Backswing[ DRIVING TIPS WITHPIERS WARD,ME AND MY GOLF ]M
oderntechnology
enablesustoget
reallydeepintowhat
thelongesthittersin
theworldactuallydo
toproducesuchhugedistances.
Yes,it’simportanttooptimiselaunch
andspin,butwecanalsoseehowthey
usethegroundandapplypressuretoit
duringthebackswingtomaximise
power.RoryMcIlroyisareallygood
examplebecausehe’snotthebiggestof
guys,buthe’soneofthelongestontour,
sohehastousethegroundincredibly
well.Thesetypesofplayersarevery
goodatgettingthepressureintothe trail
sidethroughtherightfoot(fora
right-handedgolfer),buildingupenergy
whichcanbetransferredbacktowards
thetargetinthedownswing.
Thishastostartwithagoodset-up.
Weknowthedriverset-upisdifferent
tothatofaniron.Withdriver,wehave
theballfurtherforward,adoptawider
stanceandtiltthespineawayfromthe
targetslightly,encouragingthemove
intoyourtrailsideinthebackswing,as
well as an upward hit on the golf ball.Agooddrillisto
addresstheball,
takeyourright
handoffandslideit
downtheinsideof
yourtrailleg.Your
spineand
shoulderswill
naturallytiltaway
fromthetarget.
Thenjusttake
your normal grip.AlotofgolfersI seegetthiswrongby
havingtheirshoulderstooleveland
openwithnotiltawayfromthetargetin
thespine,whichislikelytoleadtoa
steepangleofattack across the ball
andbigslices.
Youcanseeherehowmyright
shoulderislowerandmyheadis
slightlybehindtheball.Thiswill
encouragemetotransfermyweight
intomytrailsidecorrectlyandstrike
theballslightlyontheup, helping to
maximise distance.1BACKSWING • TIPS AND DRILLS