior golfer should play more often than practice until she can break par.  My recommendation is to practice about 1 hour on the range (a bucket of balls), 1 hour on chipping/putting, and the rest of time on the course.  Always practice your short game as much as your full shots, that’s the key to breaking par.

Is the range a good place to focus before going to the course?

Yes, most pros actually spend about 15-20 minutes warming up on the range before they hit the course.  You definitely need to warm up before playing, otherwise it’s like working out from a cold start.

Equipment?

You don’t need great equipment to start out.  A lot of new golfers buy new golf clubs and never play golf at all.

You can go to Play It Again Sports or buy some used clubs at your local golf shop to begin with.

After your kid breaks 80, you can go buy her/him a “custom-tailored” set matching her height and angles.  But you don’t need this in the beginning unless you have money to throw away.   Besides, nothing can be “custom-tailored” right until your kid breaks at least 80, which is a good sign she has a consistent swing.

Where should a teenager be with the game after a certain period of time?

Well, it depends.  It took me about 4 years before I broke 90. (I was 13…)  Golf is not easy but if your daughter is 15 years old, she will need to break 80 in the next year or two to be competitive.

In all, try to enjoy the game.  Having the goal to have fun will improve her game more than anything.  Trying to be too competitive will only kill her efforts.  Short game is really the key again because short game requires more “feel” and practice than any lessons can give you.  My advice is to practice the short game more than anything on the extra time allotted.

Also, do not burn out your child, let your kid be a normal kid and enjoy life.  There’s no need to practice/play golf all day long.  You need to keep your kid’s desire in check and fresh.  No food taste the same after eating it 100 days in a row, just use your common sense.

I hope that helps and let me know if my advice helped your daughter!

bucket of balls, cold start, Course Strategy, flu, golf academies, golf camps, golf shop, junior golfer, junior golfers, local golf, new golf clubs, pga-tour, short game, sports, strategy lessons, tournament experience bucket of balls, cold start, Course Strategy, flu, golf academies, golf camps, golf shop, junior golfer, junior golfers, local golf, new golf clubs, pga-tour, short game, sports, strategy lessons, tournament experience

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post