Golf swing secrets

It’s no secret. I’m a golf nerd. I love all things golf, but I particularly love finding ways to play better.

In this edition of Finding the Tips, several YouTube golf instructors offer “secret moves” designed to improve our ball striking and increase our distance.

Ok, so YouTube creators need to get people to watch their videos. To do that they create thumbnails and titles that are designed to attract our attention. Sometimes the titles promise more than the content delivers, making them click bait.

But that’s why I’m here. I review the videos and make recommendations to you on what I think will really work and help us.

So sit back and enjoy this week’s offerings. And I’ll include a link to all the videos I reviewed so you can see if you agree with my selections.

In this issue

• The holy grail bends in the golf swing

• La Dance du Golf

• Five driver swing killers

• This week’s playlist

The holy grail bends in the golf swing

Michael Breed is a long time video instructor, both on YouTube and The Golf Channel. When he speaks I tend to pay attention.

In this video, he identifies key angles that must be maintained in the swing. To do this he explains that when we take our golf posture, as we address the ball, our lead shoulder is at a certain height from the ground. For Breed, that’s about 56 inches. He needs to maintain that height through impact to hit the ball solidly. Too high and he thins it. Too low and he hits it fat.

He also explains forward bend (moving the chest nearer the ball as we address the ball) and side bend. On the backswing we maintain our forward bend and introduce some lead-side side bend. On the downswing, we continue to maintain the forward bend and we introduce trail-side side bend. That’s one of the two vital angles.

To ensure solid contact, the elbow bend in the trail arm must be maintained until just after impact.

Maintaining downswing side bend and keeping the lead elbow bent until after impact delivers crisp contact and more distance. You will also hit the ball higher.

Breed demonstrates with an iron but it’s applicable to hybrids and woods, as well.

La Dance du Golf

How many times have we heard about the importance of the trail elbow in the golf swing? This can lead us to try to reach certain positions in our swings, both on the way back and on the way down and through the ball. But this can cause tension and stiffness in the swing, resulting in poor contact and lost distance.

The folks at Easiest Swing want us to swing naturally and let our innate athleticism take over. To do that, they suggest we practice what they call “La Dance du Golf.”

This simple drill gets our bodies moving forward and back with a natural, athletic flow. And it’s very simple.

Just stand up with your feet about shoulder width apart. Let your upper arms and elbows stay connected to the sides of your body, Bend your elbows and extend your hands so your fingers are pointing forward. Then put an iron club on top of your hands and hold it in place under your thumbs. See the video for a clear demonstration,

Then just turn your body back and forth, feeling the rhythm and the weight shift as your turn your body. Feel how natural it seems. This is your swing.

Now grip the club and address the ball. Keep your wrists and shoulders loose. Eliminate tension. Then take practice swings where you feel that same rhythm, weight shift and turn that you felt while doing La Dance du Golf.

Hit a golf shot with those same feels. Then go back to the Dance du Golf drill. Then hit another golf shot.

Your natural athletic swing will appear and your ball striking will improve.

Five driver swing killers

Piers and Andy from the Me and My Golf channel have given thousands of lessons online and in person and they share with us the five most common driver swing killers they see.

The first is forward lean of the upper body at address. This is often a grip fault as the golfer lets the trail hand move on top of the shaft. This weakens the grip and aims the shoulders left of the target (for a right handed golfer). Often, golfers will also shift their upper body towards the lead foot. That leads to an over the top downswing and a slice.

Combat this by keep the grip strong, so that the club is held in the fingers of the trail hand with the palm overlaying the lead hand thumb. Instead of leaning the upper body forward, just give the hip a slight bump toward the target. This will lower your trail shoulder. Keep your head behind the ball throughout the swing.

The second swing killer is swaying your body back during the backswing. This leads to weak contact and a slice. Instead, feel like your lead pocket is moving toward the trail pocket during the backswing. This pushes the trail hip back. Just be sure to keep your head still and behind the ball.

The third swing killer is the reverse spine tilt. Often combined with sway, the reverse spine is seen at the top of the backswing with the spine leaning towards the target. This position can cause back pain or injury, and will definitely result in an over the top downswing.

Instead, swing back so that at the top of the backswing, your spine is tilting away from the target. This will allow you to lower your arms and then swing through the ball on an in-to-out path, delivering increased power and accuracy.

The fourth swing killer is a lack of arm depth at the top of the swing. At the top of the swing, a line drawn from the butt of the grip to the ground should be at the heel of your trail foot or slightly behind. From that position, the downswing is simple and gives you the best chance for more power.

The last of the five swing killers in the upper body lunge where the head moves forward. This looks much like the reverse spine as the downswing starts. Instead, feel your pressure move to the target side while your head stays still and behind the ball.

There are drills to resolve each problem and before you know it, you’ll be hitting your driver farther.

This week’s playlist

Check out all the videos I considered for this week’s issue of Finding the Tips. Let me know if you think I missed something.

Watch for the next issue of Finding the Tips in your inbox on Friday, April 11.