HARTFORD, Wis. — It’s officially a major week in Wisconsin, and the best women’s golfers in the world have descended upon Erin Hills with hopes of winning one of the most prestigious titles in the game.
Early weeks at majors are busy times around the practice facilities. With the margins for error so slim in championships like the U.S. Women’s Open, every competitor is hard at work dialing in their swings.
Tuesday at Erin Hills was no different. With overcast skies and cool temps, the setting was perfect for a day of grinding on the range.
Days like these are some of my favorites on the instruction beat because you can get tons of insight on how and what the pros practice. During my walk down the range early in the day, I caught a glimpse of Jiwon Jeon working on a ball-striking drill that every amateur can learn from. Check it out below.
Jeon’s ball-striking drill
As you can see in the video above, Jeon has threaded an alignment stick through her belt loops and is making swings with a short iron — and this is a great drill for anyone struggling with their sequencing.
When swinging with shorter clubs (and even sometimes with longer clubs), it’s crucial to keep your body from outracing your arms on the way to the ball. When this happens, your sequencing gets thrown off and you arms get stuck behind you, leading to blocks and hooks. Jeon’s ball-striking drill helps fix that.
With the alignment stick threaded through her belt loops, Jeon has to keep her arms and body connected during the downswing. If she doesn’t, the alignment stick will get in the way of her arms and the club on the way down.
By keeping the alignment stick in her belt loops, Jeon can see exactly where her body is oriented throughout the swing. And as long as she keeps the club in front of the stick on the way down, she knows her swing is staying in sync.
