Golf instruction is always evolving, but the best tips stand the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Lifetime Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice that teachers and players have shared in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today, we look back to our July 1998 issue, when Fred Couples shared five keys to accuracy with your irons.
There is no one in golf as calm as Couples Fred. His swing is very similar to his temperament: cool and calm. Watching it swing, you might even fool yourself into thinking it’s a golf ball hit easily.
As we all know, however, this is not the truth. Hitting the golf ball is a crazy exercise where success is the exception rather than the rule.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t try to emulate Couples’ approach. And again in the July 1998 issue of GOLF magazinehe showed us how, with the help of his coach at the time, Paul Marchand. Check out the former Masters champion’s five keys to accuracy with your irons below.
5 pairs of keys for precision with your irons
Fred Couples is famous for his long shots off the tee, but his incredibly accurate iron play has been a cornerstone of his career. Throughout the 1990s, Freddie’s name topped the PGA Tour’s year-end statistics, not just for driving distance, but for fair greens, low scoring average and eagles and birdies, all products of his laser-like accuracy with his irons.
Case in point: Last year Players Championship, he hit the formidable par-three 17th at the TPC at Sawgrass. Later in the year, he made approach shots at the British Open, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup. And at this year’s Masters, Couples led the field in driving distance, but more importantly, put up four sub-par rounds with iron shots that looked like they were shot with the help of a lens and crosshairs.
These kinds of results certainly involve good luck, but the ability to hit the ball is the backbone of any game that produces as many “lucky” shots as Fred’s. In this article, I will explain five precision keys that I have seen Fred execute masterfully since we were teammates at the University of Houston. As Fred’s trainer, I’ve found that when all of these keys work, Fred is hard to beat. His accuracy skills give him the ability to hit the ball where he wants, when he wants.
Whatever your skill, increasing your accuracy is a sure path to lower scores.
1. Freedom of movement
Freddie’s mental and physical approach to golf can be summed up in three words: freedom of movement. It is also the main characteristic of his swing. He doesn’t force any moves or manipulate the club through leverage. Fred understands that the great paradox of the swing is that the more you try to control the club through impact, the less control you have over the stroke.
Trying to drive the club at impact is an epidemic flaw among amateurs, sometimes even among those with strong swing mechanics. Mechanics is certainly the foundation, but playing golf requires a swing that goes beyond positions. It must be a free movement to be effective.
Positional work has its place: the range of practice. When practicing your mechanics, don’t worry too much about where the ball is going. Your goal should be to develop a feel for the skill you are trying to learn. However, before you finish a practice session, it’s vital to add freedom of movement back into your movement by trusting the new feeling you’ve been working on.
2. Rhythmic passage
Fred has a very long swing that gradually, almost imperceptibly, builds acceleration on the downswing. Its characteristic effortless appearance is the result of rhythmic movement in the transition zone, where the backswing ends and the downswing begins.
It is in this transition zone that most amateurs fall victim to the “top shot,” swinging the club out and away from the body as they try to rush the club back into the shot. Fred does just the opposite: As the club reaches the top of its swing, he begins the lift by moving his hips and left leg diagonally to the right of the target line. Simultaneously, his right elbow begins to drop quickly, albeit smoothly, to his side, and then his torso unfurls violently.
These synchronized movements result in a very shallow head path from slightly inside his stance line. This path promotes a full release of the clubhead through impact, a consistent low point at the end of the swing, and the ability to repeat and control the speed of one’s swing.
3. Clubface (and body) rotation.
The ability to constantly adjust the clubface at impact is the essence of accuracy, but conscious manipulation will never get the job done. In the hitting zone, the clubface should rotate in an arc from open to square to closed in relation to the target line. Trying to force this action – with your hands or right shoulder – will lead to wild inconsistencies.
As the club swings through the strike zone, the arm face rotates at a rate similar to the amount the body rotates – if you let the club swing freely. The more the two spins match, the more accurate you will be. This takes the obligation of framing the clubface literally out of your hands.
‘To understand how the clubface moves in harmony with the body, take a full practice swing, stopping the club at the top of the waist on the backswing and up to the waist on the backswing. At both points, the toe should be pointing up, and the shaft and clubhead should be in front of your body and parallel to the target line: If this is the case, your swing is squaring the arm through impact and your body is rotating in sync with it.
4. Develop the feeling
Good mechanics and feel are like the chicken and the egg: It’s a puzzle to figure out which came first.
You need to understand how your swing works mechanically, but you need to know how it feels when it works. A popular term for this is “muscle memory”. Scientists can argue whether or not this term is accurate, but it conveys the notion.
To best execute your swing on the course, you need to be sure you can replicate the feel of a good swing from memory. Then the mind is free to let the body go. This is an intangible feeling that Fred trusts and relies heavily on, and you should too. Golf may be a thinker’s game, but trusting your swing and letting it happen is where golf becomes a sport.
One of the best ways to develop this feel is to hit shots at different distances with the same club. Start with a 6 or 7 iron, making a full swing and full swing, but swinging so lightly and slowly that the ball flies half its normal distance. See how many balls you can hit hard and in the same shortened distance. Then change the distance by gradually changing the speed of your body rotation.
The final test is Fred’s favorite: hitting a driver or 3-wood on a short third. In these photos, Fred is hitting a 3-wood from 147 yards, about half his potential with this club. The only change he makes is to slow down his body and keep the club moving in sync with the slower spin.
Learning to vary your swing speed will give you a great feel for the club. This awareness will build confidence in your ability to repeat the motion without thinking, an instinct that leads to more consistent shots.
5. Consistent pre-shoot routine
One trait that all professionals share is dedication to their pre-shoot routines. Fred is no exception. Amateurs, on the other hand, rarely have a routine, which is strange since it’s the easiest “pro move” to imitate.
Once on the ball, a pre-shot routine gets the mind and body moving from memory, not from a list of mechanical instructions. When performed correctly, a routine will clear your mind of everything except visualizing the target and confidently anticipating how the shot will feel to execute.
Fred limits wavering thoughts to practice. And when he’s working on something, he doesn’t care where the ball goes. He simply concentrates on his mechanical thought until it becomes part of his feeling. Once this is accomplished, he brings his focus back to the target with the help of his routine and lets go of the wavering thought. In addition, Fred often repeats the key shots he will need on the course while he is practicing, complete with his pre-shot routine.
Throughout this article, Fred and I have defined key concepts such as freedom, rhythm, and feel that can make your swing more accurate. These keys, once part of your golfing instincts, will combine to improve your accuracy. Use them on your next round and you can knock one in the hole like Fred.
Tomo Ninja Divot Tool Kit
Not deadly, but not deadly.
View Product
