I have an extreme variation of your 1MPH swing ,which is the “TAI CHI CHUAN SWING “.In this swing I go much more slower than you do ,the goal being to complete the swing not faster than in one minute .This “very slow “drill enables you to see where your weaknesses are ,and work on the lag ,keep the angle between the left arm and the clubshaft as closed as possible long into the downswing .A bit tedious drill ,but it serves it’s purpose !
Well done! A great training video. Even works in the lounge with those flimsy plastic training balls flying down the hall. Gave the cat exercise as well!
great drill did 10 sets of 10 swings for 2 days and it help a lot play Saturday first 9 holes at 3 under hit every fairway and 7/9 greens great tip, on my practice swing was thinking about the drill with a combination of touching the knees and shaft behind my ears and it free my swing up like effortless power my group saying carlos your swing looks perfect what you been doing taking lessons, No just ignition golf keep it up Paul ****
Paul, this is probably the best tip I have ever had in my golf career. I have always been ahead of the release point looking down the target line. Now I am staying back and letting my arms and hands release. I have so much more power without swinging as hard as I can. Now I need to use more body and less arms as you said. I think you will be surprised how much better I am swinging. I will see you at my next lesson! Thanks so much for helping! Dan
Paul – This is something that really made “it” finally click for me! I’ve taken this drill with me the past week to the park and can tell you it works wonders. I’ve also took it another step further like you said in the video and started hitting balls at different speeds and distances to get the correct swing sequence. I started by going to a softball field, and hitting the balls (old golf balls), into the fence from 10 yards away. Then once I got my feel and swing down, I increased by 10-20 yards at the end of each round (20 balls) to where I can hit home plate area about 50-75%. Home plate area is about 5 yards across. I can say that after today, I’m hitting a 7 iron at about 80% swing speed from 130 yards out and still reaching my goal of hitting the home plate area about 50-70% of the time. The remaining 30-50% is about 10-15 yards away from home plate – still work in progress! This video helped me visually see each step of the backswing and follow-through in the swing machine golf way! When I watch the video over and over, I catch new things compared to what my mind thinks I’m catching when I watch the other videos at full speed. Thanks for slowing it down for me!
Glad it is clicking. Sometimes I just say or do something that resonates with people. This is why I keep saying it and why I keep trying to think of new ways or drills to explain it.
Just keep doing this for a little while (I’m sure you will). Then you will start to get used to these new feelings. Once you are used to them you will not avoid them.
Paul – as I start to incorporate this drill from slow to faster speeds, I tend to push the ball to the right of my target. I’m not sliding the hips because my left leg is straight and right leg is touching the left. I think its either I’m not releasing the wrists and rolling over during impact, which would make sense because through swinging slow through this drill, I’ve drifted towards watching where the ball goes, which at short distances is straight because I think I’m blocking and hit straight, but at faster swings and longer distances, they push. So, I experimented with rolling the wrists, but come up with a huge hook. To split each evil, is it just a direction issue now? Should I continue to roll the wrists and then try to time when my hips turn? any help would be great! Ryan K.
You are holding the face open. This would mean your wrists are too tight. So you roll the wrist a few times to unlock them. You are not rolling forever. So you roll a few and the ball will hook. Then you forget rolling it and work on the body to straighten it out. Into the future you are always working between spinning it right or hooking it left. The ultimate goal is to roll it so may times you never slice it. Once you can do this you never have to think of rolling it. At this point you are solely focused on using your legs and hips to start and power the swing. If they start first you hit it perfectly. Not enough and you pull or pull hook it. This is something to look forward to in the future. Keep at it.
1. feeling the stretch in my back on the side that you always mention so you know you have built up torque and;
2. getting the whipping feeling from powerless arms.
Would you say there is a deceleration in hip speed before impact as energy is transferred through to the clubhead from the ground up? I think I’ve always struggled with driving my hips too hard through impact, and maybe I was compensating and not allowing the club to whip properly. It looks like you need a window where the hips are slowing down to let the clubhead whip through.
I’ve done a lazy search on hips, are there any drills that come to mind to teach this decelerating of the hips before impact?
I’ll continue to try master the drill above. Thanks again! Tom
That’s great. Glad you liked it. I didn’t know how people would feel about this drill but it got a great response.
