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PGA Tour - Steve Stricker

There is no doubt that PGA Tour pro Steve Stricker has been such a great story. He has climbed to number two in the world with hard work and a very consistent swing. There is a lot to be learned from his swing. Take a look…

We have spoken many times about the triangle formed by the arms and shoulders at our starting position. You can see it very well in Strickers set up position. The reason to have that great position at set up is to help make a classic one piece takeaway. The one piece backswing is all about having the shoulders arms and hands all move at the same time all the way to the top of the swing.

So the big question tends to be…where is the top of your swing? It all depends on your flexibility. You can only make as big as swing as your flexibility will allow. Where a lot of people get in trouble is when they get to the top of the swing their shoulders stop rotating but they force their arms to keep going to take the club back farther. They think they need to get their hands and club over their shoulder to create power. That is a big misconception, and is a very big swing fault. It leads the arms breaking down at the top. It also causes the transition from back swing to down swing to be in two pieces. Players will have a very difficult time returning the club back to the ball consistently. When the arms go farther than the shoulders they often get left behind on the downswing…or…the downswing gets started with the arms, which leads to big pulls and power slices. Not the results we want.

The WALL DRILL Click Here for Video will help you learn the proper movement. This will help you take the club back properly so that you can return it to the ball with power and consistency.

If you find this helpful for your own game, then pay particular attention to Steve Stricker when is in the hunt on the weekends. It will help your game by watching and emulating his back swing.

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PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Steve Stricker on his victory at the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

I believe the commentators said he has won 9 times in his 40s. That is amazing!I also agree with Sir Nick and Johnny Miller that his swing will be copied in the future. Technology has reduced the need for hand action in the golf swing to generate power. Watch the old videos of Bobby Jones to see how much action he created compared to that of Steve Stricker.

A great objective for any player is to eliminate any unnecessary movement. Stricker does a great job of that. His hands stay very quiet on the backswing. His wrists hardly hinge at the top of his backswing. You can see from the above video that his backswing is all shoulder turn.

His downswing starts from the hips and he simply turns everything through the golf ball at the same time. His hands and wrists release naturally without any effort. This is a great way to have a consistent rhythm through the golf ball on every shot. This swing delivers enough power to win on Tour.

European Tour Winner Quick Lesson

Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen and his victory at the 2012 Africa Open.

Louis burst onto the scene with his dominating performance at the Open Championship. Many have predicted multiple wins for this player. His victory this past weekend is likely one of many to come.

In the video above pay really close attention to when the video ends. Take a look at his left foot. Notice how all his weight his on his left heel. This is a great sign that he has cleared his hips properly.

One of the key reasons for starting the downswing with your lower body is to clear your hips out of the way to create more room for your arms to swing through impact. It is a great indicator as to how well you cleared your hips, when almost all your weight is on your heel.

If your weight is leaning on you toes or even the middle of your foot then you have not rotated and cleared your hips enough through your downswing and past impact. You really want to feel the pressure of your weight on your heel like Oosthuizen.

Make sure you start your downswing with your lower body. At the top of your backswing; either pull your left knee or your left hip (right handed player) towards the target. Also make sure your hips keep rotating through impact and into your finish position with your weight on the heel.