3-time major winner has 3 tips – 'people who hit the ball badly'

He's just swinging the stick, said Padraig Harrington.

Golf, the three-time major winner believes, should be no different.

But then arms and legs and head and feet are involved, and this game might be Martian. Harrington is sympathetic though. His thoughts were actually part of his answer to this frequently asked question:

“What is the best advice you can give to someone who wants to improve their golf game?”

The question came up on a recently released episode of “The Rough Cut Golf Podcast,” which you can listen to in full here, and Harrington's answer had two parts: advice for “decent golfers,” and advice for “people who hit the ball.” badly.” The previous group's tip was:

Commit to your schedule.

If you focus on the target, focus on the target. If you focus on your take, focus on your take.

Then the fire.

“Just stick to one thing,” Harrington said on the podcast, “make that decision before you step up to the ball and don't add or change it. So if you decide I'm going to hit this 6-foot right wing, go up, focus on the target — don't start thinking, should I hit it less or easier or harder, will it break more? You have to make a decision and stick to it.”

Then there's the “hit the ball bad” gang.

They received three thoughts from Harrington.

'movement'

This tip included Harrington's point above – that golf shouldn't be an outsider. If you play other sports, try to relate golf to those sports.

“Usually, they don't move [in golf],” Harrington said on the podcast. “They are trying to keep their feet from moving. Usually, they don't move. They try to keep their heads down. So I would say you have to get some movement in your game. And it's very easy to navigate – there are many social media channels now that will show you. That's right – you have to move your feet, you have to do a lot of stepping exercises. While you want to keep your eye on the ball, you don't want to keep your head down.

“It's a movement. Make it natural. So yeah, I think this would be something I would say – if you play the game, come to golf and play, do the exact same thing. Your hips and feet move like you would play tennis. You know, your arms and your body move like you're skipping a stone – you didn't skip a stone in water – and that's golf. So try and think about how well you've been doing and try to relate that to golf.”

In the podcast, host Peter Finch noted that he saw people feeling restricted – and the thought was in their head.

“Yeah, I think, unfortunately when people come to the game,” Harrington said in the podcast, “they think they're going to be able to hit every shot right down the middle, and in that search, they hit everything right. They bring so much fear that they start forcing things rather than going.” , I'm going to swing, I'm going to see where the ball is going, and I'm going to try to balance that swing and control it.”

'Novices don't know where the world is'

This tip focuses on getting the turf.

“If I was coaching a beginner,” Harrington said on the podcast, “I probably wouldn't let them hit the ball for a few months. That is extreme. I would let them pop and pitch, but in reality, I would find them swinging back and forth, and then I would find them hitting the ground.

“Novices don't know where it is. You have to be able to hit the ground. You have to be able to plan the field well with your team.”

'Face Awareness'

The third tip is tested to control the clubface.

“I'm giving them face-to-face awareness,” Harrington said on the podcast. “So that's really short, really open so they can start to fix that a little bit open, short, but they have to get face awareness.

“And I think that's a thing — and you only get face awareness by hitting crooked shots, by hitting big hooks and big cuts. You don't get them by hitting straight. Stop trying to hit the ball straight. That's going to happen three months down the road. It doesn't start like that.”

Editor's note: To listen to the entire podcast with Harrington, please click here.

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he's not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at [email protected].