Page 54 - Golf Champion - October 2021

[GOLF LESSON]

Just One Thing

기억해야할 한가지

was recently reflecting on one of Ben Hogan’s most round at Carnoustie. Hogan’s late-career mechanics gave
I memorable quotes that I learned as a young golfer that him the confidence to hit the ball out over the white
went something like: “Confidence is a square clubface.” stakes and allow the wind to bring the ball back to the
Over the past decade, research has proven that the old fairway. The effort earned him a championship, and the
laws of ball flight were in need of serious revision, and hole a new moniker: Hogan’s Alley.”
that rather than path and angle of attack, the single
most important factor in getting the ball to the target What I take away from each of these three elite player’s
is a clubface square to the target. As swing mechanics approach is that they committed to a technique and
have evolved, there are a number of elite players, several a style of play that gave them confidence. The shot-
of the top five in the world at this moment, who are shape isn’t always ideal under every condition; there are
utilizing swing mechanics that essentially guarantee limitations in terms of maximizing distance on certain
that the clubface will be square to the target (or slightly holes; and the technique required quite a bit of physical
open to it) at impact. Probably the most commonly cited prowess. I’m not suggesting that every player play a cut,
example is Dustin Johnson, whose bowed-left wrist has or bow their left wrist. What I’m suggesting is that every
always been a topic of conversation among professional player should develop a technique that can deliver the
instructors, but more recently Collin Morikawa, the tee- clubface as square to the target as possible.
to-green scoring leader on the PGA Tour, has also adopted
a similar approach. Rather than going into a frame- If you’re thinking about path, and swing plane, arm
by-frame analysis of how their swings work, I’d like to position, rotation, et cetera, they should be tied directly
suggest that what Johnson, Morikawa, and Hogan have in back to how they impact the face of the club, and the
common is that they have committed to a shape-shot and thought had better be getting the shots more online and
technique that each can rely upon, one that each of these predictable every time. If not, you’re approaching the
players used to control the face of the club and to limit problem with the wrong solution.
the types of mistakes they made under pressure.
Oscillating between swing thoughts or modifications
For Hogan, whose early career was plagued by a vicious in a round can be absolutely catastrophic, both for
hook, moving to a swing that eliminated the left side of scoring and your confidence. Work with an instructor
the course allowed him to win nine majors, including and appropriate technology to give you the best chance
the 1953 British Open at Carnoustie, whose famous 6th of getting the clubface consistently square at impact.
hole features a tight out-of-bounds perimeter down the Build backward from that moment and develop a routine
left side of the fairway (immediately now adjacent to and practice regimen that reinforces simplicity. Your
a pedestrian walkway with people walking away and confidence, and game, will grow around it.
toward the player). The shot, because of the prevailing
wind, requires a player to actually hit outside the out-of- 근에 나는 젊은 골퍼로서 배웠던 벤 호건의 가장 기억에
bounds perimeter and over the heads of the oncoming 최남는 인용문 중 하나인 "자신감은 스퀘어의 클럽페이스"
pedestrians to get the ball back into the fairway for the 와 같은 말을 되새겼다. 지난 10년 동안 연구를 통해 볼의 비행
approach shot. As you can imagine, for a player of any 에 관한 구법칙을 심각하게 수정할 필요가 있음이 입증되었으며,
ability, particularly one whose career was mired by a 경로와 목표각보다 볼을 목표로 향하게 하는 데 가장 중요한 요
hook, this shot is often the most critical shot during a 소는 표적을 향한 클럽페이스의 스퀘어라는 것이다. 스윙 역학

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