Page 28 - Golf World (February 2020)

tour instruction ★ bunker play ★ swing basics ★ driving ★ course management ★ tHe arcHive

Everyone is trying to hit it
further off the tee, but in my
world, with a choice of 280
1 in the fairway or 300
yards
yards in the rough, I’d take the former.
Why don’t amateurs think the same?
To hit more greens, make more effort
to find the fairway first. That’s your
first step to better irons shots.

I don’t think too much about
anything at address – except
alignment. I struggle with
2 , whether being too open
that
or too shut. So I have to keep an eye on
it. I try to get my path as square as I
can because I can get ‘in to out’, with
too much right-to-left shape. Everyone
should always be trying to stay within
the parameters of where they play their
best. I set up as neutral as possible and
try to get my divots as straight as
possible. Then I know I’m playing OK.

Divots tell you pretty much
everything, they always have
done. Every shot I take on
the
3 course I always have a
look at my divot to make sure it’s just a
good shot. It can be too deep and
you’re too steep, or if you haven’t made
a divot you haven’t squeezed the ball
out properly. If it’s going left, you’ve
come over the top, if it’s going right
you’ve come inside too much. In this ‘I like to feel As a rule, you need to take half a club
age of Trackman, I still don’t think more as the ball will fly higher. This is
you can beat looking at your divot and that my right especially true into the wind when it is
your ball flight. even more worthwhile taking that
palm faces extra half club and hitting it a little
I grip down the club a little more softly. An extra club is actually a
bit, but if a ball is above my down through good tactic in any scenario. A smoother
feet, I grip down further. I impact’ strike nearly always reaps rewards.
4 like to feel the weight on my
heels more than usual, too. You feel as I like to feel my right palm
if the ball is going to go left from this facing down through
impact. It means my right
lie but you often hold off it and end up 7
hitting it right. If the ball is below my from that sort of lie. I’ll have a little arm covers my left arm
feet, I squat a little bit more at address. more weight on my left side with a through the hitting zone. That helps
Again, you feel as if the ball will go wider stance to keep myself grounded. to squeeze it out properly. If the right
right but you often flip your wrists and However, the key thing is you have to hand gets underneath, it is going to go
end up hitting it left. That’s what I trust that the ball will get in the air. right or you have to manipulate it and
always do! Don’t compensate too much. Just focus on taking the ball first. end up flipping it left. With the right
hand on top, you can play from there.
The ball on a downward The ball on an upslope
slope is a difficult one for looks inviting. It’s a great I struggle with spinning my
most people… but it natural launching pad… lower half too much… I
bu
5 tually helps my swing 6 t it always goes left when I think I have the fastest legs
ac
because I can’t get ‘in to out’ as much hit it – I am still working that lie out! 8 in the world! So I have to

28 Golf World February 2020 | golfworldtop100.com