What are my key thoughts on the full swing – and
particularly with a driver in my hands? Well, first,
you need sound basics. By that I mean you need
to work on the position of your hands and establish
a good grip. You then need to think about
creating a tall, athletic posture and a consistent
ball position (which with the driver is just inside
the left leg). I have worked so hard on these basic
fundamentals and they are the first things I think
about when I go out to practice.
As we tend to find so often in life, it’s taking
care of the simple things that makes the difference.
I see so many players in pro-ams who
set-up to the ball with such a poor grip that it
makes it almost impossible to move the
club away with good motion and enjoy the
chain reaction that a good repeating swing
essentially is.
On a more general note, it’s also very
important that you work on a ‘stock shot’
with your driver. A safe ‘go-to’ shot. When
you get into a pressure cooker situation
you need a shot you can rely on, whether
that’s a right-to left or a left-to-right ball flight.
With the driver I have always worked on a gentle
fade. My bad shot – which has cost me a lot
of tournaments and a lot of money! – has been a
quick hook, when the hands gets a little too fast.
So I have worked hard on a gentle fade which I
can trust. It helps me to block out the left side of
the golf course. That’s what Jack Nicklaus did –
he played that fade and won 18 majors. It’s
important to know your own game. Ernie Els
Timeless power & efficiency
Ernie Els is one of the all-time great drivers of the golf ball. He has that natural
God-given ability to swing smoothly and yet hit the ball miles. It’s effortless
power. Very few players in the history of the game have been able to do that.
Even if you look at Tiger, it’s a very strong, ballistic, explosive movement. Ernie’s
is full of grace and it’s all about energy and flow and making the most of his fantastic
rhythm. Those are the qualities that every golfer can learn from.
Ernie is excellent in the way he sets up to the ball. The arms are allowed to
‘hang’ in a very relaxed fashion. He stands tall, which is something he is very
careful to maintain. While it’s impossible fully appreciate this in still images, the
thing you really notice standing next to Ernie is that even though he appears to
be swinging very smoothly he is developing a tremendous amount of speed. He
has that uncanny ability to turn his body fully – look at his wind-up and you’ll see
that he has an amazing shoulder turn – and then unwind beautifully from the
ground up, which enables him to stays behind the ball and really time the release
to perfection. There is much to observe and learn from the sequences overleaf.
Because of its fluidity, because of the fact Ernie is very flexible, very supple, it’s a
swing that will be this good for a long, long time. - Kevin Smeltz
Golf swings are highly individual. We each have our own idiosyncrasies and tendencies to be aware of, and it's important when you work on
your own swing not to get too hung up on the ideas of being in ‘textbook’ positions, because very few golfers out on tour actually achieve that
(although Ernie gets closer than most!). What we are all striving for is a consistency of movement, and, with his trademark rhythm, this is perhaps
Ernie’s greatest strength. - Kevin Smeltz
Simplify your
swing thought:
get left shoulder
behind the ball
I like to stand tall over the ball. I take
advantage of the fact I am 6’ 4”. I
have to be careful not to let my chin
drop on to my chest, as that can
restrict the rotation of my upper body
in the backswing. So I remind myself
to keep my chin up and try to feel tall.
I then take the club away on a pretty
wide arc.
As long as I maintain my height
with a solid leg action, with arms
relaxed, a good coil of the upper body
gets me into a compact backswing
position, the clubshaft just about to
the horizontal.
More than anything, I focus on
getting my left shoulder stretched
behind the ball as I complete my coil.
You don’t want too many specific
thoughts on backswing positions. If
you just get your hands nicely on the
club at the set-up, keep a soft grip
pressure, and then think about getting
the left shoulder behind the ball
as you turn, you will achieve a good
coil and plenty of power. All you have
to do then is keep the grip relaxed
and let the clubhead swing through
the ball. Ernie Els
TALL AT THE SET-UP With just a gentle flex in the
knees and not too much in
the way of angle at the hips,
Ernie uses his height to great
advantage. He likes to think
about standing ‘tall’ over the
ball and that’s exactly the
impression you get looking
at this position – a terrific
set-up to copy. The chin is
up off the chest while the
arms hang comfortably,
relaxed. No tension here
THE MOVEAWAY A sound neutral grip allows
Ernie to get the swing
started on the natural path.
