Mind Blown -- The BEST DRILL EVER

[NikeGolferTX]

I've seen Rory practice this lol

 

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Realise you posted this to be funny (and it is), but in all seriousness watch it a couple times and notice just how similar his one-arm throwing motion looks to his actual full swing. Gets deep with trail shoulder in an externally rotated position, then rotates internally as he braces into his lower body (shallowing the plane), and then he rotates through to generate speed. That one-arm throw is exactly what I was doing when I had my initial "ah ha" moment, so worth watching a time or two for those trying to figure out how this drill relates to the actual golf swing.

Oh yeah it looks awesome! You can really see the right arm go external and elbow towards the belly button and then release after the hips have opened up.

 

I think another good way to explain the concept to to hold a medicine ball and rotate the body and just let go of the ball instead of actually trying to throw it.

[wadesworld]

Since I said a lot of positive things about my transition to this method, I thought I would also give my personal real world experience. This swing is not natural to me, I might have years of bad habits to break as the root cause. I can find some success on the range with it and ok success on the course with it but it just doesn't come easy to me. I can throw clubs in a park all day long and as soon as I am over the ball it all feels different to me. On well struck shots I am picking up some distance but am not yet very consistent with it. I was at the range this weekend and tried my old swing and it is much easier for me to execute but it it a half a club to a full club shorter. I will keep playing with it but the transition is not easy for me to make. Instead of having less swing thoughts I am having more swing thoughts (do PMD, let the club float in the back swing and don't rush the downswing, pick a target to throw at,etc.... if I think just throw the club then I feel like the club is way out of position and my brain takes over and reroutes everything).

 

The ball is indeed the problem.

 

Over time, you'll get better at executing the task and ignoring the ball. When you do so, you'll hit more and more quality shots. When you do it really well, you'll hit effortless, compressed, full extension, full release gorgeous shots.

 

But the times you lose focus and hit a bad one will never completely go away. The best golfers in the world still hit bad shots. All it takes is a slight loss in focus. I played really well yesterday but hit a huge chunk when as I took the club back I thought "did I go too much inside?" One the next shot, I refocused on my task and stuck it to a foot. Ok, 10 feet.

[Frohlich]

Since I said a lot of positive things about my transition to this method, I thought I would also give my personal real world experience. This swing is not natural to me, I might have years of bad habits to break as the root cause. I can find some success on the range with it and ok success on the course with it but it just doesn't come easy to me. I can throw clubs in a park all day long and as soon as I am over the ball it all feels different to me. On well struck shots I am picking up some distance but am not yet very consistent with it. I was at the range this weekend and tried my old swing and it is much easier for me to execute but it it a half a club to a full club shorter. I will keep playing with it but the transition is not easy for me to make. Instead of having less swing thoughts I am having more swing thoughts (do PMD, let the club float in the back swing and don't rush the downswing, pick a target to throw at,etc.... if I think just throw the club then I feel like the club is way out of position and my brain takes over and reroutes everything).

 

The ball is indeed the problem.

 

Over time, you'll get better at executing the task and ignoring the ball. When you do so, you'll hit more and more quality shots. When you do it really well, you'll hit effortless, compressed, full extension, full release gorgeous shots.

 

But the times you lose focus and hit a bad one will never completely go away. The best golfers in the world still hit bad shots. All it takes is a slight loss in focus. I played really well yesterday but hit a huge chunk when as I took the club back I thought "did I go too much inside?" One the next shot, I refocused on my task and stuck it to a foot. Ok, 10 feet.

Since I said a lot of positive things about my transition to this method, I thought I would also give my personal real world experience. This swing is not natural to me, I might have years of bad habits to break as the root cause. I can find some success on the range with it and ok success on the course with it but it just doesn't come easy to me. I can throw clubs in a park all day long and as soon as I am over the ball it all feels different to me. On well struck shots I am picking up some distance but am not yet very consistent with it. I was at the range this weekend and tried my old swing and it is much easier for me to execute but it it a half a club to a full club shorter. I will keep playing with it but the transition is not easy for me to make. Instead of having less swing thoughts I am having more swing thoughts (do PMD, let the club float in the back swing and don't rush the downswing, pick a target to throw at,etc.... if I think just throw the club then I feel like the club is way out of position and my brain takes over and reroutes everything).

