Mind Blown -- The BEST DRILL EVER

[GMR]

Yesterday my entire golf game changed. I don't know why or how, but for some reason I stumbled again on a drill I had always wanted to try--the throwing clubs drill. I have never had anywhere to actually try this drill, but I recently moved into a house that backs up onto a golf course so now I actually have room to try it in the evening when the course is empty.

 

So last night I take 4 old irons (3-6) and go out onto the golf course. Starting with left hand only, from a standard setup I try to throw them as far as I can down the center of the fairway. I then go get them and do it again, this time with right hand only. And that is when it all clicks.

 

If you have never done this drill, just go do it. If you want to throw a 3i 50+ yards and straight, there's really only one way to do it: you coil up, you keep turning and let the club (naturally) lag behind you, and you release as hard as you can down the line to the target. The amazing thing about it though is for anyone who has ever played other sports this should come EXTREMELY NATURALLY. Try to do silly things that you do in your golf swing to make contact (casting, reverse pivoting, holding lag etc.) and who knows where the club will go.

 

I then hit 3 shots with my 6i and another 3 with my 3i. Literally the feeling is that i'm just throwing the club HARD like I had just done, but let the ball get in the way. Hit a straight shot, draw, and fade with each club, but just aiming the throw a few degrees right for the draw and a few degrees left for the fade. And oh my did it work well--tiny dispersion and great distance on all 6 shots.

 

So then I went and played 9 holes. No swing thoughts except to try to get in the best throwing position on the backswing and then to throw hard down the line on the downswing. No focus on the ball, all on THROWING that club down the line. During those 9 holes I hit the ball better than I ever have in any round ever, bar none. 8 GIRS (including a 15ft putt for eagle on one par 5 and back fringe on the other) and shot -2. For reference I play off around a UK 10 and normally shoot somewhere in the low-mid 80s (though can be pretty volatile to be fair). My miss was LONG--a much higher % of shots were going the "I really got ahold of that one" distance. Couple missed fairways but only 5-10 yards off the fairway and very playable, whereas my normal driver miss has me praying that the ball stays in bounds.

 

I realise I'm very much still in the honeymoon period here with this, but as it's a complete change in intent and pretty much a removal of all swing thoughts (instead of adding more) I have decent confidence that I've jumped to a new plateau here. And the best part, is this feeling is so LIBERATING. No worrying about the swing. No worrying about which arm or shoulder moves where or which body part starts the downswing or which wrist changes position at which time. Just literally THROW that club. Hard. Down the line. And just like that GOLF IS FUN!!!

[Millbrook]

I'm presuming you are right handed and using a left arm throwing motion. Is that correct? Good luck bye the way, hope it continues.

 

Edit; reread it and see you did a club throw with each hand. Change in question then - when you hit the ball are you throwing with both hands or favouring one - thinking here of Hardys book about the release and the thread on here about it.

[GMR]

I'm presuming you are right handed and using a left arm throwing motion. Is that correct? Good luck bye the way, hope it continues.

 

Edit; reread it and see you did a club throw with each hand. Change in question then - when you hit the ball are you throwing with both hands or favouring one - thinking here of Hardys book about the release and the thread on here about it.

 

When I hit I'm very much thinking about throwing with my right hand. Growing up I played baseball, football, tennis (and others) and am just used to generating power with a right arm throwing motion, so that works for me. But honestly I think either would work. Try the drill with both arms and see which feels more natural to you in terms of throwing the club the furthest, and then just recreate that feeling with a ball, but don't actually let go of the club and let the ball get in the way.

[tinman143]

Congrats. Can you try it a few more times to see if the magic continues?

[Jasonic]

This is the basis of the great book Extraordinary Golf. I suggest you give it a read!

[pivot2divot]

Throwing clubs goes so far back it predates Augusta National, but is really throwing the hands which have hold of a club.

[GMR]

Congrats. Can you try it a few more times to see if the magic continues?

 

Of course, but the thing I am really excited about is my total lack of need for thinking about the swing at all. I feel like I could take a month off and come out firing on all cylinders with this intent, as I'm just doing something my body has been programmed to do from a young age.

