Day's Do's & Dont's
Golf Digest South Africa|September 2016

Hit it Longer,Get it closer.

Jayson Day
Day's Do's & Dont's

POWER 

DON’T: SWING BACK AS FAR AS YOU CAN

DO: FEEL IN CONTROL AT THE TOP

Opinions vary on the proper length of the backswing, mostly because some big hitters take the club back super far – and who doesn’t want to hit the ball longer? The important thing to remember is, you should never swing back so far that you lose control of your body or the club.

As I’m often reminded by my coach, Col Swatton, the fewer moving parts you have in your swing, the fewer that can break down. It’s so true. I like to feel as if my backswing ends just before the point when my hips would start to sway away from the target (previous page). It feels compact, but I’m wound up, and there’s plenty of energy stored. So forget the old standard of swinging the club to parallel at the top. Find out what’s best for you.

DRIVING 

DON’T: TURN HARD THROUGH THE BALL

DO: KEEP YOUR HEAD BACK AT IMPACT

Science has proven that hitting down on the ball with the driver is a sure way to lose distance. And that usually comes from making an aggressive upper body move at the start of the downswing. You want your club level with the ground or moving upward when it strikes the ball. Do that, and the ball will come off the face with less backspin and the necessary trajectory to maximise distance.

So how do you sweep the ball? Where you play it in your stance (off the left heel) is important, but so is body position coming down. Your lower body should shift towards the target, but your upper body should lean away from it . This shallows your attack and creates room to swing powerfully from the inside.

ALIGNMENT 

DON’T: LINE UP FOR A STRAIGHT SHOT

This story is from the September 2016 edition of Golf Digest South Africa.

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This story is from the September 2016 edition of Golf Digest South Africa.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.