Golf Instruction

By Harold Swash

This article is extracted from a series of folding pocket lessons for leading international golf coaches called Pocketshots™. Visit www.dizzyheights.com for more details on the entire Pocketshot™ series.

Introduction

Harold Swash has more than 40 years of experience in the golf industry as a coach, golf club designer and inventor of putting training aids and the 'Yes C' groove putters. He is a leading authority on putting and instructor to many of the world's top professional and amateur golfers. He has coached 8 of the 12 players on the winning European Ryder Cup team, and we all know how good they are at holing putts.

	Setup – Stance The width of stance should be wide enough to offer a solid base so that any movement in the body is minimized. A wide stance will help keep the pivot point of the putting stroke (the sternum) fixed, so that you can rock the shoulders and return the putter face squarely at impact. Any body movement will require compensation from the hands during the stroke to square the clubface and hit the ball out of the sweet-spot. This leads to inconsistency.
	Setup – Ball Position The bottom dead centre of the arc of your putting stroke is directly below your sternum. Therefore, the ball position is not relative to your feet but relative to the vertical plane through your sternum. Position the ball 2'' (5cm) ahead of the bottom, dead centre of the arc of the stroke. Do this and you will hit the ball with a slight up-stroke.
	Eye Position The correct eye position is above and behind the ball. With your eyes above the ball you will look at the target from the same angle regardless of the distance from the hole. This will help you align your putter more consistently.
	Test Address a ball. Now drop a second ball from the bridge of your nose. If you are correctly positioned it should fall directly behind the other ball along the target line to the hole.

Next week, Reading Greens

For further information about golf instruction, training aids and the C groove putter visit www.haroldswashputting.com. For more informationabout C-grove putters visit www.yesgolf.com.

We recommend you use one of these great sites to keep track of your improvement: www.strokeaverage.com and www.golfscoretracker.co.uk.

Published by Dizzy Heights UK Limited.© Pocketshots™ and Dizzy Heights™ are trademarks of Dizzy Heights (UK) Limited all other trademarks are acknowledged. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part or in any form.