Breed's Blog: Effortless power and the perfect set up

• By Michael Breed
• Aug 27, 2012 8:00 PM ET

BREED’S READS

Nick Watney, winner this past weekend at The Barclays, is effortlessly long. Here are two tips that will get the ball jumping off your clubface:

• Creating width in your swing is the key to adding yards. Try putting a swim floatie over your back elbow and then hit some balls. This prohibits your back elbow from bending thus creating width and adding yards.

• Nick squats into his swing and this compresses the ball. On your downswing get the feeling of compressing your upper body toward your thighs. This will keep your chest over the ball, which will lead to more solid, consistent hits.

Watney was having putting woes until he started working with Darrell Kestner, who wanted less moving parts in Watney's putting stroke. Here are the drills Watney started doing:

• Hit putts with only your trail arm, and with your lead arm grab your head to make sure it stays still throughout your stroke.

• Imagine your lower body is stuck in a barrel of cement and there is no way to move the lower body during your putting stroke.

Moving on, let’s tackle a couple of questions from our viewers:

• From Stephen Lawrence: I'm slicing everything! How do I get my swing to the inside? ... Shut the face Stephen! The open clubface is the reason golf shots slice. Shut the face and you'll be well on your way. Your grip should be more in the palm of your hand and you should see three knuckles in your lead hand at address. And did I mention, shut the face!

• From Joseph Chase: I’m struggling with my transition and downswing and throwing away all my power by casting! Help! … Joseph, hit some practice shots with one hand only using your trail hand. That will get you out of casting. And be patient, it will take some time.

And a couple of final thoughts this week:

• Time and time again I see people on the range hitting balls like a machine gun. This is a complete waste of your time. You must practice with a purpose. Have a game plan when you hit the range, and if you struggle with a certain aspect of your game, practice that more than the other parts.

• I am not too proud to learn from a 15-year old and you shouldn't be either. Lydia Ko, winner of the CN Canadian Women’s Open, starts her downswing with her lower body. I want you to move both of your knees toward the target just before you start down from the top.

In this video segment, Michael shows golfers of all ability levels how they can get set up to the ball properly time after time.

Popular golf instruction tips:  Distance Tips |  Full Swing | Putting Tips | Long Game

More video from Michael:

Casting the club is one of the biggest detriments to power that you can have in your swing, and in this video segment Michael has some great tips to help you get rid of your casting action. Watch Video

Next week’s show: Viewer Swings Special, Monday 7PM ET

• We'll be breaking down viewer swings all night in the SwingFix! Focusing on common flaws and easy fixes, we'll look at up to 10 swings in the show. Additionally, we'll give one lucky viewer a live lesson and demonstrate how to properly record your swing to get it on air.

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