The hips actually stop in all golf swings just after impact (my release point). Once the hips stop everything catches up (which creates the whipping action of the club). Then they start up again leveling out and continuing the rotation. I did a tip on it here:
You do not need to try to decelerate the hips. They will happen on its own. What you need to be working on are the correct positions and the acceleration from the lower body starting at the top of the backswing then down. If you are thinking “hit” you are not thinking about the legs and hips. SO stick to that. I would be doing these drills constantly if I were you:
You should be doing practice swings with no ball. You should be trying to hit a leaf, twig or dandelion. You are not conscious of impact. You are conscious of hitting my ending point (touch legs – touch head). You master this and impact will happen on its own. You hit balls and you are not thinking of my positions so you will sit there forever trying to get it and it will never happen. It is about the movement. Perfect movement = perfect shots.
Do not hit anything. If you are using a birdie ball you are hitting. If so, you will not make the changes because you are thinking of hitting. No ball means you have nothing to think of but the positions. It is about the movement not the ball.
Paul,There’s a continuing buzz about the ONE PLANE SWING ,derived from famous MOE NORMAN.Is there a mérit to this technique over the classical two plane swing you teach ( You never mentioned you were teaching the two plane swing ,but it’s obvious you do So ).I’m intrigued at seeing the adverts for this swing coming in a gain an a gain .
As for me ,I go up LOW AND SLOW ,extending m’y Arms a long the target Line and (trying) to come down ” narrow ” which I feel gives me more Speed .
All you have to do to answer his question is ask yourself what plane swing did Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods 2001-2003 use? The answer should be clear what type of golf swing you should be using.
Paul
You are a fantastic teacher Best I’ve ever seen on
Internet instructionyour method really really workswent from 90 mile an hour swing speed to 107 and I know I have more in the tank thanks again I will be working hard on this drill
Thank you for the kind words. I truly appreciate it.
People just have to let go and take the arms out of the swing. If you turn the arms off you have to use the legs which are the bigger muscles plus you are turning the center (axis) letting mass (club) follow.
Paul ,The old Time champion “WILD BILL MELHORN ” ( Around 1920) advocated a drill where you swing a ” GRASS WHIP ” Back and forth ,close to the turf ,effectively cuttting High Grass ,to teach you the movement of the club close to the ground and accessorily buiild up strength in YOUR wrists .GENE LITTLER ,” GENE THE MACHINE ” ,US champion would practice this way.
What do you think about this drill ?
I don’t like this drill for 2 reasons. If you are trying to whip the grass you are hitting. This means arms. Also, you don’t need strong wrists you need loose wrists. The looser something is the faster it swings. This is fact.
Paul, really enjoyed this tip and have stopped and started the lesson several times to allow for practice in front of mirror. Cannot wait until morning when I can take it outside for a full run. I especially appreciate the slow motion and commentary. It allows me to see each step and check my movements to assure I am moving correctly. I feel like I am growing in my skill level each time I practice a new lesson or repeat one that I am now comfortable with.
Thanks!
Cheers!
I sent this in an email and then noticed this reply option…
Paul,
I feel compelled to tell you what happened to me yesterday. I have just recently subscribed to your lessons and have been very impressed. I hit on Thursday on the driving range and for about a half hour on the range yesterday (Friday). I was hitting the ball really well and decided to play nine holes because it was pretty late…about 6:30 pm. In nine holes I had 4 birdies, 3 pars and two bogies. I’m a 9.6 index and always shoot in the low to high 80’s. I’m about to have my 68th birthday. This is the first time I have ever had a sub-par 9 holes. I would have kept playing but it got dark.
To say the least, I am astounded. My course is Golf Club of Houston, home of the Shell Houston Open. Not the easiest course around. I was relaxed and actually trying to hit the ball easier than I have ever hit it. Needless to say I am very grateful to have found your website and to have signed up. This is the first time I have ever actually understood what a golf teacher was talking about. And it’s the first time I have felt excited about the game in a very long time. And I’ve only watched a few of your videos so far.
Glad to have you on board. Glad you like the tips.
