Tag: golf tips

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Nelly Korda’s Swing Tempo Tips

INTERMEDIATE

Golf Tips: Copy Nelly Korda’s Swing Tempo With These 3 Keys

By Brendon Elliott, PGA

Published on Saturday, April 20, 2024

With no disrespect to Scottie Scheffler and his dominance in the men’s game, Nelly Korda may be the best golfer on the planet right now. Going for her fifth straight win this week at The Chevron Championship, the LPGA’s first major of the year, Nelly sits in a very familiar place near the top of the leaderboard.

One of the most striking things about Nelly’s swing is its fluidity. Her motion is smooth and graceful, with no wasted or unnecessary movements. Her natural rhythm and tempo allow her to generate power without sacrificing accuracy.

Another key element of Nelly’s swing is her balance. She maintains a stable base throughout her swing, which allows her to continually make solid contact and control her shot trajectory. Her weight shift is subtle and controlled, which helps her to maintain her balance and generate power.

Nelly’s swing also features a high level of coordination between her upper body and lower body. Her hips and shoulders rotate in a way that creates proper resistance between each other, allowing her to generate torque and power. Her arms and hands remain relaxed and passive, allowing the club head to do the work.

Of course, Nelly’s swing didn’t develop overnight. It has taken years of hard work and dedication to reach the level of proficiency that she now possesses. The following three tips can help you find better balance, fluidity, and rhythm in your swing, but, just like with Nelly, it will take some time to really get things dialed in.

Focus on your posture

Maintaining good posture from set up and throughout your swing is essential for achieving balance and fluidity. As you get set, focus on keeping your spine and sternum steady and over the ball, with your weight evenly distributed and your feet shoulder-width apart. This will help you maintain your balance throughout the swing.

As you move throughout your swing, always try to maintain that feeling of centeredness, with those critical points of the spine and sternum steady and over the ball.

Practice your transition

Many golfers lose rhythm and fluidity during the transition between the backswing and downswing.

Nelly Korda of the United States plays her shot from the third tee during the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 18, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

To improve this, practice your transition by slowing down your swing and focusing on the smoothness of the movement. Once you have mastered a slow and smooth transition, gradually increase your speed until you can maintain the same fluidity at a faster pace.

Use your hips correctly

A consistent and solid golf swing relies heavily on using your hips correctly. This helps generate power and maintain fluidity. Additionally, it allows for a consistent strike at impact and a reliable shot shape. Check out this sequence from Nelly:

Notice Nelly rotating her hips throughout the swing, starting with her backswing and continuing through to your follow-through. As you swing back, your hips should rotate around 45 degrees, with your upper torso rotating an additional 45 degrees beyond that. That resistance between your upper body, rotating closer to 90 degrees, and your 45-degree hip turn creates the wind-up, which is necessary for you to be powerful once you transition down from the top of the swing.

As you unwind in the downswing, your hips must lead the way and rotate out of the way so that your hands and club can approach the ball from the inside. Hips that do not clear properly in the downswing create problems with consistency in your swing.

Catch some coverage of The Chevron Championship this weekend . . . there’s a lot you can learn from one of the LPGA’s stars who’s on an unreal run!

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Try This Drill to Cure Your Slice

QUICK COACHING

Golf Tips

Published on Tuesday, April 2, 2024

The slice is enemy No. 1 for a lot of golfers. And it’s easy to see why.

A slice curves away from the target pretty quickly and zaps distance, making tee shots and approach shots less likely to find the fairway and green. The result? Higher scores.

Slicing the ball is a common fault because it’s a combination of a lot of common miscues but none more prevalent than an over-the-top backswing and open clubface at impact. Those two combined make it easy for the ball to spin left to right (for righties, opposite for lefties), and away from the target.

The good part about a slice though, is just like any swing fault, it can be fixed with the right prescription. We asked Jimmy Wisinski, the PGA of America Director of Instruction at Kent Country Club in Michigan, to share a drill on how the combat the dreaded slice.

Jimmy delivered with a great alignment-stick drill that you can do the next time you hit the range:

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Drain Putts Like Tiger Woods

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Struggling On The Greens? This Putting Drill Can Help Instantly

By Brendon Elliott, PGA

Published on Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Beyond some standard fundamentals, the art of putting is as individual as a fingerprint.

We all have unique factors influencing our approach to putting: our height, body type, tempo at which we walk and talk and, most impactfully, how we see a putt with our eyes all influence what we do with the flat stick, whether we know it or not.

We often force ourselves into a setup position that is too “squared off” or “technically sound” to allow our eyes to see that critical starting spot to roll the ball over just after impact.

Our brain, or subconscious, will actually reroute the putter on the downstroke if it feels that something is “off” visually when you make those last few looks with your eyes down the target line. This will lead to often funky-looking strokes and a potential massive loss of confidence.

If you’ve been experiencing some struggles on the green, not to fear. This drill below can help right away.

