Dead Hands - Part Two
June 22nd, 2008
Last week, I addressed an important tip on the use of “dead hands” when chipping.
In case you missed it, here it is again:
Many of our pitch shots are missed because we have too much hand and wrist action in our short swings. This wrist action causes our club face to open and close, making accuracy very uncertain.
Did you know that most golf professionals do just the opposite. They hit most of their pitch shots with “dead hand” action. In other words, the professionals do not move their hands or wrists during the swing. They simply turn their shoulders and allow their arms to move as a result of the turn - much like a long putt.So next time you practice chipping, try this: Get your set up position, and turn your shoulders back and forward naturally. Keep your hands and wrists still and just let the club make contact with the ball. Take small swings, and don’t try to manipulate the club in any way. You may be pleasantly surprised by the ball flight, and gain added distance and accuracy on your short pitches.
But there is actually more to this tip. (I didn’t want you to try this part until you had learned part one, so I held it back until this week.)Here is part two:
Don’t limit this feel to chipping only. Try to get the same feel in your long shots and full swings. Do as you did in part one - start the club back with just your shoulder turn. Don’t be rigid, just let the club position remain as it started until you are about waist high on your backswing. Then allow the club to flow to the top naturally.
On the downswing try to feel the club returning to this same position as it approaches waist high again. Let your shoulders turn the club through impact and just beyond, while you retain this ”dead hands” feel. Then allow your club continue to the finish naturally.
I know that you may think that you will lose yardage swinging this way, but I think you will be surprised how far you hit your shot and how accurate you will become, especially if you have fast hips and shoulders.
Please let me know if this works for you.
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Note: At Easy 80 Golf this action is learned in Lesson # 3. Fast hips and shoulder movement is learned in Lesson # 5. Both are learned by feel so that you learn to do them automatically, without thinking about it.
Happy Golfing,
Bob
PS. Don’t Miss Next Week’s Tip: A “Magic” Day!
Easy 80 Golf