That is a great 9 holes. Now be careful. When we play a good round we think we are invincible or we think we will do even better the next round. If you think like this, your next round with be a disaster.
You need to keep the expectations low and not really care what you shoot. Also, beware that you may want to swing harder and harder again because you think you’re invincible. Watch:
If you lose it, immediately slow your swing to 50%. This will keep the arms relaxed and take hitting out of the picture. Swing easy then speed up the legs and hips for more power. It is natural to swing harder and harder. If you are aware this may happen and what to do you can get it back quickly.
Keep up the good work. Stay focused on building a great swing. Then you will be able to play like this all of the time.
Great drill! Very helpful. I had a question on one of your previous tips regarding “standing tall” at set up. I’m about your height, so how much do you bend your knees (if at all) at set up to feel that “Tall” affect over ball?
Regards,
George
You are flexing your knees until they are activated and ready to go. The tall feeling is not because you have no flex. It would be in the fact your whole upper body is not leaning too far forward. Not sure if you saw this one:
Will start to do this drill every day in the backyard as I like to work on the swing with practice swings and only hitting practice balls at home (1 per every 3 practice swings).
This drill seems to fix pretty much the whole swing as far as I can tell =)
I like how you said you will do it every day. So many people don’t put in the time or effort to get to a higher level. This stuff takes daily work until you get it.
On the course I tell people play at night you themselves. 3 extra balls in your pocket. Swing 50% and do the positions on the course. Don’t keep score. Watch for good shots. These good shots is what is coming if you keep doing it.
Hi Paul. When working on this drill, I guess we still need to feel the tilt behind the ball? Otherwise I can still hit slices even when stretching the arms because closer to the ball the trail arm is stretched later in the swing. Is that correct? 🙂
You can always work on the tilt. This is a huge part of the swing. I can’t believe you are still working on this. It really doesn’t take that long. Just few weeks of practice and you should have it so you can move on.
The tilt of your body affects the path. Tilt perfectly and you attack slightly from the inside. If the face is square to this path you hit it straight. Slightly open you push/push fade. Slightly closed you pull/pull hook.
Tilt left club swing left.
Tilt too mush right club swing way too much from the inside.
Not sure why you are still hitting slices either. You should be and should have been constantly and consistently doing the roll over drill and hitting hooks. Again, this take very little time to master.
Yes but if im not focusing on specifically keeping my head back im not doing it. Probably need to do it more before moving to other parts of the swing.
This is truly brilliant. But it seems that the legs are not coming into it. So how do you incorporate the legs, which I know are the most important, and yet able to keep those arms/hands powerless while they do what they do and yet synchronize with the the legs.
This was more to get the action of the arms/release/extension. Once you work on this you then go faster by bring the legs into it. There are times when you work on and feel arms in the swing. This is when you are working on positions. You master it. Then you turn them off.
Hi Paul,
It’s a great drill and that works really fine for practice swings BUT when I put a ball in front of me something happens. I have very difficult to keep that slow pace. I’m activating my hands in some strange way without knowing why. Any tips how I can transform the nice paced from practice swing into the swing with ball?
I long for your short instruction tip every day 🙂
/TJ
That is because you care more about hitting a good shot then the positions you are trying to do. Forget the ball. Do the positions until you have them mastered. If you have to do them slow then do them slow. If you keep doing what you have always done when do you ever change anything. Right now you are not good at doing the new positions. Start now. Do them slow and in no time you will be good at them. Start next week and you are a week behind.
It´s really frustration knowing what to do and not been able to do it all the time. I was at the range last night and the only practice was just to take it easy. I succeeded ~25% of all shots even if I made 3 slow practice swings before each shot. Well its just to try again all over again.
TJ
Hi Paul. What is typically the result if I stretch out both arms too early in the downswing? I feel like I’m sometimes coming too much «under» the ball and I’m not moving my head ahead of the ball.
Why would you be stretching the arms out too early. This is super rare. If they are stretching out then stop thinking about them. This is what you need to happen after you hit the ball. Both arms stretch out. So if you are doing it early you are actually doing it while most do a chicken wing. So switch the thought to faster body rotation. This will stop you getting stuck on the back foot and move the arm extension past impact where it should be.
