Golf Tips by Ted Oh: Compact Swing

It is good to have balance between mechanics and feel. James's rhythm and timing has always been amazing so Ted will be assisting James with his club face angle, to try to get him more consistent without having to rely too much on "feel". A simple change in the face angle will help him draw the ball or fade the ball at his will.

Now let's review James's swing!

To start, James has a really good setup and it is very technical. Ted states that his form is one of the best and is perfectly square. His takeaway is also textbook!

A good takeaway consists of hands traveling under the chin and the club face angle matching with the spine angle; His takeaway is very good.

The top of his swing also looks really good!

According to Ted, he gets it perfect but one of the reasons he has a tendency to miss the ball to the right a little bit, is that he goes a little too long at the top. This first move is what is causing a little cut on the ball, so he gets it perfectly on plane but then proceeds to get laid off becuase he's rushing it with his right shoulder. When reviewing James's swing once more, you'll notice that he comes a little too steep over the top which would be the reason for the last couple of balls traveling to the right. This cut is causing to spin the ball. A side speed of 300 is not that much and as long as you keep it around 10%, it will only be a little baby curve!
The only reason Ted is pointing this out, is due to James's level of play. As an advanced player, he wants to get rid of the fade and wants a perfect straight shot or a draw.

To fix this issue, Ted will be working on James's back swing and try to get rid of that last little lift that he does. A big swing isn't always the best, you want to have a more compact swing where you keep you shoulder at 90 degrees.

To start, James will setup and bring the club back; It's perfect right there. 

In a swing, you don't want that extra long lift and want to keep the club in front. Ted will then use a shaft as a guide line to follow. 

Ted notes that when you are as strong as James, you don't need the extra lift at the top of the swing. Let's try now! 

That was a great path! We know that James likes the baby cut, but today, James is working on hitting a straight shot. As we stated earlier, the reason why he cuts the ball is due to the fact that his face is open.

He will go again but will keep the face more square this shot and Ted will also hold the guide shaft at this angle.

What a shot! There were two factors into that shot.

1. For James to hit a straight shot, he needs to keep the club face square.
2. He also needs to keep the club in front of him and come down more shallow.

His shot had zero path and almost no spin on the ball!

For James, it is natural for him to keep the face club open but at tour level, when you want to be precise, he will need to follow those steps to become a better golfer. It's never just about alignment, you also need to be very square with the club face angle.

An example of the same issue that James faced, is Lydia Ko! According to Ted, when she was competing in the BMW to win the championship, her grip and alignment were really good, but her ball kept missing to the left. When he took a look, he noticed that her grip, stance, ball pushing were fine, but her face was aiming 3 degrees to the left. Aligning the club to be more square fixed the issue!

The best way to practice, is to simply ask a trusted fellow golfer whether your face is square! Alignment is something you can't do alone, so find a trusted friend or golfer to help! For those at home, you can try lining up two sticks at a 90 degree angle to line up your face.