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PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Tiger Woods on his victory at the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It certainly has been an interesting year to date! The number one ranking has changed hands a couple of times. Tiger looked down and out with another possible injury...and now this...a good win heading into The Masters. Great stuff for golf.

There has been enough said on all Tiger's swing changes. Let's take a look at what is making him very efficient and powerful with his golf ball.

It is very rare to get this camera angle, which is why I love to show whenever I can. The back angle is great because it can really emphasize the transition from the backswing to the down swing.

First the backswing. Notice how his shoulders turn and stack over his right foot. This is a great position, but it is not the entire key to this great backswing. You must also take note that his hips do not push out to the right. There are many players who take the weight shift on the backswing too literally. They shift their upper body and lower body over to their right side on the backswing. In this video it is very clear that Tiger does not shift his lower body weight over his right foot.

A great drill to do at home or at the office is to setup up in your address position with the back of a chair an inch or so from your right hip. When you make your back swing your right hip should never touch the chair.

The second element is the transition. It is a beautiful transition that obviously creates a lot of power. I like how as he nears the top of his backswing, his left knee starts to transition towards the target, while his back, shoulders and arms move ever so slightly away from the target. Then there is the slight pause as the upper body starts unwinding back towards the target, before the whole body rotates through impact.

The key is to not let your arms continue the backswing without your back and shoulders. If you do that you will lose all the timing to have an effective golf swing. Your swing will get steep, offline and with limited chance to have great timing at impact.

PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Justin Rose on his victory at the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship.

Nice to see Justin Rose winning again. Does anybody remember when he burst onto the scene in the late '90s as a 17 year old at the Open Championship? His hole out on the 72nd hole was terrific.

I love this video of Justin practicing. There are many players out there who feel they don't need alignment aids or swing drills. If Justin is working with aids...we should all work with them.

The point of the drill is to help his club head come into the ball on the right path. He can aim the track at his target and then see if his divot is in line with his track. A great drill for alignment and club path.

There are many things we can take away from Justin's swing that will help us all be better players. I would like to focus on two.

The first is his solid backswing. In the video watch how long his hands stay in front of his chest. That is a terrific position to have in your backswing. It means that you are turning your chest and shoulders at the same speed as your arms. Everything is working together. It also means that you are keeping the width in your swing which will help you generate power. If your hands come across your body and are not in front of your chest then you will lose your leverage.

The second is his terrific transition from his backswing to his downswing. Watch how his lower body moves to the target. It seems like his back hesitates a split second while his arms gently fall down into position. With his hands back in front of his chest he can power through the hitting area with great consistency.