Your woods, irons and wedges are built with specific lengths and lie angles, which demand that you stand to the ball a little differently for each one. The secret is to know which elements of your address position remain constant, and which ones you have to tweak to match the club in your hand.
We know you can bunt, Mick. You're not down here to bunt. You're here to get some hits and get your swing back.
The offseason after the 2014 season, I worked with hitting coach Damon Mashore. I always had power in batting practice but couldn't take it into a game consistently. We made a little adjustment with my hands, lowered them a bit to get a consistent path to the ball, a natural uppercut to elevate the ball and backspin some balls.
The one unbreakable rule about hitting is this: if a batter hits well with his own particular stance and swing, think twice - or more - before suggesting a change.
Art said he wanted to get more distance. I told him to hit it and run backward.
The big thing I noticed from High-A to Double-A is that when you have an advantage count as a hitter, you're not going to get as many fastballs. Adjusting to the 2-0 changeup, that 3-1 off-speed pitch - things like that. I think my swing can stay the same; I just was getting myself out.
For a 7-iron, you never want the ball to be closer to your left heel than just slightly ahead of the mid-point of your stance. That's especially true if you're a tall player, like me.
Obviously, there's not as much flex in a wood bat as in a metal bat, so I'm still trying to adjust to that.
When I introduce my basketball friends to golf, I tell them to just swing halfway. The power is the easy part.
We actually flattened my putter 1.5 degrees. I have a long-neck putter and it was weird because they flattened it, but it got my hands more vertical and into the position I wanted them to be in.
From the rough, I'd use a 6-iron, play the ball back an inch or two and swing down on a steeper angle to catch the ball first. It also helps to aim slightly left and open the clubface at address. You'll get more height on the shot, and the club will cut through the grass more easily.
I love watching Anthony Kim play, but I'm not a fan of the way he grips down a good two inches on his full-swing shots. Choking down lightens the club's swing weight and effectively makes the shaft stiffer. It also makes it difficult to hit the ball high enough for all situations.
I started changing my swing in late 1999.
For so many years, I was watching my tee shots slide hard to the right. I used to think I was hitting a draw at times, and the ball was still curving to the right! I still prefer to play a little fade, but I've had to recalibrate my visuals.
When I was getting overly 'droppy,' that's when I was hitting shots left and right. That's what we were doing, so maybe if my swing was a touch flatter, I wouldn't drop the club as much.
With shorter clubs, your ball position should be just back of middle, to really promote hitting the ball first on a downward strike.
Joe Torre would tell you to make sure you can hit the ball on the outside part of the plate.
I used to turn my shoulders pretty level, which a lot of golfers think is correct. But that made my swing too shallow coming into impact, so my contact was picky, especially off the turf.
I had a baseball swing my whole life. When I was growing up, everyone had a different, very specific softball swing that was very short. And I had a big stride and I had, you know, a baseball swing, and people did not like it.
My posture is changing constantly with different length clubs. I have to. Whether it's subconscious or not I'm still changing. That's going to put another variable. I said, 'Why can't we make the lengths all the same?'
Our hitting coaches have done a great job of understanding when I don't look right at the plate and getting me back on track.
I'm always just grinding and figuring out what adjustment I need to make and how to tweak my swing to where I want it to be for that game and that pitcher.
I love watching Anthony Kim play, but I'm not a fan of the way he grips down a good two inches on his full-swing shots. Choking down lightens the club's swingweight and effectively makes the shaft stiffer.