Sounds like you are focusing on "how to throw" instead of just throwing. If you needed to throw out the opening pitch at a ballgame would you worry about float-loading your arm, your timing, etc? Don't think so...you'd never make it anywhere near the plate. If you want to ingrain the feeling you need to spend your time on the range figuring out what you need to do to have your new simple intent (pick a target and throw) translate to decent results, so that when you go to the course you can just pick your target and throw. Once you start thinking about the other stuff you might as well go back to what you were doing, because you're not going to have any success in dissecting the throwing motion into its constituent parts on the fly during a round of golf.

 

Thank you both for the responses. Its funny how the brain works. When I was just doing the PMD by itself it was all starting to work for me and I was getting crisp contact and picked up a club in distance. It wasn't until I tried to layer in the throwing concept that I started to struggle again. My brain doesn't like it and takes over when I try to add the throwing motion. For now I may just go with PMD as my base motion and try to work in the throwing concept over time. Baby steps .

 

On a side note. My old swing always produced some level of back pain after I hit balls on the range or played several rounds in a row. I can feel my back today slightly from hitting a large bucket yesterday with about half the bucket trying my old swing. Last week I took a four day trip to Michigan and played 5 rounds using the Shawn Clement swing (PMD) and no pain whatsoever. Definitely seems more body friendly than my old swing and I am no spring chicken anymore so pain free golf is important to me.

[Frohlich]

My next "ah ha" moment happened on the range this morning. I was struggling combining the PMD and throwing the club and I layered in "suction cup feet" that Shawn Clement talks about (see video below) . As soon as I layered the suction cup feet feeling back in it all was clicking again and had a gain in distance and better contact and all with less effort. I "think" that I tend to put my weight over the front of my feet from years of bad habits and staying centered with my balance front to back doesn't feel natural to me but as soon as I do, everything comes back into synch. I can feel this concept naturally while doing PMD but when I go to address the ball, I think was reverting back to leaning too far forward. I have had this "ah ha" moment before with the suction cup feet analogy but I had forgotten about it until this morning. I was hitting them as good as I have at any time this year. Promising indeed :-)

 

"suction cup" feet analogy at 5:00 mark of video:

[alfriday]

I "think" that I tend to put my weight over the front of my feet from years of bad habits and staying centered with my balance front to back doesn't feel natural to me but as soon as I do, everything comes back into synch. I can feel this concept naturally while doing PMD but when I go to address the ball, I think was reverting back to leaning too far forward.

 

"suction cup" feet analogy at 5:00 mark of video:

 

You sound like me. One thing Shawn talks about hat helped me get over setting up with my weight too far forward is to do the PMD or feet together drill next to the ball, watch the blur of the clubbed and set the club on the ground where the blur is constant. Then creep forward (move the whole machine) until the club is behind the ball. It eliminates reaching out for the ball and shifting weight over the toes.

[alfriday]

I'll add one more thing regarding balance. Balance is something I have worked on a great deal the past year. If I get set up correctly, I'm going to hit a pretty good shot. Balance is a big part of my set up.

 

On the range I work on my balance, both front to back and side to side. I take my stance, close my eyes and lean forward until I feel out of balance, then lean back and then center. I concentrate on the feeling of being centered and then do the "suction cup" with the feet. When doing the feet together drill and the PMD, I will purposely sway to feel it pull me off center, and then work back to being centered and balanced. This may sound backward--doing it wrong on purpose. But it works and speeds up learning. My balance has improved greatly over the past year.

 

On the course, I will do this occasionally, especially when I have an awkward stance like when the ball is well above my feet.

[Frohlich]

Just thought I would provide a quick update. After about two months with the new PMD + throw the club swing, I gave up. This is my fault, but I just had way too many swing thoughts and didn't just let it happen. I think I was artificially trying to get the up and down motion of the body/head that Shawn shows in his videos and just had a real hard time being consistant with it. At the end of the day the swing felt way to steep and so my brain was trying to bail out of the swing so I didn't hit it fat (at least that is what I think).