Not sure why you would want your head moving ahead of the ball. You do this and you will blade with irons and sky your driver. You know you should be behind it as you hit it. Not sure why you would not think this.
Hi Paul,
I’ve just started working on the swing. I’ve been to the range a number of times and have been working hard to incorporate the full backswing. I understand taking it slow will help. For many years I’ve not taken the club back as far as you teach. I’ve now been out playing and in doing so I find myself getting stuck at the top. How can I get through this?
You also need to be doing daily practice swings at home. Not why what you mean stuck at the top? You can’t feel the position, you don’t know the position, you are waiting too long etc.? You are hinging the wrists up there until they hinge on their own. This should only take a couple of weeks. Once you are fully hinging you are basing your backswing on the coil. You coil until you feel tight … you uncoil. The arms being connected to the body would start coming down on their own. You get the power through the loose wrists. If I am missing something please describe it in more detail so I understand it better.
excellent drill! question: if my back arm is straight and stretched out on the way through and after does that mean that i don’t need to worry about a chicken wing? in other words, is it impossible to chicken wing as long as my back arm is straight? i’m trying to just have the one thought in my head on the way through to straighten my back arm.
Usually not but I have seen people with this arm stretched out while the left elbow shoots up and out. This is usually when the person is severly tilted coming through and past impact. That is a good thought as this arm need to maintain the diameter of the swing. Just don’t bend over too much.
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56 Responses to “DRILL – Do It Right at 1MPH”
June 28, 2013
RaymondCHASTELI have an extreme variation of your 1MPH swing ,which is the “TAI CHI CHUAN SWING “.In this swing I go much more slower than you do ,the goal being to complete the swing not faster than in one minute .This “very slow “drill enables you to see where your weaknesses are ,and work on the lag ,keep the angle between the left arm and the clubshaft as closed as possible long into the downswing .A bit tedious drill ,but it serves it’s purpose !
June 28, 2013
Paul WilsonRaymond,
If it works for you keep doing it. I just find the great majority of people will never do my drill never mind going slower.
June 29, 2013
ArthurYoungWell done! A great training video. Even works in the lounge with those flimsy plastic training balls flying down the hall. Gave the cat exercise as well!
June 30, 2013
Paul WilsonArthur,
Glad you liked it. Just keep doing it to fully understand the role of the arms throughout the downswing.
June 30, 2013
carlosgomezgreat drill did 10 sets of 10 swings for 2 days and it help a lot play Saturday first 9 holes at 3 under hit every fairway and 7/9 greens great tip, on my practice swing was thinking about the drill with a combination of touching the knees and shaft behind my ears and it free my swing up like effortless power my group saying carlos your swing looks perfect what you been doing taking lessons, No just ignition golf keep it up Paul ****
June 30, 2013
Paul WilsonCarlos,
That’s great. Just keep doing this. Pretty soon it will be in your swing and bye bye chicken wing as well as the other things I mentioned.
Thanks for the support.
July 3, 2013
DavidAndersonThx Paul. Another awesome tip! Really helps fix a lot of flaws. Thx again.
David.
July 3, 2013
Paul WilsonDavid,
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.
July 3, 2013
DanSebenaPaul, this is probably the best tip I have ever had in my golf career. I have always been ahead of the release point looking down the target line. Now I am staying back and letting my arms and hands release. I have so much more power without swinging as hard as I can. Now I need to use more body and less arms as you said. I think you will be surprised how much better I am swinging. I will see you at my next lesson! Thanks so much for helping! Dan
July 3, 2013
Paul WilsonDan,
Glad you liked it. We all need something that clicks. This is it for you. Now keep doing it. You can work on the body with this drill:
DRILL: Listen to Club Swinging: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-listen-to-club
Do it in the backyard nightly.
