We have already spoken about players getting laid off, getting on a plane, going over the top and hanging back.
You’d be forgiven for thinking I was describing a well-travelled, out of work, overly emotional golfer who was lagging behind! As the game of golf has matured, we have invented all manner of phrases and descriptors for what we do and the game really has developed a language all of its own. It can be confusing for the average golf fan watching television and hearing ex-players and knowledgeable commentators, but in reality, all of these strange and wonderful terms are there for a reason.
Here then are six more commonly uttered phrases that will hopefully add to your enjoyment and understanding…
Dropping the club inside the line
This refers to the arms and wrists altering the plane of the downswing to a flatter plane that is noticeably ‘inside the ‘targetline’. Imagine a perfect circle tracing the clubhead through the swing. If the club ‘drops’ out of the circle on the way down, as shown in the image, then you’re seeing a player ‘dropping’ it inside the line. Some players, such as Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk are able to swing effectively this way...
You’ll hear it when…
If you get the clubhead moving ‘inside out’, which happens when you drop inside the line, it’s a classic draw swing. The problem is that if the hands aren’t active enough, you won’t square up the clubface and you could push the ball out right. In both instances, good and bad, the explanation would be that he’s ‘dropped it’ inside.
He’s open (shut) at the top
A square clubface will be parallel to the left arm. An open clubface will see the toe of the club hanging more towards the ground and an shut/closed clubface will see the face pointing to the sky. A good grip and wrist action gets the clubface square at the top, so if the grip is good but the club is still closed, then look to the wrists for the cause of the problem, which is a flattening of the left wrist. Conversely, if the grip is good but the club is open, it is caused by a ‘cupping’ of the left wrist.
You’ll hear it when…
Being ‘open’ or ‘shut’ at the top of the swing means that the player has to make some sort of compensating error on the way down to get the clubhead square at impact. Dustin Johnson is an example of a player who bows his left wrist to create a shut clubface at the top of the swing. Look out for it next time the replays show his swing.
He kept his angles
The golfer should be able to make a turn in the backswing and downswing while maintaining his original address position angles. It’s a classic ‘law’ of the golf swing – and it’s perfectly logical. If you change your body angles, it’s impossible to actually hit the ball without making a compensating error to get the clubhead back to where it started! And if you move backwards or forwards during the swing, you’re adding too many movements to coordinate effectively. Maintaining your angles will result in more accuracy as the arms swing around a central and consistent hub.
You’ll hear it when…
Quite a common fault among amateur golfers, a player is likely to lose his body angles when he jumps at the ball as he tries to hit the driver too hard or if he is under pressure and, as a result of his anxiety, doesn’t stay down through the shot but looks up early to see where the ball is going. In either example, he is likely to lose control of his golf swing.
Across the line
This is a classic ‘fault’ and it’s one of those technical details that a good swing coach picks up immediately. It describes a position at the top of the backswing when the player points the club to the right of the target. Interestingly, when Tiger Woods’ swing first went awry, it was because he often got it going ‘across the line’. A year of coaching later, he’d gone the other way and his bad swing was often caused by him being too ‘laid off’ at the top! (For those who didn’t read last month’s issue, ‘laid off’ is the opposite of ‘over the top’.)
You’ll hear it when…
Being across the line changes the swing path dramatically – and, nine times out of 10, results in players hitting big, sweeping hooks or pushes to the right. So when you see one of the pros doing either, listen up for Nick Faldo or one of the other studio analysts to show you a slo-mo replay of the club going across the line at the top.
A compact swing
This describes the way in which the arms stop swinging as the turn of the body stops. It results in a low right elbow and a swing with the club parallel to the ground or shorter. If the swing is good and compact like this, the weight will be resting on a flat right foot and the player will be well balanced. Amateurs often let the weight get too far to the outside of the right foot in the backswing and the arms swing upwards long after the turn has stopped, resulting in a high right elbow.
You’ll hear it when…
When you get too ‘loose’ at the top as the image shows, the combination of a loss of balance and a high, out-of-position right elbow will almost always lead to a less powerful and controlled swing. Sure, some players have learned to control their own weird swings, but in general, the term ‘a compact swing’ will be used to describe a player who seems to have a swing that will stand up to pressure.
Hitting into a firm left side
This sounds dangerous, but again, it’s a basic principle of a reliable golf swing. As the player hits the ball, the left hip should clear out of the way and the left leg should firm up into a straight position. This provides a ‘post’ around which the body can turn its momentum through impact and into the follow-through. If the left hip doesn’t turn, there’s a tendency for the left side to ‘collapse’ at impact, as the image shows, and all sorts of horrible things can happen.
You’ll hear it when…
Normally spoken after a good shot, it’s when a player completes a smooth, positive swing and holds his pose on his left side.
Meet the pro
Grant Hepburn has been a regular face in Compleat Golfer for almost a decade. His CV includes time spent working on the European and US Tours, a partnership with Robert Baker in Logical Golf and an impressive list of top amateur and professional golfers. Having recently returned home, Grant has set up the Southern African Golf Institute and is based at the Institute’s Cape Town academy at the River Club where he oversees a small, dedicated and highly trained crew of fully qualified PGA professionals.
For more information, phone 021 300 0140 or visit www.sagolfinstitute.com
