The Golf Sensei delivers

Who doesn’t want to play better golf next spring?

The Golf Sensei opens his latest video saying: “If you want to beat your buddies this spring, you better be practicing this winter. I've got just the tips that'll help your full swing, your short wedges and your putter and you'll be a much better player come April.”

Who is this guy? Ed Schwent has been named one of Golf Digest’s best teachers since 2005. He’s only been on YouTube for a year or so, but his straightforward, plain English teaching style makes him one of my favourites .

After the introduction, Ed advises players of all skill levels to start their practice session by laying down alignment sticks that show your target line. One stick goes a couple feet in front of the ball and the second a couple feet behind it.

He demonstrates how the butt end of the club should point to the target line two to three feet behind the ball when your left arm is parallel to the ground on your backswing. When your right arm is parallel to the ground on the follow through after impact, the butt end should point to the target line feet in front of the ball.

This relationship with the target line should be maintained with every club in the bag, other than the putter. The Golf Sensei recommends you switch clubs every three or four swings when you are practicing. No need to hit balls. Just check and make sure the butt end of each club points to the target line on both the back swing and follow through.

The Golf Sensei says understanding the relationship between the shaft and the target line is one of the most important fundamentals of the golf swing.

He offers a similar drill to check your takeaway and follow through when the club (and not your arm) is parallel to the ground.

Just move the sticks so that the rear one is parallel to your toe line and the forward one is parallel to your heel line. On the takeaway, the clubhead should be on an angle that matches your spine angle, and the same on the followthrough.

Ed also suggests using a swing aid called the Orange Whip to help with this drill.

Just a note: I’ve got one of these Orange Whips in my bag and they are great not only for drills like this one, but also to help you get warmed up before practicing at the range or in a simulator bay. Check out this clip from the practice tee at the Masters, showing Vijay Singh not only using the Orange Whip, but using it to hit balls! I don’t recommend you try it, though!

Ed also offers drills you can use to fix a slice or a hook. You can do these drills using two or three golf towels and a tee, if you’re not able to hit balls. The drills help you learn the swing path your clubhead must follow to hit the ball from right to left, left to right and even straight. It also helps you find the center of the clubface more often.

Next, Sensei shows us how to set up a practice station so we can further improve our takeaway, backswing and follow through. He does this with one of his actual students.

When that student takes swings in the practice session, make note of the angle of his shoulders during the swing. See how his lead shoulder points down to the ball on his backswing. His right shoulder does the same on the downswing.

For putting, Ed recommends an eyeline putting mirror to help you perfect your putting setup and eyeline over the ball. He also recommends a putting arc aid that will help you see the path your putter head should follow as you stroke the ball. These aids are great, and he provides links to buy them in the video description,

Bonus Tips

If you are a subscriber to Apple News, Finding the Tips subscriber Lorne St. Louis sent us all a link to six tips from Rick Shiels that appears in the latest issue of Today’s Golfer, a UK-based print publication.

Also in that issue, Rick Shiels is named to the 16th spot in a list of golf’s 100 most influential people. He ranks ahead of every tour player (both PGA and LIV), except #6 Rory Mclroy and #1 Tiger Woods.

If you are not an Apple News subscriber couldn’t see the tips from Rick, here’s a gift from a Canadian golfer to you: Moe Norman on ESPN. It’s not a lesson or tip, but any chance to be reminded about the greatest ball striker ever is worth the time.

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