Do you know how Babe Ruth famously called his shot by pointing his finger at his goal? While the Great Bambino might have been doing it with a baseball bat in hand, GOLF teacher to watch Sarah Stone—director of instruction for the Chevy Chase Club in Washington, D.C.—has a similar exercise to try on the golf course.
In the video above, Stone says a common problem she sees with many students is that the player tends to “move the box forward with the golf club across the ball, and end up chasing his shot on target.” The image below shows what you’re describing.
Instead of leaning too far forward, Stone says it’s important to get off target with the chest and extension, something the world’s top pros do.
So how do you reverse this type of stretch? With the Stone Babe Ruth Drill!
As Stone says in the video, it would be nice if you were good enough at golf that you could “dictate where every shot is going.” While it may seem impossible to do, with a Stone drill bit, you will be on the right track.
As the image below shows, you will put the club back in halfway. In Stone’s words, this means bringing your left forearm parallel to the ground. She emphasized the word “parallel,” reminding players not to be “straight or rigid.” Here is a picture that shows you what it should look like.
Says Stone, “When you look at it from a different angle, the shaft is angled, sort of at my right shoulder, and the club is at about a 90-degree angle to my left forearm. That’s how I would define my half swing.”
Next, Stone says to take the club halfway back, and swing it down. As you follow, be sure to “point the club out toward the range in the direction you hope to hit the golf ball, trying to get the butt of the club as far from your chest as possible.” The image below shows what it should look like.
As you begin to do the Babe Ruth exercise, you will feel the butt of the club close to you, with your back slightly arched. This is common after the first few times, Stone says, but the goal is to “stand nice and tall and stretch that golf club as far away from you as possible,” which will help you get better contact as you extend across a ball.
So, go ahead and try this exercise during your next workout session to get the feel of a proper arm extension. You may not be able to call your shot like Babe Ruth has been known to do, but it will help you have more control over the direction of your shot.
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