Forget the high draw – this is the go-to shot you’ll see most at the majors

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The twin revolutions in equipment and athleticism that have transformed golf over the past two decades have also had a dramatic impact on the way the top modern day tour professionals flight the ball. When I was growing up, many of the top players would employ a fairly pronounced draw as their stock shot. In the 1980s and 90s, draws flew significantly farther than fades and playing with plenty of shot shape was standard with the old tour wound balata balls.

As a result, most of the best players of that era had a lot of hand action in their swings through impact with the ‘reverse C’ finish position a common sight among the game’s finest. But today, what you see now is a lot of players hitting what we would refer to as a tour pro fade. This is a really powerful, very straight shot that might contain just a little bit of fade spin that makes the ball fall to the right. The way players hit this shot is of course quite complex, but in the video below I have identified two key components in the swing that are vital in producing a tour pro fade, and illustrated a couple of drills that you can try in order to gain a better feel for this very reliable, powerful shot.

The post Video: How to hit a tour pro fade appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

e’s the world’s leading golf coach, but what is B

Says Justin: ” Butch has never been the kind of coach to impose one method of swinging the club onto every player he teaches. If you look at the great players he has coached from Greg Norman to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and now Rickie Fowler, you’ll see that in every instance, Butch has not tampered with the very individual styles of each swing. Rather, he has helped players achieve better fundamentals while owning their own unique action. Simply put, the Harmon philosophy is the art of teaching people to play golf, not teaching golf to people.”

Follow these key Harmon principles to build a more powerful, efficient golf swing

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Photography by Farooq Salik
Videography by Kristina Nabieva

FEATURED: 2016 Top 10 Golf Courses in the Middle East

The post Video: What is Butch Harmon’s golf swing philosophy? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Many golfers get fixated about hip rotation in the swing, but the reality is that the hips should simply react to the coil of the upper body against the lower, explains Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s PGA professional, Cennydd Mills. The amount of hip turn you have is dictated by your flexibility.

The post Video: Hip rotation in the swing appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Most of us are familiar with the traditional method of playing a greenside splash shot – where you stand open to the target, open the clubface and swing along the line of your feet. Well in this drill, European Tour Performance Institute director of instruction Mark Gregson-Walters tells you to park that theory. “Instead, try standing closed to the target [that’s pointing right for a right-hander], and opening the clubface so it points even further to the right,” he says. “By swinging back down towards the target, you will get an instant feel for how the club should enter the sand correctly. It’s a great drill for good bunker players to sharpen their skills, and for players who struggle with sand shots, it can even serve as your go-to method when you’re out on the course.”

The post Video: The new bunker drill that gives instant results! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.