McKenzie Meadows Golf Tip: Translate the Baseball Swing into a Golf Swing

BY SCOTT ORBAN, PGA EXECUTIVE PROFESSIONAL, MCKENZIE MEADOWS GOLF CLUB

Baseball players can have a great advantage when learning the golf swing because of the great power and speed they can generate. In golf, swing speed must be combined with a square clubface and a proper path to reap the reward of the swing speed. In this example I will describe what I have seen with some high-level baseball players I have taught.

Many experienced ball players have a swing path that is too far from the inside-out of the target line. For a right-handed golfer, this means that the ball is going to start right of the target, and if the face is open to this path it will curve even farther to the right. Another common shot when the path is too far inside with a closed clubface is a low duck hook; low and left… or a ball that pops up in the air on a tee shot.

Good swing elements of power generated by proper lag (very difficult to teach and learn) are an advantage to the ball player and will not be lost as they learn the golf swing. However, this player may feel they are not making a powerful swing when learning to convert their motion to a golf swing. The ball player will need to reinvent the shape of their swing arc, which in this case tends to be shallow due to how their posture and shoulders rotate during the swing motion.

Posture is the first element of improving your swing path. Assume a proper golf starting position or posture. Put a long rod across the front of your shoulders (Figure 1). With one eye closed, simulate the golf swing, rotating back and through the impact area. Note where the rod is pointing in relation to your target line as you go back and through. On the way through impact, note the direction of the rod in relation to the target line. If the rod moves from inside the target line and moves across and outside the target line, then the way you move your body while swinging is causing you to swing too far from inside out (Figure 1).

To perform this turning drill properly, the rod should move on the same plane to the target line on the way back and on the way through (Figure 2). You need to perform this drill repeatedly to make it part of your new swing motion… your “golf-swing” motion.

If swinging a baseball bat has been instilled in your motor skills, accept that this is a different motion. This process of defining the differences takes practice and patience. The good news is that once you harness this difference you will be rewarded with the power and speed you learned swinging a baseball bat.

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