Second to the Masters, the “Open Championship” is my favorite majors to watch because of the history and also because of the different style golf that will be played. This year at Royal St. George’s you will see the top players in the world fight the elements. It will be windy and rainy and they will be faced with playing shots that stay under the wind. Only the most patient and creative of players will survive this unusual test. Here is an archive video that I did last year for the Open Championship. Enjoy!
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The body is the engine of the swing. After you train the hands and arms effectively then you can focus on your body pivot. In the past I have talked about matching components. Different pieces put together correctly that allow you to swing the club on the correct swing plane. You can’t get these mixed up or you will not hit the ball your best. Here are the different combinations that I prescribe for the best results:
Neutral Pivot (Option 1) – steeper shoulder plane, higher right hip, centered head position. I recommend coupling with a flatter hand/arm plane to balance out the swing.
Chad Campbell – Option 1
Positive Pivot (Option 2) – flatter shoulder plane, level hips, spine tilted away from target. Head moves a half of a head away from target. I recommend a more a more upright arm plane to match. Requires a bigger slide forward with the hips and hand drop from the top to balance out hsp.
Ryan Moore Option 2
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I first heard of Rory when he was 16 and was playing in European tour events and making cuts. A curly haired, freckled face kid. Looking more like Howdy Doody than an athletic icon, McIlroy has grown and matured into a world beater. I followed Rory around the back nine at Quail Hollow as he shot 62 to win the Wachovia Championship going away. As he faced a 40 footer on 18 with a couple of shot lead, he took no time and knocked it in like it was a five footer in a practice round. I saw the same look in his eyes this week as he destroyed the best of what the golf world has to offer by eight shots….and he left a few out there which is scary. As we watch these twenty something golfers come up through the ranks, Rory is by far the most talented and seems to be able to handle the pressure of Championship golf. As a coach, it is interesting to see how everyone marvels at the swing or technique of the hottest players going. Just like in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, we all wanted to swing like Tiger and I guarantee we loved to compare our students to Mr. Woods swing because he was playing better than anyone in the world for a unbelieveable extended time. (now he has changed it 3 times?) Would you have taught your students to swing like Jim Furyk if he would have been so dominant? hmmm? Well? So now we all want Rorys swing and what is not to like? He has great basics, athleticism, hits all the right positions, flow and power. But this is the same guy that missed several cuts in the past at big events and collapsed at this past April’s Masters, right. So I think aside from his wonderful golfing motion, first class short game and putting…It is the mental maturity and attitude that allowed him to stay out of his own way throughout the U.S. Open and win going away. I love the press conferences and learn so much about a player by listening close to what they say and how they say it. Rory mentioned (and was asked many times so he had no choice) about Tiger Woods. He said he thought a lot about what Tiger would do (2000 Open) which helped him keep his fire even when he had a big lead. This was very apparent when he got so upset after making a bogey on the 17th even though he had a huge lead but that is how you have to play in that situation. Tiger’s goal in the 2000 Open was to go bogey free even though he had a huge lead. He played a tournament against himself, set mini 3 hole goals which is what Rory did and it helped keep him in the moment up till the last putt. So we will see how this plays out as one major is just a start a legendary career. A lot of great players have won only a single major. So lets not start comparing this young phenom to Tiger or Jack until we see some consistency over a long period of time as golf is a very fickle game and can come and go as you all know. Let Rory enjoy his unbelievable performance and be a young man who I already admire so much, not as much by his golf game but they way he has handled failure and now how he will handle success. His dad should be very proud of the man that he has become. Wise beyond his years for sure.
I am sure that I was not alone as I stood in my man room and chanted,”Let’s Go Rory” as he simply was spectacular for 4 rounds in our major championship. The U.S. players need to take notice. Who is going to step up and stop him? Only time will tell. I am so fortunate to have been able to watch Jack Nicklaus at the end of his run, Tiger Woods in his prime and now Rory McIlroy starting his.
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As we approach the week of our second major championship of the year, The United States Open, we have to ask ourselves; What kind of player wins the U.S. Open and what kind of shots are required to survive the grueling test that is some of the toughest golf course set-ups in the world. There is a reason why par is a good score and usually ends up winning or coming very close. The USGA sets the course up with this score in mind with narrow fairways, long rough, firm greens and difficult pin positions.
The type of player to look for this week: In my opinion you have to do three things well to win an open. 1) Drive it straight 2) be able to play smart from the rough 3)have a world class short game
Notice I didn’t say that you had to be a long power player or even a great putter although that doesn’t hurt but I think that the player will have to be able to work the ball with a fade pattern to keep the ball from rolling into the rough and also a fade into the greens tends to hold better than a draw. So the players that can shape the ball will have a definite advantage. Here are a few players that fall under this pattern and who I think will do well this week.
1. K.J. Choi – his steeper downswing and fade shot will set up well at Congressional. He can drive it straight, escape the rough and hit the greens with his fade. Choi has been showing good form of late as he just recently won the Players Championship.
