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meI will absolutely confess that I am something of a swing nerd. When I work on my game with my head coach, Mark Blackburn, I want to see all the data behind what I’m doing and understand what’s going on under the hood. However, the conversations we have on the Wednesday of a tournament week are very different from those in a practice session.
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When it comes time to play, you should think about position, not perfection. How do you get this shot to a spot where you can hit the next one? If you make a bad swing, how do you absorb it and move on without wasting your round? That has much more to do with mindset, decision making and discipline than technique. I’ve learned to be tough on myself for making unwise decisions and letting the negativity of a bad shot fade, not for not swinging the way I wanted.
That’s what I’m looking for in this story: to help you get some of that attitude. I’ll help you play your best when you’re not at your best, guiding you through my game from tee to green and showing you how I make decisions and choose shots that reduce risk and release pressure. I want you to have a similar process, so you don’t get caught in a negative, defensive cycle. On the other hand, if negative and defensive cycles are your thing, that’s fine too. You do. We’ll be here making good pairs. —With Matthew Rudy
If you’re having a losing streak of holes, it’s tempting to try something different off the tee or swing at 140 percent because, hey, what you’re doing isn’t working.
Instead, you should adjust your options under stress, not multiply them. In those times, I make the physics of the clubs work for me instead of trying to fight them. My advice is to go back to your most reliable option off the tee, even if it’s not the best shot for the hole or you’re giving up distance. Just put it in play.
Normally with my driver I try to air it out with a cut. But when I’m not hitting very well or accuracy is a must, I’ll go with two other options.
When I need to make a draw, I use my 3-wood. I move the ball position from my front shoulder line, like I would a driver, to the right side of the logo on my jersey. I also settled closer to the ball. You can see my arms hanging closer to my body (top, top left). Finally, I close my stance so that my toe line is slightly to the right of my target. All this helps me to draw it.
When I can still play a sliced driver but have to find the fairway, I throw the ball down. You can’t even see it in this picture (top, bottom left). I then point to the left edge of the fairway, swing slightly from outside to inside, and hug the curve from left to right, ending up with this “lag” look (Top right). The ball doesn’t fly that far, but I don’t have to send out a search party to find it, either.
It’s natural to feel desperate when you can’t find the center of the face with your irons, or you’re scattering the ball all over the place. I’ve been there, and the way out is to reduce as many things as you can from your swing. That means resisting the urge to try to curve the ball or add speed with additional hand action through impact. Instead, start hitting good shots again by putting your clubface in a stronger position and letting your body’s pivot do the work. Let me explain.
If the clubface is skyward at the top of the swing (up, left), is in a strong or “closed” position. Then, as my arms drop on the downswing, the clubface is parallel to my spine (Top right). It’s much tighter now, I bet, than you have it at this point, and the sweet spot on the face stays behind me instead of darting toward the target line as I turn my chest.
When you put the clubface in this midway position, you’ll notice a big difference in how the ball comes off the club. It will compress it instead of cleaning it. Then it’s a matter of swinging more from inside the goal line to straighten up shots if you’re shooting.
Once you’re scratching and want to start changing trajectory and curve, adjust just one thing: move the ball slightly forward to hit it higher and dim it, or move it back to hit it lower with more force. That formula is key to consistency.
In keeping with the spirit of limiting options when your game goes awry, distance wedges are easier to hit in calmer hand action conditions. The most forgiving wedge stroke comes from a swing with a wider arc and minimal wrist movement.
When you’re having trouble with these shots, it’s usually because you’re swinging hard and hitting the ground in inconsistent places. One shot is heavy and short at 20 yards, and the next is clean and 10 yards onto the green.
Try a more superficial method, Steve Stricker. Stay steady and backswing with very little wrist play (up). With less set and a wider arc, the angle of attack will be much shallower and the ball will come out lower. You don’t need it to fall out of the sky to stop it because your stability through the shot will produce cleaner contact and lots of spin.
Even if you don’t catch it correctly, the shallower angle of attack gets the stick bounce, its backside, sliding on the turf, so it still produces a decent hit. Remember, if you’re taking big mounds of grass when you hit these shots, you’re doing it wrong.
On days when he doesn’t drive or hit the ball, he can do well with his short game. I use this “cut spinner” so much around the greens that it’s almost a default shot now. What is? It is a low trajectory pitch with a raised wedge and an open clubface. When it lands, jump and then check. When you need to get the ball closer to the hole on fast greens, it’s a card that gets you out of jail, but it takes more practice than standard technique.
First, get closer to the ball with your handle vertical and your face slightly open (up). Most of your weight will remain on your lead side and your head should move slightly toward the target during the backswing. Then, as you swing down and forward, twist around your lead leg, keeping your clubface open. Feel yourself getting taller through the impact and your hands following the twist of your body. The handle of your wedge will be aimed at your left hip after impact. If you fall behind, you will screw up the shot, hitting it fat or thin.
What’s great about this shot is that the steeper angle of attack caused by swinging with so much weight on the lead foot makes it work from just about any position you can get the club on the back of the ball. Just remember: it won’t check as well if you play it from the beginning. Allow a little more implementation.
Putting slumps are magnified when you don’t understand what is causing them. I worked out my problems and made my putt dramatically more predictable with the help of Mark and putting coach Phil Kenyon, but I’ll get it back on track. First, my story.
I used to have races where I was ramming putts from everywhere, but my success hid the fact that my lines and speed weren’t always great. When I was struggling or under pressure, I couldn’t trust my judgment.
Phil showed me the AimPoint system for reading the greens accurately so I could be sure I was hitting the right line. Now, a lot of my putts seem to get a chance to go into cold weeks. When I’m hot, like I was at Wells Fargo this year, where I won 7.5 strokes on the course in the putt, the hole looks huge.
Even if you don’t use a green reading system, you can still get a clean restart of your putt by paying attention to your cadence. Think of your putts in terms of rhythm and timing. The 5-footers and the 40-footers have strokes with the same rhythm and timing. The only difference is that the 40 foot putt has a longer and faster swing.
Instead of worrying about missing your putt, focusing on your cadence also redirects your attention to something positive. When you don’t have your best stuff, the right attitude can work wonders.