Elite Golf Performance

Implementing swing changes is often about feels, cues, movements. There’s always complexity within golf swing changes, but if you can eliminate some confusion with an athletic, powerful, simple feel, it’s certainly more bang for your buck. Really trying to simulate the unweighting and absorbing force into transition by gently letting go of the weighted ball, catching it and pretending I’m about to aggressively throw it. If you have a wall to throw a ball into this would probably be even better. Try it and let me know what you think.

Transition work is typically very tricky, especially when focused on when and how to shift pressure. By allowing the club to “float” and envision yourself catching a punt or weighted dumbbell, you may pick up some cues on how to transition better and effectively get pressure shifted more efficiently.

Physical limitations make getting into certain positions very difficult. If you’re having trouble getting more height/lift in the backswing, here are some easy exercises to help.

A simple benchmark I use often. I like to make sure the lead arm angle is matching or higher than shoulder plane. If it’s not, there’s just simply so much to do in such a short amount of time that it makes the downswing very difficult. Often, a past or current physical limitation can be a reason why a student has this.

I’m all for simplifying the swing and doing less, but the trail arm staying “tucked” still will do more harm than good for most; especially with longer irons and woods. As you can see, it’s hard to find a tour player hitting a longer club that would have a headcover still staying under their armpit at the top of the backswing. Some are more pronounced than others, but overall you’re only making distance suffer and athleticism drop with full swings doing this in my opinion.

A common theme in golf is that people have the right idea of shifting pressure…it’s just too late. Typically all these shifts in pressure happen earlier than you think. Start shifting sooner to allow an easier and more athletic swing.

Stop restricting yourself. A less talked about area that could be absolutely killing your rotation and athleticism. Allowing your trail side to naturally come through will make your life way easier in the downswing.

One area that I think is quite overrated is trying to keep your lead arm straight. As you can see, there’s tons of variance amongst some of the best. Overall, stop wasting your time on something that isn’t really a big reason for your struggles.

GOLF WORKOUT

5-10 Minutes, 2-3x/week will make a big difference. Here's a few great exercises to start with that can be done anywhere with essentially no equipment. You can always add sets if desired.

Push Up Position w/ Rotational Reach - 1 set of 5 each side
Wall Windmills - 1 set of 5 each side, each direction
Lateral Lunge w/ Rotation - 1 set of 8 each side
Lateral Hip Stretch - 1 set of 8 each side
Prone Leg Lifts w/ Rotation - 1 set of 5 each side

HIP MOBILITY - It's important to always challenge yourself and leave your comfort zone to obtain more range of motion. Try these hip exercises next warm up or workout as a great way to open up your hips.