Bad Golf – a Fact Rather than a Failure

Running your golf brain effectively is not about completely forgetting your bad play – it’s about handling it effectively so you can learn from your mistakes. Remember that playing your best golf is a process and as such it has its ups and downs: when you’re playing good you think you’ll never play badly again and when you’re playing badly you are sure you never play good again – and neither one is true!

Thus while you should give yourself permission to acknowledge bad golf memories you should also make sure that the bad is entered into your memory as a fact rather than a failure. Research shows that the brain has two storage bins or as Daniel Goleman says “the brain has two memory systems, one for ordinary facts (System I) and one for emotionally-charged experiences (System II).”  Thus the rule is what you emotionalize you immortalize. And while a strength/weakness profile is fluid and ever changing, a fully emotionalized failure is an event that is with you forever. The message is clear: be careful what you make immortal!

 

The Storage Bins

What control do you have over the storage of your golf events? It’s all in the label. There are three markers that in combination determine whether an event is a System 1 or System 2: [1] the intensity of the experience [2] the duration -- how long it lasts [3] the number of times you repeat it.

 

Some events even though they occur only once are System 2’s because of their intensity: The Kennedys assassination and 9/11 are two and if you are a golfer it’s hard to forget Tiger Woods winning his first Masters or Jack Nicklaus's last major victory in the 1986 Masters.

 

These neural footprints are made indelible and instantly available for recall because of the heavyweight emotions you have attached to them. 

 How to Use the Marker

 

Use the three markers to flag every good shot: make it intense by getting excited; make it last by replaying it mentally after the shot is completed – run the good-shot tape again as you travel between shots; and rep it by replaying  it again and again after the round.  Do the opposite to mark the bad shot as a fact.

 

 

Putting Technique

Be Wary of the Forward Press

     Every time Phil Michelson plays well on TV my lesson book is filled with students putting poorly. It’s not because Phil can’t putt, it’s because it’s hard to copy his technique i.e. The forward press of the putter where the hands move toward the target to start the putting stroke. Unless you’re an expert, it’s a dangerous move that can lead to bouncing putts and off-line pushes .

      Most putters have a tiny bit of loft—usually 3 or 4 degrees—built into the face of the club. This is designed specifically to make the ball pop into the air for a brief moment at impact, so that it clears the turf and then quickly lands and rolls smoothly toward the hole. If you didn’t have any loft on your putter, you’d pinch the ball into the turf at impact, and the subsequent rebound off the ground is exactly what causes a putted ball to bounce and skip down—and usually off—the target line.

     The problem with forward pressing is that, if done incorrectly [and it’s very easy to screw it up] you’re effectively taking that natural loft off the putter by pressing your hands forward at address and then allowing them to stay forward at impact. Not only will you generally de-loft the putter face at impact, but you probably won’t do it consistently. You may manage to manipulate the putter head into a good position on some of your putts, and then jam the ball into the green on the others. In other words, your putting game will be all over the map, which is probably the worst thing possible for building confidence.

    To make things simple for yourself, I advise you to forget the forward press and focus instead on keeping the cup in your trail wrist as I am doing in the photo. To make a smooth stroke, practice with your lead hand behind you while stroking some 15 footers

  Keep the cup by using a soft rocking motion of your shoulders.

Quiet hands are the key to good putting. The clubhead swings past the handle because it is moving at a different speed due to a heavier head. This happens naturally if you keep the cup and stroke the ball with no manipulation.

And be sure to shield your eyes when you see Phil Michelson putt lest you be tempted to copy what only he can do well.

 

Are You A Good Player or Bad Player?

WHICH ARE YOU?????

You can learn a lot by comparing the same swing position of good and bad players. Below is Ryder Cup player Boo Weekley, one of the better ball strikers on the PGA Tour.  There are several things to note that are instructive.

 

 [1] Because Weekley started his downswing by transferring his weight to his left side, he simply continues the process until the weight is on the outer rim of his front foot toward the heel of his foot.

 

[2] The second thing to note is how fully released his core is – Boo is thick around the middle but still makes sure to keep his mid-section moving freely through the ball. Please remember: The core is the drum major in the weight flow parade.

 

[3] As part of his full body rotation, Weekley keeps his right shoulder chasing his left, assuring that he will not ‘run out of right arm’, an error that our amateur has fallen prey to. When this young player stops his shoulder rotation and simply hits with his arms, the trail arm is also stopped and that causes the club to wrap around the body, per Photo 2.

