Padraig Harrington is talking about the downsides of golf and he admits it’s weird, although of course there isn’t.
It’s just the word itself.
“I’m normally a very positive person,” he said.
still, Harrington was ready for what he called “the mega lesson of not doing.” The thoughts came in a video recently posted on the three-time major winner’s YouTube channel, which has become a must-visit guide and his latest post is a must-see, despite that not-so-positive vibe. You can watch it belowand below are some comments.
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Padraig Harrington’s golf swing cons
Don’t keep your head down
You’ve heard this. But it bears repeating. “By all means, keep your eye on the ball,” Harrington said in the video, “but your head is nice and relaxed. It’s not going down into your chest. For most people, it’s going to roll a little bit in the backswing, and of course on the follow-through, it’s going to get in a high position. … Your head has to move.”
Don’t keep your feeling still or grounded
During the swing, Harrington wants to avoid a certain position. “You can’t build speed, power; you’re going to go offline,” he said in the video. “Your feet have to move at address … and then move back and forth. So just a little step. That’s why we do all these step drills. You have to move your feet if you’re going to hit the golf ball.”
Do not stay down while swinging
Harrington said this is “almost sacrilegious”. “So when you hit the golf ball, you have to come up to hit the golf ball. … OK, our chest stays kind of down, but everything else is coming up. It comes up on your left side. … So we have to make sure you do that natural thing. Keep your eye on the ball, but make sure you’re jumping up with those sure feet. Up.”
Don’t swing slowly
Your backstroke, Harrington said, should be set “at your natural pace, whatever that is.” “Some people will be fast, some will be relatively slow,” he said in the video. “What we know is that professional golfers, I think, swing three times faster than amateurs in the swing. So the backswing is enough for a natural rhythm with that kind of rhythm. … So, good speed for it.”
Don’t be swayed easily
Sometimes you will, though, Harrington said. “But you have to practice swinging as fast as you ever can and then get your pitch down to play,” he said in the video. “Don’t tone down every shot because there are going to be some open drives where you have to go flat. But in general, don’t go slow and easy. Go hard and fast a few times so you can go at a comfortable 90 percent and keep your pace.”
Don’t throw
“You have to release the club with your hands as far as you can,” Harrington said in the video. “So absolutely throw that club like you’re going to throw it down the range. … People who putt — and it’s like everything else in golf, it’s almost the opposite — so people who putt don’t put pressure on the grip at this point and then the force of the club is thrown out and they lose all their speed and power and hit. … So throw the club as hard as you can with your back arms.”
Don’t roll
“So it’s a bad idea to turn your hips when they’re not connected to anything, because that usually brings your hands with you, causing you to slide the ball and hit a part,” Harrington said in the video. “Don’t rotate your body. At impact, your shoulders will be close to square, maybe 10 degrees open. Your torso would be 30 and your hips maybe 45. … We don’t try and rotate. What we’re really doing is pushing. Pushing. So we go down on the left side. And as we’re going up, we push the body up, which is pushed up off the ground. So don’t think that the return isn’t going to adds nothing and is usually counterproductive, if you have to think about it, you push off to the left side.
Can Harrington describe what needs to be done?
He could.
“If you finish your golf swing, put it on your left leg with your left leg straight, chest up and up, a little bit of an arch, right shoulder closer to the target, head up in the air like that, you’ve probably done all those other things right,” Harrington said in the video. “But remember, avoid the don’ts and try to get that nice shot at the end and you’ll do everything – you’ll do well enough to be a good golfer.”