 

What is really strange is I don't even have a desire to see the "new" swing on video... I love the thought of being able to play to a high level without any technical thoughts floating around in my head.

[GMR]

This is the basis of the great book Extraordinary Golf. I suggest you give it a read!

Have heard of that book, haven't read it. At some point I should, but at the moment don't really feel the need to read anything that might introduce new thoughts.

[oikos1]

This is the basis of the great book Extraordinary Golf. I suggest you give it a read!

Have heard of that book, haven't read it. At some point I should, but at the moment don't really feel the need to read anything that might introduce new thoughts.

 

You don't get wrx then...

[GMR]

This is the basis of the great book Extraordinary Golf. I suggest you give it a read!

Have heard of that book, haven't read it. At some point I should, but at the moment don't really feel the need to read anything that might introduce new thoughts.

 

You don't get wrx then...

Haha I know! If this holds you may not be hearing from me as often... :)

[Petunia Sprinkle]

I've done it. It really reminds one the golf swing is more like an athletic action and less like a Masonic ritual.

[Fireballer]

I'm presuming you are right handed and using a left arm throwing motion. Is that correct? Good luck bye the way, hope it continues.

 

Edit; reread it and see you did a club throw with each hand. Change in question then - when you hit the ball are you throwing with both hands or favouring one - thinking here of Hardys book about the release and the thread on here about it.

 

When I hit I'm very much thinking about throwing with my right hand. Growing up I played baseball, football, tennis (and others) and am just used to generating power with a right arm throwing motion, so that works for me. But honestly I think either would work. Try the drill with both arms and see which feels more natural to you in terms of throwing the club the furthest, and then just recreate that feeling with a ball, but don't actually let go of the club and let the ball get in the way.

So no thoughts of keeping arms passive or keeping your lead arm straight or anything? What a concept. My game too changed dramatically when I realized, for me as a lefty, is a left handed game and I can swing the club as hard as I want as long as Im synched up.

[mfm22]

Very nice ! Pretty cool to feel your excitement in your post .

 

You obviously have some good golf skills already [ 10 hdcp] . Your mechanics are fairly sound to start , this exercise FREES UP the swing for you .

 

I've read Extraordinary golf a while back and never had the chance to throw some clubs - Think I'll get some spare clubs out of the garage and give 'em a heave this weekend

 

thanks for sharing - good luck with the feel - makes a lot of sense ... side note - question - did you find your Grip pressure becoming lighter ?

[Hilts1969]

I throw my clubs all the time. Usually up a tree or in the nearest bin. I'm still rubbish at golf but have become a great climber and lunch is usually free

[Man_O_War]

the throw is the release...and lag before then.. amazing.. but get in golf posture and you are staring at bigger ball than the two you have

[PreppySlapCut]

I make a lot of my students do this. Amazing how quickly people start to understand the basic sequencing of a golf swing.

[GMR]

Very nice ! Pretty cool to feel your excitement in your post .

 

You obviously have some good golf skills already [ 10 hdcp] . Your mechanics are fairly sound to start , this exercise FREES UP the swing for you .

 

I've read Extraordinary golf a while back and never had the chance to throw some clubs - Think I'll get some spare clubs out of the garage and give 'em a heave this weekend

 

thanks for sharing - good luck with the feel - makes a lot of sense ... side note - question - did you find your Grip pressure becoming lighter ?

 

Do it. It's really eye-opening.

 

Grip pressure not lighter, but the whole concept of lag becomes a lot more natural. I think when you are worried about hitting a ball it's hard to let the club lag behind you too much (or at least that's been my experience) as you subconsciously worry about your ability to get the face back squarely to the ball. When you are throwing a club though you can feel so much more clearly the direct correlation between the lag and the speed , and you instinctively know how to throw it at your target so your brain doesn't fight it. The whole key then becomes harnessing that same feel of "throwing" while actually "hitting," "swinging," or whatever you want to call it.

 

One more thing I'd add is that thinking of it in this way makes shallowing mostly automatic because, as you will discover when you try this a few times, it is far easier to throw a club hard and time the release from a shallow plane than it is from a vertical one. In fact get too steep and you're likely to just gouge the club into the ground a few feet in front of you--embarrassing.

