Instruction
Know what’s right for you: The dangers of unsolicited swing advice
Golfers, in their never-ending quest to improve, will listen to almost anything if it means knocking strokes off their score. They should be aware that this practice can be really dangerous for their game, because not all swing advice applies to everyone. Even a good suggestion may not be good for them.
I come across these scenarios all too often. Let’s say that Golfer A, a well-meaning friend or playing partner, passes along a tip that helped him improve to Golfer B. Golfer B tries it and suddenly can’t get the ball on the clubface. The very thing that was great for Golfer A was the worst thing for Golfer B’s game, and this happens more often than you might think it does.
Let’s look at a few situations. As you will see, good swing advice can often make things worse if the audience is wrong.
Swing Fault No. 1: “Rocking”
Throughout my years as a golfer and instructor, one of the most common swing flaws I see is the “reverse pivot,” or what the great John Jacobs more aptly described as “rocking.” Rocking is when a golfer’s weight shifts to their front foot, or towards the target, during the backswing. The golfer then falls away from the target in the downswing, moving weight to the back foot. This causes a very shallow attack angle into the golf ball and leads to a number of problems.
Photo by J.D. Cuban: Image from Golf Digest.
Most golfers who cannot take a divot are rockers. When the body backs up to the rear foot, this causes the golf club to ascend, or hit UP on the ball. Golfers can get away with this on a tee shot since the ball is elevated on a tee, but they rarely hit clean shots from the turf.
Here’s where good swing advice from a friend can kill your game. A well-meaning friend points out that you are “rocking” and suggests that you “get more weight on the rear foot in the backswing.” He/she heard Mr. Analyst talking about it on TV or heard it said at the 19th hole.
It sounds good enough, so you shift your weight to the right foot as you take the club away. Great. Now you have placed yourself in a perfectly good position to miss the golf ball entirely. Why? Because you have corrected only one part of the problem.
A rocker’s body is very in tune with falling away on the downswing, because you rocked to your front foot in order to keep your balance. The trouble is that if you fall away from the new position at the top of the backswing you will hit UP more than ever. You went from shallow to MORE shallow, which can be a killer.
The original downswing move was somewhat compatible with a reverse pivot, but now it’s the WORST thing you can do. You will most likely miss the golf ball altogether if you shift your weight toward the back foot. This is a perfect example of good advice falling on the wrong ears and it can destroy a golfer’s progress. There will come a time to work on a better backswing. It’s just not the FIRST thing this golfer should do in this case.
Good teachers understand this dynamic and handle it with care. When to introduce a change and who should make that change is every bit as important as the change itself. Nothing happens in a vacuum in a golf swing; every single part of the swing is closely related to every other part. You cannot isolate a new move and simply try it on its own.
In the example I just discussed, the player would have been much better served to turn through the ball (as much as possible) until the attack angle actually gets steep. THEN he can work on turning AWAY from the ball.
A few more scenarios will help show that good advice in the wrong ears can hinder progress.
Swing Fault No. 2: “Over the top”
The dreaded outside-in swing path, usually accompanied by a steep plane, is a move that about 75 percent of golfers are guilty of to a certain degree. It usually results in a “fade,” which is just a nice word for a slice (the only golfers truly “fading” the ball are playing for a living).
Again, when you are informed about this age old problem, your buddy tells you to “hit more from the inside.” However, until you’re able to correct the cause of the over-the-top move in the first place — a majorly open face — the dreaded outside-in path will be unaffected by his/her advice. So, the observation that you’re coming over the top is accurate, but you’ll need to learn to square the clubface if there is any chance to correct the path.
Swing Fault No. 3: Early Release
Golfers who release the club too early tend to slide in front of the ball. They MUST or they will hit well behind it. Are you going to:
- Learn to stay behind the ball first?
- Learn to delay your release first?
Here’s why it matters: You need positive reinforcement as soon as possible.
Let’s say your buddy tells you to “stay more behind the ball.” If you do so before you correct the early release, you’ve made the problem much worse. In other words, getting in front of the ball complements an early release. It is not optimal, but it can be functional. By changing only one part of the problem, you are no longer functional at all.
Swing Fault No. 4: Flat backswing
Matt Kuchar has one of the PGA Tour’s flattest swings, but his position at the top of his backswing matches the rest of his swing. That’s part of the reason why he’s one of the Tour’s most consistent ball strikers.
Golfers with flatter backswings tend to turn their body into the shot from the top, which is done out of necessity so they don’t get too far underneath the ball. If he/she first learns a more upright takeaway before the “turning into it” move is corrected, most of the shots will be skulled or topped to the left. While the flat backswing MAY have to be corrected at some point, the order of the correction is all important to avoid that dreadful first shot negative feedback.
Good advice with bad timing is bad advice!
There are many scenarios that illustrate the moral of this story, but one thing is certain; the early days of changing your swing can be frustrating, often tempting you to dismiss the whole idea of making improvements. Find a teacher you can trust, however, and he/she will guide you on how to get the entire swing ready for the golf course. If you are a regular reader of my GolfWRX articles or one of my regular students, you know that I warn golfers all the time about the action/reaction dynamic in golf instruction.
