This ultimate golf drill will improve your swing in no time.
Photos by Mike Malizia
Welcome to Shaving Strokes, the GOLF.com series where we share the progress, lessons learned and takeaways from novice golfers like you — including the speed bumps and challenges they’ve faced along the way.
If you’re an average to high handicapper like me, there’s a good chance you’re constantly trying to improve your golf swing. Whether that’s watching videos online, learning tips here on GOLF.com, or actually taking a lesson with a teacher each week, the grind never ends.
In my experience, the same type of swing mistakes rear their ugly head over and over again, only adding frustration (and more strokes) to my golf game.
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As soon as I think I’ve gotten things sorted, I go a week between hitting golf balls and, boom, I’m back to mishits and bad form. As I’m working on breaking 80 for the first time, this kind of stuff stops any progress.
If only there was an easy way to fix these errors once and for all.
When I explained this situation to GOLF Top 100 teacher Mike Malizia, he not only reminded me that it is “part of golf” to pass through such trees; he also gave me a golf exercise machine that should help improve my swing. He was kind enough to share the details below – so check them out if you’re struggling with some allergies like me.
The last golf exercise is to correct two common mistakes
“Every good golf swing has a combination of body pivot and arm swing, but the key is to put it together,” Malizia said. “If you use your whole body and don’t lift your arm, your swing is too small or too flat.” Conversely, if you raise and lift your arms without rotating your body, your swing will be steeper and straighter.
“When used together, both of these errors will cause you to take compensatory steps to recover from golf swing errors.”
Malizia explains what tempo and timing in a golf game should look like – reminding budding players that they don’t actually mean the same thing.
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“Many times, people make the mistake that tempo and time mean the same thing, but they are completely different,” he adds. “Tempo is the pace and speed at which you swing. Time is to synchronize the movements of the body and arms.”
So what is the difference between a body pivot and an arm swing? Malizia breaks things down to help you understand how to combine them into one golf swing.
“When it comes to the body, you first need to achieve the correct posture at address,” he says. “Remember, the role of the body is to rotate and tilt back, then shift your weight, and rotate and tilt in the turn.”
Malizia explains the proper role of the arms in the game of golf.
“The role of the arms is to remain passive early in the movement, and then the leading arm stays straight while the trailing arm begins to slowly bend — both lifting and lifting up high,” he explains. “As you shift your weight to your lead leg when you go down, the arms need to come down and back down in front of the body in the correct delivery position – which ultimately determines your point of impact.”
So how do you find the perfect balance of arm swing and body pivot? Malizia shows off her ultimate golf swing machine, which can be practiced anywhere you have a place to swing a club.
1. As the picture below shows, take your setup while placing your lead foot on the wall. Slowly swing the golf club until the butt of the club touches your stomach.
Photo by Mike Malizia
2. Next, make sure to rotate your body, keeping the butt of the club in contact with your stomach until your lead hand is just past your leg.
Photo by Mike Malizia
3. At the top of your backswing, allow the butt of the golf club to break through your body, while allowing your swing arm to curl as you begin your downswing.
Photo by Mike Malizia
4. Finally, the key to lowering is hitting the wall with your lead hip and the butt of the club at the same time. This teaches you how to shift your weight, sink the club, and get your arm in the right delivery position for impact.
Photo by Mike Malizia
So if you struggle with consistent contact and want to break some common mistakes, try the above golf swing drill from Malizia. It’s sure to build your confidence and help you train your body to do the right thing when it’s time.
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