 

 

 

In addition to the arm wrap this golfer is on his toes, a sign he’s had trouble shifting his weight to his left foot to start the downswing. Weight on the toes triggers the neural program for jumping and to prevent falling over he will snap his spine upright – he’s now wrapped tight.

 

Note also how his chest, pelvis and shoulders appear frozen- the only body part he used to hit the ball was his arms and that’s not good enough when you play in the Honda pro-am at the very difficult Champions course at PGA National. 

A few years ago scientists discovered the mimic gene -- it controls our ability to learn by copying using a major tool i.e. the visual system. The morale: be careful who you watch.

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FEEL THE HEEL

 

A good golf grip activates the muscles you want to use in the golf swing while an incorrect grip encourages use of the wrong muscles.

 

By placing the grip under the heel pad, you free your wrists to hinge properly throughout the golf swing. To encourage the correct thumb length, take your grip with your arms fully extended in front of your chest and close your left hand [opposite for lefties] around the club handle. You should find that your left thumb falls slightly to the right of the top of the handle.  This places your wrist square to the clubface, which is important because when centrifugal force straightens your arms through impact, your wrist joint, elbow joint, and shoulder joint seek alignment.  Therefore the clubface must be set at address to prepare for the inevitable alignment of those joints.  (Note: Ignore the markings on the grip - they are not meant as guides for your hands).  

 Your target thumb [the thumb of the highest hand on your grip] plays a major role in the rotation of the clubface through impact. In addition to its anchoring capabilities, the position of your top thumb on the club handle determines the direction in which force is applied to the shaft during your release and therefore how much the face of your clubface will rotate through the impact. When your thumb is on the top of the shaft at address, the pressure exerts down the middle of the club shaft reducing clubface rotation through impact -- and unless there is compensation, you'll hit a fade or a slice. With your target thumb down the back of the shaft the direction of the force causes your clubface to rotate aggressively through impact imparting the characteristic spin of the draw shot.

         I use the medium thumb because it best fits the swing length I want.

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WEEK SEVEN

Below is the seventh week of your ‘When to do What” improvement calendar. You should spend this week thinking about your past golf shots – not simple reminiscing but something far more powerful – creating a bin of best shots that you’ll use to improve every swing you make in the future.

Greg Norman describes his Catalogue of Best Shots: "You want to file the good ones away for future reference. That way you'll be able to bring them back as part of another reinforcement technique--visualization. You envision the ideal shot, in detail. Then you recall successful similar shots from your past and draw confidence from those earlier successes. I can think of favorite shots for every situation I face and I call them forth each time I play."

You should compile a Catalogue of the Best Shots you have ever hit, just as Norman does.  Write down one for each club -- the best driver, the best wedge, where, when, how did it feel?   Further enhance your catalogue by listing best shots in challenging situations -- in a tight match, against a heavy cross-wind, over trees...  Then when your plan calls for a high five-iron, you can mentally reference your Catalogue of Best Shots and relive it as you retrace it. Science tells us that the central nervous system can’t tell the difference between a perfectly imagined/recalled experience and a real one so if you learn to recall the image of the most perfect five iron you ever hit with full imagery and then, with the feeling fresh in your imagination, let your body execute the current five iron free of any verbal conversation or instructions.

Vivid imagery is a skill a player can learn and I will cover this as part of next week’s colander.  In this regard choose your representatives carefully.  The most effective images are multi-sensorial -- shots that make you recall the rhythm of the swing, the sound of contact, the sight of the ball in flight, or any other feature that’s makes the memory vivid.  Whenever you play, be on the lookout for better shots with sharper images that are better than those currently in your catalogue.  Replay your best shots in your mind until you burn them into your memory.

  When your catalogue is complete, and your recollection vivid, you’ll have a brain stocked with the images necessary for you to play your best golf.  All you have to do is step out of the way.

Best drive

Best putt

Best sand shot

Best trouble shot

Best long iron

Best middle iron

Best short iron

Best chip

Best pitch

And so on

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Unfolding Process

Week 6:

 

    In a game where score is a benchmark of success it’s surprising how many golfers believe that their score is in direct relation to how well they swing the club; good swing = good score; bad swing = bad score. This concept excludes the idea of scoring well when you are swinging poorly, a must skill in a game where the best ball sticker ever, Ben Hogan said he expected to make only six good shots a round. Of course Hogan’s concept of good was a bit different than everyone else but none-the-less the point stands – the swing ain’t the only thing!