No matter what your major swing flaw is, make sure to seek professional teaching advice and not just accept a band-aid fix from a playing partner. Often times, these quick fixes can cause more swing problems than you had in the first place, hindering your scores and enjoyment of the game in the process.
Before making any changes, think about their cause/effect on YOUR swing and whether that change will help or hurt YOUR game. If you don’t know what those causes and effects are, it’s often best to seek the advice of a professional.
As always, feel free to send a swing to my Facebook page. I will do my best to give you my feedback.
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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Dennis Clark
Jul 10, 2014 at 11:31 pm
AGAIN…this article deals with knowing what advice is right for you. It says nothing about who is dispensing the advice. If you are given a tip and it helps your ball striking regardless of who it’s from, USE IT! The article states that more than superficial advice is needed to correct the ROOT, the CAUSE of the problem. It suggests that the reader be wary of superficial advice that is given on a generic basis. Golf instruction is highly individual and whats good for the goose might terrible for the gander. If that’s not clear, PM me and Ill explain further. THX DC
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Rich
Jul 9, 2014 at 2:17 am
Dennis,
Yourself and Tom Stickney seem to be pretty switched on and enjoy your work as teaching professionals. It’s hard to find that. Do you guys possibly know any teachers in Sydney, Australia that are any good? I’ve tried a few but haven’t really had any luck finding someone that I would like to work with. Cheers.
Dennis Clark
Jul 9, 2014 at 7:34 am
I personally do not; Australia is a bucket list trip for my wife and me. Hoping to make it down there!
Rich
Jul 10, 2014 at 9:39 am
No worries. Thanks for the reply anyway. I’ll keep searching. Cheers
Pumper
Jul 17, 2014 at 12:37 am
Rich, have a look at lorienscott.com.au teaches out at NSW and Pure Performance Golf labs in Alexandria at night, uses trackman there. I have found him very helpful.
tom stickney
Jul 8, 2014 at 8:01 pm
Dennis…is the guy in the lead photo in the glasses Bill Carter?
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 9:53 pm
Not sure Tom, the editors chose that photo for me. I’ll ask do you know him? I was hoping it was a “buddy at the driving range” type pic…
Dave
Jul 8, 2014 at 6:49 pm
Dennis,
I’m confused on one point here, did you really mean to say that an over-the-top move is caused by an open club face? I have always understood that an open face was typically symptomatic of an being over the top but not the cause.
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 6:57 pm
Yes, the OTT move is caused by an open face. Players with square face or closed face do not come over. The open face cause is something else, possibly grip, plane, cupped wrist, no release etc, but when the face gets open it CAUSES OTT. Thx dave
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Lots of good feedback here. I always enjoy interacting with students or readers to get the feedback in terms of HOW you interpreted the article. Instructors are too often guilty of “golfspeak” that leaves students in the dark.. No question or comment is too inane because I get inside your thoughts and am better able to communicate through clarification. DC
Putting Pro
Jul 8, 2014 at 3:25 pm
Harvey Penick would never let his students watch each others lesson. For example: If you showed up early with Harvey you couldn’t wait by watching the current lesson.
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 3:41 pm
Exactly. Every swing is different. So every lesson should be as well.
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Actually just so I’m not misunderstood here, free advice MAY very well help you IF you know what advice applies to YOU!
Tom Stickney
Jul 8, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Great article! Free tips always seem to alert you to the effects of poor fundamentals; seldom the cause of the problem itself.
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 2:04 pm
Keep us in business though 🙂
David Smith
Jul 8, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Now wait a minute here, Dennis Clark is offering dangerous free swing tips in an article titled “The danger of free swing tips”…. why should I trust this?!?!?
Just kidding of course.
Good article. I’ve been given a few swing “tips” on the course when I played as a single a few times. The odd thing is, when I was paired up I would warn them that I am working on some specific things in my swing that my instructor has given me to work on yet the unsolicited advice still pours in shortly after my announcement. Thankfully I have been doing this long enough to make sure I respectively smile and thank them but carry on with my own business.
Dennis Clark
Jul 8, 2014 at 3:08 pm
LOL…Actually i offer these thoughts free of charge. But my up close and personal advice is quite expensive 🙂
David Smith
Jul 8, 2014 at 4:25 pm
If I were anywhere to close to you I’d be making an appointment!
CJ
Jul 8, 2014 at 1:06 pm
I feel bad because you just enumerated every single thing that I’m working on in my swing now: my weight shifting, very steep attack angle, very flat backswing, and occasionally scooping my shots because I release early at times. I just managed to develop these habits as my swing was basically home made because I hadn’t had a pro in 9 years but now I just got a proper coach my swing and scores have gotten better. Great Article there.
Jason Hawk
Jul 8, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Great article, wish I could pass this along to more people. A few years ago I started taking lessons from a PGA pro, and will not take information given from anyone else. Best decision I’ve ever made!