Today, I will answer an interesting question from Ed Johnston which came through on our recent webcast of The Surge Show.
"Sometimes when I really want to hit it hard, I hit a screaming hard hook. I have ruptured discs at c-5,6,7 and L-3,4,5 ; I am post two heart attacks, am a cancer survivor, have had a right knee reconstruction patella tendon ACL total knee reconstruction and meniscus ops on both knees multiple times and am a candidate for a double knee joint replacement, etc. and love golf and your constructive contributions that I thank you for and appreciate.
I feel I am coming over the top, timing off, hitting from the outside in and with a closed club face. The knees are destroying my timing trying to hit it hard are all culprits. And the knee joint pain is a big factor. I try to widen my stance, swing about 80% with smooth tempo back and thru and that really helps.
Do you have any pointers or drills you feel would help?"
Ed, with your astounding array of physical issues that you've had to overcome, I understand why you are trying to widen your stance but I believe that your stance is too wide and therefore causing you to come over the top and hitting "a screaming hard hook". If you look at my recent posts on flaring your feet [Finding The Right Amount of Flare]you will learn how doing that may help you with your knee pain and will put less strain on your back, shoulders and neck. Dr. Ned Armstrong, a prominent orthopedic surgeon who has been my mentor for the last 25 years, says that too wide of a stance creates too much torque on the lower back. When you widen your legs to form a triangle-like stance you are actually placing your legs in opposition to each other. As you begin your swing your angled back leg actually acts like a brace. In amateur golfers, this often causes upper body sway, which leads to a reverse tilt. If that happens you are more than likely to end up with a reverse weight shift and will come out of dynamic balance well before the end of your swing. Watch today's video to see how to gauge your stance. You can also review last week's tip on this subject for a slightly different take.[Width Of Stance Defined]
With regard to hitting the ball hard, you need to mentally tune down your swing. Whenever someone swings at 95-100% of their maximum swing speed they are likely to lose control. Even the pros rarely swing that fast. If you have trouble making this mental shift, try this swing thought that I've successfully used with students who continually try to kill the ball. As you setup for a shot, think of yourself as a "do-bopper"--in other words, just bop the ball down the middle. You may just surprise yourself how far the ball will go. And more importantly, you should see a marked improvement in your accuracy. This game is all about fairways & greens and I would always want to be playing my second shot from the short grass rather than from the left rough (or worse) even if that spot was technically closer to the green. Learn to swing within yourself and you'll find that you will stay dynamically balanced all the way through your swing and that you'll hit more solid shots and shoot lower scores.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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