[GMR]

I've done it. It really reminds one the golf swing is more like an athletic action and less like a Masonic ritual.

Exactly. There's just something innately different about standing over a ball and thinking "Make a Good Golf Swing," versus getting in a good athletic posture and then just doing what needs to be done to "throw" the clubhead at your target with as much speed as you can muster. It may sound a lot alike, but go throw some clubs and you will understand what I mean.

[Jim Waldron]

Very nice ! Pretty cool to feel your excitement in your post .

 

You obviously have some good golf skills already [ 10 hdcp] . Your mechanics are fairly sound to start , this exercise FREES UP the swing for you .

 

I've read Extraordinary golf a while back and never had the chance to throw some clubs - Think I'll get some spare clubs out of the garage and give 'em a heave this weekend

 

thanks for sharing - good luck with the feel - makes a lot of sense ... side note - question - did you find your Grip pressure becoming lighter ?

 

Do it. It's really eye-opening.

 

Grip pressure not lighter, but the whole concept of lag becomes a lot more natural. I think when you are worried about hitting a ball it's hard to let the club lag behind you too much (or at least that's been my experience) as you subconsciously worry about your ability to get the face back squarely to the ball. When you are throwing a club though you can feel so much more clearly the direct correlation between the lag and the speed , and you instinctively know how to throw it at your target so your brain doesn't fight it. The whole key then becomes harnessing that same feel of "throwing" while actually "hitting," "swinging," or whatever you want to call it.

 

One more thing I'd add is that thinking of it in this way makes shallowing mostly automatic because, as you will discover when you try this a few times, it is far easier to throw a club hard and time the release from a shallow plane than it is from a vertical one. In fact get too steep and you're likely to just gouge the club into the ground a few feet in front of you--embarrassing.

 

Great insights, congrats on your breakthrough.

 

My take on this is that the letting the ball get in the way part is at least as influential on your great ball flight as the throwing the club concept.

 

In my golf schools, we actually have students throw the older and heavier wooden baseball bats down the range. A lot heavier than a golf club, so the students can really feel the proper golf swing muscles, which are mainly about the Pivot. Your Pivot "slings" the heavy bat down range. At first, most will either hold on and throw the bat way left, or only use their arms with almost no Pivot, and throw the bat a very short distance and to the right of the target line.

 

The mental state you discovered of feeling free of the need for swing thoughts should be the norm in golf. The fact that it is NOT speaks volumes.

[CheckJV]

I may borrow one of my least favorite friends clubs and head to the Walmart parking lot at 2am tonight and give this a try.

[Strike Force]

Yesterday my entire golf game changed. I don't know why or how, but for some reason I stumbled again on a drill I had always wanted to try--the throwing clubs drill. I have never had anywhere to actually try this drill, but I recently moved into a house that backs up onto a golf course so now I actually have room to try it in the evening when the course is empty.

 

So last night I take 4 old irons (3-6) and go out onto the golf course. Starting with left hand only, from a standard setup I try to throw them as far as I can down the center of the fairway. I then go get them and do it again, this time with right hand only. And that is when it all clicks.

 

If you have never done this drill, just go do it. If you want to throw a 3i 50+ yards and straight, there's really only one way to do it: you coil up, you keep turning and let the club (naturally) lag behind you, and you release as hard as you can down the line to the target. The amazing thing about it though is for anyone who has ever played other sports this should come EXTREMELY NATURALLY. Try to do silly things that you do in your golf swing to make contact (casting, reverse pivoting, holding lag etc.) and who knows where the club will go.

 

I then hit 3 shots with my 6i and another 3 with my 3i. Literally the feeling is that i'm just throwing the club HARD like I had just done, but let the ball get in the way. Hit a straight shot, draw, and fade with each club, but just aiming the throw a few degrees right for the draw and a few degrees left for the fade. And oh my did it work well--tiny dispersion and great distance on all 6 shots.

