Flow and Control

FLOW AND CONTROL

Greetings Golfers, 

We all love to watch a beautiful golf swing … it flows. 

And we all love to see beautifully controlled golf shots … shots that land and finish where they should. 

The goal is to be able to do both. 

I don’t see many beautiful golf swings. I see too many swings that are stiff and never flow. 

I get it. We all get it. Hitting wild, crazy shots isn’t fun. But we have to risk it if we’re going to develop a good swing … and play good golf. 

How many times have you hit it great at the range … and then go to the course and chop-it-around? 

We all have. Because … we stop swinging when we get on the golf course. Not letting our swing flow … results in bad shots. 

First off … relax your hands. Squeezing the club stops the flow of the club and your body. Even with putting … good putters have a light grip. 

Here’s where I think the trouble begins: too many people wind-up and then quit at the ball. They need to learn how to accelerate the golf club - even the putter. Practice putting with a slow short backswing and then make a longer follow through. Then try it with chipping. How often have you watched a friend take a long backswing on a chip-shot … and then de-cel and chunk it? Maybe a million times? 

I think that’s why people lose their timing and don’t swing … they don’t trust it. They instinctively know that the backswing is too big for the intended shot … especially on a short putt. 

Here’s a way to practice chipping that can help. Start out with long chip-shots … and fluff-it-up in the rough … and make sure that your shots go past the pin … nothing short … you want acceleration. Then, hit some medium length chips … fluffed-up … and hit them past the pins. Then, same thing with some short chips. 

Now you’re loose and accelerating. Go back to the long chip … but hit it off of a normal lie - not fluffed up. And again … hit it past the pin. Same with medium and short chips. 

Now, start again with the long chips off of normal lies … and try to hit it close. Same with medium and short chips … try to make ‘em. 

Now … go to the short chip … and hit off a skinny lie … a scary lie with almost no grass. If you haven’t been accelerating … you’ll chunk that little chip off that bare lie. 

Ok … you’d probably putt it on the course … but this is a drill all about acceleration. 

But you’re not done. 

Go back to the long chip with the fluffed-up lie … and hit about 3 or 4 … it will seem unbelievably easy. Then stop. You’re done. Leave with that feeling. 

When you can … make versions of this drill at the range with full shots. Use a tee at the range instead of the fluffed-up lies. It’s the same concept. You will then naturally learn the proper backswing length to your shots. Your swing will become smoother and more accelerating. 

You will develop FLOW and CONTROL. Isn’t that what we all want? And I don’t mean just golf. 

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com