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Understand Your Swing Plane/Path
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This visual feedback drill is great for players who are struggling to hit the sweet spot. At times, using an object (such as a yoga block) in this fashion can be a game changer for increasing awareness and re-calibrating; this is especially true if you are struggling with a heel miss or at worst, a shank. On top of that, the yoga block is soft enough that you shouldn't be afraid to hit it and it works great even on mats. Overall, this is an effective (and relatively cheap) item to have in the bag, especially when it comes time to dial-in path and impact location.
Tags: Fundamentals, Poor Contact, Impact, Transition, Release, Drill, Intermediate
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The drill is the low point yoga block.
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So not everyone responds to the same type of visual feedback.
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So for some lines on the ground feeling the weight might work really well, others need
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more 3D space objects around them.
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So shafts in the ground, water bottles, things like that.
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If you are struggling with heel contact or potentially toe contact though that one's
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a little less common.
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If you are struggling with heel contact then putting down a yoga block to help you
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feel where the club is can be really beneficial.
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So all we are going to do is we are going to set up and put the yoga block just outside
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the toe.
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I am going to give it a thumbs width or even less.
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So very little space.
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And then I am going to practice swinging and hitting the ground without hitting the yoga
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block.
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If I hit it a little bit inside but if I am shanking the ball then what is happening
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is the club would be coming out and I would strike this yoga block.
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So you can either I like the yoga block because it is nice and soft.
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Don't damage you or the club.
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Don't create too much fear.
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But you could use cardboard box like Amazon box works pretty well.
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But then once you have gotten this space a little bit more figured out, you can
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actually hit some shots where you have got the club.
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Oops.
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Set up just inside the yoga block.
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Make it a little tough on me.
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And then if I was to just make a normal swing, you will see I make ground contact but I
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don't hit the yoga block because I have that calibrated based on where my weight distribution
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is or where I feel it with the club had compared to the golf ball.
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But for some of you when you do this you are going to strike the yoga block.
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This can be especially common if you have more of an outside in pattern and you are not
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quite aware of it.
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In which case what you need to do is right now I have the ball in the middle of the
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yoga block you can see it right here.
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If I have more of an outside in pattern I am going to tend to put the yoga block there.
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What might happen is I would be outside like this with the yoga block and then cutting
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across.
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So now this gives me a visual of basically I have got to come from a little bit more
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inside of that yoga block in order to make solid contact.
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This can double as a 3D path trainer because the yoga block or a cardboard box has a nice
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round or sorry straight edge to it.
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It is really helping me visualize where I am aligned where the path of the club is going
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to be and ultimately where that low point is.
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The other good thing about the yoga block compared to the lines on the ground is if you
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end up practicing off mats you might not be able to draw lines on the ground but you can
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always just keep the yoga block in your bag pull it out and make sure that you are making
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solid contact with the golf ball while not hitting the yoga block that helps you dial in
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that heel toe awareness a little bit better.
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So pull out the yoga block if you are struggling with heel toe contact especially if you are
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struggling with more of a heel bias or a shank problem.
