Club Head Awareness
I give eight to nine hundred lessons throughout the country annually. It is no surprise that 95 percent of all the students have one thing in common, they hold onto the club for dear life.
They’re afraid the club may fly out of their hands. This is the result of too much tension in their hands, arms, and shoulders, and lack of club head feel. When this happens, you’re lost on what the club is doing and the sequence of your swing is disrupted.
This also prevents you from creating speed and squaring the club at impact. When tour players are at their best, they have a good sense of where the club head is at all times.
To give you better awareness of what this feels like, try this experiment. With a sand wedge or pitching wedge, turn the club upside down holding the shaft lightly just above the club head. Make eight to ten smooth swings. Notice how light and fast it feels. Then turn the club back over holding it in a normal position. With the fingers light and secure on the club, relax your wrist, arms, and shoulders. Make some slow normal swings; you should feel the weight of the club head immediately.
This exercise should give instant feedback and awareness of where the club head is throughout the swing. If you’re still not felling the club head, you are most likely holding too tight. Relax, then try it again.
One other note, many students are under the impression when the club turns in their hands at impact, they’re not holding onto it tight enough. Don’t let this fool you. What happens is the ball is struck way out on the toe or the heel of the club head causing the club to turn in your hands.
In my opinion, the grip is never light enough.
Don Leone is the PGA Director of Instruction at the Coyote Creek Golf Club. He can be reached at 463-1400.
