By Stephen Deane, Head Professional, Emirates Golf Club
In this month’s article I’ll discuss the simple signature ‘Axe Drill’ used by our Master associated Professional Peter Cowen. This drill has been around for a few years and you’ve possibly seen it before, nevertheless it’s great to refresh upon such an effective set of movements to get you on track for the season ahead.
Part 1: Start with the toe down and the club positioned on top of a bucket. From this position you want to mimic a chopping action similar to chopping a log with an axe! This easy up and down motion is extremely consistent and easy to achieve without any effort. It’s natural and powerful – just how we would like to swing a golf club, right?
When you break the movement down, the wrists cock, the elbows fold and the shoulders load as you work the club up. Exactly what we want in our swing. The only issue is we’re striking the top of the bucket rather than the side! If we can somehow create this movement but in a different plane, then we can certainly develop that consistency and power we all desire.
Move the bucket so its bottom is now on the side rather than the top. From here we will adjust the plane of motion by setting the wrists and forearms into a golf swing specific position. You can now see how the toe of the club is still positioned like the axe pointing at the bottom of the bucket.
NOW WE MAKE THE SAME NATURAL MOTION AS BEFORE:
- Set the wrists and forearms into a golf swing specific position.
- We cock the wrists.
- We fold the right elbow.
- We coil the body/load the shoulders into position
- We pull the arms down in front of the chest with the toe staying behind the hands.
- We release the forearms and wrists DOWN creating pressure on the ball and club face control. We don’t let them rotate over or under but down.
This excellent drill will have you working the club on a better path and angle of approach in no time. You’ll feel the pressure on the ball, improved consistency and resulting ball flight control.