2. Martin Kymer – Although his steep downswing doesn’t work at Augusta, he should be able to manage his way around and shoot something around par and contend this week. This is why he played so well at the PGA. His fade is a plus for this venue
3. Lee Westwood – His shot pattern doesn’t match my description but has the ability to work the ball both ways and simply has come too close not to be in the mix at the end. Hits alot of fairways and greens which makes him a threat
4. Rory Mcilroy – I know he has had his troubles of late but he has too much talent not to be in contention and he will win his first major this year. If not the US then the British Open. He is resiliant and has a great short game which will keep him in it. There was a great question posted on twitter the other day: Who will win their first major? McIlroy, Fowler, Montessero or Ishikawa. I choose Rory.
5. Luke Donald – New World number 1 has to get his long game going as he hasn’t struck as well as you think lately (check the stats) but has a world class short game and is a great putter that will keep him around par. Needs a major to validate his number 1 ranking so he really wants this one.
Honorable mentions include: David Toms, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Matt Kucher, Hunter Mahan
One of the shots that the players will face this week is a pitch shot from the rough or what I call the “birdnest“. Here is an video archive that will help you tackle these difficult shots around the green.
Leave your picks for the U.S. Open in the comments thread
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I know many of my students have heard me talk about the D-Plane and why it is important. The cool thing is that many of you understand it. I had a 13-year-old junior that know how to work the ball now because of D Plane. As a student you need to have a general understanding of why the ball flies the way it does. As an instructor my job is to help you change your pattern to get the desired ball flight that you want. Some of you have asked me what I need to do to work the ball in both directions and this usually opens up a discussion about “The Descriptive Plane” or 3D ball flight. I usually pull out a couple of sticks or my monster wedge and try to explain it in a fashion that anyone could understand. There is so much more to it than just the path and club face relationship that is hard to explain (angle of attack, friction, spin loft etc.) and also impossible to see without a trackman to give you the exact numbers. As coaches we do our best to read ball flight, match it up with what we see with our internal high-speed cameras (our eyes) and then look at it on camera in slow motion to decide where to start first. The understanding of D plane principles has helped me to read ball flight better, diagnose quicker and help my students faster by changing their ball flight in a positive way. I have to thank my good friend John Graham (check out his site for more info) for our many talks on the subject and his videos that help explain this. I also have run across some other great videos fromBrian Manzella and this one from James Leitz that I would like to share. I know most of you have seen this but I never assume anything and think it can be useful for coaches and students. Along with some of my favorite videos I have included some pictures that might help paint the picture of the DPlane as well. Enjoy my montage and I am so grateful to all the great coaches that have helped me with this subject as it has taken my teaching to a new level.
James Leitz
Brian Manzella
John Graham
To understand your golf swing is to understand ball flight. I know your head is spinning right now so you must come to the lesson tee and I will explain it live.
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I know that you saw the opening for the scoring zone school that I did with top 50 instructor, Todd Sones but you didn’t get to see what shots that we hit around the green. Here are a couple of shots that I will think will help you lower your scores. There will be more to come.
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My student Mike Smith using the swinkey as a putting aid
My boss came by the other day to watch me teach for a bit and noticed this Carolina Blue pole in my bag and was curious. “What is that?” she asked. “It’s my Swinkey I said” I proceeded to show her all of the uses that were possible as I unscrew the top of my training aid. “You are becoming quite the gadget guy,” she said. I never thought of myself as much of a training aid teacher as I try to utilize my hands to manipulate the student into feeling the changes that I want them to make and I still do. For those who know me are aware of how picky I am in what I use as aids for my teaching so it has to be good and it has to be simple for the student to use. I like training aids that are basically hard to screw up and I have found the one that you can use for the rest of your career. “The Swinkey”. The golfers toolbox or the Swiss Army Knife of training aids is many aids in one which makes it convenient and versitile. I was introduced to it by my good friend, National Canadian Teacher of the Year, Jason Helman (jasonhelmangolf.com) when he appeared on my Guru TV show last year passing through Charlotte. I met Todd Halpen, one of the owners of this fine training tool on twitter (swinkeytodd) and later met the rest of the guys at the PGA show and they are all great guys. They are all accomplished players and have an excellent idea of what golfers need to get better. I posted a question on the golf pro facebook group the other day to see what training aids were being used by some of the best instructors in the game and the Swinkey was on many of their lists which says alot.
The Swinkey Boys, Jason Helman and Me at the PGA show
The Swinkey is a solid metal tube that holds two alignment rods and two metal stakes that can transform into so many different forms to help you get more out of your practice. I currently use it for :1) warmup swing trainer 2)alignment 3) ball position 4)swing plane 5)putting aid )putting string aim line 7) holding my impact bag in place. I am sure there are many others that I will find as I use it more. I would highly recommend that you order
my student Brian McAlpine using the Swinkey string for alignment
your today and start to get more out of your practice.
visit http://www.swinkey.comto order yours today and use PRO CODE:( Swinkey_26) to get a 10% discount. Just tell them The Guru Sent You and they will say Who is that? Anyway. I suggest you go get one now!
Please visit our website at www.danarader.com or call 704-542-7635 to schedule a lesson with the Guru and see the swinkey in action
The Golf Guru Show 