The Barclays Championship Video Golf Tips
The Barclays Championship 2008 Leaderboard
**Player's FedEx ranking is in brackets** The first tournament of the playoffs is turning out to be a great one. There are 3 of the top 12 players from the Fedex Cup standings that are in the top 10. All the players know that a win or a top ten will give them a leg up on the competition for the rest of the playoffs. Steve Stricker Stricker is a pretty steady player. He could be a threat to win the Cup if is able to get the win this weekend. He is starting in 21 place for the FEDEX CUP, and a 3 shot lead going into Saturday’s round of the Barclay’s. First take a look at the video that is attached to this page. In his setup take a very close look at his grip. Notice how the line formed between in hand and his thumb point in front of his golf ball. This is a strong position to have your hands in to hit great shots. When you watch Stricker play this weekend pay attention to how even his swing his between his upper body and lower body. He starts his downswing with his lower body, but then let’s his upper body catch up so that they turn through the ball together. This is a reason he is a very accurate player. Hunter Mahan Most of the year I have focused these lessons on the full swing, but Hunter Mahan has a great setup for his pitch shots. When he hits his short game shots watch how he sets his feet and hips so that they are pointing to the left, in the open position. He also pre-sets his weight onto his front foot. By doing this he is already in a great impact position. By being in a great impact position before he starts his swing, it makes his swing that much simpler to execute. All he needs to do is turn his chest, shoulders, and arms back and through the ball. Watch the video attached and you will see how there is very little body movement because his body is already in a great impact position. Sergio Garcia Garcia is not the biggest guy in the world but he hits it incredibly far. This lesson is one of the secrets to Garcia’s power. It is not an easy skill to acquire, however, if you can it will certainly add power to your game. Golf should be played relaxed. I know that is easier said than done, yet if you can get your hands and wrists to relax then they can add a ton of power to your game. Watch Sergio’s downswing. He has become famous for the tremendous lag that he creates, and that is where the extra power comes from. One of the secrets to creating this lag is letting your left wrist bend forward as you start your downswing. This will put your wrist into a great position at impact. It will also create the lag that Sergio gets which snaps the wrist into impact for tremendous power. Relax your arms and wrists and you will hit the ball farther. I hope you enjoy the rest of the Barclays Championship. Good luck with your practicing, playing and watching. May you ‘Play Your Golf Dreams’ sooner with the help of free-golf-lessons.com. Return to the Home Page from the Barclays Championship
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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.