Thanks for the reminder, Padraig.

[1chaos52]

Was very happy to see a fellow Irishman win this weekend, and nice to see him repeat.

I was up early on Sunday to watch the Open Championship, and they showed Harrington on the practice tee doing a drill that I realized would help me with my current swing issue. He was taking every swing with golf gloves stuck in his armpits, trying to swing so that they did not fall when he was done.

I have been suffering from a pull lately, and realized by watching him do this that my pull was coming from a disconnection between my arms and my body, which in turn was causing me to come over the top. My right elbow (right handed) was flaring out on my back swing so I was taking the club almost directly up over my head. Once in a while I was hitting a great shot like this and the power I was getting from it was nice, but I was not consistent at all. A lot of this I think came from an elbow injury earlier in the season and I was doing this to alleviate it and be more comfortable.

After the Open, I went to the driving range to work on this same drill. I immediately felt better in my swing, and where I may have lost a yard or two on my longer irons, I was hitting the ball consistently and the improved contact was making it almost as long. I could see by my divots that the club path had changed and was now either in - out or very straight. I did not pull the ball for the entire session and was remarkably consistent. I look forward to getting out and playing to get this worked out.

Anyway, it is a very good drill if you are having swing path and pull issues. Hope this helps someone else out there.

[tonyy]

I saw him do that as well during his warm up. I did that drill before I went out on the course and shot my highest score to this date.

[mellojoe]

At the LPGA event I went to earlier in the month, I was amazed at how ... NORMAL ... the players were. They did silly little drills like the one you mentioned to ensure they played consistently. If they can do those things to improve, so can we. Right?

[ks8829]

I recently started tucking my right elbow against my body before I hit my shots and this has changed my game completely. All my shots are hit solid including my driver that I am hitting 10-20 yards farther.

I also played today, 7/21/08 and made 4 birdies in a row with a total of 6 birdies the most that I have ever made in my 24 years of playing golf. I also shot 1 under twice within a week and the other round was 5 over.

My swing feels compact and in control. I love it and can't wait to play again to see how low I can go. The best is the consistent play and more confidence in my game.

[ECT]

I read this post early this morning and decided to try out my swing with imaginary gloves under my armpits. I used this method while playing in my league this afternoon and, boy oh boy, not only did I consistently make good contact with my ball, I hit it straight!! No more fade....woo hoo!!

Thanks for the great tip!!

[1chaos52]

I read this post early this morning and decided to try out my swing with imaginary gloves under my armpits. I used this method while playing in my league this afternoon and, boy oh boy, not only did I consistently make good contact with my ball, I hit it straight!! No more fade....woo hoo!!

Glad I could help out. I will be out on the course on Friday to play, but have been to the range again this week working on this. Hitting from the grass, out of probably 50 balls hit with irons, I think I hit 3 of them fat, 1 thin, and the rest very nice and consistent. Even hitting like that with my driver was a lot better than usual, and tried it with my 3 wood and was surprised by the distance. When I was taking my swing before, If I hit it well it went 230 - 245, and it was still going that far even though it feels like I am not swinging as hard.

[kafka01]

I tried this (without hitting balls) putting gloves under both of my armpits - and strangely the backswing felt really restricted - is that normal?

[JimmyDoesGolf]

I feel the same. When I try this I feel much too restricted to make a smooth swing. Instead it feels tight, but not in a good coil way. The left arm should stay connected in my opinion, but the right restricts movement too much. In fact, I dont remember seeing many pros playing with their right arm constantly attached to their upper body. Unless Im missing the point of this drill.

[1chaos52]

It is strictly a drill for position. When I am actually swinging, my left arm does come away from my bod a bit, but by doing this drill you are overexaggerating the position so that it is easier to keep you elbow from raising too far and/or flaring out which easily causes a pull. It also helps compact your swing a bit. It will feel a little tight and odd at first, but try it for a few swings then take a swing keeping your elbow in and you should see a big difference.