Padraig Harrington’s “unconventional” step drill will help you be more athletic in the swing — and add more power to your game.
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Sequencing is one of the most important elements of the golf swing. When it’s off, it can throw everything completely out of whack, causing poor shots and power leaks. When it’s on, it’s the key ingredient to efficient and consistent ball striking.
For those who aren’t instruction nerds, sequencing can be described as the order in which everything moves during the swing. When you swing the club, different parts of your body (hips, torso, arms, etc.) move at different times. To get the most out of your swing, you need these parts moving in the correct order — or sequence. Proper sequencing is the reason that players like Fred Couples make the swing look so smooth. When everything is working in harmony, it makes the golf swing look effortless.
As we all know, though, the golf swing is far from effortless. It’s a constant struggle to get your different body parts moving in cohort — not to mention doing it repeatedly.
The golf swing can feel like a foreign move, even for the most athletically gifted among us. But it doesn’t have to. All you need to do is incorporate some feels from other sports in your swing to make your sequencing that much better — and add a little power in the process.
Padraig Harrington’s step drill
Padraig Harrington is one of the biggest swing nerds in the game. Over the last half decade, he’s dedicated himself to gaining swing speed (with great success) and even has a YouTube page filled with great instruction content. In another life, the Irishman would be a quaint instructor rather than a three-time major champion.
The great thing about Harrington’s instruction content is that it’s simple, straight to the point and easy to understand. You don’t need to be a swing nerd to speak his swing language. In the video above, Harrington shares his “step drill,” which is perfect for teaching proper sequencing.
“It’s much more natural to step,” he says. “If we were going to throw a ball, we’d step. Always, you’d be stepping. Essentially, it’s a good practice to hit shots when stepping.”
When you try to step during the swing, your athletic instincts take over — which improves your sequencing. If you’re going to step when hitting a shot, you’ll start your step (moving your momentum forward) before you even reach the top of the backswing. During a traditional swing, you want that sort of feeling as well, which is commonly referred to as “re-centering.
“You should be able to do that and not really feel like it’s alien or uncomfortable,” Harrington says. “You’ve got to practice that until it feels pretty normal to you.”
Taking some swings with the step is a great way to feel the proper weight transfer in the swing, which in turn improves your sequencing. And with the correct sequencing, it not only helps your contact and consistency, but your power as well.
“Just because it’s unconventional doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it,” Harrington says. “Most people will just hit the golf ball better by having that little step.”
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