The ‘single best tip’ for hitting clean instruments, according to Johnny Miller
Golf instruction is always changing, but the best advice is timeless. In GOLF.com’s series, Timeless Tips, we highlight the greatest advice from teachers and players in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we’re looking back at our September 2013 issue of Johnny Miller’s “single best tip” for improving your golf swing..
Few golfers in the history of the game have hit the ball as well as Johnny Miller – and that striking ability has served him well.
During his career, Miller won 25 times on the PGA Tour, including winning the US Open at Oakmont with a final round of 63. While younger golf fans may remember him for his work at the booth, it was his golf game that made him famous.
Back in 2013, the World Golf Hall of Famer contributed an article to it GOLD Magazine explaining his “single best tip” about hitting the ball.
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Miller’s best hitting tip
Even today, I still get nervous on the first tee or when I play with people I don’t know well. When I first arrived on Tour, I was always nervous, especially when I was facing a difficult shot, like hitting a fairway over the water or a long iron with a hard lie. So I came up with a drill – probably my single best tip! — to help me feel the most important parts of my swing and quickly build the confidence needed to get the shot off. I call it “brush-brush”, and I’m sure if you try it, you’ll hit better shots.
On the range, use the toe of your club to make a line in the grass, then center it over the line. Make a half swing and try to brush the grass on the target side of the line – not a big divot, just a small brush – and repeat. I do it twice in a row, because it sets a good rhythm: “brush-brush.”
Johnny Miller’s sage advice to never shoot out of bounds
By:
Zephyr Melton
It sounds simple, but in reality you have to do a lot of things right to brush the grass in the right place so that, when you do, you ride good machines. In addition, being successful in this drill will prevent you from holding back the ball, which is the fastest way to hit a really bad shot.
The trick is to get the butt grip even before the line before releasing your wrists and brushing the grass with the clubhead. Most beginners make the mistake of unclipping their wrists when the grip end is behind the line, and some players release the hinge when their hip is behind their right leg. But if you lead the clubhead with the handle and delay the pullback until the last minute, you get that cool, tour-style impact with a shaft that leans slightly on target with any iron or wedge.
This drill not only gets you in a better position for impact, it gives you first contact with the ball regardless of your lie. Anyone can make decent contact on a flat course, but on the course you’ll find uphill lies, downhill lies and lies where the ball is above or below your feet. Slopes like this tend to increase impact problems, and if you have the kind of swing that brushes the grass behind the ball, you’ll have no chance on anything but a perfect lie. Lead by the handle, and brush. I’ve been playing golf for 60 years, and this test beats them all.
