I am sure that a number of a you are feeling a little cooped up given social distancing and self-quarantining. Sadly, golf courses in a number of countries are closed, but the good news is you are still able to groove your swing at home…

First, let’s all agree on one thing: The golf clubhead interacts with the golf ball and, and above all else, that is the most important thing to remember. It’s the clubface that hits the ball, and ultimately, however the clubhead-and-face perform, the ball will follow suit.

To be clear, I am not discounting that clubface alignment and swing path determine sidespin. I am just saying that an awareness of clubface orientation throughout the swing, especially at the top of the swing and into transition and the downswing, will set you on the road to more consistent ball-striking.

To that, a highly overlooked aspect of clubhead awareness is spatial awareness — that awareness and understanding of the clubhead and how it travels around the swing arc.

Sadly, too many golfers take golf lessons and the learn about the pivot, the weight and pressure shift, the foot-action and so on and so on. Not one of these elements are bad at all, but the nitty gritty of it all is that you make a golf swing, not a golf movement.

Understanding and learning movement patterns is certainly important, but in my opinion, understanding the feeling, shape, speed changes and clubhead “weighting and unweighting” during the swing is infinitely more important to building a free-flowing, uninterrupted golf swing.

“In golf, a swing is a positive, indivisible motion backward and forward. It has definite form or shape, which is an arc, or part of a circle,” once said Ernest Jones.

This simple drill, that you can do anywhere, at anytime (even on the course), is my derivative of Jones’s teachings and writings.

One-Handed Swings

1. Grip the club

Use any golf club for this drill. Grip the club with your dominant hand in the general area where you would hold it in your completed grip.

2. Feet together

Assume your golf posture but stand with your ankles touching each other.

3. Make continuous swings

Swing the club back and forth without stopping while engaging your abs to the fullest extent possible.

As you stabilize your core you will feel the “pull” of the clubhead through certain zones in the swing arc. As you swing you will instantaneously feel the clubhead. You will hear where the clubbed accelerates and slows down. You will sense how the clubhead “finds” its best, most efficient arc and how it will tell your shoulders and upper body when and how much to pivot.

Try the same drill with your non-dominant hand and feel the different sensations. Realize how you are becoming clubhead (and spatially) aware.

Once you’re done, assume your completed grip and follow the same regimen until you get the exact sense for the clubhead swinging around you on its best arc. That is your swing and your swing shape, and a feeling to remember. Use it to propel your golf ball more powerfully and more consistently.

Good luck and good golf.

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