My favorite drills for hands ahead of clubhead

[Tom]

There's no magic. It is training that makes your hands get ahead of the clubhead at impact and THAT (hands ahead) is the #1 key to consistent shot making, and consistent scores.

To get your hands ahead #1, you must have great hip rotation!!! The average tour pro's hips are 42 degrees open at impact. The average amateur golfer's hips are about 10 degrees open.

To get your hands ahead #2, you must have great hip rotation!!! The average tour pro's hips are 42 degrees open at impact. The average amateur golfer's hips are about 10 degrees open.

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Drill 1:

Get an impact bag.

Put it where your ball would be ordinarily.

Address the ball. IMPORTANT: Set your right knee for a golf swing and make 110% sure it is bent at address and stays bent all the way to the top!!! DO NOT LET IT STRAIGHTEN!!!

Envision that someone has a rope tied to your left front pocket (right handed golfer)

Start your thru swing and as you start down, imagine that someone pulls hard on that rope and it spins your hips open.

Simultaneously, as your hips spin open you POST UP on a firm left side. If you do not do this you will slide forward and you'll look like any other hacker and your hopes of getting your hands ahead will be dashed.

Hit the impact bag at 50% your normal hitting force.

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Drill 2:

Get a swim noodle

Put it four feet in front of your ball (i use a microphone stand, and stick the noodle on the end).

Address the ball. IMPORTANT: Set your right knee for a golf swing and make 110% sure it is bent at address and stays bent all the way to the top!!! DO NOT LET IT STRAIGHTEN!!!

Envision that someone has a rope tied to your left front pocket (right handed golfer)

Start your thru swing and as you start down, imagine that someone pulls hard on that rope and it spins your hips open.

Simultaneously, as your hips spin open you POST UP on a firm left side. If you do not do this you will slide forward and you'll look like any other hacker and your hopes of getting your hands ahead will be dashed.

Hit the ball at 50% your normal hitting force and stop your club before it hits the swim noodle. The more advanced you become, move the swim noodle closer to your ball.

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Drill 3:

Address your ball. IMPORTANT: Set your right knee for a golf swing and make 110% sure it stays bent.

Before you start your back swing, press your hands forward as far as they will possibly go.... Make sure your right knee stays bent all the way to the top!!! DO NOT LET IT STRAIGHTEN!!!

Maintain the forward press!!!!

Envision that someone has a rope tied to your left front pocket (right handed golfer)

Start your thru swing and as you start down, imagine that someone pulls hard on that rope and it spins your hips open.

Simultaneously, as your hips spin open you POST UP on a firm left side. If you do not do this you will slide forward and you'll look like any other hacker and your hopes of getting your hands ahead will be dashed.

Hit the ball at 90% your normal hitting force and try to feel your right wrist angle.

[poser]

All those drills sound like a disaster for the average golfer.  I see people spinning their hips and the club flying outside.  Also Every great ball striker I have seen straightens their right leg to some degree in the backswing.

[MiniBlueDragon]

All of those drills are extremely 'old skool' and as mentioned above are not suitable for the majority of golfers who already spin the hips too much.

[The_Pharaoh]

Where did you get these drills from?

[Tom]

precisely why people who doubt are average golfers, and people like me are plus handicappers. keep doing what you're doing... or try something like stack and tilt... tee hee hee

[iacas]

If people doubt, it's for a good reason, and I'm proud of the guys on here for their responses.

Originally Posted by Tom

To get your hands ahead #1, you must have great hip rotation!!! The average tour pro's hips are 42 degrees open at impact. The average amateur golfer's hips are about 10 degrees open.

Please cite your source. I have TPI data and other forms of 3D data that say otherwise. Figures are more like 30-35 degrees, and the average amateur's numbers are almost exactly the same, but there's more variation: some are WAY open and some are WAY closed.

Originally Posted by Tom

IMPORTANT: Set your right knee for a golf swing and make 110% sure it is bent at address and stays bent all the way to the top!!! DO NOT LET IT STRAIGHTEN!!!

Or, instead, you could do like 99% of the PGA Tour, and let your back leg decrease flex on the backswing, allowing your hips to turn on an inclined plane.

Originally Posted by Tom

Start your thru swing and as you start down, imagine that someone pulls hard on that rope and it spins your hips open.

Why?

Did you know that every great player has roughly 85-90% of their weight on their front foot at impact? If you do nothing but spin, how does the weight get there?

Originally Posted by Tom

IMPORTANT: Set your right knee for a golf swing and make 110% sure it stays bent.

You keep saying this. If it's so "IMPORTANT" why does virtually nobody on the PGA Tour do this? Why didn't these guys?

Some may be tired of hearing this, but Tom, feel ain't real, and advice without any sort of logic or reasoning doesn't fly very well here.

[slabm7]

I always thought you were supposed to aggressively slide your hips as opposed to aggressively turn them. Just turning them seems your weight would stay centered over your stance or even fall back on your back foot. Your weight needs to be forward at impact.

