Click here and enter your email address to watch the full video
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America. Meet your new instructor.

Subscribe now to watch the full video.

Insight - Adjusting From A Life Of Tennis

Golfers who played a lot of tennis have trouble with three major movements in golf. The release of the tennis forehand is more behind the body instead of in front of it- the way it is in golf. The weight in golf is always moving in toward the toes. And lastly, there is a fair amount of lateral movement in tennis compared to golf.

Tags: Intermediate, Beginner

WEBVTT

00:00:00.439 --> 00:00:02.939
in this golf smart insight we're gonna

00:00:02.939 --> 00:00:04.740
talk about adjusting from a life of

00:00:04.740 --> 00:00:08.700
tennis so if you are a new golfer or if

00:00:08.700 --> 00:00:10.530
you're a golfer who's kind of plateaued

00:00:10.530 --> 00:00:14.610
I like to ask in a when I interview

00:00:14.610 --> 00:00:15.990
golfers I like to ask what other sports

00:00:15.990 --> 00:00:18.420
they played there are a couple sports

00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:20.789
that can provide great platforms for

00:00:20.789 --> 00:00:22.920
golf and there's some that are so close

00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:26.039
that they can pose a few problems tennis

00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:28.170
is one of those hybrid ones where I

00:00:28.170 --> 00:00:30.420
think that it can pose some really good

00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:32.309
advantages especially being able to use

00:00:32.309 --> 00:00:34.559
your lower body but it can pose some

00:00:34.559 --> 00:00:36.960
problems and some barriers that can make

00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:39.450
it tough for you to get into the elite

00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:42.360
level of golf so let's talk about what

00:00:42.360 --> 00:00:45.050
the three main problems will be

00:00:45.050 --> 00:00:47.219
transitioning from playing tennis to

00:00:47.219 --> 00:00:49.649
playing golf and the reason you're gonna

00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:51.960
have these problems is basically the way

00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:55.170
your brain stores patterns it it can

00:00:55.170 --> 00:00:58.079
very often see swinging this this golf

00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:00.420
club the same way as swinging this

00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:03.059
racquet and so it will use a lot of kind

00:01:03.059 --> 00:01:05.729
of the already established patterns from

00:01:05.729 --> 00:01:08.490
your days of playing tennis so there's

00:01:08.490 --> 00:01:10.260
three major issues that I see when

00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:14.130
tennis players start to play golf one in

00:01:14.130 --> 00:01:16.020
tennis your weight is almost always

00:01:16.020 --> 00:01:19.229
moving in towards the court so when I'm

00:01:19.229 --> 00:01:20.640
hitting a forehand when I'm hitting a

00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.890
backhand I'm kind of moving in from my

00:01:22.890 --> 00:01:24.030
heel to my toe

00:01:24.030 --> 00:01:27.030
very often tennis players will tend to

00:01:27.030 --> 00:01:29.130
have kind of this subtle drift in

00:01:29.130 --> 00:01:30.900
towards their toes they might not fall

00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:33.180
over like I did there but they will tend

00:01:33.180 --> 00:01:35.670
to have this kind of little drift in

00:01:35.670 --> 00:01:37.979
towards their toes which is one of the

00:01:37.979 --> 00:01:40.170
platforms for early extension that can

00:01:40.170 --> 00:01:43.259
cause a number of contact issues that

00:01:43.259 --> 00:01:44.490
can come up cause a number of

00:01:44.490 --> 00:01:48.180
consistency issues and can make wedges

00:01:48.180 --> 00:01:51.689
and kind of tight lies that much more

00:01:51.689 --> 00:01:53.579
difficult which is one of their usual

00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:56.329
problems number two is the release

00:01:56.329 --> 00:01:59.520
there's actually probably the biggest

00:01:59.520 --> 00:02:01.200
one and the hardest one to change in my

00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.049
opinion so in tennis we talked a lot

00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:05.939
about this kind of windshield-wiper

00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:09.119
movement where basically I'm gonna turn

00:02:09.119 --> 00:02:10.319
to where the ball is going to be coming

00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:12.750
I'm gonna have my body unwind creating

00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:13.530
this little

00:02:13.530 --> 00:02:15.870
Lag move and then my release is going to

00:02:15.870 --> 00:02:17.880
be on about the angle of a car

00:02:17.880 --> 00:02:19.620
windshield going across kind of like a

00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:22.860
windshield wiper at least if I'm using a

