Golf Tips

In a recent tennis match during the U.S.Open one of the players let go of his racket when serving, it flew across the net and the player lost the point.

Discussing the incident in the commentary box afterwards Annabel Croft pointed out that releasing the racket, or 'throwing the racket head at the ball', when serving was a drill used by the Williams sisters when practising Callaway Diablo Edge Irons. Apparently they used a stack of rackets and threw them at the target after the ball, which ensured the correct release.

We can use a similar concept in golf when 'releasing the driver club' on a full shot. When you make a good swing and the club slips out of your hands it should fly into the distance on line with the target.

With a golfer who slices the Callaway X-24 Hot Irons or hits the ball with an out-to-in swingpath, the club would fly to the left of target. Conversely, a golfer who draws the ball would tend to 'throw' or release the club to the right reflecting an inside approach into impact.

While I'm not advocating throwing your clubs when practising, imagining the club (or a stick) being released into the distance after the ball, certainly encourages a straighter, more natural release at impact.

If you are trying to hit the ball with a new draw shape but are struggling with a swing change, try this new approach by setting the hips differently at address. The position of the hips at address directly influences the angle of the spine and this in turn affects the plane of the turn and swing line.

Most golfers who struggle to draw the Mizuno MX-950 Irons- that'll probably be 80 per-cent of you, then! - have the hips set too far back in the stance, which makes the spine too vertical at address. This position tends to make us tilt on the back swing and make it almost impossible to come into impact from the inside of the golf swing.

Shifting the hips forward in the stance helps make a more natural turn from the inside. This inclines the top of the spine away from the hole and automatically changes the shape of your swing