No, I am not saying you have to practice 6 hours a day, although if practicing correctly that would also help.

9:00-3:00 practicing is a great way to improve your timing, weight shift, extension, turn and finish, all the things that make for a good golf swing.  Use this half swing technique for great impact improvement.

Let’s work on improving your weight shift. Address position 6:00 should have about 55% of your weight on the back foot, 45% front foot. Halfway back on the backswing you should have about 70% of your weight on the back foot and 30% front foot. Halfway through the follow through you should have 90% of your weight on the front foot. As you take the club away from the ball you will be transferring weight to the back foot. Starting the downswing at 9:00 requires you to begin down with your weight shifting forward, not the arms swinging down. If you do not start the legs early on the downswing you still have the majority of your weight on the back foot and are giving up power. This weight shift drill will also improve the timing of your golf swing. 

Timing is measured in the golf swing with the relationship of weight shifting to the front foot as the club is making contact with the ball. If you are late in your timing you will not have the weight fully shifted by impact and this will result in less distance.

Now use the 9:00-3:00 drill to improve your extension and increase the power even more. At address, 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock you want the left arm straight and extended away from the body as much as possible. The greater that you extend the left arm, the larger arc you will make with the golf club, the further you will hit it.

The 9:00-3:00 drill will also help to improve your turn and finish in the golf swing. At 9:00 you should see the shoulders turning and left shoulder coming back into the chin. This is the start of the power turn made with the shoulders on the backswing. At this position the body turn is taking place on the downswing. Belt buckle is now turning towards your target and right shoulder is about to hit your chin and move your head forward after impact.  Hold your finish! At the end of this position you should be turning towards and facing your target. Holding your finish allows you to check your balance, weight shift and turn.

Hit most of your balls for the next couple of weeks with these 9:00 – 3:00 drills and you will improve your ball striking and increase distance.

For more help with your golf game, contact Mark Oswald at oswaldpga@msn.com.