Tiger’s New Swing Part II

February 7, 2011

After Andy’s thoughts last week, Steve Atherton follows up with his thoughts on the changes Sean Foley has made to Tiger’s golf swing.

Steve Atherton

GolfTEC VP of Research and Development

Looking at the changes Tiger Woods is making with his new swing coach, Sean Foley, I am not 100% convinced that they are moving down the right track.  Tiger is an incredibly talented and motivated player.  He can play really good golf with a number of different swing types as he has proven throughout his career.  However, he has not played with the confidence or the skill that he showed in 2000 when he won 10 tournaments including 3 majors and a record-shattering 15-stroke victory at the US Open.  That year Tiger’s swing was shorter, with less wrist hinge and lag at the top, and less upper body dive to start the downswing .  Those moves, which he built into his swing while working with Hank Haney, appear to be something he and Foley are working on a little, but their focus seems to be elsewhere.

Foley, who is an advocate of the Stack and Tilt method introduced by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, seems to be getting Tiger’s hands a bit more inside during the takeaway with the clubhead more outside of the hands – which is no doubt a good thing for him.  However, Tiger also appears to be working on a much more centered pivot around his spine, which I don’t believe is the best move for him.  I think Tiger needs to work back toward the swing he made in 2000, with a standard shot shape so that he doesn’t feel the need to “work” the ball so much.  A more shut-faced, reduced lag swing with less upper body dive would serve him very well.

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Tiger’s New Swing Part I

February 1, 2011

Tiger Woods is a consistent hot topic in the golf world and his debut at Torrey Pines last weekend was no different. Golf swing analysts and instruction experts are weighing in on the swing changes he has made with Sean Foley.

Fresh off their trip to the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit, we asked Andy Hilts and Steve Atherton what they thought of Tiger’s slightly-altered swing under Foley’s tutelage. Andy’s response is below, check back tomorrow for Steve’s thoughts.

Andy Hilts, GolfTEC VP of Instruction and Education

Overall, I like where Tiger is going with his swing.  His new move seems to encompass many of the positives from all the coaches he has previously worked with.

It appears to me that Sean Foley may not be completely overhauling his swing.  The biggest change Sean and Tiger appear to be making is staying more centered with less lateral movement off the ball when bringing the club back.  Less lateral shift off the ball makes it easier to not only have a consistent low point in the swing but also keep the club on a more consistent plane, and therefore path, through impact.

Tiger’s arm swing and body turn seem to be more connected and in sync at the top of his swing and during transition….reminiscent of his days with Butch Harmon.  Less moving parts is a good thing!

Tiger also seems to have maintained the club plane he developed with Haney.  The more the club stays on plane, the more consistent the club’s path though impact and the more on target the ball flies.

Tiger also seems to be maintaining his posture through the downswing and impact….something Butch and Hank have both worked on.

Beyond the centered backswing there is one other thing that I noticed last weekend that seemed different from Tiger’s past swings.  Tiger’s arms seem to be working more inside and flatter, very early in his takeaway.  Hard to say if it was due to the camera angles of the swings I saw or if that is something Sean and Tiger are working on as well.

Like in the past, I think Tiger will learn the new swing and be quite successful with it.  He is talented enough to make anything work.  If I could make one recommendation it would be for Tiger to find a coach and master that coach’s technique.  While I am all for trying to constantly improve, I think he is wasting time constantly changing coaches and techniques.  PICK A TECHNIQUE AND MASTER IT!

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Sneak Peek at the GolfTEC Newsletter…

January 31, 2011

Russ Clark is the newest member of the instruction department at GolfTEC’s Headquarters. Here’s a sneak peek at What’s in His Bag. The full article will be in the February edition of Momentum.

Russ Clark
Director of Teaching Quality
GolfTEC Headquarters

Driver: Cleveland DST Tour 8.5-degrees, with Diamana 44 gram stiff shaft.

This driver is very light. At less than 300 grams total weight I feel like I can swing easier and still create high clubhead speed at impact. With slightly more than 110 MPH of clubhead speed I still have about 2500 RPMs of backswing and an initial launch angle of about 14 degrees. In plain English, I picked up about 10 yards off the tee with this club.

Fairway wood: TaylorMade R9 3-wood with 13-degrees and Motore stiff shaft.

I like a “strong” 3-wood that allows me to use this club off the tee on tight driving holes and still hit it high enough from the fairway to hold most par-5 greens when I go for them in two.

Hybrid: Cleveland DST hybrids in 16-, 19- and 23-degrees.  All these clubs have the stock graphite shaft in a stiff flex.

I will usually use two of the three hybrids depending on the course I am playing and I try to match the hybrids to the longest par 3 on the course. Personally, I prefer using a hybrid vs. a fairway wood into a green.

For more information about GolfTEC’s Personal Club Fitting process and how to buy custom golf clubs at the best discount available, click here.

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PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit

January 26, 2011

PGA Master Professionals in Instruction Andy Hilts and Steve Atherton joined an elite group of presenters at the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit in Orlando, FL yesterday. Listed on Golf Digest’s list of the Best Young Teachers in America from 2009-2011, Atherton and Hilts presented a sample of GolfTEC’s ground-breaking swing research and advanced instruction concepts.

Highlights included:

Atherton reported several other Golf Top 100 Teachers asking questions after the presentation or complimenting them on the content of the presentation. As one listener said, “those guys came with something.”

Hilts presented GolfTEC’s philosophy of a long-term, developmental approach to golf lessons and Atheron talked about hip turn speed at impact. Both subjects were well-received. White Papers on GolfTEC’s ground breaking swing research, including information that was included in the presentations, will be coming out in the near future.

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Long Bunker Shots

January 21, 2011

The Long Bunker Shot

Michael Chase

Certified Personal Coach, GolfTEC Coral Gables

The long bunker shot may be one of the hardest shots in golf. Simply knowing what club to choose can one of multiple problems in this situation. I’m going to go over club selection, setup changes and some in swing thoughts to help you out of the bunker in a single shot.

When I am faced with the challenge of hitting a 30-80 yard bunker shot, I’ll typically choose an 8 iron, 9 iron, or pitching wedge. Why? I plan on hitting an exploding shot with control and speed. Many people automatically go with sand or lob wedge with the intent on picking it clean, but this is a low percentage shot with a much greater margin for error. You are much more susceptible to hitting the ball fat or even thin. The best plan of attack when choosing a club is to go with the longer club which will allow for a more forgiving outcome.

When setting up for a long bunker shot, a few things change in your address position. First of all, choke down on the club to help control distance as well as the amount of sand taken during the shot. It is also important to maintain a quiet lower body throughout the shot to ensure more control and stability. The most important aspect of setting up is to truly access your surroundings and use that to make a final decision as to how to best approach the shot.

Generally speaking, when hitting a longer bunker shot you want to take a longer swing and aim for 2 inches behind the ball. Plan to let bunker shots roll more to your target.

Remember, just like every other shot in golf, long bunker shorts take practice to control and hit with consistency. Like Gary Player said “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”

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