 

The game is so funny because I went back to my old swing and shot 73, 78, 85, 77 and 73 (I am usually at 78 to 83 golfer). So back to my old comfortable swing which has its own issues in my brain or I wouldn't have switched to try some thing else ..but at least I trust it and have a lot of history with it so my brain just lets it happen more naturally :D

[wadesworld]

Yeah, if you're having swing thoughts and trying to make things happen, you're doing the exact opposite of what the drill is supposed to teach you.

 

I'm not sure learning via video is the best route for someone who already shoots in the 70's. At least not without regular online coaching too. Your swing is obviously in a state where it just needs a few tweaks, best accomplished under the watchful eye of a coach.

[Frohlich]

This game is maddening. I went back to my old "swing" for the last several rounds with much success and suddenly Saturday morning on the front 9 nothing feels right....at all. Two way misses and scramble like crazy to shoot 43. So at the turn I tell myself to just go back to PDM + throw the club because it can't get any worse than I just did on the front 9 and shoot 38 on the back nine holes. Sunday morning I went 76 (39/37) was hitting some monster drives with PDM+throw the club. I'm a mess...wonder what swing will show up this weekend :search:

[GMR]

This game is maddening. I went back to my old "swing" for the last several rounds with much success and suddenly Saturday morning on the front 9 nothing feels right....at all. Two way misses and scramble like crazy to shoot 43. So at the turn I tell myself to just go back to PDM + throw the club because it can't get any worse than I just did on the front 9 and shoot 38 on the back nine holes. Sunday morning I went 76 (39/37) was hitting some monster drives with PDM+throw the club. I'm a mess...wonder what swing will show up this weekend :search:

Isn't golf great like that? Especially while we are making changes it seems like it's just impossible to be consistent. There are some days I can find a key swing thought to focus on, and doing that makes the game feel easy. Problem is it always seems to be different: sometimes it's timing, sometimes it's feeling the club more in the right hand to feel that "throwing motion," sometimes more about tracing the clubhead path down and through the ball...and the list goes on. Before I find the key the result is normally terrible, and sometimes when I find it things get easy. And some days I spend all day looking and never quite find it, or shoot +7 on the first 6 holes of the 9 followed by -2 on the last 3 after something clicks. Like I said, great game right?

[Obee]

Thanks for posting. I would like to see video of the *60 throw he speaks of. Just ordered Shoemaker's book can't wait to read it.

 

One of the best, most insightful golf books ever written -- with application to many other endeavors, as well....

[Frohlich]

So my swing journey continues with the Shawn Clement throw the club swing. When I started my journey around April/May I was mentally trying to just work on Perpetual Motion Drill. Over the last few months as I try and figure out what swing thoughts work for me, I really have transition to just throw the club as my only swing thought (I don't ever think about PDM but its there as a byproduct of throwing the club at the target). A couple of times I would have a bad round early in the summer and panic and wonder if this swing was for me and would revert back to my old swing. I have committed to the throw the club swing thought 100% and it really is working well for me. Not only on full swings but also on partial swings and even chipping. Starting to become natural for me and my brain is trusting it and so is no longer trying to overide my swing or force some sort of bailout adjustment. Have had some very good rounds and the more I remove the thought of hitting the ball and just throwing the club at the target the better things get. I have had some real "zen" moments on the range when I get in the zone because I don't even worry about hitting the ball which I haven't 100% taken to the course yet but I am working on it. Very optimistic that this is the long term swing for me. Stress free on my body (old swing hurt my back), very good distance and very accurate.

[wadesworld]

So my swing journey continues with the Shawn Clement throw the club swing. When I started my journey around April/May I was mentally trying to just work on Perpetual Motion Drill. Over the last few months as I try and figure out what swing thoughts work for me, I really have transition to just throw the club as my only swing thought (I don't ever think about PDM but its there as a byproduct of throwing the club at the target). A couple of times I would have a bad round early in the summer and panic and wonder if this swing was for me and would revert back to my old swing. I have committed to the throw the club swing thought 100% and it really is working well for me. Not only on full swings but also on partial swings and even chipping. Starting to become natural for me and my brain is trusting it and so is no longer trying to overide my swing or force some sort of bailout adjustment. Have had some very good rounds and the more I remove the thought of hitting the ball and just throwing the club at the target the better things get. I have had some real "zen" moments on the range when I get in the zone because I don't even worry about hitting the ball which I haven't 100% taken to the course yet but I am working on it. Very optimistic that this is the long term swing for me. Stress free on my body (old swing hurt my back), very good distance and very accurate.