    This week cultivate the concept of golf as an unfolding process: As you progress from the tee, where by rule, all positions are equal, you either increase or decrease your positional advantage until you hole out -- the ultimate positional advantage.  This is the same process for every hole you play and to maximize your performance you need to develop a plan that maneuvers the ball to favorable positions just as the good billiard player controls the cue ball to run the table.  Thus the strategy for scoring golf is POSITION and those who consistently gain positional advantage consistently score well.

    POSITIONAL ADVANTAGE

    Like your swing concept, your golf game will never be any better than your concept of what a good golf game should be. If your concept of the game is hitting pretty shots, having fun or hitting it farther than the next player then you will focus all your energies toward your goal and scoring will become an afterthought.

    You may not even be aware that you're doing this and if somebody asked you, you'd say that score is most important, but subconsciously your priorities drive your behavior.  Scorers prioritize for low scores and use the swing as a vehicle.  How the shot effects their position is the important factor for scoring.  This way they keep a clear mind that can focus on their most important goal -- scoring.

 

If you can get on the golf course this week focus on the process of your play rather than your swing. If you’re snowed in watch one of the many tournaments on TV, pick a player and after you’ve watched them play, track them on PGAtour.com where their round is outlined shot by shot. You’re not looking at their swings but how they position the ball around the course.

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Week Five

In week five it’s time to explore one of the most basic mechanisms of your golf swing – SWING PLANE – you cannot build a correct swing without it. Most golfers find swing plane a confusing topic so to clear up the confusion lets be clear about two terms. The first is the shaft plane which is the angle the shaft forms with the ground at address. Each of your clubs has a different shaft angle but once you assume the correct set up, you don't have to consciously adjust your swing because the correct progression of shaft angles is built into your clubs at the factory - it’s called the lie of club.

The second concept is the swing plane angle, the angle of your shaft while the club is in motion. Thus while the shaft plane at address is chosen for you, the swing plane angle is your own creation so it can go wrong in a hurry. Here’s the rule of thumb: If your ball flight is inconsistent, one time left, one time right, sprinkled with some fat and thin then chances are you have a swing plane problem. Too steep usually spells slice [open at impact] while too shallow usually results in hook [face closing at impact]

To track the correct plane for your swing put a ball in place then position two clubs forming a target line, one in front and one in back of the ball. Now take your address position in front of a full-length mirror using a six iron so the mirror is reflecting a down-the-target-line view. Using an erasable marker or colored tape, have a friend draw a line over the reflection of the shaft and extend that line from the heel of your club up through the reflection of your body. This is the shaft plane angle of address and to achieve maximum consistency your goal is to return the club on the same shaft angle at impact.

         

Now swing and stop to check your swing halfway back, halfway down and halfway after impact to make sure that the shaft angle [your swing plane angle at that point] points at the target line.  

Understanding swing plane means that you can self-diagnose and that’s the key to consistency – it doesn’t mean you won’t hit bad shots but you will be able to get back on track quicker so it’s worth the week to get your arms around this concept.

672

NEW BOOK BY TJ AND OTHER TOP 100'S



GOLF Magazine's The Best Driving Instruction Book Ever! is a collection of driving instruction
from the magazine's Top 100 instructors.  Hundreds of full color photographs and text that is
easy to understand.  It breaks down complicated moves of power driving into simple tips and drills. 

My chapter is number two, The Case For A Unique Driver Swing.

The price is $24.00 including shipping.  You can order on the website, tjtomasi.com.  Just go to the contact button or you can email to jctinc@aol.com

I know that you will enjoy it!

YOUR TIMEFRAME CALENDAR

 
WEEK FOUR

Short Game Week

The great Bobby Jones once said a player who can string together “three of them and one of those” is a match for anyone. So while the long game is glamorous, the short game is the great equalizer. Thus at least 60% of your practice time should be devoted to chipping/pitching, putting and bunker play using the following model of learning.

First review your short game – write in your journal all you know about each part  -- for example the How-I-Chip technique -- then graduate to actually using that technique by adjusting your touch from a number of real-lie situations. Then return to your journal and write down any problems or additions uncovered by your self-assessment. Anything you can’t fix or figure it out should send you on a trip to see the wizard i.e. get some help.

During short game week take the Technique/Touch paradigm below for a spin to learn its ins and outs – you will then use it as the learning model anytime you want to learn something.

