Happy New Year! Another year has passed, and we have new resolutions and plans to keep those promises to ourselves as we begin 2008. For golf enthusiasts, and that appears to be many of you, the following is a list of indoor practice methods to keep your golf swing checklist short and thorough.

Remember, if you can use a mirror anytime you practice indoors, then you will speed up the learning curve. Putting a feel with a picture accelerates the learning process.

Use a mirror to check your fundamentals of grip, stance, posture, and ball position.

Start with your pre-shot routine and the address position and get a good grip, stance, posture, and ball position. All good golf starts with a fundamentally sound set up. Use your instruction manual to review and rehearse these fundamentals.

Weight shift, lean of the shaft, and sweet spot to the inside quadrant are the alignments you should focus on when concentrating on the impact position.

Next, move to impact. Our day one address vs. impact drill in the pitch station of every school teaches you to differentiate between address and impact. Address is a static position while impact is dynamic. Weight shift, lean of the shaft, and sweet spot to the inside quadrant are the alignments you should focus on being clear and precise. Most golfers do not know the difference between address, where they start, and impact, the moment of truth.

A wonderful checkpoint in the backstroke is to make sure the shaft is parallel to the ground and the target line at the same time.

Now do your backstroke. This is the initial takeaway, or move of the golf club away from the ball. There is a wonderful checkpoint for all golf clubs in this position. The golf club is on plane in the backstroke when the shaft is parallel to the ground and the target line at the same time. A golf club that is on plane seeks to stay on plane. If you can get the golf club properly on plane in the backstroke, it makes it easier to get the downswing on plane.

Please refer to the July 2007 Newsletter for information on downswing thoughts.

After impact, we reach full extension when both arms are straight in the follow thru.

Finally, work on the follow thru, defined as the point in the golf swing after impact when we reach full extension and both arms are straight. For many of us, it is a good time to check for proper forearm rotation as well. A good follow thru will promote a good shot.

Again, during the winter months indoor training is necessary. Keep these golf alignments in check: address, impact, backstroke, downswing, and follow thru.

Ted Frick
2005 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year
Owner / Director of Instruction
Classic Swing Golf School (Located at Legends Resort)
P.O. Box 50955 Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
(843) 903-5560
1-800-827-2656
tfrick@classicswing.com
www.classicswing.com

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