Are You A FOODIE?

Practice Makes Perfect-Winterizing Your Golf Swing

Private Lessons

by Darrell Klassen

Here we go again with another brand new year, and I still can’t figure out where 2009 went. That was a fast one. Wasn’t it? Hopefully, you were able to make some improvement in your golf game in the past season.

There are some things you might want to practice inside during the winter, rather than going out into the cold. You did hear me correctly. There are some things I want to practice in the house or in the garage, where it is warm, during the winter season. I obviously do not want you practicing in the house if there is not room enough to swing the club without hitting the ceiling. I am not responsible for any damage you may incur because you did not use your common sense.

The first of the drills is something I call the “Collar Bone Drill.” If you have not seen this on You Tube then I will explain it here. In order to perform this drill you simply take the club up with your hands as you rotate your left shoulder (for right handed golfers) over your right foot. This will cause your head to move to the right on the backswing motion. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO KEEP YOUR HEAD STILL OVER THE BALL as we have all been taught, the weight will not go to the right side. We must learn to allow our head to float a bit to the right in the backswing.

As you rotate your left shoulder over toward your right foot and your chest feels like it moves over your right hip, simply lift the clubhead so the shaft of the club rests on your right collar bone. This will make your right elbow bend quite a bit. The fact is the wrists will not operate properly if your left arm is stiff and straight, so learn to let the elbow flex. It is far more relaxed when we allow it to flex.

The next thing you do in this drill is to feel as though the clubhead drops toward the floor–not toward where the golf ball would be–right out in front of your chest. Remember, your chest has rotated so that it is facing way to the right of the golf ball. As the clubhead falls downward in that direction you will push gently with your right foot and at the same time you will gently pull your left hip 90° away from what would be the line of flight.

This will straighten your left knee and bring you to a standing position with your weight in the left hip, and you will be facing what would be your intended target. This is nothing more than a golf swing where the head is allowed to move away from the ball, and the left elbow folds so you can lay the shaft of the club on your right collar bone in the backswing and on our left shoulder on the finish.

Do this drill fifty times or more daily in your garage or family room, and you will do wonders for yoiur golf swing in the cold weather.

The other thing I like my golfers to do is to chip golf balls in the hallway of your house on the carpet. Your backswing should be no more that 6″ to a foot, and then you should tap the carpet with the sole of the club right exactly at the back of the golf ball in order to learn how to create backspin on the ball. The golf ball should fly about 6″ in the air and it might carry a foot or two in distance. Keep in mind, you are not hitting big high chip shots. You are simply hitting tiny, tiny little knock-down shots to learn to make backspin in the ball. Use a range ball so you can see the spin.

Those two drills will take you into the spring in better golfing shape than when you finished in the fall. It is not good to let the clubs rest all winter, just because it is cold and dreary outside.

See you next time.

Darrell