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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.
