Harmon Summit Pt. 2
In my last article I told you about how Butch Harman and Natalie
Gulbis began the process of improving her swing so it would be able
not only to hold up under the extreme pressure of Tournament golf
but would also last as long as she wanted to play golf. Her old
swing was already doing damage to her body. Her swing is still in
the development phase.
Harmon Summit Pt. 2
In my last article I told you about how Butch Harman and Natalie Gulbis began the process of improving her swing so it would be able not only to hold up under the extreme pressure of Tournament golf but would also last as long as she wanted to play golf. Her old swing was already doing damage to her body. Her swing is still in the development phase.
The next person Butch brought onto the stage was Adam Scott, straight off a PGA Tour win. They had been working together for a couple of years. At this point all Butches’ job consists of is maintenance. In the tournament that Adam had played in the week before his victory he didn’t make the cut. To go from missing the cut to winning the next week says that whatever problem there was had been “cured” so to speak. He said that he was blocking all his shots to the right (pushing the ball straight right) especially with his driver. Adam drives the ball close to 300 yards and he missed a lot of fairways by up to 75 yards, so he went to see Butch.
After watching him hit balls for a while he saw that on his backswing Adam was shifting his weight laterally to the outside of his right foot. That meant instead of turning into the ball he slid forward and changed the bottom of his arc and had an open-faced club at impact sending a lot of his shots right. Butch knelt down behind him and put his hand on the outside of his right thigh and told him to take his backswing and not to put any pressure against his hand.
That was it, having worked with him for years Butch saw the problem in short order. Adam said at first he felt tight and restricted but when all his shots were going where he wanted them to go he said he, ‘got over it’. Granted not all fixes are this easy but when you have a relationship with your pro, his or her eyes can cut down the repair time. Play well.
Eagle Ridges’ Kids Course Christmas Tournament will be held on the Kids Course on Dec. 10 at 2pm. Call or e-mail me to enter. Have any golf related questions? From rules to club fitting you can call me at 408-846-4531 or e-mail me at
sk*****@ea**********.com
.
If you would like to read some of my past tips, you can do so at www.pinnaclenews.com. And don’t forget, if you’re not having fun playing golf call your local PGA or instructor, we will help. Golf is more fun when you’re improving. Don’t be afraid to be good.
