On Course Swing Cues

As I progressed through S&T it became quite clear that there are a few "must haves" to consistently hit the ball well, from Driver to LW. I call these "swing cues" that I use on the course.

• Left shoulder DOWN...not kind of down. This takes care of a LOT of problems. The main feel point during my practice backswing is to feel that my weight is on the inside of my trail heel during the backswing check. I see pro's all the time checking their backswing. I think "back, check", then return to my address position.

• Right elbow "tuck", or "MAGIC Elbow". This creates room for the right elbow on the downswing. Watch Tom's Magic Elbow video.

• Then, SNAP. The snap is creating a whip action by initiating my downswing with my lower body, and initiating my downswing as the club nears the top, not "from" the top. This is a trust move but 90% of the time this also solves a lot of problems, mainly swinging with the shoulders, or from the top down.

This is all I think about on the course. The reason for the bold print is those are the 3 words that I think of, or my swing cues. DOWN, MAGIC, SNAP. Of course, anything can go wrong even with the best of players, but I have found these 3 cues will greatly curtail running into a series of bad shots.

Other basics must be in place such as line-up, club selection, etc. If I line up wrong, or pick the wrong club, I call those "procedural errors" because they have nothing to do with my swing. So the goal is to avoid procedural "unforced" errors and think the above 3 words.