No “NOW”
by Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
Watch a good player swing, and fans usually comment – “It looks so smooth and effortless.” That’s because the pros have learned that there is no hit in a good swing, i.e., no point during the swing where you try to speed up the clubhead by adding manipulation – aka the hit instinct. In a good swing, there should be no point where you can describe the feeling like this: “Not now, not now, here it comes, it’s almost here, NOW!”
If your swing is too fast and jerky, especially when you are faced with a tough shot, here is a drill you and your teacher can do to take the NOW out of your swing.
Here’s how it works:
Your teacher places a club just in front of the ball, as I have done in the photo below; then, you make a normal swing with a seven iron. Sometimes I’ll remove the ball just after s/he starts the downswing, and sometimes I’ll leave it there so the student can hit it. In either case, I’ll always move my clubhead safely out of the way in plenty of time. At first, the situation is a bit awkward; but after a few swings, the motion smooths out, and the player begins to feel what I mean when I say, “There should be No NOW in your swing.”
Note: One of my students, a few years back, tried to qualify for the Canadian Tour but finished 14th and didn’t make it. His problem was that he had two swings – the good swing where he maintained the same pace all the way through, allowing force to be delivered via leverage at exactly the correct time, and an evil twin swing where he added force by way of manipulation. This second swing came out at the worst time, making it impossible for him to compete at the higher levels. After working on the ‘No NOW’ drill, he finished 5th the next year and made the tour.
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