Stage One: Technique

With your journal as a guide [bring it to the range] run through your check list of fundamentals such as ball position, weight distribution, when and how to set the wrists, etc. then hit a few shots with no particular target in mind – the focus is “did I do it correctly” rather than “where did it end up.” You may hit 35 balls from the same spot, not caring about results because only the form of your swing is important at this stage. Once you are confidant with your technique, it’s time for stage 2 where you develop your touch.  [By the way if you’re a faithful reader of this column you’ll know all about short game technique -- if not assess yourself a two shot penalty then see my book “Play Better Golf” at www.tjtomasi.com .]

 Stage Two: Touch

To have a good short game you must be able to move your focus from Technique to Target. In this stage your concern is not “how you do something” but how close you come to your target. Take a handful of balls and toss them over your shoulder then play them, one at a time, until you hole each one out. Play the ball as you find it, hit it to your target, putt the ball in the hole, then go back and play the next ball. This is the way you do it on the course and it should be the way you practice. Keep track of your ability to get it up and down from different lies, and then focus on those lies until they become strengths.

From now on: When you’re hitting to a target, there’s no mechanics; when your practicing mechanics there’s no target.

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Week Three

This week should be devoted to a basic that precedes all other basics: You have to determine your dominant side in your putting stroke – your right or your left. This doesn’t have anything to do with whether you putt right-handed or left-handed -- it’s about which arm has more control of your putting stroke.  It truly is an overlooked "super basic"- something many players neglect or have never even considered, yet it influences everything else in your putting game so this is the week to get it under control.

DO THE DRILL, HONE YOUR SKILL

Here’s a simple drill you can do to determine which arm is the dominant arm in your putting stroke: Hit 10 putts with just your right hand holding the putter; then hit about l0 putts with only your left hand.  The dominant side will feel fairly solid to you, and you won’t have any trouble controlling the clubhead, that is to say, keeping it square.  The non-dominant side (or for the sake of simplicity, the wrong side) will feel as if you must struggle with the clubhead to keep the face square to your putt line so the putts go in the direction you aim them.  You have to admit, that's pretty simple. Once you know which side is your dominant side, here's what you do with that information:

IF YOU'RE A LEFT-ARM-DOMINANT PUTTER. . . [Right handed putter]

. . . your left armpit should act as the "center" of your putting stroke.

. . .you should use a heel-shafted putter designed to swing open and closed like a gate

. . .you should play the ball forward of center in your stance, somewhere around the inside of your left heel.

. . .you should stand tall at the ball with your arms hanging fairly loose but straight.

. . . even though the face of the putter swings open and closed to the target line it stays square to the putter arc.

IF YOU'RE A RIGHT-ARM-DOMINANT PUTTER. . .

. . . the top of your spine should act as the "center" of your putting stroke.

. . . you should use a center-shafted.

. . . you should play the ball in the center of your stance.

. . . rather than hanging straight, your arms are folded because you are bent over. 

… the clubhead moves away from the ball on a straight line and returns through the ball on the same line.

 

670

IMPROVE YOUR GOLF

Your Improvement Golf Calendar

When I know a student is serious about improving and has the time to devote to a program I give them a calendar – a “when to do what” guide for improvement. To give this guide some sense of chronological order, I've broken it into weeks—13 of them—which gives you roughly 90 days to reach your goal – here is week 2.

DIGITIZE YOUR GAME

Review the relative strengths and weaknesses of your game in preparation for creating your strength and weakness profile. Take a yellow pad and draw a line down the middle then label the two columns Strength and Weakness.  Down the left side list all areas of your game from chipping/pitching, lag putting etc.. Also list each club in your bag. Down the right side honestly evaluate each entry by annotating the appropriate columns. Keep a running list until you have a handle on your playing profile.

DEVELOPING A STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS PROFILE

Rate each of your clubs using 3 for weak, 2 for average, and 1 for strong.  If you like, add decimals as in 1.5, to create a more sensitive range. In addition to rating your clubs, it's helpful if you keep a journal where you record important golf experiences and observations.

What do you do with this information? You use it to play the game by evaluating each situation and then choosing a club that is on the strength side. Plus it tells you what to practice to improve. For example keeping your stats you discover that you're a not very accurate with your short irons. When it’s time to lay up on a par five you use this information to govern your lay-up choices i.e. lay-up so you have a six iron [a mid-iron you hit well] vs. a nine iron you have trouble with.

