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Hit It Further And Straighter With Your Driver!
By Jonathan Yarwood
“Keep your head down!”….. How many times have you heard that! Well, I am here to tell you, that advice is responsible for a lot of problems with the driver including ‘skying’ it, ‘slicing’ it and a lack of power. It actually perpetuates many problems too, let me explain….
The more you keep your head down, the less your body winds up behind the ball. Your right hip gets ‘high’ as you go back and acts as a barrier to moving your weight. You end up in a classic ‘reversed pivot’ position, where your upper body weight is ahead of the ball at the top of your swing. The head being perfectly still, has this is the effect on the body. The body is forced to move out of the way on the downswing and produces an ‘over the top’ move that encourages a slice and loss of power.
[2]If you think about it, in most sports that require you to propel an object forward towards a target, like tennis or baseball, all require that your weight moves away from the target going back and towards the target going through. Golf is no different, it may be even more important as it has an influence on the plane too which obviously affects the direction. That is the tough thing about golf, the ball is static. Most sports it moves and you use that momentum!
So do not try and keep your head still. Try and tilt your spine slightly away from the target at address. Then let your head move slightly so you feel that you upper body weight and chest is over your right leg at the top of your backswing. From there, release your right side and fire your weight through to the target and onto your left foot. The ball will go miles further and your body won’t ache so much at night!!!
[3]Jonathan Yarwood was originally from the United Kingdom, but relocated to the United States in 1996. After a few years as one of David Leadbetter’s senior teachers, Jonathan branched out on his own and has enjoyed an extensive career with a track record that speaks for itself: He has coached, 2 US Amateur Champions including this years champion Ben An, 2 US Girls Champions and 1 US Open Champion in Michael Campbell in 2005. That is 5 USGA champs in 10 years, which is a record in itself. Add to that the four number one juniors, 3 AJGA players of the year, a collegiate number one, a male and female nationally ranked number one as well as a winner on every major professional tour, you have a record to rival the best. Jonathan was voted a Top 20 teacher under 40 years old by Golf Digest in 2006, after 5 straight years of being in the best teacher in state rankings for Florida.
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