Teenager Natalie Gulbis has star quality, but she must fix her unorthodox swing
to avoid meltdowns like the one she suffered on Sunday
Courtesy of ESPN
By Derek
Hardy
One of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers
I've coached more than 20 LPGA players
and have a pretty good feel for a player's potential, and the sky's the limit
for 19-year-old rookie Natalie Gulbis. But to fulfill her promise, Gulbis has to
smooth out the rough edges of her homemade swing or she'll be prone to breaking
down under pressure, as she did during the final round of the Aerus Electrolux
USA Championship, outside Nashville. Leading by a stroke after 54 holes, Gulbis
butchered the first six holes with a bogey and two doubles and faded to eighth,
eight strokes behind winner Annika Sorenstam. Afterward, Gulbis admitted that
she had been overwhelmed by nerves, saying, "I shanked about 10 balls on
the range." Nobody's immune to butterflies, but a more technically sound
swing would've helped Gulbis to play through the
jitters.
IN PLANE SIGHT The images above illustrate Gulbis's problem. At the beginning of
the backswing she makes a huge shoulder turn away from the target, which is
fine, but her arms fly away from her shoulders instead of remaining in sync with
them (2). This causes the club to go too far outside the target line, and Gulbis
remains off-plane throughout the swing. Notice how her driver has crossed the
target line at the top of the backswing (3). To compensate for her jerky tempo
and disjointed movements, Gulbis must manipulate the club throughout the swing
to square the club face at impact. This leads to the kind of inconsistency that
can be fatal.
GOOD AS GOLD Another wide-eyed rookie, Ben Crane, 26, thrived in the Sunday
crucible at the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Classic, finishing second to earn
$518,400 and secure his card for 2003. Crane followed my golden rule: Never try
to fix your swing mid-round unless you hit three bad shots in a row and each
miss is the same. (Three hooks would qualify; a hook, a slice and a wormburner
would not.) Despite hitting only three fairways and five greens on the back nine
of the final round, Crane was smart enough to know his problem was nerves, not
his swing, and he scrambled to a two-under 33. "I made a couple of bogeys
and could've been frustrated," he said, "but I kept my swing thoughts
consistent all
day."
HEADS UP Like Gulbis, Sorenstam had a significant swing flaw early in her career:
She didn't have enough body rotation. To fix that, she began turning her head
toward the target at impact. Sound crazy? It's not. Keeping your head down too
long is an incorrect concept that far too many beginners are taught.
Hardy 69, teaches at two California courses -- Pelican Hill and The
Vintage Club -- and is one of Golf Magazine's Top 100
Teachers.
Courtesy of ESPN