August 1, 2013
RyanPaul – This is something that really made “it” finally click for me! I’ve taken this drill with me the past week to the park and can tell you it works wonders. I’ve also took it another step further like you said in the video and started hitting balls at different speeds and distances to get the correct swing sequence. I started by going to a softball field, and hitting the balls (old golf balls), into the fence from 10 yards away. Then once I got my feel and swing down, I increased by 10-20 yards at the end of each round (20 balls) to where I can hit home plate area about 50-75%. Home plate area is about 5 yards across. I can say that after today, I’m hitting a 7 iron at about 80% swing speed from 130 yards out and still reaching my goal of hitting the home plate area about 50-70% of the time. The remaining 30-50% is about 10-15 yards away from home plate – still work in progress! This video helped me visually see each step of the backswing and follow-through in the swing machine golf way! When I watch the video over and over, I catch new things compared to what my mind thinks I’m catching when I watch the other videos at full speed. Thanks for slowing it down for me!
Ryan
August 1, 2013
Paul WilsonRyan,
Glad it is clicking. Sometimes I just say or do something that resonates with people. This is why I keep saying it and why I keep trying to think of new ways or drills to explain it.
Just keep doing this for a little while (I’m sure you will). Then you will start to get used to these new feelings. Once you are used to them you will not avoid them.
August 6, 2013
RyanPaul – as I start to incorporate this drill from slow to faster speeds, I tend to push the ball to the right of my target. I’m not sliding the hips because my left leg is straight and right leg is touching the left. I think its either I’m not releasing the wrists and rolling over during impact, which would make sense because through swinging slow through this drill, I’ve drifted towards watching where the ball goes, which at short distances is straight because I think I’m blocking and hit straight, but at faster swings and longer distances, they push. So, I experimented with rolling the wrists, but come up with a huge hook. To split each evil, is it just a direction issue now? Should I continue to roll the wrists and then try to time when my hips turn? any help would be great! Ryan K.
August 6, 2013
Paul WilsonRyan,
You are holding the face open. This would mean your wrists are too tight. So you roll the wrist a few times to unlock them. You are not rolling forever. So you roll a few and the ball will hook. Then you forget rolling it and work on the body to straighten it out. Into the future you are always working between spinning it right or hooking it left. The ultimate goal is to roll it so may times you never slice it. Once you can do this you never have to think of rolling it. At this point you are solely focused on using your legs and hips to start and power the swing. If they start first you hit it perfectly. Not enough and you pull or pull hook it. This is something to look forward to in the future. Keep at it.
January 17, 2014
TomThanks Paul – another layer of the onion peeled!
This drill has improved two keys areas for me:
1. feeling the stretch in my back on the side that you always mention so you know you have built up torque and;
2. getting the whipping feeling from powerless arms.
Would you say there is a deceleration in hip speed before impact as energy is transferred through to the clubhead from the ground up? I think I’ve always struggled with driving my hips too hard through impact, and maybe I was compensating and not allowing the club to whip properly. It looks like you need a window where the hips are slowing down to let the clubhead whip through.
I’ve done a lazy search on hips, are there any drills that come to mind to teach this decelerating of the hips before impact?
I’ll continue to try master the drill above. Thanks again! Tom
January 18, 2014
Paul WilsonTom,
That’s great. Glad you liked it. I didn’t know how people would feel about this drill but it got a great response.
The hips actually stop in all golf swings just after impact (my release point). Once the hips stop everything catches up (which creates the whipping action of the club). Then they start up again leveling out and continuing the rotation. I did a tip on it here:
Impact Hip Rotation (at camera): https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-hip-rotation
You do not need to try to decelerate the hips. They will happen on its own. What you need to be working on are the correct positions and the acceleration from the lower body starting at the top of the backswing then down. If you are thinking “hit” you are not thinking about the legs and hips. SO stick to that. I would be doing these drills constantly if I were you:
DRILL: Swing Off Ground: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-swing-off-ground
DRILL: Listen to Club Swinging: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-listen-to-club
DRILL: Swing Off Ground Variation: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-variation-favorite-drill/
DRILL: My Favorite Drill
January 19, 2014
TomHi Paul, thanks for finding the time to reply, I appreciate it very much!
April 27, 2014
RobPaul, I’be been working on mm this still in my living room at night without a ball is that OK or should I be using a ball for this?
April 27, 2014
Paul WilsonRob,
You should be doing practice swings with no ball. You should be trying to hit a leaf, twig or dandelion. You are not conscious of impact. You are conscious of hitting my ending point (touch legs – touch head). You master this and impact will happen on its own. You hit balls and you are not thinking of my positions so you will sit there forever trying to get it and it will never happen. It is about the movement. Perfect movement = perfect shots.
