[PHOTO: J.D. Cuban]
It’s not that your irons aren’t important—they are, of course—but if you whip your driver and putter into shape, you’ll jump miles ahead of your peers. Send 14 drives into play and reasonably far, then avoid three-putting and make your fair share of short putts, and you’ll be a happy golfer.
But how do you do that?
Well, this won’t be a magical elixir for everyone, but this tip from Golf Digest Top 50 and Best In State coaches, Shaun Webb and Mike Granato, will help you along the way.
The tip is simple, as Granato explains:
“There are two clubs in your back which are delivered with a vertical shaft at impact,” he says. “Your driver and your putter.”
This is something Johnny Miller talked about a lot and there are three good reasons why:
- If you get the club shaft vertical with these two clubs in impact, it probably means your body is in a good position, too.
- A vertical shaft at impact will mean the club is being delivered into the golf ball the way it was designed.
- It allows a full release of energy into the clubhead.
If the club shaft is leaned too far forward or backwards at impact with your putter, it’ll send the ball skidding and hopping rather than rolling. If it’s back or forward with the driver, you’ll struggle making solid contact, and generating too much backspin because if how much you’re potentially chopping down on the ball.
All of which is to say: try to get that shaft vertical at impact with both your driver and putter. It’s a simple swing cue that’ll pay dividends from tee to green.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
