Tip Of The Month
By John Pallot
Director of Instruction
January 2006
Golfer or not, every citizen of Coral Gables can take pride in
the accomplishments of the Biltmore Golf Course and the Junior Orange
Bowl Committee in producing and staging each December The Junior
Orange Bowl International Junior Championship, The implications
are truly international. Top youngsters from around the globe vie
to compete in this prestigious tournament, one of junior golf's
majors. Fifty-six countries were represented in 2006, the 41st edition
of the Junior Orange Bowl.
Every year the golfers are hitting the ball longer and straighter
and putting better. This years winners, Ben Parker of England and
Angela Park of California were both under par. Parker shot 274 and
Park 283. The Biltmore is a wonderful venue for these young world
class golfers. The classic Donald Ross design features lush fairways,
deep bunkers, and small, firm greens. The par 71 surrendered a 63
to Parker, but held its own against the rest of the field. Even
with the latest high tech, hot drivers the golf course is still
challenging. The 7th hole, with a canal bisecting the fairway, is
a wonderful par 4. When I played in the JOB(1975-77), you hit a
2 iron off the tee than a 3 iron over the canal. Now the kids blast
the ball over the canal, a 275 yard carry. A sand wedge to the green
for their 2nd shot remains. This is happening all over the country
at all golf courses. Better coaching,mental preparation, fitness,
and technology are making some courses obsolete for top players.
How do these kids do it? To discover the secrets, I videoed and
studied the techniques of the top finishers. What I found becomes
our TIP OF THE MONTH.
1) The right leg is stable on backswing, i.e. no lateral movement. In this way the leg becomes the fulcrum for development of a powerful energy storing coil as the arms move around and up to beautiful top of the backswing position. The shoulders and hips will turn in response to the arms.Here's a drill I recommend to help you develop a stable right leg. Stick a broken shaft into the ground 3 inches to the side of your right hip. Take practice swings without touching the shaft. Remember to keep the right knee flexed. This helps you feel the ideal lower body action on your backswing.
2) Keeping the right leg stable allows you to push off the inside of your right foot to start the downswing. THis lower body shift enables efficient use of the kinetic energy stored in the coil by allowing the arms to lower and swing on the proper swing plane. Thus producing longer, straighter more powerful shots. Use the baseball pitcher drill. Take your normal golf set-up position. Swing the club back simultaneously letting your left leg swing back behind your right foot, then step toward the target and swing through to the finish. This drill helps you feel the ideal lower body sequence. A lower body shift is essential in swinging a club or throwing a ball toward the target. Use these drills. Jack Nicklaus says "the swing starts from the ground up". When you fully realize how important feet and legs are in a golf swing you will have taken a big step forward to par.
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