Put Some Sling in Your Swing

I can’t take credit for this drill. As golf lore has it, legend Sam Snead used to practice this to work on feeling how the shaft should accelerate through the swing.

Snead would take an old hickory shaft that had a grip on it but no club head. He’d cut out the core of an apple and slide it up to the center of the shaft. Then he’d take swings to make the apple “sling” towards his target.

You don’t have to go through the trouble of putting an apple on your club, but imagine you do and the goal is to release the apple just past the golf ball. You could imagine if you were doing this drill that the apple would begin to slowly slide down the shaft from the top of the backswing, then at the last minute you release your hands and the apple will fly past your front foot in the direction of your target.

Now imagine what would happen if you released your hands early. The apple would end up near your back foot. This is what happens when someone tries to help or lift the ball in the air.

This drill will help with the rhythm in your swing, the acceleration in the club shaft, and having your upper and lower body in-sync.

Wishing you great shots!