Putting With The Arms

Dear Seth,

The No B.S. Golf Newsletter

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Golf Potpourri
By
Mac Stevenson

During Winter Play Focus on Balance

With the onslaught of cold Canadian air making golf more
challenging than normal, it's important to focus on just
one or two swing thoughts. Keeping your head and lower
body steady are two key thoughts that will help you play
decent winter golf.

There's a fundamental innovation of the golf swing that is
relatively new; that's the concept of keeping the lower
body (from the waist down) almost perfectly still
throughout the swing. Don't become obsessive about staying
firm--it isn't possible to swing a golf club without some
weight shift. But this is a good idea for mature players
who don't have the coordination and balance of their
younger days.

One of the most important and least emphasized fundamentals
of the golf swing is good balance. Keeping a steady
balance throughout the swing is much easier to talk about
than it is to achieve. And making sure that you hold your
head as steady as possible aids in your overall balance.

The proper stance and set up before you start your
backswing is vital; you should have your knees flexed
slightly and bend at the waist. And make sure your weight
is evenly distributed on both feet and keep your behind in
a position like you're about to sit down. If your weight
is too far forward--on your toes--when you begin your
backswing, you'll never recover the balance that you need
to hit solid shots.

During warm up before you tee off, swing the club slowly
and concentrate on maintaining the best balance that you
can. Then, as you gradually increase the tempo, focus on
maintaining your balance as steady as possible.

By keeping your balance as even as possible during the
swing, you will improve the tempo of your swing without
thinking about it. The swing has to be smooth in order to
maintain an even weight distribution. In other words, it
will enhance your swing tempo when you're thinking only of
balance.

On all full shots, keep your left foot solidly planted on
the ground. Don't raise your left heel like pros used to
teach; you'll get the weight shift you need without raising
your left heel. And focus on not allowing your weight to
shift laterally (swaying) to the outside of your back leg.
Keep your weight on the inside of both legs and don't allow
yourself to sway.

If your natural swing speed becomes too fast on any shot,
you'll lose your balance and mishit the shot. Everyone has
a natural tempo; you have to learn how to maintain your
balance and stay within your inherent swing speed.

It's important to keep your balance from the waist down on
tee shots with the driver. If you sway (let your weight
get to the outside of your back leg), you'll lose balance
and power on your drives.

On full iron shots, swaying is a periodic problem for
golfers of all skill levels. It's imperative to keep a
solid, balanced lower body on full iron shots; if you lose
your balance, you will either hit behind the ball or hit it
thin. A steady and smooth and slight weight shift will
enable you to hit your full iron shots solid and that's
where power and accuracy come from.

A firm base and controlled balance is just as important--or
more so--on short shots as it is on full shots. Everyone
thinks it's simple to keep a steady stance on chip- and
pitch shots. Not so. On short pitches and chips, you
should sense a very slight rocking motion in your legs and
feet, but very solid balance of your lower body throughout
the shot. If you sway at all, your head will move and
you'll hit the shot thin or fat.

These same fundamentals apply to putting. Contrary to
popular belief, it's easy to get stroke-destroying body
movement on your putts. And that's fatal. Watch the pros
on TV when they putt; their lower bodies are absolutely
anchored during the putting stroke. Nothing should move
from the waist down while you're putting. If you have body
movement, your balance will be off and it will be
impossible to have a smooth putting stroke.

Practice finishing your full swing with your weight
perfectly balanced on your left foot and leg at the
completion of the shot. When you're having trouble with
your game, check lower-body balance on all shots. It's
very easy to allow unwanted movement that causes poor
balance during full- or short shots, and often you aren't
aware that you're doing it.

Working on a coordinated swing balance will improve your
game on all shots. Good balance leads to good shots.

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Richard's Quick Tip

Putting with the Arms

Over the years I have spent a lot of time working on my
putting and, as a result, I have some definite ideas on the
subject based on what works best for me.

I use the same grip as for the other shots. I advocate a
very wide stance. It sets up a firmer foundation. With a
narrow stance, there's a tendency to sway off the ball.

The less you break your wrists, the less margin there is
for error. I try to hit the putt rather than stroke it. I
play the ball just slightly forward of center--an inch or
two forward.

As the illustrations below show, I stand with my left elbow
well out and riding very high. My right elbow is kept close
in to my right side; in that position it helpfully
restricts me from taking the putter back too far. I start
my stroke by pushing the left elbow back. This key movement
of the elbow I can best describe by saying that the elbow
moves the way it would if some imaginary hand were pushing
it back.

I use this method because I feel that I can take the elbow
(and the putter head) back on a very straight line from the
ball. On the forward part of the putting stroke, I try to
return the putter head to the same position it had at
address.
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Quote:
"People who consider themselves victims of their
circumstances will always remain victims unless
they develop a greater vision for their lives."
Stedman Graham Speaker, Author and Educator

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Watch for our Christmas Special coming real soon!!

Until next time, good golfing!

Richard C Myers

http://www.thinkandreachpar.com/
www.golfforleftys.com
http://www.totalgolfdvd.com/
http://www.ourdreamrv.com/

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