Annika Sorenstam’s 3 easy keys for hitting extra fairways

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, however the perfect recommendation stands the check of time. In Timeless Ideas, we spotlight a few of the best recommendation academics and gamers have distributed within the pages of GOLF Journal. Right now we glance again at our June 2003 concern the place Annika Sorenstam shared her secrets and techniques for accuracy off the tee. For limitless entry to the total GOLF Journal digital archive, be part of InsideGOLF as we speak; you’ll take pleasure in $140 of worth for less than $39.99/yr.

A couple of years in the past after I interviewed Annika Sorenstam, she stated one thing that caught with me: “I by no means bought uninterested in hitting fairways.” Sensible logic.

Within the period of bomb-and-gouge, the artwork of accuracy off the tee has misplaced its luster. However that’s to not say hitting fairways is unimportant. Enjoying from the quick grass will all the time be simpler than hacking it out of the tough. That’s why it’s crucial that you simply learn to wield the motive force in a means that ensures you’re preserving your ball within the fairway.

Sorenstam was glorious at this. Throughout her profession, she ranked inside the highest 20 in driving accuracy eight instances. Pair that together with her legendary shot-making talents and also you had the makings of one of many all-time greats. It’s no marvel she’s probably the most embellished LPGA star of the trendy period.

Within the midst of her heyday, again in 2003, Sorenstam sat down with GOLF Journal to share a few of her secrets and techniques. Amongst them have been a few of her keys for pinpoint accuracy off the tee. Examine ’em out under.

Annika’s driving accuracy keys

Everybody needs to understand how I plan to compete with the lads when my common drive goes solely 265 yards. My reply: by preserving the ball within the quick grass. Accuracy off the tee is certainly one of my greatest strengths. Final yr, I hit greater than 80 % of fairways on the LPGA Tour (which might have ranked second on the PGA Tour). If I try this at Colonial, I feel I’ll do very effectively.

Most amateurs ought to contemplate pondering this manner. I wager they’d rating considerably decrease in the event that they made hitting fairways, as an alternative of maximizing distance, their high precedence. Even when your drive goes a good distance, you possibly can’t count on to hit many greens from the tough or from behind bushes. Discovering the green begins with hanging the ball solidly, then having the ability to management the place it goes. That is my plan for the Colonial.

Beneath are my three keys to hitting stable, straight drives: one for the backswing, one for squaring the clubface, and a 3rd for tempo. Strive them, together with just a few bonus factors I’ve included on easy methods to rating your greatest persistently. 

1. Concentrate on the path hip

One motive I’m capable of hit so many fairways is that my hips keep centered on my backswing. I merely flip my higher physique over my proper leg, with my hips. A clean tempo permits this; after I swing too rapidly, my proper hip tends to tug up on the backswing, dropping my left shoulder. This throws my entire prove of whack.

When my tempo will get fast, I take into consideration turning my shoulders again stage, like I’m steadying the wings of an airplane. This encourages my proper hip to rotate, slightly than carry. With my proper hip totally turned, I could make a giant shoulder flip to the highest.

Do that: As you swing the membership again, consider turning your hips inside an imaginary cylinder the width of your stance; don’t let your proper hip slide previous your proper foot. To coach my hips to maneuver on this trend, I typically observe with an umbrella caught within the floor simply exterior my proper foot. The article is to show my proper hip with out bumping the umbrella. If my hip sways in any respect, it should hit the umbrella.

2. Observe the ball

My head doesn’t keep down after influence; it follows the ball. That’s not simply an idiosyncrasy. As I swing by means of, I’m turning my head with my physique, releasing each to the goal concurrently.

This head swivel could look uncommon, nevertheless it’s been very efficient — some name it my signature transfer. For one, it helps me launch the clubhead extra with my arms and physique, so I don’t need to rely a lot on the timing of my palms to sq. the clubface. Second, it adjustments my focus from the ball to the goal, so all of my swing’s vitality is directed to the place I wish to hit the ball. After influence, it feels just like the membership, my physique, and even my head are chasing the ball.

Do that: I used to have a reverse-C end, so my swing coach, Henri Reis, advised this drill. To encourage my weight to shift left on the downswing, he had me hit balls turning my head to the goal earlier than influence. It labored so effectively eliminating my reverse C, I made it part of my regular swing. 

Strive it your self, particularly in case your weight tends to fall again at influence and also you make inconsistent contact. Hit some wedges, letting your eyes monitor ahead as an alternative of making an attempt to maintain your head down. You’ll really feel a greater shift to your left aspect and sq. the face for straighter photographs.

3. Groove your tempo

My caddie, Terry McNamara, tells me to “swing six” any time he sees my tempo quickening. Ona scale of 1 to 10, six is my velocity restrict for my driver. Any greater than that, and I begin to lose management.

Discover a swing tempo along with your driver that permits you to swing in management. Swing more durable than six in case you like, so long as you’re capable of preserve your stability. It is best to end along with your weight on the skin of  your entrance foot and your again foot on its toes. Don’t transcend your stability threshold; in case you do, you’ll lose accuracy. To begin in stability, distribute your weight evenly on the balls of your ft. You wish to really feel steady in each course — entrance, again, left, and proper. Then, as Terry jogs my memory, merely “swing six.”

Do that: In case you end in stability, along with your physique in a comparatively straight line over your entrance foot, chances are high you had good stability through the swing. And a balanced swing offers you the perfect likelihood to make sq. contact. The following time you play, fee your end place from 1 to 10 on every drive — 1 for falling over and 10 for good stability. This drill will get you fascinated with your end and stability, which is able to finally preserve you within the fairway.