 

Trying to keep yourself from taking control or losing focus will be a life-long struggle. It's what we do as humans. However, you can get better and better at it.

 

When I hit a poor chip shot (usually thin), there is absolutely zero doubt I tried to control the club. When I commit myself to tossing the club back and just letting it fall across my intermediate point, the result is almost always fantastic.

 

Glad you're finding success. I certainly agree that the more I let go of control, the better my sequencing, and the more accurate and powerful my swing becomes.

[golfarb1]

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

Not good when the club gets stuck up a tree.

What do you do when you throw your clubs into a water hazard with alligators?

[Range Pro]

then you've got to see this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKmK511Mrsw&t=14s

[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

Not good when the club gets stuck up a tree.

What do you do when you throw your clubs into a water hazard with alligators?

 

Buy new clubs

[Silveird]

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!!!

 

I tried this drill yesterday after reading about your experience. I used an open field nearby my house and filmed myself with my iphone's slow motion camera. The drill felt a little weird but I forced myself to focus on the target instead of my form. And when I played back the video...holy cow, my form looked incredible. I was doing all the little things without even trying.

 

The driving range was closed due to dangerous air quality (thanks, wildfires) so I didn't get the chance to hit balls afterwards. Still, this feels like a major breakthrough--like my swing has been reduced to an athletic move that my body wants to perform. Thanks for posting this!

 

Side note. I found I was able to throw the club further using just my left arm as compared to using both arms. That was an interesting revelation.

[Frohlich]

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!!!

 

I tried this drill yesterday after reading about your experience. I used an open field nearby my house and filmed myself with my iphone's slow motion camera. The drill felt a little weird but I forced myself to focus on the target instead of my form. And when I played back the video...holy cow, my form looked incredible. I was doing all the little things without even trying.

 

The driving range was closed due to dangerous air quality (thanks, wildfires) so I didn't get the chance to hit balls afterwards. Still, this feels like a major breakthrough--like my swing has been reduced to an athletic move that my body wants to perform. Thanks for posting this!

 

Side note. I found I was able to throw the club further using just my left arm as compared to using both arms. That was an interesting revelation.

 

Please do post a follow up once you have had a range session. Throwing the club is easy for me on an open field. When you stick a ball in front of me, my brain still at times wants to "hit" the ball instead of throw the club. When my brain gets out of the way, I have had great success with this swing thought both on the range and on the course...especially with the driver. Hope it works for you.

[Silveird]

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!!!

 

I tried this drill yesterday after reading about your experience. I used an open field nearby my house and filmed myself with my iphone's slow motion camera. The drill felt a little weird but I forced myself to focus on the target instead of my form. And when I played back the video...holy cow, my form looked incredible. I was doing all the little things without even trying.

 

The driving range was closed due to dangerous air quality (thanks, wildfires) so I didn't get the chance to hit balls afterwards. Still, this feels like a major breakthrough--like my swing has been reduced to an athletic move that my body wants to perform. Thanks for posting this!

 

Side note. I found I was able to throw the club further using just my left arm as compared to using both arms. That was an interesting revelation.

 

Please do post a follow up once you have had a range session. Throwing the club is easy for me on an open field. When you stick a ball in front of me, my brain still at times wants to "hit" the ball instead of throw the club. When my brain gets out of the way, I have had great success with this swing thought both on the range and on the course...especially with the driver. Hope it works for you.

 

Will do. The first couple range sessions might be rough. Still I'm optimistic about my long-term success with this approach. I have seen folks commenting on this thread that even after locking in the 'throw' you would still need to focus on X, Y, and Z in order to perform the golf swing. And that may be the case for some. But the whole point for me was by focusing just on the throw I managed to do X, Y and Z automatically. Now I figure it's just a matter of positioning the ball so that it gets in the way...and remembering not to let go of my club when I'm at the driving range :)

[Silveird]

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!!!

 

I tried this drill yesterday after reading about your experience. I used an open field nearby my house and filmed myself with my iphone's slow motion camera. The drill felt a little weird but I forced myself to focus on the target instead of my form. And when I played back the video...holy cow, my form looked incredible. I was doing all the little things without even trying.

