2023 June

This is the third in a Series of simple adjustments that you should explore to improve your game. Your swing thoughts need to be embedded deep in your brain so that you don’t hash them out every time you setup for your next shot. Own your unique setup for each of your clubs to create a consistent swing and consistent results.

Your setup and takeaway timing is extremely critical for the success of your swing. After you stand behind your ball and choose your target line, pick a point in the grass within 3 feet from your ball. From that point forward you can isolate yourself within your own CUBE like Wyndham Clark at the 2023 US Open . Learn to believe in the success of the shot that you are about to make. If you complete the perfect setup and proper swing with the right club you can only expect excellence.

Easier said than done. Clark did it, almost to perfection but it was good enough to beat the best in the golf world. You have made perfect shots to the perfect location so why can’t you do this every time? It just takes a little focus on what works best for your strength, flexibility and mental attitude.

The perfect setup stance: An athletic stance with a bend at your hips, a straight back & neck and a limited bend of your knees with the right spread of your feet (unique for each club). Right-handed golfers should add a clockwise rotation for your leading and trailing elbows to simplify shallowing your club in your backswing. It’s up to you to choose the pro who you want to emulate for the power that you want to generate.

The right grip for each club is a light grip which is nesting across the base of your fingers. This allows your driver and iron swings to release fully through impact. Your putter grip should be a preference for each golfer, but you can’t afford to be guiding your putt with your wrists and fingers. Swing your putter by using your spine to rotate your shoulders.

Don’t stretch out to reach your ball: In your athletic stance you are bending at your hips. Let you hand hang directly down to the grip on your club. If you stretch your arms out during your setup you will typically slice more shots off the end of your club face. Bryson DeChambeau sets up reaching his arms out for his ball to swing like a robot but he seems to be losing control of his shot direction .[Not a great example to follow.] Adjust your hip bend based on the length of your club and use your practice swing to build mental confidence that you will impact your ball correctly.

You have no excuse to mess-up your setup. Emulate the setup by Ernie Els and Adam Scott. Do it slowly and deliberately to find your comfort position before you make your practice swing and then move forward to your ball. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to get the feeling right for every swing with each of your clubs. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

This is the second in a Series of simple adjustments that you should explore to improve your game. Your swing thoughts need to be embedded deep in your brain so that you don’t need to hash them out every time you setup for your next shot. Rolling your elbows in your setup will add power and direction control for every shot.

I was surprised to see that Martin Chuck and Danny Maude released blogs a few weeks ago recommending that you should setup by rolling an elbows clockwise (for right handed golfers).
–Martin Chuck recommended: “How to Aim Your Elbow to Maximize Your Consistency and Accuracy.” His blog referred to a setup by rolling your LEADING arm elbow.
-Danny Maude recommended: “Aways Start with Your Right Arm in this Position for Consistency, Accuracy, and Distance.” His blog referred to a setup by rolling your TRAILING arm elbow.
It really was surprising to see both of these trainers recommending unique elbow setups (one for your leading arm and the other for your trailing arm). Of course, I had to test these setups before releasing this blog. I really did find surprising results.

Understanding Elbow Rotation
You can try this with or without a golf club in your hands. Extend your arms and hold your hands together as if you are gripping a golf club. Without rotating your hands (for right hand golfers) you will find that you can rotate your left elbow clockwise so that it will line up to point in the direction of your target (up the fairway). You can also rotate your right elbow clockwise so that the crease at your elbow faces upward (as it normally does with a strong grip).

Observations Watching the US OPEN and on the golf course
Pros in the US Open and lower handicap golfers automatically line up their leading arm elbow in the clockwise rotated direction (with their elbow pointing up the fairway). Weaker golfers typically setup with the crease on both elbows pointing inward.

I tried drives with all 3 combinations: (leading elbow rotated, trailing elbow rotated and both elbows rotated clockwise). After I got over the tension in my arms (caused by the forced rotation), I was able to make very consistent drives as long as I released with an inside to outside swing to create a nice draw. [You may find a different result but I am recommending that you test this out on your game.] Leading elbow rotation helps my swing to shallow the club in my backswing and trailing elbow rotation delivers a much stronger release up the inside slot.

