Matter of Timing-2

Drills for a better motion

For high-handicappers, a lack of timing is usually the result of a lack of differential in the speeds between the club, hands and body. Typically, the movement is too jerky and has no 'core' balance. This is normally due to an excess of tension and a desire to over-use the hands and hit 'at' the ball. To replace this with a free-wheeling motion, try the following drills:

Narrow stance drill

With a 7- or 8-iron, stand with your feet something like four to five inches apart and hit some shots. The secret to this exercise is that you concentrate on allowing the clubhead to swing freely, your feet 'quiet' throughout for balance.

Two-club flow drill

Take two clubs of similar length (i.e. 5- and 6-iron) and, with a good set-up, grip them as normally as possible. To start, extend the clubhead's a few feet into the follow-through, then let them fall and use their momentum to help you on your way to a full backswing and finish.

Closed-stance drill

Once you have created a good athletic posture at the set-up you want your legs to remain fairly stable in the course of making your swing. The flex in the right knee and thigh is retained to provide resistance on the way back and then contains the dynamic of your swing through the transition before adding to the thrust and momentum of the release through the ball. Hitting balls from a closed stance -illustrated here by one of the game's great ball-strikers, Nick Price - can seriously help to give you the sensation of a 'quiet' lower body and thus highlight the winding and unwinding of the torso. Give all these drills a go next time you play and see if better timing doesn't help you to hit more solid shots.