The Takeaway: A major aspect of playing your best golf is fitting your Strength and Weakness Profile into the defenses set up by the architect.  To do this you must make an accurate assessment of your playing skills, which are often different from your practice range skills.  For this reason I encourage you to develop both a practice and a playing profile, and be sure you never confuse the two.  You’re playing profile reveals how well you perform when shot selection depends not only on the conditions but also on your ability to execute under the one-ball-success-rate, that is, a situation where every swing counts.

90 DAYS TO IMPROVEMENT

Your Calendar for Improvement: 90 Days

When I know a student is serious about improving and has the time to devote to a program I give them a calendar – a “when to do what” guide for improvement.

To give this guide some sense of chronological order, I've broken it into weeks—13 of them—which gives you roughly 90 days to reach your goal. And please keep one thing in mind as you proceed; it's best to approach each task separately because it gets too confusing if you try to do many things at once. Every self- help book that says the same thing-- make a plan, divide it into manageable tasks, then focus on one task at a time until you reach your goal.

 Week One: Sometimes it’s the Arrows not the Indian

The first topic on the calendar is to review your arsenal.

 --Check the loft on your driver. If the loft isn't stamped on it somewhere, have a pro measure it for you. Remember, too little loft is a big mistake—unless you have a very high clubhead speed [e.g. over 105 mph] nothing less than 10.5 degrees works. If you don't like what you have, hold an "audition." Try out all kinds of demo models. Ask for some impact tape and check how often you hit each driver in the center of the clubface. Do the same with your irons. Remember solid contact in the center of the clubface is the key to good golf shots.

 --Consider dumping the long irons and replacing them with hybrids. For most hybrids are easier to hit and very versatile.

 --Check your wedges. If you don't have an L-wedge (58-60 degrees or more) add one to your set. If you can’t afford it, have your sandwedge bent to 58.

 --Have a clubfitter or golf professional check the shafts in your club for two things: [1] Are they the proper flex for you? [2] Do they match throughout your set? (Not just the irons, but the woods as well.] Another way of doing this is to hit various demo clubs and hit the clubs of some of your friends. Try all of the basic flexes: regular, stiff, extra stiff, seniors. If you're a female, ask about women's flexes – you should match your swing speed to the correct flex. And while you're at the club-fitter, have the lie of your irons checked as well.

 --Are your grips the proper size? If you think they're too small, wrap some gauze around and hit some practice shots.  And if you haven't changed your grips in the past two year spring for new ones.

 --Vet your ball. Buy three major brands and take them to a practice area. Play some pitch shots, hit some chips and roll a bunch of putts, all the time monitoring them for feel and control. They'll all perform nearly the same distance-wise but from close in you may detect some difference in the feel. Use the one that feels best.

So start the ball rolling: You have a week to get this done just make sure that at the end of the week there is a big X signaling completion.

668

Forms Cue Up Your Golf Swing

  

Instead of swing mechanics and negative thoughts, at some point in your development you need to occupy your mind with success images [forms] RE your swing -- and this week I’d like you to spend your golf time thinking about circles.

The Image

One way to think about your golf swing is that there are four circles that must be completed each in their own time. The smallest circle and the one that finishes first is the circle or rotation of your hips. The next circle is your shoulders which is slightly larger than the hips. Following that is the circle of your hands and it finishes next to last behind the largest circle, the clubhead. And they must complete their respective circles in that order.

Now your clubhead, hands and body don't really transcribe exact circles but the point is clear -  to keep everything on its appointed arc of rotation, in sync and on time -  one most allow the circles to do their thing.

This is what I call “form learning” where instead of focusing on swing mechanics I ask the student to tap into the power of the form. Here “form-ulate” and “calculate” are different levels of recognition. Most golfers focus on learning swing mechanics [calculations] vs the pure form of the swing itself. Oliver Sacks in his book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, discovered this form power in two Idiot Savant twins who were so retarded they could not calculate 2 x 8 but they could form-ulate at a very high level as demonstrated by the following:

“A box of matches on their table fell, and discharged its contents on the floor: '111,' they both cried simultaneously… I counted the matches -- it took me some time -- and there were 111. How could you count the matches so quickly? I asked. “We didn’t count them, they said, we saw 111.”

 Unencumbered by normal mechanics they embraced the form of 111 i.e. 111-ness instead of calculating it. Perhaps we all have such wondrous powers running sub-rosa but they are obscured or sealed up by the exigencies of survival – to be kept safe from matches and their fire there is little use in knowing the form 111-ness. Savants have had the normal human powers used to navigate the world, ripped away by disease or a cruel roll of the DNA dice leaving the lone power that remains free to dominate by default.

