Golf Tips - Rap Holds the Key to Golf

As I was flipping channels the other day, something on Rap City, the BET music video show, caught my attention. It was more than just the usual booty shaking, Cristal popping, bling flossing, and pimped-out whips on 20" dubs. I became entranced with the lyrics from Terror Squad's rap video, "Lean Back." As strange as it sounds, I realized that this song secretly contains one of the keys to the golf swing in its catchy chorus:

"I said my #!&&@$ don't dance,
We just pull up our pants and,
Do the Roc-away.
Now lean back, lean back, lean back, lean back..."

No, it's not in the dance, the pants or even the "Roc-away." The key to the golf swing is to "lean back, lean back, lean back, lean back..." If you look at the swings of the best golfers in the world, you'll notice this recurring theme. Whether it's a one or two-plane swing, weak or strong grip, quick or slow swing tempo they all share one common trait: at impact, the hands are always ahead of the clubhead. In other words, the shaft always leans back to the ball at impact. This is a very important fact to remember as I believe that it is the key to proper ball-striking. If there were ever a "secret to golf" or the "key to the golf swing" I truly believe that this is it.

I advise every golfer to read this Golf Digest article by Tom Ness for drills to ingrain this impact position. According to Mr. Ness, "The act of trying to get the clubhead moving faster - by throwing or flipping it toward the ball - is the single biggest source of frustration in the game...Poor players let the clubhead pass the front arm before impact. In fact, there's a direct correlation between when the shaft catches up to the lead arm and handicap. The later it catches up, the lower the handicap. It's really that simple."

Your wrist positions at impact are key to achieving ball-striking nirvana. In particular, the lead wrist (the left wrist for a right-handed golfer) must not break through impact. Instead, the lead wrist needs to supinate. Mr. Ness notes, "A good player's leading wrist is flat and the trailing wrist is bent." A mental image that I like to envision to help me achieve this impact position is painting with a brush. When you paint with a brush, you always lead with your hand, with the brush trailing behind, correct? I imagine that my club is a long paintbrush and I'm painting the ground. Another image that might do the trick is to imagine that the club is a broom and that you are sweeping the ground with the broomhead trailing your hands.

Do yourself a favor and videotape your golf swing. Your impact position should look similar to this SwingVision photo of Tiger hitting an iron. If it's not, you will improve your ball-striking astronomically if you work on achieving this impact position each and every time. I would personally guarantee it, but my attorney advises otherwise.

So the next time you're out on the golf course, think of this little rap to improve your ball striking:

"I said my caddies don't lie,
We just let the ball fly and,
Swing the shaft away...
To lean back, lean back, lean back, lean back..."