Find your spot
  • With three golf balls, start with a putt of 6 feet on the practice green.
  • Really focus on your putting line. Take a trip around the hole and see the line from all sides.
  • Once you are confident on the line, find a point on your line about 4-6 inches past your ball and align the mark on your golf ball to that point. Pro tip: Using your golf ball mark is a critical part to being a good putter!
  • As you start to get set up to the ball, make it a point to feel comfortable with what you see with your eyes as you are over the ball. How does the line on the ball look in relation to that intermediate starting point? How does your putter head look with regard to the ball and your intermediate starting point? Adjust your body, line, or even your putter head if it seems off a bit.
  • It is critical to get your setup conditions correct in terms of what you see as you are over the ball and not necessarily in a way that feels more “technically sound.” Your eyes and instincts, unique to you, are far more critical in allowing you to roll the ball end over end and over that intermediate spot on your line.

Once you start continuously rolling the ball over that intermediate spot on your line, this drill will allow you to putt with more confidence and think less about how technically sound your putting may be. Technique is essential, but it often handcuffs golfers by not allowing them to stroke the putt freely and confidently!

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Swing Tips from a Super Bowl Champion

QUICK COACHING

A Swing Tip You Can Learn From the NFL Quarterbacks Who Played in the Super Bowl

By Ryan Adams, PGA

Published on Sunday, January 28, 2024

A thrilling match-up for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 ended as it should.

With drama.

The Kansas City Chiefs won their second straight Super Bowl, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 on a short pass play in overtime. The game was fun to watch, with high-flying offenses, stout defenses, plenty of storylines . . . and how could we forget Taylor Swift?

Believe it or not, though, there’s also a little golf lesson you can learn from the quarterbacks playing in today’s game.

Did you see how Patrick Mahomes (above) of the Chiefs and Brock Purdy of the 49ers were making their throwing motions? Well, there’s a lot of similarities between the way these quarterbacks sling it and how to create more powerful strikes with every club.

Let’s break it down.

Wind up and weight transfer

The first step for a quarterback is winding up their upper body and then transferring weight to the front foot to fire a pass. That’s a lot like the golf swing if you think about it: You make a full turn and then transfer your weigh to the lead side to maximize power. Look at Mahomes below as he steps into a pass:

He can’t make this throw without transferring his weight to the lead side. When they weren’t under pressure during the Super Bowl, Mahomes and Purdy started throws by stepping into them, and not hanging back. When you hang back on your trail side, there’s no energy going to the ball (or in the quarterbacks’ case, the pass) which makes it harder to create good contact.

Try this: Make practice swings with a full turn (shoulder under chin) and then on your downswing, take a step with your lead foot like you’re throwing a football or baseball. You’ll understand the proper sequence a lot better.

Unwind the lower body

Once you’ve made that first step, it’s time to unwind the lower body. You’ll see in the Super Bowl that the quarterbacks create space with their lower body by opening their hips and firing through with their upper body. Without that, it’s nearly impossible for them to make a proper move and throw the ball. Look at Purdy unwindingfor a big throw here:

Same goes for your golf swing. There’s no way for you to hit the ball squarely without unwinding and rotating your hips to clear out space for the arms, hands and club. Not only are you clearing out space but because you made that move we described above in the first step, your sequence is right on and that means really good contact with the ball.

Try this: To understand this hip clear-out, get in stance and then take your lead hand and press it into your lead hip. You should feel an open rotation, or a “clearing out” of your lower body. Another way to think about this is if you had a belt on and tugged it with your lead hand. Attempt hitting a few half shots with this idea in place with your wedges.

Hopefully this two-part tip is something that will help you, like it helps these great quarterbacks on the NFL’s biggest stage.

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The Coat Hanger Drill

A coat hanger can help straighten up your wrists and eliminate any scooping in your swing.

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Get More Distance Out Of The Ground

NEW RESEARCH

Get More Distance Out Of The Ground

3 power moves the pros make that you don’t

WITH RON KASPRISKE
PHOTO BY STEPHEN SZURLEJ

March 2011

There are a lot of differences between the golf swing of an elite player and that of the average amateur, but what are the biggest? Let’s look at what most golfers want more than anything: power. My work with biomechanics researcher Jean-Jacques Rivet has proved that most amateurs don’t push into the ground effectively to create leverage in their swings. And leverage leads to power.

With the use of J.J.’s data, we’ve found three spots in the average golfer’s swing where a lack of leverage is most evident: the takeaway, halfway back and the transition. I’m going to share our findings with you and give you some drills to fix these power leaks. Follow our advice, and you’ll start hitting the ball better than ever.

1.THE START OF THE BACKSWING

Ground force in the takeaway: 
Pro: 125% of body weight
Amateur: 70% of body weight
Most amateurs tend to lose leverage early in the backswing by raising their bodies, which lightens the force they apply to the ground. The pros do the opposite and apply even more force, giving them a much more stable base to coil the upper body.

leadbetter

DRILL
Take a wood block or similarly weighted object such as a hardcover book and place it behind your 6-iron at address. Push the block away from the target as you start your backswing (right. You should feel pressure building in your right heel as well as the ball of your left foot from the extra effort it takes to move the block.

