This drill is fantastic for setting the trail wrist, arm and shoulder on the backswing and how the body action moves to match up to gain power and accuracy. I feel like I am throwing a large dart towards a dart board that is directly on the target line. It will feel like an underarm throw.
THE SETUP
Place a club on the ground showing a target line and stand parallel to it. Using an alignment stick set your wrist as shown so that the alignment stick is parallel to the stick on the ground. The palm of my trail hand is facing away from my trail hip and puts the power on the inside of the stick.
BACKSWING MOVEMENT
Try moving the stick around in a backswing ensuring you keep the trail elbow under the stick. This will load energy around the wrist and elbow. You don’t have to try and move your body but you may feel the body want to move due to the pressure being built up in the arm and shoulder (there is a difference). Once you reach the top of the backswing you will also feel your trail shoulder and your lat load or tighten. Keep this load or pressure and don’t be tempted to release it as this loading is a big energy source.
DOWNSWING MOVEMENT
A lot of golfers want to laterally shift their weight back over onto their lead side straight away which is incorrect and can create poor attack angles. In this drill I want you to use your right rib cage to rotate down your trail side ,pulling the loaded trail arm into position. I want you to hold this position until the stick comes back. Your lower body will have reacted and you should notice that the hips and chest have already opened up to the target. Now you are in the classic throw position, ready to launch the dart.
RELEASE THE DART
In the release phase, I feel my trail arm extending down to the ground and this creates an up-stretch in the lead side of the body. The downforce on the trail side of the body creates equal and opposite up-force on the lead side. As the trail arm extends down the right tip of the alignment stick it will push out to where the golf ball would be. For the purpose of the drill and to continue the golf swing movement, carry the stick through to a balanced finish. Notice how the stick matches my spine angle showing that it was in total control.
