Head cover or towel under the armpits drill.

[delc]

I've just watched a video of the lovely Charley Hull practising shots while holding a head cover under her left armpit, and I have seen other pro golfers practising with a head cover or towel under one or both armpits. I find it helpful myself, because it helps keep my arms in sync with my body turn, but a pro golfer who posts on here didn't think it was a good idea in another thread. Any views on this?

 

[Hacker Khan]

If it works for you then why not. As with every drill it will work for some people and not for others. I think the trouble is that people are searching for the magic drill or tip that will cure all their golfing woes. And that just does not exist.

 

[Robobum]

I've just watched a video of the lovely Charley Hull practising shots while holding a head cover under her left armpit, and I have seen other pro golfers practising with a head cover or towel under one or both armpits. I find it helpful myself, because it helps keep my arms in sync with my body turn, but a pro golfer who posts on here didn't think it was a good idea in another thread. Any views on this?

You don't take a blind bit of notice unless you "discover" it yourself anyway, so no real issue?

 

[Albanach]

Deçent explanation here from another instruction tip:

A trusted favourite – but a drill that you need to understand before you go out and make the mistake that I have seen many amateur golfers make, believing it to be applicable to the full swing. Which it is not. The towel drill is specifically designed to help keep all of the components of the swing moving at the same even pace up to this half-way back and halfway through position. In other words, it is perfect to synchronise the movement of the club, your arms and body in the process of developing the heart of your basic pitching technique. But under no circumstances should you go out and train your full swing – any attempt to keep the towel in place beyond this halfway position will result in the movement of the arms being severely restricted and you will fail to enjoy the freedom they need to complete a full swing.

That is not to say the towel drill will not benefit your full swing. It will. The better you synchronise the movement of your arms and body to this halfway position the better the real guts of your swing will be, and you can then lose the towel and experience real improvement in your full swing as you hit balls with that coordination to this halfway position built in.

 

[virtuocity]

Any views on this?

1. The left arm has to disconnect from the body on the downswing
2. The towel drill will not fix the root cause of swing issues other than connection. Too much of a good thing can occur though.
3. There are a number of pros who dislike this drill, not just oor Bob.

 

[virtuocity]

Also, as many pros have said, this can actually cause shanking. You rebutted on the other thread stating that it helps you beat the shanks. So why ask?

 

[delc]

Also, as many pros have said, this can actually cause shanking. You rebutted on the other thread stating that it helps you beat the shanks. So why ask?

I think that my occasional shanks are caused by my hands and arms coming away from, or getting out of sync with my body, so in that respect this drill helps.

 

[woody69]

IT helped me in terms of "staying connected" certainly in my back swing, but I didn't worry that it dropped out on the downswing.

 

[One Planer]

Not a drill I've ever used, nor been suggested to use by a Pro.

My connection in the back swing is pretty good having a one plane swing and the same coming down.

If you have a disconnection issues I can see the merit.

 

[chrisd]

I think that my occasional shanks are caused by my hands and arms coming away from, or getting out of sync with my body, so in that respect this drill helps.

Trying to hit the ball with your hands rather than the clubhead? If you get what I mean

 

[bobmac]

but a pro golfer who posts on here didn't think it was a good idea in another thread. Any views on this?

I said (wrote)

I really dont like that drill, it promotes a slice if your not careful.

In my experience, the vast majority of mid to high h/caps have an out to in swing path through impact.
If you are one of these golfers and you try this drill, to stop the headcover from falling, you will pull the handle of the club further left through impact. This increases the amount of sidespin put on the ball resulting in a bigger slice/pull, depending on where the clubface is pointing at the time.

Just my opinion of course

 

[ruff-driver]

Many of us would like to see charley draped in a towel, especially del

 

[delc]

I said (wrote)



In my experience, the vast majority of mid to high h/caps have an out to in swing path through impact.
If you are one of these golfers and you try this drill, to stop the headcover from falling, you will pull the handle of the club further left through impact. This increases the amount of sidespin put on the ball resulting in a bigger slice/pull, depending on where the clubface is pointing at the time.

Just my opinion of course

My problem is that as an impressionable teenager I was told that to be a good golfer I had to have an in-to-out swing. So I worked on this until it became ingrained. Now it is too ingrained and I am prone to hitting hooks and the occasional push or shank as a result. I am trying to get an in to straight through to back in swing and this drill helps. I went a full 18 holes without hitting one shank today!

 

[jasondransfieldgolf]

I said (wrote)



In my experience, the vast majority of mid to high h/caps have an out to in swing path through impact.
If you are one of these golfers and you try this drill, to stop the headcover from falling, you will pull the handle of the club further left through impact. This increases the amount of sidespin put on the ball resulting in a bigger slice/pull, depending on where the clubface is pointing at the time.

Just my opinion of course

I agree with you Bob, the drill put in to the wrong hands (arms) such as a slicer will most likely have the effect of making things worse. I have used the drill, but only for short pitches, I don't know how or why you would want to use it for full swing shots.

 

[delc]

I agree with you Bob, the drill put in to the wrong hands (arms) such as a slicer will most likely have the effect of making things worse. I have used the drill, but only for short pitches, I don't know how or why you would want to use it for full swing shots.

I only use it with short irons, and then normally only for a few practice swings, or maybe a few pitch shots. It seems to help my swing plane, timing and rhythm. I don't disagree that you need a bit more width for driving and long shots in general.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

To be fair it has its merits and is something I was recommended on chip shots to keep the arms more connected.Peter Finch advocated something similar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C29fOC52Rt4

I have also been recommended the drill for pitching too to keep the arms connected which worked as it's not a full swing (so not too much side spin) and rarely got beyond ten o'clock

 

[hines57]

using this drill when you know what you are trying to achieve is a great help. It is not a cure all, but to help keep connected I have also been recommended by the pro to work on this.

 

[delc]

I have been persevering with this drill, and it has definitely improved my ball striking throughout the bag. Or at least my bad shots are less bad than they were before. It is quite noticeable to me that I am now rotating my body a bit more slowly in the forward swing. I think I have always had a tendency to get ahead of myself during my downswing, which can lead to all sorts of bad shots, including the snap hook and the dreaded shank!

 

[delc]

Although this drill seems to have improved all of my game, the biggest improvement seems to be in chipping. For the first time in my life I felt confident when chipping this morning, even though I was chipping into frozen greens where the slightest thin would have bounced straight off the back of the green. I made several up and downs from off the green!

 

[One Planer]

Confidence is a great thing Del'