Everybody wants to know what Jordan Spieth is doing, but Zach Johnson is the golfer you should really be paying attention to if you’re a 12+ handicap player. He has all of the preferred swing positions that will help you eliminate that weak slice, gain distance and hit the golf ball with authority.
What are those swing postures? Johnson's exceptionally strong grip is something that’s easy to copy and adding it will immediately help with that open club face that plagues almost all higher handicap players.
Next, Zack sets up with his shoulders square to his target. Most higher handicap players have their shoulders open or aimed left of target at address, which makes it more likely you’ll swing over the top and slice the ball.
Lastly, ZJ's left arm (forward arm for lefties like me) is flatter at the top of the golf swing than most tour players. For you, the flatter left arm makes it easier to swing the club more from the inside instead of swinging over the top.
If you can get your club face more square by adopting a more closed face (strong grip), square up the shoulder at address and swing the path of your club more from the inside on the downswing, you’ll hit the ball farther and straighter and that weak slice will be a thing of the past.
These changes will also free you up to turn your hips more through impact. Most players stop their hips through impact to give their hands time to try to flip the club square at the last second. That’s big power leak. When you don’t have to worry about your club face being open at impact, you can turn your hips more freely through impact which is a big source of power and consistency.
These concepts are easy to understand in this video breakdown of Zach’s swing. Watch this video below from Face First Golf and feel free to comment on this blog in the section below or on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.
The golf instruction video and information in this blog comes to you from Craig Jones of FaceFirstGolf.com, who has recently released a new online training program ... a bootcamp...for 12+ handicap players. Not only has Craig taught 10,000+ lessons and owned five golf learning facilities over the past twelve years, he was once a 15+ handicap player himself and worked his way down to a ONE handicap (super impressive). Craig breaks down the more difficult concepts into simpler terms AND respects the rules and etiquette that make golf such a great sport.
photo: Wikipedia
