Hello golfers,
How to stripe your fairways… like Rory
Well, that was impressive. Just when it looked like Rory McIlroy was going to get pipped to his national Open, he produced some of the best shots of his career - under pressure, too. Russell Knox was applying the heat, in fact he was leading with a few holes to play, before Rory struck with two devastating blows with his fairway woods.
First, at the par-5 16th he struck a stunning 271-yard 3-wood to reach the green in two and set up a tap-in birdie. He saved the best for last, a laser-like 5-wood from 253 yards for a tap-in eagle. Pure class from the Ulsterman.
So, fancy striking your woods like Rory? Here are a couple of tips to bear in mind:
1. Posture - you need to maintain your spine angle from address all the way through impact. We often see amateurs lifting out of the shot, trying to help the ball up - this leads to a top or thin strike.
2. Rhythm and balance - don't be drawn into swinging hard. You need to maintain your balance with your weight finishing on your front side.
This sounds easy, but we appreciate it's a hard shot to execute. However, if you can get those fairways working, think of all those long par-4s and par-5s you'll make so much easier.
Come into the golf shop and see the team or click here if you're interested in getting some further help.
A pain in the neck
I'm always on the lookout for inspiration for this column. Sadly, this week's inspiration is me. My neck hurts. It's time to heal myself.
A major cause of neck pain is the "Forward Head Posture". Which can also lead to all sorts of other problems, as shown below
So, how do you know if you have a forward head posture? Easy.
Stand with your back against a wall. Your heels, buttocks and shoulder blades should all be touching the wall.
Does your head touch the wall? I mean comfortably?
Or are you tilting your head backwards to make it reach? Or is your lower back arching away from the wall? If either of these things is happening, you have a forward head posture, and I'll be talking more about this next time. Right now, I'm getting away from the PC as it's forcing my neck into a forward posture, and that hurts.
