swing drills

Question
Eddie,

I have two consistent swing faults which are hard to shake.  I tend to start my swing with my arms rather than a hip rotation.  This generally results in a lunge and a slide opposed to a weight shift and rotation to the target.  You know the result - slices, pulls, toe hits.  I also tend to flip my hands at the ball on impact.  You know those results as well - inconsistent distance, fat hits and moon shots.

I'm already working on flattening out my swing (thanks to some earlier advice), which is helping.  Do you have any swing drill recommendations to help me sequence the downswing better ... and to eliminate those flippy hands?

Thanks!

Answer
Curt: You bet.  

First, take a broken shaft and shove it in the ground just outside the middle of your left foot.  You will have about 2 inches from your left hip to the shaft.  Make sure you do not hit the shaft or bump it with your left hip as you swing the club into the forward swing.  Do you picture that?  That will help you turn more, not slide.  When you are finished with the swing, make sure your belt buckle is up against that shaft though.  You will feel as though you are turning versus sliding and finishing more upright.  In reference to your hand action, simply start hitting some low, punch shots with a 9 iron.  This is a separate drill to begin with.  Play the ball back in the stance opposite your right toe.  Angle the shaft forward so that the butt of the club points to the left of your left hip.  Then, hit some small shots trying to put the face of the club flat against the ball.  I know that is exaggerated, however, get that picture in your head.  Hit it lower, drill it lower.  In order to do that, you cannot be flipping your hands or trying to scoop or do something with the clubhead.  Instead, swing the shaft through the impact area to a finish and drill the ball lower.  Then, after that becomes a little easier, begin to move the ball back into your regular stance and combine it with the shaft drill.  Using your arms is good, you just need to blend it more into the swing.  Properly turning the lower body to a finish will help you keep the club moving with your arms.  As long as you square the face up OK, which I think you do, then don't worry about your hands.  Put a good grip on it and start working on sensing how it all flows together.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member