Introduction to the 5 Simple Keys® (5SK) Learning System

Long-time members of the site know that I and a few others here are involved with the PureStrike 5 Simple Keys® learning system for golf.

The system was created by @david_wedzik and @Chuck Evans , and it doesn't "invent" anything new. What it does is simplify things tremendously. It identifies the five things all great golfers do . It allows golfers to do just about whatever else they want, because whether you're talking about Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, or Tommy Gainey, these golfers all do five things. They're the "keys" to improving at golf - if you can improve one of the keys (ideally the one that is needed most), you will get better at golf.

Those five things are explained here: http://purestrike5sk.com/ - but as a list they are:

1. Steady Head - Your head is a reference point for your swing, and this includes making a full pivot.
2. Weight Forward - At impact, 80-95% of your weight/pressure/force should be on the front foot.
3. Inline Impact - The shaft of the club should line up with roughly the lead shoulder at or just after impact, not before.
4. Diagonal Sweetspot Path - Controlling the path of the sweet spot into the golf ball.
5. Clubface Control - Controlling where the clubface is pointing at impact.

The first three deal with solid contact, the latter two with controlling the flight (start direction and curve) of the golf ball.

You may have seen various versions of this commercial on Golf Channel. It's one and the same (ignore the parts about the book - we didn't write it). http://youtu.be/nizTYZtshDE

There are a lot of people here who really like 5 Simple Keys®, so if you've been referred to this thread, it may be eye-opening for you. I'll say it again: if you can improve at a Key (ideally the most important one for you at the time), you'll improve at golf. Period.

In fact, we have this chart, now with over 1000 golfers at the time of this post, which shows your handicap versus the number of Keys you've mastered:

Note that the average "2-Key" golfer carries a single-digit handicap index! In fact, there's a whole thread about that data here: http://thesandtrap.com/t/67014/keys-vs-handicap-share-your-data .

The 5 Simple Keys® DVDs have been the best-selling instructional DVD on the market since they were introduced in July, 2012. You can get your own set of DVDs here.

But this thread isn't about selling some DVDs, it's simply about introducing you to 5 Simple Keys®.

What's the takeaway from this? There are a few.

• 5 Simple Keys® is not something new - it's just a new and greatly simplified way of looking at the golf swing, which makes it easier to understand and easier to focus on the areas you need to improve.
• The fewer Keys a player has mastered, the higher their handicap is likely to be. There are exceptions, but they're pretty rare.
• 5 Simple Keys® is not "one swing" at all. Again, Jim Furyk and Rory McIlroy swing very little alike, but they have all 5 Simple Keys®. You get to swing with your own unique characteristics. It's not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all "method" - it's a simple system that takes the swing you've got and adds in emphasis where it counts - on only five things.

Many members here love what 5SK has done for their game. Again, whether you're a Hogan fan, a Tiger fan, a Haney, Harmon, Ballard, Leadbetter, Foley, Plummer, Cook, Manzella, or McLean fan (or any other), they all teach swings that fit within and satisfy all 5 Simple Keys®.

Nobody here is really dogmatic about any particular "swing style." We may have preferences here and there (for example, flaring your feet allows you to achieve some of the Keys more easily), but we'll always have reasons that go back to the Keys, and they're just preferences, not requirements. Just ask.

Good luck, and welcome to The Sand Trap. There's no better group of golfers who care more about you and your golf game than what you'll find here.

Check out http://purestrike5sk.com/ for more information.