Andrew Rice Golf

Posts Tagged ‘impact position’

A Square Face at the Top

It is important to understand that the angle of the clubface will influence a golfers’ ability to get into a proper impact position. Athletic instinct will always compensate in order to position the face squarely (or as squarely as possible!) at contact. Thus, a square clubface will allow any golfer to naturally assume a world class impact!

There are three good check points that occur prior to impact to observe the position of the clubface.  As these check points get closer to impact they tend to have a greater effect not only on the impact position, but also the outcome of the shot. Here they are:

Going up:

An Open Face

- Here the face is looking more towards the sky than is optimal

Ideally the clubface should be vertical to slightly tilted down here with the clubhead covering the hands.

A Closed Face

- In this situation the clubhead has lagged a little behind the hands and arms with a slight “draggy” start to the swing

-The arms are moving in and close to the body as the handle stays inside the clubhead

At the top of the backswing:

An Open Face at the Top

- Also notice the cupping in the back of the left wrist

A Closed Face at the Top

- The left wrist position is quite flat and may even become bowed

Coming down:

Open Face Approaching Impact

- The weight will invariably stay back as the golfer tries to position the body to aid in squaring the face

Closed Face Approaching Impact

-There must be a loss of body angles through the hit in an attempt to deter the face from flipping closed

-Practice hitting high, cut up 8-iron shots that travel 50 yards to overcome this fault

Here are two important tidbits to remember when it comes to your clubface:  The grip is the primary determinant of clubface angle and a Swingyde (mention keyword RICE for a discount) is the best teaching aid to improve your clubface.

Swingyde

Additional articles regarding the clubface:

After listening to a golf commentator indicate that Ian Poulter’s back leg was way too straight this week I just about fell out my chair. Did he not notice that Poulter was in the process of picking up his inaugural US win and $1.5 million! Two weeks ago I heard similar comments about Dustin Johnson and his arm and wrist position at the top of the backswing. Perhaps they did not notice that he happened to win his 3rd event as an under 25 golfer.

Sam Snead at the Top

What would most golf instructors do with the swing of Sam Snead?

As a golf community we get so caught up in the “correct way” to swing that we lose sight of what is the correct way to hit. All that seems to matter to us is the look of the swing and golf’s greatest champions are proof that looks have nothing to do with results. (Just like in life actually!) Function will always trump form and substance always wins out over style! Let’s start to focus on what makes the golf ball go and get to work on that. There are many elements in the golf swing that are negotiable, like straightening the back leg, or lifting the left heel – just look at Sam Snead above. The key is being able to know which elements are non-negotiable, which are the key parts to the swing where the laws of physics must be obeyed. They all happen to occur in and around impact. Here are the most important ones:

• Get the weight onto the front foot (80+%) at impact.
• Keep the head over or just behind the ball at impact. This means that the weight shift onto the front foot must occur by driving/shifting the hips and mid-section towards the target. This move leads to what I call body curve.
• If the body is positioned correctly, the hands will lead the clubhead into the hit creating a downward blow.

For more information like this please visit www.itsallaboutimpact.com

There are many ways to swing a golf club, but only one way to hit a golf ball correctly.

The whole idea behind my philosophy is the above statement.  When looking at the top players of all time, there are no two golfers that swing the club the same way, however they all manage to impact and strike the ball in a similar fashion.  How is it possible that Lee Trevino, Ray Floyd and Nancy Lopez can make the ball get to the target the same way that Ben Hogan, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods do?  The only answer can be impact.  A position where the weight is well on the front foot, the handle leads the clubhead into the ball (with irons) while the head remains over or slightly behind the ball.

Today I will identify a few key factors that facilitate a sound impact position.  Swing the club any way you want, but obey these few simple points, because the vast majority of the greatest golfers follow them. (Sounds like a good idea to me!)

Grip:

A Slightly Strong Grip

Almost every champion golfer has a grip that favors the strong end of the spectrum vs. the weaker side.  I can only find one legendary golfer that utilized a weak grip and that would be Ben Hogan – all the others were strong, with a few being neutral.  A strong grip encourages the hands to lead the clubhead into the strike – an integral part of a proper strike on the ball.