April 27, 2014
RobGreat so doing this drill without a ball is OK. What are your thoughts on using something like birdie balls to hit in this backyard?
April 27, 2014
Paul WilsonRod,
Do not hit anything. If you are using a birdie ball you are hitting. If so, you will not make the changes because you are thinking of hitting. No ball means you have nothing to think of but the positions. It is about the movement not the ball.
January 24, 2015
RaymondCHASTELPaul,There’s a continuing buzz about the ONE PLANE SWING ,derived from famous MOE NORMAN.Is there a mérit to this technique over the classical two plane swing you teach ( You never mentioned you were teaching the two plane swing ,but it’s obvious you do So ).I’m intrigued at seeing the adverts for this swing coming in a gain an a gain .
As for me ,I go up LOW AND SLOW ,extending m’y Arms a long the target Line and (trying) to come down ” narrow ” which I feel gives me more Speed .
January 25, 2015
Paul WilsonRaymond,
All you have to do to answer his question is ask yourself what plane swing did Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods 2001-2003 use? The answer should be clear what type of golf swing you should be using.
January 24, 2015
TheodoreCornishPaul
You are a fantastic teacher Best I’ve ever seen on
Internet instructionyour method really really workswent from 90 mile an hour swing speed to 107 and I know I have more in the tank thanks again I will be working hard on this drill
January 25, 2015
Paul WilsonTheodore,
Thank you for the kind words. I truly appreciate it.
People just have to let go and take the arms out of the swing. If you turn the arms off you have to use the legs which are the bigger muscles plus you are turning the center (axis) letting mass (club) follow.
Keep up the good work.
January 24, 2015
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,The old Time champion “WILD BILL MELHORN ” ( Around 1920) advocated a drill where you swing a ” GRASS WHIP ” Back and forth ,close to the turf ,effectively cuttting High Grass ,to teach you the movement of the club close to the ground and accessorily buiild up strength in YOUR wrists .GENE LITTLER ,” GENE THE MACHINE ” ,US champion would practice this way.
What do you think about this drill ?
January 25, 2015
Paul WilsonRaymond,
I don’t like this drill for 2 reasons. If you are trying to whip the grass you are hitting. This means arms. Also, you don’t need strong wrists you need loose wrists. The looser something is the faster it swings. This is fact.
January 25, 2015
RaymondCHASTELPaul ,Shouldn’t we learn to educate the hands ?
February 14, 2015
BradleyPaul, really enjoyed this tip and have stopped and started the lesson several times to allow for practice in front of mirror. Cannot wait until morning when I can take it outside for a full run. I especially appreciate the slow motion and commentary. It allows me to see each step and check my movements to assure I am moving correctly. I feel like I am growing in my skill level each time I practice a new lesson or repeat one that I am now comfortable with.
Thanks!
Cheers!
February 17, 2015
Paul WilsonBradley,
This is a good one for feeling and understanding every move in the swing.
July 14, 2016
MarvinMonkIs it an illusion or are you breaking your left arm on every backswing? It looks like you are.
thanks!
July 15, 2016
Paul WilsonMarvin,
I sure am breaking it just like Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples and many other do.
Watch:
Left Arm at Top: https://ignitiongolf.com/left-arm-backswing/
Extended But Not Locked: https://ignitiongolf.com/extended-but-not-locked/
July 16, 2016
MarvinMonkI sent this in an email and then noticed this reply option…
Paul,
I feel compelled to tell you what happened to me yesterday. I have just recently subscribed to your lessons and have been very impressed. I hit on Thursday on the driving range and for about a half hour on the range yesterday (Friday). I was hitting the ball really well and decided to play nine holes because it was pretty late…about 6:30 pm. In nine holes I had 4 birdies, 3 pars and two bogies. I’m a 9.6 index and always shoot in the low to high 80’s. I’m about to have my 68th birthday. This is the first time I have ever had a sub-par 9 holes. I would have kept playing but it got dark.
