THE 19TH HOLE

BY ADAM TRETT, PGA PROFESSIONAL GOLF COACH CULFORD SCHOOL

Email: adamtrettpga@hotmail.co.uk Facebook: Adam Trett - ADT Golf Coaching

Welcome back to the 19th hole, July saw a very wet and wild OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP at Royal Liverpool and as always we were treated to a great week of competition. We have another first time major champion in Brian Harman, he won with a very impressive score of -13 which was 6 shots better than anyone else. Brian looked in control all week and really played the course his way. Impressive Stat: for the week of The Open he holed 58 out of 59 putts inside 10ft, this is crazy and just shows us all the area we should all be practicing more. Moving forward the events throughout August come thick and fast again with the conclusion to the PGA Tour season and the race for the FEDEX cup.

COACHES CORNER – HIT MID IRON SHOTS PURE!

This month we are looking at iron play, as essential area of the game where better strikes will allow us to be closer to the flag with our approach shots allowing for potential better scores.

This article will give you some simple points and a drill that will allow you not to over compliant this in practice and will allow you to take this practice to the course to help you achieve better results.

When I am teaching the biggest area I see for inconsistent strikes is having too much body movement throughout the golf swing.

Set Up and Backswing

As you can see from the set up (below), the chest (sternum) inline with the ball both at address and as the club is moved into the backswing. This allows for an easier transition into the downswing movement, and more importantly gives a better opportunity to allow the golf club to hit the ground in the same place each time.

If the body weight moves too much in backswing (right for right handed golfer) it will lead to having to make a bigger movement in your down swing. If this large movement is not reversed into impact this can lead to inconsistent strikes.

Downswing movement / feeling

So you’re in a great position at the top of your backswing, now its time to strike this iron shot pure. I just want you to think of moving your body weight or momentum towards the target from this point, resulting in you holding your finish position. This movement is easier from the position you are now easier as you haven’t moved too much in your backswing.

From here all you need to do is watch another great shot find its target.

If you are still struggling with your irons after this, or any other part of your game then I would be pleased to assist you in enjoying this game more. As this should be the most important aspect for anyone’s round of golf.

Drill – TWO TEE DRILL

This drill is great to give you the same feeling through impact without the needing the space to hit golf balls. As you can see from the images, the first tee is positioned where the golf ball would be positioned and then the second tee is positioned around 3 to 4 inches in front of (towards the target) of the first one. Now all you need to practice is hitting both tee’s as the go through the impact area, being able to do this will ensure you and the club are moving into impact well.

PGA TOUR

Wyndham Championship

FedEx St.Jude

Championship

BMW Championship

TOUR Championship

DP WORLD TOUR

ISPS Handa World Invitational

D+D Real Czech Masters

Omega European Masters