During COVID, I played a lot of golf at a little course in San Diego called The Farms. The fairways there are super-tight, so I started hitting low cuts for control. Problem was, I got into a groove of swinging out to in, with the club laid-off at the top (pointing left of the target). That made it hard for me to hit the draws I like when I got back on tour. I needed to break out of that.
In 2023, I asked instructor Chris Como to help me with my swing. To start, Chris had me track down all the old swing videos I could find. He noticed that my club at the top was a lot more on plane a few years ago. We started retooling my backswing into more of an in-up-and-around shape, which to me felt like I was crossing the line at the top (the shaft pointing right of the target). We also worked to get my shoulders turning on a steeper angle going back. This put me in a more neutral position at the top, so I could hit fades or draws, which I always want to be able to do.
Two lessons here for you: First, video your swing a lot, especially when you’re hitting the ball the way you want, so you have a baseline to check against. Second, if you have a dramatically out-to-in or in-to-out swing path, try to work back toward the center. The dispersion of your misses will be tighter, and you’ll be able to hit a bigger variety of shots. —With Peter Morrice
We’ll be adding more of Xander Schauffele’s best tips &Â tactics throughout the rest of the week. Check back in for more…
Xander’s Best Instruction Tips: Prep for Golf / ‘Commit, Execute, Accept’ / Neutral Swing / Uncomfortable Shots / Putting Practice / ‘A Steady Drip’
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com