READER LESSON
Clive’sassessment
Duncan’sswinghaddevelopeda
Zorro-likemoveatthetop–awobble
andare-routeoftheclub.Thiswasa
reactiontohistakeawaybeingtoo
muchontheinside,sotheshaftwas
almostinvoluntarilyliftingup.Hisstance
wasalsoalittletoowide,whichwas
restricting his ability to turn properly.
Clive’sremedy
Toencouragealessinsidetakeaway,I
heldastickinpositiontohelpDuncan
gettheshaftmoreparalleltothetarget
linehalfwayback,somethinghecould
replicatebyputtinganalignmentstickin
theground.Missingthestickgave
Duncantherighttakeawayfeel.From
here,hecouldworktheclubbackintoa
positionheequatedwithbeing about 11
o’clock on a clockface.
Anotherwaytoencouragethesame
movewastoinsertateepegintothegrip.
Onagoodtakeaway,Duncancouldstill
seetheteepeghalfwayback,whereasif
hegotintotheoldposition,theteepeg
woulddisappearfromhisview.
Hiswidestancewaspossiblythe
resultoflower-backproblems,soI
narroweditdowntoseeif hecouldrotate
betterwithoutlosingbalance,asthat
wouldsupporthisswingthroughimpact
alittlemore.Headaptedreallywellto
everythingandactuallymadeitlookeasy.
It’s great when you get that kind of result.
Duncan’sfeedback
Ifounditreallyusefultobegivenspecific
pointstogointo,outofandthrough!I
hadseenthesymptomsofthisinside
takeawayonthecourseandonthe
rangeandI nowfeelI’vegotsome
positivepointsofreferencetowork
towards,ratherthanthingstoavoid–
e.g.avoidcomingoverthetop.The
problemwiththestanceisthatyouget
usedtoafeeling,evenifit’swrong.I
supposethedangeristhatI willcontinue
tomakeitnarrowerandnarrower,but
I’mfairlyconfidentI’vegottheright
reference points to keep it in check.
“Ihavean
underlying
inconsistencyin
myswingandI
waswavingthe
clubheadaround
at the top!”
ALWAYS
Looktogroovenewmoveswithshorter
shotsfirstbeforeworkinguptolonger
distances.Don’tbeafraidtodrop down
in distance for a while either.
Focusonapositionormoveyoudon’t
wanttoachieveorfeel,butratheron
howyoudowantittofeelorwherethe
clubdoes need to be at certain stages.
NEVER
Words:
Clive Tucker with Jeremy Ellwood
Photography:
Dan Gould
Duncanwasre-routing
the club at the top...
...butagoodtakeawayhelped
him find a better position
Anarrowerstance
helpedhimturn
through the ball
Onagoodtakeaway
Duncancouldstill
see the tee peg
Thishelpsgetthe
shaftmoreparallel
to the target line