The club here is perfectly on
plane. This position is made
possible by Ernie’s diligence
at the set-up. Notice that the
clubhead is still outside the
hands – a situation that stays
that way until the club is
parallel to the ground
WRIST ‘SET’
Here we can see clearly the
way the wrists are gradually
hingeing to ‘set’ the club up
on plane as the backswing
continues. Also, note that the
shoulders have turned more
than the hips. His shoulders
are in control and pulling on
his hips as he generates this
tremendous ‘coil’. The shaft
is right on plane here (main
image), running through the
right forearm
AT THE TOP One of the remarkable
aspects of Ernie’s swing is
the way he is able to
maintain a comfortably
straight left arm all the way
to the top – a sign of his
incredible athleticism and
flexibility. Keep in mind there
should be no effort to keep it
‘locked’ or straight – that will
create tension and cost you
power. The club is in a terrific
position, balanced between
the elbows and parallel with
the ball-to-target line
THE TRANSITION Unwinding naturally from
the ground up rewards
Ernie with this wonderful
position on the way down
to impact – the knees
absorb the slight
compression of the body as
he prepares to fully unwind
the spring and use the
centrifugal forces thus
generated to accelerate
the clubhead into the
back of the ball
IMPACT Freewheeling into impact,
look at how Ernie’s right
foot has rolled inward and
the heel pulled up off the
ground as his left side
rotates and clears. We can
also see very clearly that
the club is approaching
the ball from the inside
THROUGH THE BALL Having the club shaft ‘exit’
through the left shoulder
(looking down the line, as we
are here) confirms that Ernie
has released the hands and
arms correctly, ‘in sync’ with
the rotation of his body –
and that’s what delivers
maximum clubhead speed
through the ball
THE FINISH A classic follow-through
position, chest and belt
buckle turned well to the
left of the target, the weight
supported on the left side,
body supported and balanced
on the toe of the
right shoe
THE SET-UP Picture perfect: Ernie displays
a neutral grip, his spine angle
is set slightly to the right of
the ball (as he looks at it), the
ball itself played just inside
the left heel. His weight is
split approx 60:40 in favour of
the right side as Ernie gets
himself ready to go. Take note
at how relaxed his arms and
shoulders are – a textbook
lesson for every golfer
THE MOVEAWAY The first move reveals the
key to just how in sync
Ernie’s swing is from start to
finish. Keep in mind that the
clubhead has much further
to travel than the shoulders
and hips. This means it is
important that the clubhead
travel faster than the other
parts in order to reach the
top at the same time. The
gradual wrist-set that you
can see here initiates that
proper sequence
HALFWAY BACK Left arm parallel to the
ground, Ernie’s wrists have
hinged up to ‘set’ the club at
90 degrees to the left arm,
while his shoulders are
around 75% turned. From
here, all he has to do is
complete the turning of the
shoulders to reach a solid
backswing position.
AT THE TOP So here’s the result of Ernie’s
favourite backswing thought:
i.e. to ‘turn the left shoulder
behind the ball’. A huge
shoulder turn is combined
with a resisting lower body
and a short arm-swing. It’s
perfection (and just look at
the position of the left arm
through these final frames of
the backswing – incredible!)
THROUGH THE GEARS Look at the way the left
knee has worked from the
previous image to this
frame. Ernie has initiated his
downswing with the lower
left side shifting back
towards the target and
beginning to unwind. His
hips are back to square
while his upper body
remains slightly closed to
the target line. With that
move he has maximised the
coil and torque in his body,
and this is what increases
the angle in the wrists
moving into this hitting
position. The motion of the
body is Ernie’s secret to
effortless speed and power
THROUGH THE BALL Through the ball, the full
extension that Ernie
demonstrates here has been
created by the centrifugal
force from his body motion,
propelling his arms towards
the target. If your arms are
prone to collapse through
the ball, look to your body
action for answers, not to
your arms and the club
THE FINISH A classic Ernie Els finish –
beautiful poise as the arms
continue all the way through
and around to end up
behind the neck, the shaft
gently on the back. You can
sense, even from this still
image, that Ernie has maintained
impeccable balance
through the swing. He has
used the coiling and re-coiling
of his body to control the
swinging of the arms and the
clubhead – and he pulls it off
with terrific style
Reproduced with kind permission of Golf International Magazine
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