Online Students: David Ferrell

Here we see one of the most common ways to get the clubhead “stuck” behind the hands in the approach to impact. David starts with the “triangle” look at address, which always looks tight to me, and I encourage him to go the “home plate” address (a la Hogan) where both arms are bent at the elbow and only loosely tied to the body. David’s swing doesn’t show any effects of this tightness until left arm parallel in the backswing, where he begins to slide to the right and lift up. His lack of contact with the ground makes it hard for him to feel the proper point at which to initiate his forward swing, and as a consequence he overturns and leans his upper body forward to start down instead of driving from the ground and initiating with the lower body. In addition, he drops his hands vertically or even behind him, and as the lower body pushes toward the ball with the hands and right arm falling behind the right side the shaft is almost guaranteed to stay behind the hands for too long a period of time and eventually pass by parallel to the ground in a classic “stuck” position. There is no easy way to hit the ball consistently from this point, as the hands are forced to turn over quickly to square the face, and the two sided misses (blocks and hooks) are the reason the pros fear this issue more than most. You can watch the video for my recommendations, but certainly softening the arms, loading into the ground, and initiating the forward with the lower body (and much sooner than is now happening) are items that are high on the list.