Set-Up:

The Set-Up

At address it is important for the head to be centered between the feet.  This will leave the spine relatively verticle and the shoulders fairly level.  Stance width should favor narrow over wide and the ball should never be too far forward.  Keep in mind this set-up is in place to allow the golfer to get into a proper impact position as simply as possible.

The Pivot:

There are two important points to note in the pivot motion: the plane upon which the shoulders pivot and whether or not the body stays within the 84 degree line.  The plus here is that the better the shoulder pivot, the less likely the body is to move laterally and get across the 84 degree line.

In the shoulder pivot, the lead shoulder must move down and then across vs. simply turning across and behind the ball. Notice how Nick Price’s right forearm is above his left halfway back. This is due to the fact that his shoulder have pivoted on the correct, steeper plane.

The 84 Degree Line

As the body winds to the top and just before transition begins, the back side of the body should be flush up against the 84 degree line.  This loads the energy in the swing efficiently and prepares the body to glide effortlessly into a sound impact position.  If you do happen to break the line with your hips or upper body here, you will be challenged to get to the proper impact position.

Notice how all of the above factors are in place to facilitate the body being able to get to impact in an efficient manner.  This is the secret to all of golf’s greatest players’ swings: they all had different swings, but everything they did allowed them to get into the proper position to deliver the club onto the ball correctly.  You would do well to incorporate a few of these elements into your swing.

I received the above information in an email earlier this week and thought it was too good not to share! I think that it beautifully illustrates the way the weight and feet should work throughout the golf swing.

Let’s take a look at each slide and the corresponding position of Lee Westwood.

• Address: I like the way the weight is evenly spread here. The head should be centered between the feet and if this is the case the foot pressure will be matching and thus correct.
• Takeaway: It is interesting to note that there is not a tremendous amount of shift here – notice how the right shoe only has one segment that is absorbing more pressure than the left foot.
• Top Position: While the right foot is clearly under more pressure than the left this is due to the coiling and wind up of the body vs. a huge weight shift or slide. Remember there should be no (or very little) lateral motion as you pivot to the top of the backswing. In fact, if you looked at Ben Hogan’s feet when his club reached the ‘top’ he would clearly have more pressure on the left foot due to his very dynamic swing.
• Impact: What I love about this illustration is how impact only has two more pressure points than the follow through! The weight is clearly on the front foot – just as it should be.
• Follow Through: The weight is all the way up on the front foot, but not significantly more than where it was at address.

An important factor in getting the body into position for a great impact is the manner in which the shoulders pivot.  Far too many golfers are trying to turn too much and get their lead shoulder behind the ball.

When the left arm is parallel to the ground (for a right hander), the right forearm is always slightly above it (when viewing from an image captured at waist height). I found this to be true for all of golf’s best.  In some cases the right arm is against the side (Hogan, Snead) and in others it is away from the side (Nicklaus, Norman), yet due to the method in which the shoulders were pivoted, the right was always above the left.

 It is vital for the shoulders to pivot on a relatively steep plane. 

Notice Nick Price’s right forearm and how it is comfortably above the left. This is all accomplished by pivoting the shoulders on a fairly steep plane. The higher the right shoulder, the higher the right forearm and so on…

In a correct pivot, the left shoulder’s first move is down and then slightly across. This is in direct contrast to what most golfers attempt to do with their shoulders, which is:

a. turn them as much as they can and

b. get the left shoulder behind the ball.

 Very seldom do any of the top golfers get their lead shoulder very far behind the ball (notice Price’s lead shoulder!) when pivoting into the backswing (with an iron); an interesting observation when considering the fact that there should be little to no lateral movement with the head and upper body. 

 A point of interest: the best ball strikers tend to move off the ball very, very little (Faldo, Price, Hogan), and the golfers who relied more on heart and amazing short-game ability (Player, Ballesteros) tend to move off the ball slightly.

The fact that there is little to no lateral movement with the upper body seems to encourage the shoulders to work on that steeper plane.

You can also have tremendous success when you give golf betting a swing. Your new found swing can turn into extra money for more time on the course.