I'm a free swinger, but that doesn't mean I'm
careless with my shots. I approach each one
with a clearly defined purpose — a plan that
tells me where I'm going and how I'll get
there. Here's how I think my way
around a course, and the swing
keys I rely on to bring it
to its knees.
1. How to Hit an Absolute Bomb
One of my big driving keys isn't a swing position as much as it is a feeling — a feeling that my LEFT ARM IS BEING PULLED from its socket after impact. I think if I focused on forcing my left arm to straighten I'd be in trouble. It's more about the force of my swing pulling it straight, and me just being relaxed and letting it happen.
2. How to Split the Fairway
I rarely step onto a tee box thinking, "Where can I crush a driver to?" Follow my lead and look for landing spots that automatically take big numbers out of play — areas far away from hazards or anything that will block your approach to the green. Even if hitting to these spots means leaving your driver in the bag, you'll be better off.
3. Throw a curve at danger
Identify the spot that could do the most damage if your tee shot lands there, and then shape your shot away from it. Here, it's the bunker on the left, so I'll aim at the edge of the fairway closest to that bunker and hit a fade to the center or right side of the fairway. Don't aim at the bunker — you don't want to end up in trouble in the event that you hit the ball dead straight.
4. Hit your second shot first
If I'm feeling confident in a certain club, say my-8-iron, I'll pick a driving club that will leave me with my regular 8-iron distance to the hole. You should do this too, even if you feel like you can bust a drive to sand wedge distance. Use your tee shot to maximize your ability to hit your approach close to the hole, not to show off how far you can drive the ball.
5. Forget your swing mechanics
I sometimes spend a whole month practicing nothing but rhythm. I leave my mechanics alone and think only about the speed of my swing. If you don't get a lot of time to practice or fix flaws, then I suggest you practice this way, especially with your driver. It's the easiest club to miss with and still get good results — as long as you swing it under control.
6. How to Hit Pure Irons
When I was learning the game in Colombia one of my first coaches said, "AT IMPACT, POINT YOUR LEFT WRIST AT THE TARGET." That tip has been with me ever since, and even when I'm playing in a big tournament and coming down the home stretch on Sunday, I still think about it. If your left wrist is facing the target, so is your clubface.
7. How to Knock It Close
I rarely try to force anything that my swing doesn't want to do. If I'm hitting fades for a month and suddenly start drawing the ball, I'll just go with the draw. Make sure you hit enough practice balls before you play so you know what your swing is doing, and then go with what the day is giving you.
8. Curve it in when the pin is tucked
On Tour, the hole is rarely cut in the middle of the green, which means I hardly ever aim at the flagstick. If it's right, I'll aim at the center and hit a fade. If it's left, I'll aim at the center and hit a draw. That can conflict with my natural shot shape, but I have some keys to fall back on if I need to work the ball.
9. How to bend the ball on command
If you need to hit a fade, take the club outside of the target line in your backswing. This will give you just enough of an outside-in downswing to impart left-to-right spin on the ball. To hit a draw, take your club back lower to the ground and a bit more to the inside of the target line on your backswing. This will give you the feeling of swinging more around your body instead of up-and-down and help produce the draw spin.
10. Rethink your distances
Spend the next month re-gauging how far you hit each of your irons, but do it at 80 percent of the speed of your normal swing. This helps you in two ways: 1) You're probably swinging too fast already and a smoother swing will improve your accuracy and, 2) If you need a little extra juice to hit it the correct distance you know you have a few more yards left in your iron that you can tap into.
1. How to Hit an Absolute Bomb
One of my big driving keys isn't a swing position as much as it is a feeling — a feeling that my LEFT ARM IS BEING PULLED from its socket after impact. I think if I focused on forcing my left arm to straighten I'd be in trouble. It's more about the force of my swing pulling it straight, and me just being relaxed and letting it happen.
2. How to Split the Fairway
I rarely step onto a tee box thinking, "Where can I crush a driver to?" Follow my lead and look for landing spots that automatically take big numbers out of play — areas far away from hazards or anything that will block your approach to the green. Even if hitting to these spots means leaving your driver in the bag, you'll be better off.
3. Throw a curve at danger
Identify the spot that could do the most damage if your tee shot lands there, and then shape your shot away from it. Here, it's the bunker on the left, so I'll aim at the edge of the fairway closest to that bunker and hit a fade to the center or right side of the fairway. Don't aim at the bunker — you don't want to end up in trouble in the event that you hit the ball dead straight.
4. Hit your second shot first
If I'm feeling confident in a certain club, say my-8-iron, I'll pick a driving club that will leave me with my regular 8-iron distance to the hole. You should do this too, even if you feel like you can bust a drive to sand wedge distance. Use your tee shot to maximize your ability to hit your approach close to the hole, not to show off how far you can drive the ball.
5. Forget your swing mechanics
I sometimes spend a whole month practicing nothing but rhythm. I leave my mechanics alone and think only about the speed of my swing. If you don't get a lot of time to practice or fix flaws, then I suggest you practice this way, especially with your driver. It's the easiest club to miss with and still get good results — as long as you swing it under control.
6. How to Hit Pure Irons
When I was learning the game in Colombia one of my first coaches said, "AT IMPACT, POINT YOUR LEFT WRIST AT THE TARGET." That tip has been with me ever since, and even when I'm playing in a big tournament and coming down the home stretch on Sunday, I still think about it. If your left wrist is facing the target, so is your clubface.
7. How to Knock It Close
I rarely try to force anything that my swing doesn't want to do. If I'm hitting fades for a month and suddenly start drawing the ball, I'll just go with the draw. Make sure you hit enough practice balls before you play so you know what your swing is doing, and then go with what the day is giving you.
8. Curve it in when the pin is tucked
On Tour, the hole is rarely cut in the middle of the green, which means I hardly ever aim at the flagstick. If it's right, I'll aim at the center and hit a fade. If it's left, I'll aim at the center and hit a draw. That can conflict with my natural shot shape, but I have some keys to fall back on if I need to work the ball.
9. How to bend the ball on command
If you need to hit a fade, take the club outside of the target line in your backswing. This will give you just enough of an outside-in downswing to impart left-to-right spin on the ball. To hit a draw, take your club back lower to the ground and a bit more to the inside of the target line on your backswing. This will give you the feeling of swinging more around your body instead of up-and-down and help produce the draw spin.
10. Rethink your distances
Spend the next month re-gauging how far you hit each of your irons, but do it at 80 percent of the speed of your normal swing. This helps you in two ways: 1) You're probably swinging too fast already and a smoother swing will improve your accuracy and, 2) If you need a little extra juice to hit it the correct distance you know you have a few more yards left in your iron that you can tap into.