 

So then I went and played 9 holes. No swing thoughts except to try to get in the best throwing position on the backswing and then to throw hard down the line on the downswing. No focus on the ball, all on THROWING that club down the line. During those 9 holes I hit the ball better than I ever have in any round ever, bar none. 8 GIRS (including a 15ft putt for eagle on one par 5 and back fringe on the other) and shot -2. For reference I play off around a UK 10 and normally shoot somewhere in the low-mid 80s (though can be pretty volatile to be fair). My miss was LONG--a much higher % of shots were going the "I really got ahold of that one" distance. Couple missed fairways but only 5-10 yards off the fairway and very playable, whereas my normal driver miss has me praying that the ball stays in bounds.

 

I realise I'm very much still in the honeymoon period here with this, but as it's a complete change in intent and pretty much a removal of all swing thoughts (instead of adding more) I have decent confidence that I've jumped to a new plateau here. And the best part, is this feeling is so LIBERATING. No worrying about the swing. No worrying about which arm or shoulder moves where or which body part starts the downswing or which wrist changes position at which time. Just literally THROW that club. Hard. Down the line. And just like that GOLF IS FUN!!!

 

Tell me no! You are kidding, right?

 

You mean to tell me that you are actually swinging 'to the target' rather than at the ball? You mean you actually just 'let the ball get in the way' and the ball is totally incidental to your swing? You mean you actually have 'no focus on the ball' because your inner thought is on swinging to your target? You mean you actually changed your golf swing by simply 'changing your intent', and your body automatically accommodated and coordinated those changes? You mean you didn't try to put certain body parts into various positions during the swing like certain people here tell you to do? Wow! PERFECT!!!

 

Congratulations! You get it...

 

PS - Don't pay any attention to the couple of old vultures that hang out here that prey on messages like yours. They are the self-appointed caretakers for some of the [so-called] professional golf instructors here that teach the golf swing only by body part positions.

[Cwebb]

Do you swing just barely above the turf with this? In other words, how close to an actual swing is your setup and posture?

[Grayback1973]

I did this drill once in the football field by my house and on almost every one I threw the club straight to the left.What does that indicate?

[GMR]

 

Tell me no! You are kidding, right?

 

You mean you are actually swinging 'to the target' rather than at the ball? You mean you actually just 'let the ball get in the way' and the ball is totally incidental to your swing? You mean you actually have 'no focus on the ball' because your inner thought is on swinging to your target? You mean you actually changed your golf swing and your body automatically accommodated simply by 'changing your intent'? You mean you didn't try to put certain body parts into various positions like certain people here tell you to do? Wow! PERFECT!!!

 

Congratulations! You get it...

I know I know, this is something we have all read time after time and KNOW, but until you actually GET IT it doesn't truly mean anything. For me the throwing drill was the link I needed to really understand how to make it all work, for others it may be something else.

[GMR]

I did this drill once in the football field by my house and on almost every one I threw the club straight to the left.What does that indicate?

Holding on instead of releasing I would think, or possibly flipping? What I love about this drill is that there are many many ways to do it poorly, but only one way to do it right. Keep trying until you get it and you will have unlocked the key.

[GMR]

Do you swing just barely above the turf with this? In other words, how close to an actual swing is your setup and posture?

 

I think I'd start with more of a baseball swing as it's easier on a flatter plane. I also find it most helpful doing it with one hand at a time. You don't want this to feel like a "golf swing" when you first do it, until you have gotten the feel down. Then you can start doing it lower to the ground and with two hands to transition the feeling.

[argee1977]

Tried this a couple of times, only tip i'd give is to not use any tacky gripped club, shiny old grips are good and less prone to sticking to your glove instead of releasing, i use an old vokey wedge with one of those rubbish grips that wore out quick!

[Tanner25]

Once played with a former employee scratch golfer. He had trouble explaining how he hit the ball. The one thing he said, was it's like throwing the club. I did try that and it didn't work. But, I did not try to get the feel from the drill first.

[Jasonic]

I did this drill once in the football field by my house and on almost every one I threw the club straight to the left.What does that indicate?

 

Swinging to the left and holding on too long. I did the same thing but given you know the concept (throw down the line) when you do it you can really feel dropping to the inside and slinging it down the line. Think like a hammer throw

[Tanner25]

Good web site for the club throw drill....enjoy!

 

http://www.michaelwilsongolf.com/connections/