TEE TIME continued How To Make A Swing Eric Alpenfels Director of Golf Instruction / Golf Academy at the Pinehurst Resort The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc is privileged to have Eric Aplenfels as one of our contributers. Eric Alpenfels is the Director of the Pinehurst Golf Academy and Golf Instruction at Pinehurst Resort. He is a Class A Member of the PGA of America and has been part of the Pinehurst family since 1985. His expertise has earned him recognition from Golf Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Teachers in America,” Golf Digest as one of “America’s 50 Greatest Teachers” and U.S. Kids Golf as one of the “Top 50 Teachers for Kids.” Eric’s activities beyond the fairways of Pinehurst are extensive, and include speaking engagements, contributions to industry publications and participation as an Adjunct Facility of the PGA of America Education Department. In partnership with Dr. Bob Christina, The Golf Academy is conducting research to pioneer the development of new practice techniques and innovative drills. He recently coauthored “Instinct Putting” with Dr. Bob Christina and Dr. Cary Heath. �� TEE TIME continued Change, Part III by Eric Alpenfels As mentioned in the second article of this series, my daily activities include helping students make swing changes on the range as well as helping them carry those changes to the course. In my opinion, a swing change that can be carried from the range to the course is a success and should be a goal of any golfer wanting to change his or her swing technique. The goal of this third article in the series is to once again highlight the steps taken with a member of Pinehurst Country Club who participated in a series of lessons with the goal of eliminating a pull slice. As mentioned before, I have chosen this particular example primarily because the technique issue being addressed is common among both women and men golfers. A swing change that can be carried from the range to the course is a success... Changing the Technique The first step in any swing change is to identify what ball flight issue needs to be addressed and why. Most of the students I encounter have two basic issues with their golf swings that need the greatest amount of attention. First, they tend to have a path to the ball in their downswing that travels too much to the left (for the righthanded golfer) through impact, resulting in a shot that tends to start to the left of the target in varying degrees depending on the club being hit. Second, the resulting clubface position tends to be open at impact resulting in a shot that curves to the right in various amounts depending on the club being hit. In step one of this series of lessons, I focused on the clubface position at impact due to the student’s dislike for any shot that curved to the right. In step two, I focused on the clubhead path through impact to help eliminate shots pulled to the left of the target. In my experience, the most effective way to get the clubhead path traveling down the target line through impact is to use shafts on the ground to help guide the club’s path. These two shafts (I typically use alignment rods) are placed on the ground with the first rod aiming at the intended target and the second rod placed at a 20 degree angle to the right of the first rod. The goal in this case is to swing the clubhead on the angled rod through impact thus forcing the club to travel from an in-to-out path to the ball rather than one that is swinging to the left or out-to-in. In this case, the “In-To-Out Drill” was used as a simple way for the student to get the feel of the motion. Clubhead Path Drill The “In-To-Out Drill” begins with the positioning of a rod on the ground that is aimed towards the target and a second rod that is aiming to the right of the first shaft at approximately a 20 degree angle. Initially, rehearsal swings next to the ball with the intent of swinging the clubhead on a path to the ball and through impact that would be parallel to the second rod. This exaggerated path of the club through impact offers a specific individual feel that will not only be dramatic but also somewhat awkward due to the newness of the motion. Next, with a ball slightly teed off the ground, attempt to recreate the rehearsal swing while hitting a shot. Initially, impact with the ball will be inconsistent, and the feel of the swing will be awkward due to the newness of the motion. As the practice session progresses, continue to alternate between the rehearsal swing and hitting the ball to help develop the overall feel of the motion. Once you are able to eliminate the pull of the ball to the left, gradually add speed to the motion until you reach a full swing while controlling the ball’s starting direction. Practice Routines In most cases, this swing change will take a practice session or two before the motion becomes comfortable and one is able to recognize when a variation of the old swing is made when compared to the new motion. Once this step is achieved, the next step is TEE TIME con't. next column TEE TIME con't. next column to incorporate a “Transfer Practice” strategy to help carry the new swing technique to the course. In this case, simply alternating between clubs (no more than three hits with each) and different targets will begin the process. Next, one might “play” a favorite golf course on the range by recreating the holes using the various targets, undulations, buildings found on the range. Last, practice of the swing change should be attempted on the course by hitting shots that are typically encountered in a round of golf. The key in this case is to practice in a way that mimics situations found in regular play. �� No. 127 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.9
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