To say the least, I am astounded. My course is Golf Club of Houston, home of the Shell Houston Open. Not the easiest course around. I was relaxed and actually trying to hit the ball easier than I have ever hit it. Needless to say I am very grateful to have found your website and to have signed up. This is the first time I have ever actually understood what a golf teacher was talking about. And it’s the first time I have felt excited about the game in a very long time. And I’ve only watched a few of your videos so far.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
Marvin
July 17, 2016
Paul WilsonMarvin,
Glad to have you on board. Glad you like the tips.
That is a great 9 holes. Now be careful. When we play a good round we think we are invincible or we think we will do even better the next round. If you think like this, your next round with be a disaster.
You need to keep the expectations low and not really care what you shoot. Also, beware that you may want to swing harder and harder again because you think you’re invincible. Watch:
You Will Top It: https://ignitiongolf.com/you-will-top-it/
If you lose it, immediately slow your swing to 50%. This will keep the arms relaxed and take hitting out of the picture. Swing easy then speed up the legs and hips for more power. It is natural to swing harder and harder. If you are aware this may happen and what to do you can get it back quickly.
Keep up the good work. Stay focused on building a great swing. Then you will be able to play like this all of the time.
April 9, 2017
GeorgeCaffertyPaul,
Great drill! Very helpful. I had a question on one of your previous tips regarding “standing tall” at set up. I’m about your height, so how much do you bend your knees (if at all) at set up to feel that “Tall” affect over ball?
Regards,
George
April 11, 2017
Paul WilsonGeorge,
You are flexing your knees until they are activated and ready to go. The tall feeling is not because you have no flex. It would be in the fact your whole upper body is not leaning too far forward. Not sure if you saw this one:
A New Way To Get The Taller Setup: https://ignitiongolf.com/new-way-taller-setup/
Be careful not to flex too much though.
July 5, 2017
StianOttersenWill start to do this drill every day in the backyard as I like to work on the swing with practice swings and only hitting practice balls at home (1 per every 3 practice swings).
This drill seems to fix pretty much the whole swing as far as I can tell =)
July 5, 2017
Paul WilsonStian,
I like how you said you will do it every day. So many people don’t put in the time or effort to get to a higher level. This stuff takes daily work until you get it.
July 18, 2017
StianOttersenYes I will stick to this drill now, hopefully I can do it enough so that it gets implemented into my swing!
July 18, 2017
StianOttersenWhile working on this drill, How to take this to the course? Ok to try to fill the same just move it up to 50%?
July 18, 2017
Paul WilsonStian,
On the course I tell people play at night you themselves. 3 extra balls in your pocket. Swing 50% and do the positions on the course. Don’t keep score. Watch for good shots. These good shots is what is coming if you keep doing it.
How To Take Your Swing From The Range To The Course: https://ignitiongolf.com/swing-range/
What To Think About When You Play: https://ignitiongolf.com/what-to-think-when-playing/
Steps To Take It To The Course: https://ignitiongolf.com/taking-it-to-course-steps/
July 23, 2017
StianOttersenHi Paul. When working on this drill, I guess we still need to feel the tilt behind the ball? Otherwise I can still hit slices even when stretching the arms because closer to the ball the trail arm is stretched later in the swing. Is that correct? 🙂
July 23, 2017
Paul WilsonStian,
You can always work on the tilt. This is a huge part of the swing. I can’t believe you are still working on this. It really doesn’t take that long. Just few weeks of practice and you should have it so you can move on.
The tilt of your body affects the path. Tilt perfectly and you attack slightly from the inside. If the face is square to this path you hit it straight. Slightly open you push/push fade. Slightly closed you pull/pull hook.
Tilt left club swing left.
Tilt too mush right club swing way too much from the inside.
Not sure why you are still hitting slices either. You should be and should have been constantly and consistently doing the roll over drill and hitting hooks. Again, this take very little time to master.
DRILL: 3 Ways To Roll It Over: https://ignitiongolf.com/3-ways-to-roll/
Roll Around The Stick: https://ignitiongolf.com/roll-around-stick/
Clarifying the Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/clarifying-roll-drill/
Modified Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/modified-roll-over-drill/
Please Learn How to Hook It: https://ignitiongolf.com/please-learn-hook/
DRILL: Smooth Wrist Release: https://ignitiongolf.com/smooth-wrist-release/
Modified Roll Over Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/modified-roll-over-drill/
July 24, 2017
StianOttersenYes but if im not focusing on specifically keeping my head back im not doing it. Probably need to do it more before moving to other parts of the swing.
