"It is not the will to win that matters, everyone has that.
It is the will to prepare to win that matters." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
Tom's Featured Tip: Why Different Looking Swings Can Still Produce Excellent Ball Striking
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
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The Divot Board
The Rypstick
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Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Click here to buy The Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve!.
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through my newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($50 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. The versatility of three different swing weights in one club makes the Rypstick your swing speed training aid of choice.
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Why Different Looking Swings Can Still Produce Excellent Ball Striking
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
The Divot Board
This is the most useful ball striking development training aid that I own.
Why Different Looking Swings Can Still Produce Excellent Ball Striking
I've often had students tell me that they want to swing like Tiger, Rory, Phil, or some other successful pro ( not so much Matt Wolf or Jim Furyk 😊 even though I love those guys).
The error in their thinking is that rather than thinking of the golf swing as a single "optimal model", it's more appropriate to think of the swing as a series of component pieces.
Each piece can move an impact variable (or set of variables) in some way, which is why some swings can look very different but produce the same ball flight.
It's critically important to understand how certain positions and body part movements can effect ball flight. For example:
- A stronger grip position tends to produce a more closed clubface position, and a weaker grip position tends to do the opposite.
- More forearm supination (lead forearm roll) at the bottom of the swing will close the face more, and less of this move will
tend to keep the face more open.
- Having the lead wrist more extended (cupped) through the downswing will tend to open the face more, and flexing the lead wrist (bowing it) will tend to close the face.
On tour, we see many different combinations of the above work very well. Rather than seeing all tour players swing alike, all that has to happen is that the component pieces have to balance each other, or "match-up"
Here are 3 examples of tour players who don't do things in the textbook way, but are all fantastic ball strikers.
- Dustin Johnson uses a strong grip (face closing move) combined with a lot of lead wrist flexion (bowed wrist - face closing move).
However, he matches this up (balances it) with a minimal amount of lead forearm supination to keep that face from closing down too
much.
- Webb Simpson also uses a very strong grip (face closing move) and a lot of forearm supination through impact
(face closing move). He balances these moves by having a more cupped lead wrist (face opening move).
- Bryson DeChambeau has a much weaker and palmy grip position (face opening move), but balances this with a lot more forearm supination at the bottom of the swing.
For me as an instructor, this is valuable to understand, because it means that I don't unnecessarily change a student's swing just to make them look different. Having the components all "neutral" is absolutely no better than the way the above tour players are currently doing it. But many people don't understand that. It takes some serious out of the box thinking to fully grasp why tour pros all look different and very few do it the "textbook" way.
This philosophy of understanding component pieces also allows a good instructor to make fewer changes with a player to get them back on track. If a player comes to me for a lesson, they usually leave the lesson tee with pretty much their same basic swing-fingerprint as they came with. But I will usually add one or two additional "upgrades" that make their swing work better.
The takeaway here is that even if you self-coach, you usually need fewer changes than you think to get back on track. Be wise about the changes you make, make small changes, make then one at a time and test the result.
Try it, you'll like it.
Comments: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health,
Tom
Golf Lessons
I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/
Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html
Indoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html
Testimonials:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html
Sponsors and Affiliates
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. If the versatility of three different swing weights in one club appeals to you, this is your swing speed training aid of choice.
Click here Rypstick.com to buy now, and make sure that you enter TOMTUCKERGOLF (case sensitive) in the Discount code box when you check out to receive a 5% discount.
Click here to buy your Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve!.
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through the newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($50 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Click here SuperSpeedGolf.com to buy this swing speed training aid and increase your distance off the tee.
SuperSpeedGolf.com Buy now and get to work on increasing your swing speed now.
Club Champion Don't waste another dollar on clubs until you've gone through a fitting at Club Champion, 1669 Pittsford Victor Rd., Suite 400, Victor NY 14564. Call Master Fitter & Builder Jeff St. John. PGA work: (585) 978-8513, cell: (585) 831-2292 to schedule your fitting today! Mention my name and you'll get special attention.
The Crocbox Click through for details on the exclusive TomTuckerGolf discount available only to my newsletter readers.
The perfect choice for a discreet practice net in your yard.
Pop it up in 45 seconds, fold it down and close the weatherproof box lid when you're done. Click Through for the exclusive TomTuckerGolf Crocbox Discount .
Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice!
Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY.
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Tee times online or by phone in season.
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All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan