• In this Issue >
  • Features
    • From the President
    • 258 years of trade unionism
    • Beware of the man behind the screen
    • Artists at Work
    • Capturing the essence of her subject
    • Giving new personality to old metal scraps
    • Honorable mentions
  • Union Front
    • What’s in the SAP?
    • Closing loopholes
    • Auto Dealership
    • Michigan workers vote ‘yes’
    • Workers get a first contract
    • UAW wins big settlement
    • Organizing Roundup
  • Departments
    • From the Readers
    • World of Work
    • UAW 101
    • Safer Work
    • Still Solid
    • Skilled Trades
    • Workers' Words
    • Phipps' Tips
    • Green Corner
    • Solidarity Index / Past Issues

Some drills to start the season

Making changes in your swing isn’t easy and requires practice. The best way to practice is by adding drills to your routine.

Here are two of my favorite drills to help improve your game:

• Need more distance? Try the head cover drill. This helps with the extension on your follow-through. If you are right-handed, place a head cover under your left arm and begin taking full swings. The goal is to hold the head cover in place until the weight of the swinging club pulls your arms from your body through impact. If you shorten the right arm (like a “chicken wing”), the head cover will fall out prematurely. By practicing this drill, you will learn to achieve full extension and create maximum power.

• For straighter shots, try the takeaway drill. Take your normal stance, hinge your wrists and take the club back to the point where the shaft is parallel to the ground and to your target line. Look back to see if the position is correct. This is the position from which you will start your backswing. Swing your arms and shoulders to the top of your back swing then swing down and through to a full finish.

Both drills can be done with or without hitting balls.

Good luck this golf season and remember to have fun.

Pam Phipps is director of golf at the UAW’s Black Lake Golf Club in Onaway, Mich., which begins its sixth season May 19. For info, see www.blacklakegolf.com.