Friday, December 10, 2010

Tall and straight golf swing

I used to play regularly with a colleague of mine who was six-foot, five-inches tall. And needless to say, he used to struggle with his golf swing.

He was extremely competitive and hated losing, even in a casual game with friends. He would demand that people tell him what's wrong with his swing between holes so he could improve.

I waited until after the round, to which he said: "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

Actually, I consider myself to have miniscule knowledge of the mechanics of a golf swing so I was quite flattered that he was annoyed at my delayed advice.

Anyway, I noticed that his height forced him to squat a bit when addressing the ball. However, once he took his club away, he would be almost standing upright and would have to make a last-second bend of his knees to make clean contact with the ball.

When he got it right, the ball flew a mile but most of the time, he would slice or hook badly. So I told him if he insists on squatting, keep that position throughout the golf swing, don't stand up.

Or else, stand closer to the ball at address and stand up straighter. Whatever he chooses, don't bend your knees while making the swing.

In fact, I've seen this in friends and colleagues who are not as tall but still have decent height, six-foot, give or take.

Chris Wood (pictured) is a British pro who is also 6-foot-five and he appears to have an upright stance, therefore doesn't need to stand up while on the backswing. He finished joint fifth as an amateur at the 2008 British Open, so he is proof that really tall people can play.

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