Erik’s Blog: Board Shorts and Business Suits

In trying to become a scratch golfer I have learned that you need to practice body control as much as possible. Since I am not getting payed to do this, have many other goals, and work full time, I am unable to sit on the course or on the driving range working day in and day out on this. Body control is what I call keeping your waist, shoulders, and knees in their respective plane throughout the swing.

A key element to making sure you don’t dip or raise your body out of one of these planes is taking a proper back swing with only body rotation. Doing this will eliminate the need for your body to compensate and get back to a square position at impact from an out of plane rotation on your back swing. Since the swing I am using to become a scratch golfer is a one plane swing I try and just worry about body rotation and letting my arms go along for the ride. Therefore I have begun to use a quick and easy drill to work on my back swing or takeaway and keep all those planes level.

Drill
It’s a very simple drill that you can do anywhere; waiting for an elevator, the bus, grocery line, watching TV, anywhere. You first need to get into the proper golf stance, whatever yours may be. Then, as I have mentioned before, you need to begin your rotation back with just your shoulders, read don’t crash your helicopter for an explanation of proper shoulder turn. While you are rotating your shoulders focus all your energy on keeping your waist pointing straight ahead. If you have a belt buckle it should remain in the same position the whole time. You will begin to feel a strain in your mid to lower back. You may even begin to feel short of breath from the torque that is being built up.

Once you get back as far as you can go stop and hold it for a couple seconds. This will help stretch out those muscles giving you more torque with a greater body rotation. Keep doing this until it become ingrained in your muscles and you can easily repeat it while hitting golf balls. Once on the range your waist will turn slightly but you should do this drill without turning it at all.

You can also add the downswing practice after a while which all I do is straighten my left (forward) leg and my shoulders follow the uncoiling of my lower back and swing through the imaginary ball.

My hope with this drill is to make my swing more repeatable by eliminating all that extra motion in my back swing which makes my body try and adjust on the fly. Last week I had 5 pars on a tough course, Luana Hills, and still shot a 94. I should have easily been under 80, but had a 3 triple bogey holes due to duffs, slices, and fat shots. I also hope this drill will help you in your golfing goals whether its trying to get to scratch or trying to break 100.

Good luck,
Erik