Cameron Smith is the man of the hour in the world of golf. His victory at the Players Championship was easily the biggest of his career, and he’s earned a fair bit of press because of it. Golf Twitter is flooded with Cam Smith content, and it’s provided some great theater as we collectively come down from that (almost) major-championship high.
One of the videos that surfaced comes from Jamie Kennedy of GOLFTV, and it shows Smith holing a nifty chip using just his lead arm to swing the club.
The video not only illustrates some impressive club-face control with just one arm; it also contains something us recreational golfers can learn from. One-armed chipping isn’t just a party trick to pull out to show off to your friends — it’s also a great drill to improve your short game.
GOLF Top 100 Teacher James Sieckmann broke down the benefits in the video below.
“It’s one of the simplest, most effective drills for short game,” Sieckmann says of the ‘one-arm-only’ drill.
By swinging with your right (trail) hand in your pocket, you’re training yourself to properly use the bounce on your wedge around the greens.
“Most people take the club back shut, or closed,” he says. “That turns that club into a dig club, so that when they swing down it sticks into the turf. We want the club to work correctly with the turf.”
To do this, you must open the face of the club on the way back with the toe of the club in the air. From that position, all you have to do is swing down and through the ball, letting the clubhead release past your body.
“That motion is like a start-over motion for me,” Sieckmann says. “I think it’ll really help you.”
