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Medicus Top Tips Newsletter Archive |
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HOW TO BUILD YOUR GOLF SWING - Part 3 of 9 (November 2007)
Chuck Evans - Executive Director of Instruction - Medicus Golf Institute |
BALL POSITION
Ball position is the most misunderstood portion of the entire set-up. There have been many opinions about ball position. Some say one position for every shot, others say move it around depending on the club. All of the guesswork is taken out however if the golfer would set the club at address as the manufacturer designed it. All clubs, except for the Driver, are designed so that the grip end of the club is ahead of the clubhead if soled properly, this means the shaft leans forward, not vertical or backwards! If you address the ball, with say a 5 iron, and the shaft is vertical then even before you swing you've added loft and turned it into a seven iron! That same 5 iron is designed to have approximately 8 degrees of forward lean at address. The best players in the world, using that same 5 iron, have upwards of 15 degrees at Impact! This turns it into a 3 iron! Having said that you have the option of setting up to the ball with the shaft vertical as long as you can get into the proper Impact position...the shaft leans forward at Impact!
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER start with the shaft leaning backward! We also need to cover where the ball is located in relation to the player's upper body, not the feet. The width of the stance changes during the course of a round but the width of the upper body does not. In addition, the target side shoulder socket is the low point of the arc and the fulcrum of the target side arm swing. Therefore the ball with a wedge will be in the center of the chest, in line with the sternum, for full swing shots, the 5 iron under the target side of the chest, and the Driver at the low point, which is the shoulder socket. This could vary depending on whether the player has exceptionally wide shoulders, but for the most part these locations will be fine for irons but the target side shoulder socket IS the LOW POINT and the Driver MUST be played at this location for straight shots! Back of this location produces a fade, with no manipulation, and forward of this location produces a draw, with no manipulation. You may see some players playing the ball back, or forward, of the target side shoulder socket but these players must either change the shoulder location at Impact, by leaning backward with the upper body, or must manipulate the clubface to hit a straight shot.
Medicus Top Tips Newsletter Archive:
Top Tip #47: Beat the Golf Ball Position Blues
Top Tip #46: How to Handle Defeat
Top Tip #45: Track Your Golf Game
Top Tip #44: What Starts What?
Top Tip #43: As Players We NEED To Understand That We MUST Control The Three Parts Of The Golf Club In Order To Strike Quality Golf Shots.
Top Tip #42: How to Practice
Top Tip #41: How to Increase Your Swing Speed....
Top Tip #40: The Secret of Golf
Top Tip #39: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 9 of 9)
Top Tip #38: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 8 of 9)
Top Tip #37: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 7 of 9)
Top Tip #36: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 6 of 9)
Top Tip #35: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 5 of 9)
Top Tip #34: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 4 of 9)
Top Tip #33: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 3 of 9)
Top Tip #32: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 2 of 9)
Top Tip #31: How to Build Your Golf Swing (Part 1 of 9)
Top Tip #30: Hitting Up On the Ball...No, No, No
Top Tip #29: Impact... The Moment of Truth!
Top Tip #28: Over the Top
Top Tip #27: Try to Recreate Pressure Situations When You're Practicing
Top Tip #26: Hitting Down on the Ball...
Top Tip #25: Control Your Nervousness by Controlling Your Movements
Top Tip #24: Do Less and Play Better!
Top Tip #23: Take a deep breath and think of the times that you have successfully completed the action in front of you.
Top Tip #22: The "Magic" of the Right Forearm
Top Tip #21: Control your self-talk to what you want to attain, rather than what you want to avoid.
Top Tip #20: Great Iron Players All Have Similar Characteristics
Top Tip #19: It Happens to Players at Every Level...
Top Tip #18: When Everything Else Fails!
Top Tip #17: Did you know there's a shot that none of us should try on the course?
Top Tip #16: Driving the Ball
Top Tip #15: Did you know that Tour Players never miss golf shots?
Top Tip #14: Is negative thinking really the kiss of death?
Top Tip #13: Clearing The Right Hip
Top Tip #12: Reduce Tension Before a Putt with this Quick Exercise
Top Tip #11: Chip it Close
Top Tip #10: We all know practice is important, but how do you know what to practice?
Top Tip #9: Power and Accuracy
Top Tip #8: Complete your shoulder turn to straighten out your drive!
Top Tip #7: Eliminate Strokes by Putting Better
Top Tip #6: Sooner or later in a golfer's career, it's tournament time!
Top Tip #5: Get comfortable with your pre-shot routine, and use it for both practice and play...
Top Tip #4: Swing Easy When it's Breezy...
Top Tip #3: Keep your head steady to make more short putts
Top Tip #2: Some quick tips on reading the grain...
Top Tip #1: Take More Loft Off The Tee
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