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The Most Important Drill in Golf
By Hunter Brown -  Oct 20, 2017 

First, let me say that I hate blanket statements in golf instruction. There are so few absolutes in the golf swing, which is why recommending one thing for all golfers is usually one of the most detrimental things you can do as an instructor. With every rule there is an exception, however, and I believe this drill to be that exception.

A ton of golf instructors, commentators, and average golfers have noted throughout golf history that there are hundreds of different combinations of golf swings that can produce world-class results. Even today, it is very difficult to find any commonalities that hold true, for all, or even a large percentage of PGA Tour players. I am here to tell you that much smarter scientists and biomechanists than me have discovered a very important commonality. Based on this commonality, I believe this is the most important drill for every golfer.

A picture of golf masters' individual swings always amazes me, and it’s proof of why function is so much more important than form in the golf swing. It always keeps me grounded as an instructor, and even as a player, to not always sweat the minute details of form. I know for a fact that all the golfers in the photo can hit the same shots when necessary despite the differences in their swings. When I was on tour with TrackMan, I saw all sorts of players hitting the same exact shot and delivering the same exact club path and face angle at impact. They were doing it in a multitude of ways, however, and none of their full club numbers were exactly the same. Having said that, there is one commonality between them all.

So, what is the drill? All I want you to do is figure out how to hit straight shots with your non-dominant hand on the club. If you’re a right-handed golfer, use only your left hand. If you’re left-handed golfer, use only your right hand. All I want you to accomplish is to start the ball on line. Distance does not matter. I know this sounds really easy, but I know the first time I ever tried it I thought it was almost stupid. Boy was I wrong.

What you will find out pretty quickly is that this drill is not easy. Almost all golfers who first try it will either struggle making contact or always start the ball way right of the target line. There is some pretty in-depth science about why this happens, but I will try and explain things in the simplest terms possible.

In the swing sequence above, I’m demonstrating what happens when a golfer first tries this drill. The club face is open throughout the downswing and even more open at impact, which causes the ball to start significantly to the right of the target. There are a couple of reasons why this happens. When swinging with only my left hand, I don’t have enough strength to rotate my forearm or left wrist in time to square the club face. So when I pull the butt end of the grip down toward the golf ball in transition to try and create power, the club face remains open and the ball starts right.

Now, look at my second swing above. The ball started on target and was hit well. Hopefully, you notice quite a difference between these two swings. As you can see at impact, the club face is square and the ball therefore starts on target. You may be asking yourself, what is the trick?

In the second swing I am creating passive torque to help square the clubface. I know… I probably just lost you. What is passive torque? Well, in simple terms, I am creating a relationship between the club's center of mass and the force I am applying to the grip that naturally helps square the club face up at impact.

For all of you familiar with this topic, I may not be saying it 100 percent accurately, but I want to try and describe it in a way most golfers can understand. If you are looking to fully understand this relationship and how it happens, I suggest you look up the work Dr. Sasho MacKenzie has completed. In the frames below, you can see a better representation of what the club head and shaft are doing differently in the two swings.

As you can see in Swing #1 [pics skipped, sorry], I start to pull the butt end of the grip down toward the golf ball at the top of the backswing. This begins to steepen the shaft and open the club face through the transition. At this point, I do not have the strength with only my left hand to square the face, so the club face remains open and the ball starts right.

In Swing #2 [here too, sorry], you can clearly see that in early transition the club head and shaft shallow while the club face remains square. I am accomplishing this by relaxing my left hand and feeling like the left wrist bows in transition. Now that I have created passive torque, the club head wants to line up at impact and the face is square. It's important to note that just because I am creating this look or relationship does not mean I am going to only hit draws. Plenty of drawers and faders of the golf ball create this relationship. Just look at Ben Hogan or Lee Trevino if you don’t believe me.

So why is this important?

According to the research from Dr. Sasho MacKenzie, all but one PGA Tour player he has measured has this relationship in the early transition. That means it's very difficult to be a world-class ball striker if you don't create this relationship in the early downswing. That's why I believe this drill to be the most important drill in golf. Even if you already have this relationship, I think it is helpful to revisit this drill in your practice. I would compare it to taking a daily multivitamin. It really can’t hurt you, even if you're eating all the right foods.

The vast majority of golfers I see on a regular basis have no concept of this motion, which is why I consider this drill to be something than can help everyone. It’s a blanket statement I can get behind. This drill is easy, fun, and it won’t cost you anything to practice. And most importantly, it can be a game-changer.