You know how Babe Ruth was famous for calling his shot by allegedly pointing his finger towards his target? While the Great Bambino may have been doing so with a baseball bat in his hand, GOLF Teacher to Watch Sarah Stone — the Director of Instruction at Chevy Chase Club in Washington D.C. — has a similar drill to try on the golf course.
In the video above, Stone says a common issue she sees with many students is that the player tends to “get the chest moving forward with the golf club through the ball, and end up chasing their shot towards the target.” The photo below shows what she’s describing.
Instead of leaning too far forward, Stone says it’s important to move away from the target with the chest and into extension, which is something the top pros in the world do.
So how can you mirror that type of extension? With Stone’s Babe Ruth drill!
As Stone says in the video, it would be amazing to be good enough at golf where you could “actually dictate where each shot is going to go.” While it may seem impossible to do that, by using Stone’s drill, you’ll be on the right path.
As the photo below shows, you’re going to take the club halfway back. In Stone’s words, this means getting the left forearm parallel to the ground. She emphasizes the word “parallel,” reminding players not to be “straight or stiff.” Here’s a picture to show you how it should look.
Says Stone, “when you look at it from a different angle, the shaft is tipped, kind of over at my right shoulder, and the club is at about a 90-degree angle to the left forearm. That’s how I would define a half swing.”
Next, Stone says to take the club halfway back, swinging it down. As you extend through your follow through, be sure to “point the club out towards the range in the direction you’re hoping to hit the golf ball, trying to get the butt of the club as far away from your chest as you can.” The image below highlights how it should look.
As you begin to practice the Babe Ruth drill, you’ll feel the butt of the club being close to you, with your back hunched over quite a bit. Stone says this is common after the first few times, but that the goal is to “stand up nice and tall and extend that golf club as far away from you as you can,” which will help you get better contact as you extend through the ball.
So go ahead and give this drill a go during your next practice session to learn the feel of the proper arm extension. You may not be able to call your shot like Babe Ruth was known to do, but it’ll help you have more control of the direction of your shot.
