Grooving your swing can make a big difference in your game. But to groove your swing is easier said than done. To do it, you first need to develop a swing motion that’s flawless and repeatable. Then you need to practice that swing again and again the motion is ingrained. Experts say you need to make more than 5,000 repetitions to do that. Easy as pie, right?!
But internalizing a flawless swing takes time. You can’t do it overnight. One reason is fatigue. It’s hard to execute the fundamentals correctly when you’re tired. So hitting too many balls in a practice session may not help your swing. In fact, it might actually hurt it. You might be grooving swing flaws produced by fatigue.
One way to forestall fatigue is to use wooden dowel rods. They’re light. They’re easy to swing. And they’re versatile. Plus, you can use them in the house without damaging anything. Then when you have time you can hit the practice range to continue the process.
Below are five golf tips I suggest to students in my golf instruction sessions that can help groove a swing:
1) Swing through the ball: Average ballstrikers swing to the ball. Great ballstrikers swing through it. Focusing on the ball when you swing restricts you. Instead, focus on watching your divot fly down the line toward the target. A good visual aid is picturing a friend standing in front of you and then showering her with dirt from your divot. Try the exercise with a wooden dowel first, and then hit the range.
2) Create the whoosh under your left ear: Here’s another exercise you can do in your home using a wooden dowel rod. Holding a rod, address an imaginary ball. Now take the dowel back and come forward as hard as you can. You’ll hear a woosh. The goal is to hear the woosh under your front ear. To do it, you need to swing like you were casting a fishing line.
3) Sync up your body and brain: One common mistake among weekend golfers is trying to control the swing as they start down. The brain can’t think fast enough to do it. But you can control your swing going back. Here’s how: Take the club back until you feel a slight stretch in your mid-section, stop briefly, then come forward. That slight stop at the top enables you to transfer all your weight into and through the ball as you start your downswing. That means both more power, and a “groovier” swing.
4) Match the dowel rods at impact: A good drill to groove your swing for driving, this exercise is best done outside. It helps corrects two common mistakes among weekend golfers: (1) hanging back on one’s trailing foot and (2) unhinging your wrists too soon. Put a dowel on the ground to match the ball’s position. Now stick a dowel in the ground at the same point. Then make a swing with a third rod. Make sure it matches the rod stuck in the ground as you swing past the standing rod.
Grooving your swing doesn’t just apply to your woods and irons. Here’s a great exercise for grooving your putting stroke:
5) Pierce the target with the rod: This exercise can help you make solid contact on putts. Plus, you can do it anywhere, anytime. Put a wooden dowel rod down on a flat surface a few feet in front of a target (or hole). Then make a putting stroke. Aim for the putter’s sweet spot and try to push the dowel through the target’s center. If your mechanics are off, you’ll push the dowel off-center.
The last exercise is great if you don’t have room to putt a ball on your carpet. It will teach you to hit the ball with a square putterface, which will improve your contact and consistency on the green.
These five golf exercises can help you groove your swing. While golf lessons are great, these exercises don’t require them, and can be done by yourself with either a club or a wooden dowel rod. If you use a club for the second exercise turn it around so the grip points away from you. Grooving your swing will help you not only break 80 but also chop strokes off your golf handicap.
