A few years ago I started advising anyone who would listen that this is the way to build a competent, consistent golf swing. Hit wedges, lots of wedges. Take the club back halfway, swing through to a full finish.
This is my second post on the subject, hence the quantifier in the title. But the notion is so important that I don’t want to let it be one and done because you might never find that first post. So I’m posting the idea again.
Actually, I should post it every other week, it’s that important, but that probably would create a different impression in your mind than emphasis, so I won’t.
There are three reasons why this is such an important drill.
One. It teaches you how to bring the club into the hitting area, through impact, and into your follow-through. If you want to work hard on the Six Fundamentals, this is the drill to use. Because it is a short swing, you can concentrate on getting those parts of it just right.
Two. It teaches you how to hit your longer pitch shots, probably the last shot recreational golfers learn to hit well. You can drop a lot of strokes off your score if you expect to get down in three from 75 yards, and maybe two, than down in four and maybe three.
Three. This is the big one. If you hit enough of these shots, you will create a swing feeling in your mind that is not tied in any way to your technique. You train your mind to just step up and swing automatically. Believe me, you will play much more consistently if you can learn to do that.
Drill. Take your sand wedge to the range. Just that one club. Make four dry (no ball in front of you) half-wedge swings. Swing halfway going back, and follow through to a full finish. After the four dry swings, pull a ball forward and make the same swing without thinking of the ball. Just repeat what you did four times.
When making your dry swings, do not take too long between them. Take just a few seconds to get set up again and swing. You’re not rushing, but what I want you to avoid is giving yourself enough time to think about what you’re doing. I don’t want you to think. I want you to swing.
Then when you pull the ball over to hit it, keep up that same rhythm instead of thinking, “OK, now I’m going to hit a golf ball,” or anything else. Just swing.
Say you have a small bucket with 30 golf balls. That will be 150 swings. That’s a lot of practice which will pay off if repeated frequently. If you do this all winter, every time you go to the range, I guarantee your swing will be miles better next spring than it is now.
Heck, you can even do this drill, without golf balls, of course, in your living room.* Put down a throw rug underneath your club so you don’t scuff your carpet. Swing five times and take a break for a minute. Repeat nine times. Do this daily, or as often as you can get to it, and you’ll get in a LOT of practice that will pay off more than you know.
And like I said, your swing will be miles better next spring than it is now.
In advance, you’re welcome.
* What about the ceiling? I’m 6’6” tall, and with a sand wedge I don’t even come close to hitting my 8-foot ceiling at any time.
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