[poser]

Originally Posted by Tom

precisely why people who doubt are average golfers, and people like me are plus handicappers. keep doing what you're doing... or try something like stack and tilt... tee hee hee

I found your swing and if you carry that handicap good for you because that swing requires some great timing.  Your rate of closure is one of the fastest things I have ever seen.  I'll stick with my garbage swing and my 1 handicap I guess.  Tee hee hee

[iacas]

Originally Posted by poser

I found your swing and if you carry that handicap good for you because that swing requires some great timing.  Your rate of closure is one of the fastest things I have ever seen.  I'll stick with my garbage swing and my 1 handicap I guess.  Tee hee hee

Good stuff. You're right about the rate of closure. In the thread (http://thesandtrap.com/t/43090/my-swing-tom) Tom called himself a "pro flipper" but now he's giving us drills for "hands ahead of clubhead."

Here's Tom not decreasing flex in his right knee:

Oh wait, he does. Oops.

Okay then, here he is rotating only:

Whoops. Slid forward quite a bit too. And seems he's not 42 degrees open.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by iacas

Whoops. Slid forward quite a bit too. And seems he's not 42 degrees open.

Great find! This is exactly why golfers wishing to improve shouldn't listen to players with a "tour professional game".

[sk golf]

Recipe for a short slice

[Tiger90]

I think those drills are actually very good.  I really like how he focuses on the very most important aspect of golf and that is hitting down on the ball by clearing your hips.

Clearing your hips is uber important and cannot be repeated more times. clear your hips, clear your hips, clear your hips.

Altough you say this feeling of a rope whipping you may feel complicated for the average golfer, i believe the opposite.  In golf, when your are trying to learn something new, you always feel as if you are doing the new move, but alot of the time you are not...you gotta feel as if you are going to exaggerate this movement and you will probably do it the proper amount.  Instructors are constantly asking for a foot and begging for an inch, exaggeration is key.

But yes, the key is solid ball striking is hitting down on the ball...every golfer of all skills, shapes and and ages must hit down on the ball to make solid contact and have consistant ball flights. To do this, clear those hips, and try to exaggerate the feeling until you can do it without thinking about it.  You will be more accurate, consistant.

I suggest to try those drills....

[Tiger90]

Originally Posted by iacas

Good stuff. You're right about the rate of closure. In the thread (http://thesandtrap.com/t/43090/my-swing-tom) Tom called himself a "pro flipper" but now he's giving us drills for "hands ahead of clubhead."

Here's Tom not decreasing flex in his right knee:

Oh wait, he does. Oops.

Okay then, here he is rotating only:

Whoops. Slid forward quite a bit too. And seems he's not 42 degrees open.

I dont understand where your coming from with this...you say his drills are wrong because he cannot do them...What do you think golf coaches or caddies are for, ya donk.  As a close to scratch golfer myself, i beleive those drills are great to get the feeling of hitting down on the ball..  Dont bash his drills because of what his swing looks like or what he wrote in another thread... I would like to hear why you believe the average golf does not need to try to hit down on the ball, and the only way to hit down on the ball is to clear your hips

[sk golf]

I will certainly not dispute that hitting down on the ball is important, because it is, but "clearing your hips" doesn't mean you'll hit down on the golf ball

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Tiger90

I dont understand where your coming from with this...you say his drills are wrong because he cannot do them...What do you think golf coaches or caddies are for, ya donk.

Donk? Really?

I think if you read the posts above you'd understand where I'm coming from. He straightens his right knee in the backswing and slides his hips forward in his own swing, then gives drills and repeatedly says not to do those things.

Originally Posted by Tiger90

As a close to scratch golfer myself, i beleive those drills are great to get the feeling of hitting down on the ball..  Dont bash his drills because of what his swing looks like or what he wrote in another thread... I would like to hear why you believe the average golf does not need to try to hit down on the ball, and the only way to hit down on the ball is to clear your hips

Hitting down on the ball has next to nothing to do with "clearing the hips." Again, the average golfer has his hips almost the same amount open as the pros. Some are more, some are less, but the average is almost the same.

Originally Posted by sk golf

I will certainly not dispute that hitting down on the ball is important, because it is, but "clearing your hips" doesn't mean you'll hit down on the golf ball

Bingo.

[bunkerputt]

I'm not sure whether I'd rather be a +2.2 handicap with no deep knowledge of the golf swing, or a 7 handicap who knows what he should be doing and why, but just struggles.  Tom, you remind me of Nick Faldo.  Obviously tremendous talent, but something to be desired with regards to instructing others.

[colin007]

thats "Sir" Nick Faldo to you... ;)

[Tom]

iacas,

you're a hacker aren't you? a complete chopper. you're a hater too...

you're a stack and tilt teacher and you can't handle someone (like me) with a better game/swing than you. you play golf swing (S&T;); i play golf.

i'll play you anytime for cash (big cash), or reputation. bring it!! bash all you want - you're a chopper. i saw that drill you posted where you were acting as if you were hitting "down hill" to show how to get your hands ahead. you don't know what you're doing. and you give lessons? to hackers no doubt...

bring it chopper.