I have been noticing PGA Tour players are starting to set up open to their target. The first time I noticed it was happening was at the 2015 Players Championship. Ricky Fowler was set-up beautifully open in all his level shots. Then I noticed that it wasn’t just Ricky and Bubba. There were a dozen guys doing it… I mean – appreciably open.
Even Jordan Speith, though not set up open, struggled mightily after his Master’s victory when, as he acknowledged, his alignment had become closed. There now appear to be a spate of high-profile golfers setting up open. Check it out next time you watch a tournament.
Then, most recently, Sean Foley wrote and article about the power of intention in the November 2015 Edition of GOLF Digest. He applied it to focusing one’s attention. Whether he got it from Deepak Chopra or my application of it to the golf swing… it looks this site is becoming more relevant to the golfing world every day. Why did it take four years?
The whole reason golf swings fall apart is due to the inconsistent alignment of the feet in relation to the ball and the target. I think golf professionals have ignored the importance of set-up to their own benefit for fifty years. I am cynical about it, of course. But cynicism, on its own, does not make the claim untrue.
In reality, I am paying a back-handed compliment to the intelligence of golf professionals everywhere by suggesting they know enough to ignore set-up. As a PGA Member, I suppose am complicit in the dodge. In for a penny, in for a pound, you know? Be that as it may….
I am getting the most remarkable results from all … I mean EVERY dedicated student I have. This philosophy does NOT FAIL to get results. Also, look for my now-released E-Book, The Open Stance and Three Short Game Lessons, to expand on the theme of my writings.
The secret in the open stance is not really a secret. We knew already. We just forgot. Forty years after being thrown off the scent, I began reintroducing the world to the Open Stance.
We have prominent examples of the open stance at the highest level of golf…
Bryson Dechambeau, Ricky Fowler, Bubba Watson, Patrick Cantlay, Charles Howell, and many others play from an Open Stance. These guys are long hitters and renowned ball-strikers/shot shapers. Some set up wildly open, which I love. However, their genius is the expression of their intention – their unique solution. Their golf swings are the epitome of “Athleticism”. Their choice of an Open Stance is the vehicle for their journey.
However, it’s not as though the Open Stance is a new concept. We have numerous examples from throughout golfing history of great ball-strikers setting up open. Bobby Jones set up open to his target. Watch his short film with Jimmy Cagney. It’s really a beautiful piece of work.
Jack Nicklaus is perhaps the best example of the efficacy of the open stance with a neutral grip. Mr. Nicklaus played the ball forward in his stance, producing a very vertical plane and a ball flight that was called a fade, but would drift to the right – almost imperceptibly, as it fell to the ground. Certainly his choice of set-up would be the only one needed for proof, but there is one more example that is even more compelling….
Lee Trevino was and is a great champion, and he chose an open stance set-up. Lee is also widely regarded as the finest ball-striker of all-time (No disrespect to Ben Hogan et.al.). The Merry Mex is a blocker with a strong leading-hand grip. He was shorter off the tee, but absolutely deadly with the accuracy of his golf ball strike. His video will return to this site. When it does, enjoy the video, and then click on Kostis.
Fred Couples is an Open Stance stalwart and ball-striking legend. Fred switched to an open stance in the last twenty years. As a result, he remains very long off the tee and is also, now known as a great ball-striker well into his fifties. Additionally, his back problems seem to have subsided.
This last video, emceed by the velour voice of Charles Beren, outlines the thesis that gave birth to the secret.
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