 

The driving range was closed due to dangerous air quality (thanks, wildfires) so I didn't get the chance to hit balls afterwards. Still, this feels like a major breakthrough--like my swing has been reduced to an athletic move that my body wants to perform. Thanks for posting this!

 

Side note. I found I was able to throw the club further using just my left arm as compared to using both arms. That was an interesting revelation.

 

Please do post a follow up once you have had a range session. Throwing the club is easy for me on an open field. When you stick a ball in front of me, my brain still at times wants to "hit" the ball instead of throw the club. When my brain gets out of the way, I have had great success with this swing thought both on the range and on the course...especially with the driver. Hope it works for you.

 

Went to the range today without doing the drill first. I don't have a lot of free time, plus I figured my throws from the other day had planted enough of a seed. My first couple shots were good. Not a carbon copy of my 'throw' swing but close enough. After that the proverbial wheels started to fall off. The longer I stood over the ball, the harder it was to reproduce the drill. Not all that surprising, I suppose. I just need to keep practicing. And maybe next time I will head to the range immediately after doing the drill rather than waiting a few days in between. In any case I'm still just as optimistic as before.

 

Also, my range experience had some big pluses. All my shots were straight and distance was longer than normal--in some cases much longer. I was getting my 7 iron out to 170-175 instead of the usual 160 yards. I chalk that up to lower body mechanics. When I'm gearing up to throw the club my body engages my legs in a way that creates a ton of ground force. And that part of the drill carried over seamlessly to my range session. I just need to start trusting that the club will fall on the right path.

 

So, to sum it up, the drill improved my ground force and distance, but I still need to work on disengaging my arms and trusting that the club will make contact with the ball even when I'm aiming away from the ball (toward the target).

 

I will update once I have more experience with this. Thanks again to the original poster!

[wadesworld]

So, to sum it up, the drill improved my ground force and distance, but I still need to work on disengaging my arms and trusting that the club will make contact with the ball even when I'm aiming away from the ball (toward the target).

 

I will update once I have more experience with this. Thanks again to the original poster!

 

Review Shawn's videos on predicting contact. It didn't make sense to me at first. So I make a prediction about contact...big deal. Who says the prediction is going to come true?

 

But when you do make a prediction of solid contact based off your quality setup, it does free your brain up to allow you to swing to your target without concerning yourself about contact. It's quite remarkable how often when I predict good contact, I make good contact.

[Silveird]

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!!!

 

I tried this drill yesterday after reading about your experience. I used an open field nearby my house and filmed myself with my iphone's slow motion camera. The drill felt a little weird but I forced myself to focus on the target instead of my form. And when I played back the video...holy cow, my form looked incredible. I was doing all the little things without even trying.

 

The driving range was closed due to dangerous air quality (thanks, wildfires) so I didn't get the chance to hit balls afterwards. Still, this feels like a major breakthrough--like my swing has been reduced to an athletic move that my body wants to perform. Thanks for posting this!

 

Side note. I found I was able to throw the club further using just my left arm as compared to using both arms. That was an interesting revelation.

 

Please do post a follow up once you have had a range session. Throwing the club is easy for me on an open field. When you stick a ball in front of me, my brain still at times wants to "hit" the ball instead of throw the club. When my brain gets out of the way, I have had great success with this swing thought both on the range and on the course...especially with the driver. Hope it works for you.

 

Went to the range today without doing the drill first. I don't have a lot of free time, plus I figured my throws from the other day had planted enough of a seed. My first couple shots were good. Not a carbon copy of my 'throw' swing but close enough. After that the proverbial wheels started to fall off. The longer I stood over the ball, the harder it was to reproduce the drill. Not all that surprising, I suppose. I just need to keep practicing. And maybe next time I will head to the range immediately after doing the drill rather than waiting a few days in between. In any case I'm still just as optimistic as before.

 

Also, my range experience had some big pluses. All my shots were straight and distance was longer than normal--in some cases much longer. I was getting my 7 iron out to 170-175 instead of the usual 160 yards. I chalk that up to lower body mechanics. When I'm gearing up to throw the club my body engages my legs in a way that creates a ton of ground force. And that part of the drill carried over seamlessly to my range session. I just need to start trusting that the club will fall on the right path.