For this week, focus on the form of your swing using the four circles as a guide. I believe that while you must learn the tangible mechanics of the swing such as grip and weight shift, you must play the game by allowing forms to cue your up your motor responses. 

IS IT THE ARROWS OR THE INDIAN?

When I know a student is serious about improving and has the time to devote to a program I give them a calendar – a “when to do what” guide for improvement.

To give this guide some sense of chronological order, I've broken it into weeks—13 of them—which gives you roughly 90 days to reach your goal. And please keep one thing in mind as you proceed; it's best to approach each task separately because it gets too confusing if you try to do many things at once. Every self- help book that says the same thing-- make a plan, divide it into manageable tasks, then focus on one task at a time until you reach your goal.

 Week One: Sometimes it’s the Arrows not the Indian

 The first topic on the calendar is to review your arsenal.

 --Check the loft on your driver. If the loft isn't stamped on it somewhere, have a pro measure it for you. Remember, too little loft is a big mistake—unless you have a very high clubhead speed [e.g. over 105 mph] nothing less than 10.5 degrees works. If you don't like what you have, hold an "audition." Try out all kinds of demo models. Ask for some impact tape and check how often you hit each driver in the center of the clubface. Do the same with your irons. Remember solid contact in the center of the clubface is the key to good golf shots.

--Consider dumping the long irons and replacing them with hybrids. For most hybrids are easier to hit and very versatile.

 --Check your wedges. If you don't have an L-wedge (58-60 degrees or more) add one to your set. If you can’t afford it, have your sandwedge bent to 58.

 --Have a clubfitter or golf professional check the shafts in your club for two things: [1] Are they the proper flex for you? [2] Do they match throughout your set? (Not just the irons, but the woods as well.] Another way of doing this is to hit various demo clubs and hit the clubs of some of your friends. Try all of the basic flexes: regular, stiff, extra stiff, seniors. If you're a female, ask about women's flexes – you should match your swing speed to the correct flex. And while you're at the club-fitter, have the lie of your irons checked as well.

 --Are your grips the proper size? If you think they're too small, wrap some gauze around and hit some practice shots.  And if you haven't changed your grips in the past two year spring for new ones.

 --Vet your ball. Buy three major brands and take them to a practice area. Play some pitch shots, hit some chips and roll a bunch of putts, all the time monitoring them for feel and control. They'll all perform nearly the same distance-wise but from close in you may detect some difference in the feel. Use the one that feels best.

So start the ball rolling: You have a week to get this done just make sure that at the end of the week there is a big X signaling completion.

Position #11 Finish

This is the last position in our series of key swing positions that allow you to match your swing to a pro swing model to see how it stacks up. The model assumes a right handed golfer who is hitting a straight shot.

The Finish:

The gymnasts call it 'sticking' your finish and when you stick your finish in golf, good things will happen.  Here is the anatomy of your Kodak moment [KM]. 

1] Your weight is balanced on the front foot, with the back foot acting as a rudder

2] Your hips are perpendicular to the target line

3] Your shoulders have rotated past perpendicular with your right shoulder in advance of the left.

4] Everything you own – your nose your belt buckle, your right knee etc. is pointing at the target.

Hall of Farmer:  Patty Sheehan

   But while this template is the same for all Kodak Moments there are variations caused by your body type i.e. how you're built, your strength and of most importance, your flexibility.

The Arc Player

Sheehan is an Arc player and finishes in the reverse "C" position. Her arms are in a high position over her left shoulder and her body is bowed, with her head over her right foot.

The Leverage Player

                 The Leverage - Side-C

                A  Leverage player should finish with the upper body tilted a bit to the right and
                the right shoulder slightly lower than the left (a sideways “C” or bow) ala
                Keegan Bradley.

The Finish of the Width Player

   

If you are a Width Player like Daren Clarke the finish is erect, in straight up "I" position, with your shoulders level to the ground. Your head should be over your left foot with no bend in your back. 

The Pose Drill

No matter which finish your body dictates, you can memorize it by repeating the “posing drill.” Close your eyes, swing the club, and pose in your finish for a slow count of three.  Open your eyes and make certain you match your prototype. This is your swings' Kodak Moment, and it should be your goal to nail this position for every swing.

To find out which swing you should use take the LAWs test at www.tjtomasi.com