Build a Better Golf Swing Than Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler, currently ranked the number one golfer globally, proved all critics and naysayers wrong on Sunday by winning the 86th Masters.

This green jacket marks his fourth win in six starts and earned him a smooth $2.7 million. Though his dominance in the game is undeniable right now, Scheffler’s golf swing is still the subject of much criticism. Here are a few ways to get a better golf swing than Scottie Scheffler.

Scottie Scheffler’s Golf Swing

Scheffler’s swing is unique enough to be the subject of many golf jokes, but it’d be remiss not to give credit where it’s due.

Here are some things that Scottie does well in his golf swing:

• Scottie sets up his stance parallel to his target line, making it easy to swing on the right path.
• He keeps his lower body stable on the backswing and explosively fires his hips on the downswing to generate lots of power.
• At the end of his swing, Scottie holds a beautiful trophy finish that is great for pictures and stabilizes his swing.

These are all things Scottie does well, and you should consider incorporating them into your swing.

5 Tips to Improve Your Golf Swing

Here are some tips to help you improve your golf swing. If you work on it enough, you could develop a better swing than Scottie!

Improve Your Golf Grip

Bobby Jones, the greatest golfer of the early 1900s, once said, “Good golf begins with a good grip.”

Whether you’re a scratch player or an 18 handicap, a great first way to diagnose your misses is by looking at how you hold the club. Make sure you keep the club within your palm to provide better control and stability.

A key to a proper grip is to have a light hold on the club.

Grip the club as if you were shaking a young child’s hand: light enough so that you don’t hurt them, but with the intention of a solid handshake.

Alignment

When you set up to hit the golf ball, you want to ensure that you are correctly aligned. If not, you could make a great swing– maybe even a perfect golf swing– only to watch the ball go to the wrong place.

In setting up correctly, you ensure that you limit your dispersion (how wide your misses are) to that target. A great way to practice your body setup is with an alignment stick.

When using an alignment stick, try to feel that your feet, hips, and shoulders are all aligned with the shaft, which should be parallel to where your club is aiming. This practice will prime your body to align in the same direction as your clubface and increase your chances of hitting a straight shot.

Ensure Proper Shoulder Rotation

The most important advice for a better backswing is to make a full rotation. Golfers of all levels make the critical swing error of not rotating enough, leaving lots of distance (and accuracy) on the table. In making sure that your left shoulder passes under your chin (or as close to it) on the way back, you maximize your ball striking power.

Making a proper shoulder rotation also improves consistency, as your shoulders do more work than smaller body parts, like your arms. Combining proper shoulder rotation with a connected body will create a more efficient backswing and better golf shots.

Keep Your Left Arm Connected

One of the most common flaws in most golf swings is people folding their arms up, losing their connection, and harming their sequencing.

This disjointedness leads to more inconsistent shots, adding loft and decreasing distance. One way to work on this is to use the towel drill, where you pinch a towel under your armpits and make half-swings, ensuring that the towel remains pinched throughout your swing.

While this drill isn’t feasible on the course, a slight adjustment to it will serve the same purpose. Pinching your shirt under your left arm will ensure that your left arm stays connected to your chest throughout your swing, increasing clubface control and consistency.

The best players in the world tend to be very compact at impact. For example, Tiger Woods’ swing has always remained connected at the top throughout his career. Keeping your left arm connected will help you hit straighter and more solid shots, helping you shoot lower scores.

Get Good at One Shot

Nowadays, most professional golfers have strayed away from being a “jack of all trades” ball striker and have started to focus on honing a singular shot shape.

Fifty years ago, “working the ball” was a crucial skill in golf. Elite players needed to know how to hit every shot, from a low fade to a high draw and everything in between.

Today, while some modern maestros like Bubba Watson are exceptional at moving the ball, they are the outliers, not the norm. Moreover, trying to hit both draws and fades– especially with the driver– leads to double-crosses, causing you to lose countless shots as you hit balls into the trees, penalty areas, or worse.

Instead of trying to shape your shots, stick to what you’re good at it. For example, if you feel more comfortable hitting a draw, practice hitting draws and get good at it. However, it’s important to remember that working the ball with the irons (particularly with shorter ones) is not as costly as working with your driver.

Double crosses with irons are rarely as penalizing as a double-cross with the driver, but you have to be sure that you can shape the ball in both directions consistently before you try it out on the course.

This article was produced by Financial Pupil.