Both of these clockwise elbow rotations (for right-handed golfers and the opposite for left handed golfers) will improve your consistency for direction control and more distance. I love these recommendations but realize that I need to ingrain my elbow rotation into my setup routine. Practice with GOLFSTR+ as I know that the leading elbow rotation really helps me swing with a straight leading arm. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

This is the first in a Series of simple adjustments that you may want to try to improve your game. Your swing thoughts need to be embedded deep in your brain so that you don’t need to hash them out every time you setup for your next shot. Setting up to shape your shot is the easiest way to hit more fairways and greens.

It really is frustrating when your ball does not head where you thought you were aiming your shot. Minor changes in your setup and swing make all the difference. Your line up, your posture and bad thoughts from your last shot will all affect your next shot. You can’t afford to stand over your ball thinking about your last miss-hit. You need a positive plan to make your next CONFIDENT swing or putt exactly where you plan.

Learn to Shape your Shot
Don’t expect to hit every drive or fairway shot exactly straight at you target. Very few of your shots every fly in a straight line. To add more control to every one of your shots over 100 yards you should be setting up for a slight draw or fade depending on your normal swing. Your launch direction is based on the face of your club at the point of impact and your ball flight will create its curving path based on the side and/or top and undercut rotation of your ball.

A higher percentage of pros tend to add draw for their shots to gain distance and you should too. Practice creating a draw for most of your shots. Setup with a very slightly closed club face and execute your swing with a shallow inside to outside swing across your target line. If this is not creating a draw, then test your swing with a slightly closed stance (moving your trailing foot back an inch from your target line) and/or a slightly stronger grip by rotating your trailing hand back (pointing the V from your thumb to your first finger to the right of you trailing arm pit).

Every golfer has different strengths in their physical body rotation so you should use a trial and error approach at the driving range to figure out if you need to add a closed stance or stronger grip change to add draw to most of your swings.

Golf is a game of physical science. Every human body has a different makeup of strength depending on your physical activity and injuries which you have sustained throughout your life. Make slight adjustments to determine what works best for your body and game. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to control every swing in your game. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Don’t you wonder why you are more likely to top a ball when you are trying to hit your longest distance with any of your clubs. It’s that ticking time bomb in your head. It’s caused by your state of mind that triggers a chain reaction in your mind and body to overpower your transition at the top of your swing. You need a remedy to break that STUPID habit.

Pros Have the Same Problems
What happened to Rory McIlroy in the 2023 Masters? He missed the cut and it must have been caused by the pressure and emotion to win! The opposite must have happened to Jason Day’s victory in the Byron Nelson after 5 years without a win. It’s not the phase of the moon or just wearing lucky copper infused socks. Calm, controlled emotion must have a lot to do with your success on any given day when you are playing golf.

What is Your Primary Mishit?
The slope of the ground where you are standing has a lot to do with your mishits but first your need to understand what causes your mishits on the flat surface of the tee or fairway. It’s rare that TV cameras will show us the mishits for the pros but they do happen. We should be more concerned with the typical mishit for Weekend Warriors. I have played with hundreds of different golfers so I suspect that you will agree that fat and thin shots are the most prevalent mistakes for mid-handicappers. But thin hits or topped balls are by far the most common mishits for most golfers.

Problems Causing your Topped Ball Mishits
We all have to agree that emotion and personal pressure to hit longer or better shots are the primary causes for our mishits. These are the causes:
1/ Swaying back in the backswing and then rushing your arms during the downswing are the primary cause for bottoming out our swing arc before the ball and then topping the ball as your club arcs upward.
2/ Tensing our shoulder and arm muscles reduces the length of our swing arc. You may be lifting your shoulders or bending your leading arm to shorten your swing arc (as compared to the distance when you setup for your hit.)
3/ “Early Extension” refers to the way you stand up taller just before your impact with the ball. During impact, you need to keep your shoulders down on the same plane as when you setup.
4/ Transition Yip: You can’t afford to rush the transition because it will make your arms get out of sync with your body as you start to shift your weight to your leading foot. The harder you try to swing the worse this problem get. Just relax the transition.

Solution: We all need to create a comfortable rhythm to add wrist lag at the top and to hold that lag as we transition into our downswing. I now think the words “bow annnd go” to add cadence to my backswing. Saying “bow” reminds me to bow my leading wrist (for drives) or fatten my leading wrist (for fairway woods and irons), saying “annnd” as I cock my wrists for lag at the top and “go” as I bump my hip forward to start my down swing.

Create your rhythm at the top to help you relax your swing. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for all of your swings. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com