Shake his hand and you'll know immediately from where Paul Casey's prodigious
length comes from.
He hardly knows his own strength when he grips
you and looks you in the eye.
But there's warmth in the greeting, too.
Solid foundation
Start from a solid, relaxed foundation, knees flexed, weight balanced over the balls of the feet with no tension anywhere in your body.
Amateurs usually have too much tension in their body, arms and wrists at address and that prevents them from ever making a smooth, powerful swing.
If you take a wood off the tee, your feet should be just wider than shoulder-width apart and the ball positioned forward of centre in your stance. Your grip should be as light as possible, while still keeping control of the club. This will promote a wide, full and rhythmic swing and ensure that you do not snatch at the shot.
Low and slow
Keep in your mind: 'low and slow.' If you pick up the club too quickly, it will cause you to chop across the ball at impact.
Everything should come away in one piece, with the move initiated by your shoulder turn: a wide takeaway is key to storing power with your coil. Whatever you do, don't take the club away with hands only.
A full coil is crucial
A full turn is crucial to powerful hitting, and this comes from your upper-body position at the top of the backswing. The equation is simple: the more you turn away from the target, the more torque you generate. It can feel like you are almost screwing yourself into the ground.
You don't want to create a fake turn by just swinging with your arms and using too much wrist action. You will never hit the ball consistently that way. Think turn and coil and load yourself up like when you pull back a rubber band and let it go. Amateurs slice a lot because they have this urge to get back to the ball too soon. The swing isn't in sync. If you complete the backswing then come down smoothly you'll stop slicing.
Leg stability in the downswing
As for the downswing, it's all about rhythm and tempo and not trying to rush it in your anxiety to get the clubhead to the ball."
As you unwind into the ball, the energy forces your arms to move faster. Concentrate on great leg stability, giving your arms plenty of room swing down.
A common mistake I see amateurs make is to go after the ball with a driver from the top of their backswings. Focus on a smooth rhythm and don't rush back to impact - wait for the ball to get in the way of the club.
Swing through the target at impact
At impact good players don't think about the hit - it's just about letting the ball get in the way of the clubhead.
Aim to swing through the target for as long as possible. My club is basically swinging down the ball-to-target line from a point level with my hips on the backswing until the same point on the follow-through.
Keeping a light grip really allows the muscles to fire at top speed. Depending on how I'm swinging it, I'll be playing for a slight draw or a slight cut to give myself more margin to hit the fairway.
Finish high for length
A golf swing is a combination of balance and co-ordination and the top drivers of the golf ball rarely topple over.
Good balance is a product of maintaining good thythm in the swing. You'll see a lot of amateurs who cannot hold their balance at finish, especially after hitting a driver. Remember that well struck shots at 80 percent effort go further than badly struck ones at maximum speed.
The speed of the clubhead will pull you through after contact and you should finish the stroke with a perfectly balanced, high finish.
Quick Tips
Checking The Basics
Every good golfer relies on sound fundamentals. This is something that I check regularly on Tour as most problems in the swing can be traced back to faults here. If you don't already do it, lay a club down parallel to your ball-to-target line to act as a guide for where you feet, hips and shoulders should be aiming. Your alignment is essential as it has a huge impact on the path of your swing so thoughout any practice routine it always makes sense to lay a club down to help.
Check Your Spikes
It is impossible to make a powerful swing and find consistently clean strikes without having good grip on your shoes. Always clean your spikes before you plan and regularly check that they haven't worn down.
Ball Postion
Another thing that I regularly do is to make a note on the back of a shaft to act as a reference for how far I should be standing from the ball. Let me explain - when you feel happy and confident that you are standing the right distance from the ball lay the shaft of your club on the ground between your feet pointing at the ball. Now mark exactly where the ball sits in relation to the shaft. If ever you need to check that you are in the right position, simply lay the shaft on the ground as you address the ball and check that it lines up, as shown. This is another great way to check your set-up.
Feet Together Drill
I love this drill because it helps train two key areas of the technique - your balance and your posture. With your feet together an overly fast swing will cause you to take a step to steady yourself after you've struck the ball. This will highlight your lack of poise through the swing and help you find a more controlled rhythm. Then there is your spine angle. If you are prone to lifting or dipping your head (thus crucially changing your spine angle) before you have hit the ball, again you will lose your balance and a fat or thin stroke will be the inevitable result. If you are struggling with your ball striking, devote half an hour to this drill on the range and the quality of your timing is quaranteed to improve.
Power Comes From The Ground
You will often hear coaches say that power comes from the ground upwards. Essentially, this means that the way your lower half interacts with the ground has a huge bearing on the speed of the clubhead. Remember that golf is an athletic sport and you should be trying to strike the ball with power. Picture a goalkeeper about to make a save - his weight is on the balls of his feet as he is ready to dive. As you set up to the golf ball let your weight move towards the balls of your feet so that you are ready to transfer your weight first right, then left, through the swing. In practice, hit a few shots with both heels off the ground. If your poise is good, you should still be able to keep your balance throughout an athletic swing.