Footwork!

Original post on 1/25/2017

One of the first fundamentals to learn the golf swing is the proper grip and rightfully so; it is the sole connection to your body and the golf club, you must have a grip within the accepted parameters in order to play golf effectively.

However, even before the grip happens, there is a less talked about fundamental which deserves just as much if not more attention, especially for people who really want to get good. This crucial fundamental is the connection from your body to the earth. Yes Footwork!! First let's define footwork as it is not merely what the feet are doing, but it also encompasses the motion of the ankles, knees and pretty much the whole leg. Most amateurs have the improper footwork. Improper footwork is the one of the first things that should be looked at to diagnose any swing flaws. Not using your feet correctly can lead to swings that are off plane, early extension with the body, casting, inconsistency, lack of balance, and improper body trunk rotation to name a few. Putting it plainly, you're going to suck if your feet don't work right! It's funny how many golf lessons I see online from top instructors try to teach certain movements without addressing how your feet should work when the solution could very much be in the feet! For example, you will find many youtube videos on instructors trying to teach hip depth, shallowing out the club path and keeping the tushline without addressing footwork!! Good luck, never gonna happen!

The Feet roll and everything else glides

In the correct foot action, your feet, ankles roll. This causes your hips to actually do what I call is gliding. When your hips glide you are much more able to get into the "Slot" much more able to get into balance and get into all the positions that the top ball strikers are getting into. I wish I had some reference video links I can point you toward, but in the meantime look at this photo of Kevin Kisner. The best way I can explain it is to imagine a skier skiing down a mountain with their skis parallel carving side to side. This is how your feet and ankles should work. This motion is highly more different that arbitrarily "Shifting your weight the front foot." So, if you really haven't paid any attention to what your feet are doing in the swing, you'll see how much if affects your golf shots' accuracy and power! Do your feet work like this?

I Figured out the Swing and Now it's Gone!

Original post on 2/21/17

Have you ever had a lesson or incorporated a golf tip where you started hitting the ball so great that you thought you figured something out? Then you realize after a couple of days or at best a couple weeks that the swing tip is not helping anymore?

The funny thing is that you know you're not doing anything differently right? But, you can't hit like you did during that one round or practice range session. Why does this happen?

The reason why this happens is because the tips and or fixes that you are working on are what I call superficial fixes (explained in earlier articles). It's like trying to make a car with a flat tire go straight by adjusting its alignment when you really need a new tire! Generally speaking, if the tip you're working on deals with only one part of your body e.g., "keep you head still," "Straighten you left arm," "Keep your right leg still," etc. it is a superficial fix.However, when working on movements on a foundational level,more permanent changes will start to occur.

Instead of getting to the root of the problem on a fundamental level, superficial fixes often create the motion with brute force! This often puts strain on your body and what you get is an awkward and unnatural version of what you think the swing should look like.

When teaching my students the correct swing motions at the foundational level, all the other positions fall that people are trying to get into fall in place a lot more easier. All of a sudden it's not so hard to stop from swaying, or moving your heard; You will find it easier to stay in the correct posture; you will realize that your left arm will tend to get straighter and your balance will improve; You will swing with less effort because you feel more powerful, your swing will look more natural etc.

In conclusion, don't get caught up into golf positions and tips as an end in and of itself. Make sure that the changes you are making incorporate the whole body and not simply a section of it. The only swing fix worth trying is one that will last.

What I learned from Kevin Kisner: Affirmation through a Twitter conversation.

Orignal post on 8/30/2017

Hey everybody! It's been a long while since I've posted on here. I'm always trying to make sure that the things I post are meaningful even though they maybe few and far in between :)

So a little while ago I decided to reach out to Kevin Kisner on twitter. For those of you who don't know, Kevin Kisner is on the PGA tour but was struggling player on the WEB.COM tour a few years prior. He decided he really needed to change things to consistently perform on the PGA tour. He has since teamed up with a swing coach and friend named John Tillery who has helped him to reach the 24th position in the World Golf Rankings and 11th in the FedEx Cup standings at the time of writing this article.

I reached out to Kevin on twitter because I was intrigued by the fact that he attributed so much of his improvement with his work with John Tillery. I found out about John after doing extensive research on "Boditrak." Boditrak is a great swing instrument that measures the Center of Pressure forces in the golf swing. Ground force mapping has been one of the most overlooked parts of the golf swing until recently. I was reaching out to Kevin because I wanted to discuss further the swing tip articles he's written for Golf.com and PGAtour.com. I specifically wanted to address what he was talking about when he said, "Right palm thrusting away from he target." This language was unfamiliar to me and after picking his brain a little more, it was affirmed that my previous notion of that thrusting is analogous to the downward pressure that the right palm and arm should have on the downswing. this motion is in tandem with the force that the left leg and left foot (heel) exert no the ground on the downswing as well.

(look at the tweet response from Kevin above and you'll see he give a drill for this)

What does this mean to the normal golfer trying to improve? It means that the swing works purely downward. The idea that you twist you body back and forth is what has caused centuries of bad instruction and millions of incompetent golfers. To put it another way, imagine a ferris wheel as opposed to a merry-go-round. Imagine the difference in the downward force! The second you think of a golf swing as a merry-go-round you're screwed. Your body has to work purely downward and you will begin to feel what a real golf swing should feel like.