 

So, to sum it up, the drill improved my ground force and distance, but I still need to work on disengaging my arms and trusting that the club will make contact with the ball even when I'm aiming away from the ball (toward the target).

 

I will update once I have more experience with this. Thanks again to the original poster!

 

Just returned from the driving range and I'm happy to report that my results this time were much better. I did the throw drill for about 30 minutes immediately beforehand, so that may have made the difference. Or maybe it finally just clicked in my mind. In any case, today was a big breakthrough. My golf swing has never felt so balanced and relaxed. This drill is definitely a keeper.

[ironcat]

Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

As with all these posts, come back in 6 months and provide us with an update.

 

There is no one drill that will permanently change your game.

[GMR]

Good job Silveird, glad you seem to have found something. ironcat, agree with your general sentiment, but something about this drill can change how you conceptualise the swing in a broader way. While your swing and swing thoughts will no doubt change in 6mo, thinking of the swing as an athletic throwing motion to a target as opposed to a sequence of "moves" can have lasting impact for many.

[Frohlich]

Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

As with all these posts, come back in 6 months and provide us with an update.

 

There is no one drill that will permanently change your game.

 

I have been doing it since April/May and while I had some moments where it worked better than others, like anything you have to work on it and get your brain to trust it and let it happen. That isn't just swing mechanics but its also swing thoughts. I have 15 years of "hit the ball" mentatlity I am fighting. I can say I have had some truly great ball striking days with this thought of just throwing the club. My release is much better with this thought.and I now am getting to the point where I can start trying to throw the club more left or more right and getting the swing to react accordingly. Shot a few of the best rounds of my life this year with this swing. Consider me a convert.

[wadesworld]

Enjoy it while it lasts.

 

As with all these posts, come back in 6 months and provide us with an update.

 

There is no one drill that will permanently change your game.

 

If you think it's about the drill, you're not getting it.

 

It's about a different approach to the golf swing. It's about feeling things you've never felt before in a golf swing.

[Frohlich]

I had one of those "zen" driving range sessions today. First few balls i could feel myself thinking through the swing and then I just went back to my standard thought of "throw it up (into the backswing) and throw it out to target"...for me that is what seems to work. Suddenly it was flush..flush...flush...no manipulation...no trying to anything but throw it up and throw it out. I must have pured over 30 balls in a row with my 7 iron and 4 iron so I went to the short game area...if only I could putt like I was hitting the ball (I can chip very well and long putt just fine...but the 5 footers are my arch enemy) :tongue:

[JBX]

Great post. Can’t wait to throw some clubs!

[jc4birdie]

I’ve not done this drill yet, but it IS related to my recent swing work, which is to quit thinking and just swing. I’m a Ballard guy, and I’ve heard him say 1000s of times that the golf swing basics are simply “setup, coil into the inside of the back leg, elbows down, and then go to the front toe, elbows down”. Aggressive, but not violent. Not sure why I never interpreted him saying that as being exactly what he meant, as a complete thought....I guess I always thought that was the “shell” or “guts” of his swing, but w/ more pieces that he wasn’t layering in b/c he didn’t want to complicate the “guts”.

 

However, a few days ago, I was watching Bill Abrams, a guy Ballard mentored. He said exactly the same thing, as he made a swing. It just clicked. That really is all the swing is...get those 3 things right and the rest of the swing just happens....cause and effect. I’ve heard Ballard speak of cause and effect, but now I understand what he means by it. It’s MOTION that causes all the effects to happen (hands ahead, clubhead speed, solid contact, etc.). You can’t CREATE the effects, it just happens.

 

Anyway, the last couple days have been eye opening. No conscious thought of anything but my body coiling into the braced back leg, and then uncoiling (hard but not rushed/violent) to the target to a Stenson/Sorenstam finish (both are heavy doses of Ballard). 100% target focused, ball is just “collateral damage” of a free-wheel targetward. Contact is much more crisp, and the ball just flies to the target. Just such an epiphany to swing w/ a free mind, and letting my body just react.

 

I get the sense that throwing clubs at targets may provide much the same sensations. I’m going to incorporate it into my practice.

[hartman29]

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.

 

Strike - Are you really Shawn Clement??