2. HALFWAY BACK

Ground force in the takeaway: 
Pro: 125% of body weight
Amateur: 65% of body weight

Even if they had good ground force at the start of the swing, many amateurs lose that grounded feeling at this point. As that pressure decreases, they stop coiling and begin to lift their hands and arms as a compensatory move to finish the backswing. Pros continue to coil all the way to the top because they’re still grounded.

leadbetter

DRILL
Place a club on the ground and stand on the shaft with both feet as shown (right, shoes optional). Then swing a 6-iron while standing on the shaft. As you move past the halfway point in your backswing, you should feel a steady or increasing amount of force in your right heel and the middle of your left foot. Because of this force, you should be able to complete your upper-body turn just like the pros do.

3. THE TRANSITION

Ground force in the takeaway: 
Pro: 145% of body weight
Amateur: 90% of body weight

As the club starts down, elite players increase the pressure under their feet — it looks as if they’re starting to squat — which shallows the swing plane and increases clubhead lag. It’s a huge power move. Most amateurs swing down on too steep of a plane and release the clubhead lag early, usually resulting in a weak slice. They often have more ground-force pressure halfway down than at impact. The sequence of the downswing should be from the ground up, but these players frequently do just the opposite, leading with the upper body.

leadbetter

DRILL

Set up with your feet and hips open to the target and take the club to the top. As you start to swing down (right), rotate your hips in a clockwise direction — a feeling of closing them off to your target even more. This dynamic move will force you to push into the ground with your front leg. It also will keep your shoulders from unwinding early and will drop your arms and club onto a shallow plane. Those are keys to hitting a powerful shot that curves from right to left.

BIOS
DAVID LEADBETTER, a Golf Digest Teaching Professional, is based at ChampionsGate, near Orlando. JEAN-JACQUES RIVET is the sports biomechanics consultant to the European Tour.

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Fairway Bunker Shots

Tips and instruction to learn proper fairway bunker shot technique.

By Kevin Cotter, PGA

The primary difference between a fairway bunker shot and a green side bunker shot is you strike the ball first then the sand in a fairway bunker.  The angle of attack to the ball is also more shallow than that of a green side bunker, in a fairway bunker the clubhead travels somewhat level to the ground through impact.

Also, position the ball more towards the middle of your stance.

Plan on up to a 1/3 distance loss with fairway bunker shots, therefore you may have to take some extra club, but do make sure you still have enough loft to to clear the lip of the bunker.

Check out the video link below with PGA Professional Michael Breed demonstrating a key tip on how to position the right foot in the sand in an effort to stabilize the back leg during the swing minimizing lower body movement. You must emphasize movement of the upper body with fairway bunker shots and keep the lower body fairly quiet.  This helps prevent your feet from pivoting/shifting in the sand during the swing.

Fairway Bunker Shots | PGA.com

PGA Professional Michael Breed hits Hazeltine National Golf Club to give you some helpful tips on the best ways to get out of those dre…
Below, Phil Micklelson describes the shallow attack angle and how he casts the club (breaks the wrists early in the downswing) to create a more shallow angle:

 

Happy golfing!

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Spirit of Golf

spirit of golf thought of the day

April 28, 2013

Most do not understand that true power comes from releasing internal resistance rather than from pursuing, chasing, toil, and grind. We become conditioned to believe that we have to effort hard in order to achieve everything we want; in effect, we must struggle to deserve our success. In truth, we could relax and chill our way into receiving anything we want and desire, unless we don’t believe this to be true. Our belief about how easily results will unfold is ultimately what makes them appear. It is we and we alone who get to decide how much joy or misery is going to be involved along the way.

Orlando, FL – April, 2013 

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Greenside Bunker Tips

  1. Improve your greenside bunker play with some great practice tips!

    By Kevin Cotter, PGA

    By far, the most important aspect to successful greenside bunker play is striking the sand an inch or two behind the ball.  As another PGA Professional recommends as a sort of visual is to “Imagine the golf ball lying on top of a dollar bill and you’re scooping the entire bill and ball up together.”The video below from Alan Wronowski PGA Director of Golf demonstrates a great practice technique by drawing a line in the sand to practice striking a specific spot.

  2. Greenside Bunkers | PGA.com

    Allen Wronowski, PGA Director of Golf at Hillendale Country Club in Phoenix, Md. , talks about greenside bunkers and gives some tips to …
    Pga
  3. Below “Your Best Bunker Tips” from PGA.com offers some interesting comments from Facebook fans on greenside bunker play including some great tips as well, starting out with my favorite of course “Don’t hit it in the bunker to begin with.”

    Enjoy!
  4. Your best bunker tips | News | PGA.com

    When we think of Florida, we think of many things. Among them?
    Pga