00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:25.319
you know a more modern technique or more

00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:29.520
modern grip well that problem there the

00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:31.920
release point the contact point is going

00:02:31.920 --> 00:02:34.560
to be almost behind my body or even with

00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:36.989
my body so what I like to consider it

00:02:36.989 --> 00:02:39.780
it's much more of a shoulder release

00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:42.569
than it is a wrist release if you were

00:02:42.569 --> 00:02:44.730
to make the good golf release that I

00:02:44.730 --> 00:02:46.920
talked about in my program with a tennis

00:02:46.920 --> 00:02:48.360
racquet in your hand you would pretty

00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:50.430
much hit every ball outside of the court

00:02:50.430 --> 00:02:53.570
like over the fence into traffic so

00:02:53.570 --> 00:02:56.760
oftentimes tennis players will have this

00:02:56.760 --> 00:02:59.370
look of this arm being very disconnected

00:02:59.370 --> 00:03:01.500
kind of back like there because that's

00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:03.720
exactly how we use a tennis racket

00:03:03.720 --> 00:03:07.230
instead of a golf club and then third is

00:03:07.230 --> 00:03:11.010
going to be this lack of sensitivity of

00:03:11.010 --> 00:03:14.310
subtle lateral movement because in

00:03:14.310 --> 00:03:15.959
tennis you're kind of always shifting

00:03:15.959 --> 00:03:18.420
back and forth kind of ready to react so

00:03:18.420 --> 00:03:20.220
tennis players when they come to play

00:03:20.220 --> 00:03:23.250
golf will often have a fair amount of

00:03:23.250 --> 00:03:25.590
sway as part of their trigger or they

00:03:25.590 --> 00:03:27.690
may have slide as part of their release

00:03:27.690 --> 00:03:29.790
but they'll have a fair amount of this

00:03:29.790 --> 00:03:31.950
lateral movement now one of the other

00:03:31.950 --> 00:03:35.070
kind of two or three a that works with

00:03:35.070 --> 00:03:37.739
the slide move is the most powerful

00:03:37.739 --> 00:03:39.660
movement in tennis is going to be your

00:03:39.660 --> 00:03:42.750
serve and so tennis players get very

00:03:42.750 --> 00:03:45.600
very comfortable in this backbend

00:03:45.600 --> 00:03:48.380
position as a place of power so

00:03:48.380 --> 00:03:51.180
oftentimes tennis players will have this

00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:53.220
little sway reverse spine and now I'm

00:03:53.220 --> 00:03:55.200
almost in my tennis serve position and

00:03:55.200 --> 00:03:57.000
then I can kind of go from there and

00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.820
that encourages me to going towards my

00:03:59.820 --> 00:04:02.519
toes so tennis players tend to struggle

00:04:02.519 --> 00:04:05.609
with some of these the release tends to

00:04:05.609 --> 00:04:07.890
cause more of the slice pattern and then

00:04:07.890 --> 00:04:10.769
these two big body movements in towards

00:04:10.769 --> 00:04:12.720
my toes and lack of lateral sensitivity

00:04:12.720 --> 00:04:15.480
tends to cause consistency early

00:04:15.480 --> 00:04:18.660
extension lots of contact problems so if

00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:20.419
you're a really good tennis player

00:04:20.419 --> 00:04:22.530
you're gonna have a hard time getting

00:04:22.530 --> 00:04:25.440
below about a 5 handicap until you can

00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:26.250
separate

00:04:26.250 --> 00:04:28.290
what you do with a tennis racket and

00:04:28.290 --> 00:04:30.990
what you do with a golf club so I've had

00:04:30.990 --> 00:04:33.450
a number of these guys in in my teaching

00:04:33.450 --> 00:04:36.450
career and when you get it clear it can

00:04:36.450 --> 00:04:38.160
really flip some light bulbs for them

00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.980
but when they go away and let's say they

00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:42.000
have a tennis tournament and they

00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.830
practice a lot of tennis when they come

00:04:43.830 --> 00:04:45.360
back some of these things are gonna

00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:47.880
creep back into their game so always be

00:04:47.880 --> 00:04:49.920
aware of how the other sports are going

00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:51.690
to affect your golf game because the

00:04:51.690 --> 00:04:53.310
brain is storing these patterns you're

00:04:53.310 --> 00:04:56.540
not just building muscle memory

Subscribe now for full access to our video library.