August 11, 2017
SusanEcclesThis is truly brilliant. But it seems that the legs are not coming into it. So how do you incorporate the legs, which I know are the most important, and yet able to keep those arms/hands powerless while they do what they do and yet synchronize with the the legs.
Sue
August 13, 2017
Paul WilsonSusan,
This was more to get the action of the arms/release/extension. Once you work on this you then go faster by bring the legs into it. There are times when you work on and feel arms in the swing. This is when you are working on positions. You master it. Then you turn them off.
When To Use Your Arms: https://ignitiongolf.com/when-to-use-arms/
August 14, 2017
TorbjornJohanssonHi Paul,
It’s a great drill and that works really fine for practice swings BUT when I put a ball in front of me something happens. I have very difficult to keep that slow pace. I’m activating my hands in some strange way without knowing why. Any tips how I can transform the nice paced from practice swing into the swing with ball?
I long for your short instruction tip every day 🙂
/TJ
August 15, 2017
Paul WilsonTorbjorn,
That is because you care more about hitting a good shot then the positions you are trying to do. Forget the ball. Do the positions until you have them mastered. If you have to do them slow then do them slow. If you keep doing what you have always done when do you ever change anything. Right now you are not good at doing the new positions. Start now. Do them slow and in no time you will be good at them. Start next week and you are a week behind.
DRILL: This Is The Best Drill You Should Be Doing Right Now: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-three-quarter-distance/
August 16, 2017
TorbjornJohanssonThanks Paul,
It´s really frustration knowing what to do and not been able to do it all the time. I was at the range last night and the only practice was just to take it easy. I succeeded ~25% of all shots even if I made 3 slow practice swings before each shot. Well its just to try again all over again.
TJ
August 16, 2017
Paul WilsonTJ,
So you need to keep doing it. This is a good start. You are now changing.
February 20, 2018
StianOttersenHi Paul. What is typically the result if I stretch out both arms too early in the downswing? I feel like I’m sometimes coming too much «under» the ball and I’m not moving my head ahead of the ball.
February 21, 2018
Paul WilsonStian,
Why would you be stretching the arms out too early. This is super rare. If they are stretching out then stop thinking about them. This is what you need to happen after you hit the ball. Both arms stretch out. So if you are doing it early you are actually doing it while most do a chicken wing. So switch the thought to faster body rotation. This will stop you getting stuck on the back foot and move the arm extension past impact where it should be.
Not sure why you would want your head moving ahead of the ball. You do this and you will blade with irons and sky your driver. You know you should be behind it as you hit it. Not sure why you would not think this.
How to Release the Golf Club: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-wrist-release/
May 8, 2018
BenRischallHi Paul,
I’ve just started working on the swing. I’ve been to the range a number of times and have been working hard to incorporate the full backswing. I understand taking it slow will help. For many years I’ve not taken the club back as far as you teach. I’ve now been out playing and in doing so I find myself getting stuck at the top. How can I get through this?
May 8, 2018
Paul WilsonBen,
You also need to be doing daily practice swings at home. Not why what you mean stuck at the top? You can’t feel the position, you don’t know the position, you are waiting too long etc.? You are hinging the wrists up there until they hinge on their own. This should only take a couple of weeks. Once you are fully hinging you are basing your backswing on the coil. You coil until you feel tight … you uncoil. The arms being connected to the body would start coming down on their own. You get the power through the loose wrists. If I am missing something please describe it in more detail so I understand it better.
August 29, 2018
JoelPollockexcellent drill! question: if my back arm is straight and stretched out on the way through and after does that mean that i don’t need to worry about a chicken wing? in other words, is it impossible to chicken wing as long as my back arm is straight? i’m trying to just have the one thought in my head on the way through to straighten my back arm.
August 29, 2018
Paul WilsonJoel,
Usually not but I have seen people with this arm stretched out while the left elbow shoots up and out. This is usually when the person is severly tilted coming through and past impact. That is a good thought as this arm need to maintain the diameter of the swing. Just don’t bend over too much.