David Leadbetter and Ron Kaspriske - The A Swing: The Alternative Approach to Great Golf

The A Swing

THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO GREAT GOLF

DAVID LEADBETTER
WITH Ron Kaspriske
FOREWORD BY MICHELLE WIE

ST. MARTINS PRESS NEW YORK

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This book is dedicated to my family
my wife, Kelly, and children, Andy, Hally, and James
who always inspire me to be the best.

DAVID LEADBETTER HAS BEEN MY golf instructor since I was thirteen years old, and when I think back on our countless practice sessions and tournaments working together, our greatest successes came from our shared passion to reach my goals. At times in my career, setbacks and injuries have dampened my desire to practice and play. I bet youve had bouts of frustration with golf, too. Believe me, I know how infuriating this game can be. But instead of letting those frustrations get the best of me, we focused on that passion for the game, and that helped me win the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 2014. Obviously, I felt nervous in trying to win that tournamentespecially in the final round. But you know what else I felt? I was excited. I woke up on the morning of the final round and was so excited to get out there and play, with total belief in my abilities. I had a lot of fun. When the tournament was over, I couldnt wait to play the following week. Practice, too. I love going out there hitting balls and working on my game now. So my advice is that if your game has got you down, its time to make some changes to get your passion for golf back.

One thing that has made golf so much more enjoyable for me is knowing more about my golf swingits helped improve my consistency. Im hitting my driver with confidence. Im hitting more greens in regulation, and Im giving myself more chances for birdies. I know Im more consistent now because my swing has become more efficient and reliable. Theres not a lot of wasted motion. I focus on getting into a solid setup, fully coiling my body during the backswing while keeping my arm swing nice and compact. I am then able to swing back down into the ball with everything moving in sync. Weve worked hard on these principles, and they are the same fundamentals that make Davids A Swing so effective and such a great option for so many golfers.

Ive learned from David that no two golf swings are exactly alike, so what matters is finding a way to swing the club that makes it easy to repeatedly hit good golf shots. When I was growing up, I worked hard on my overall game, and my having plenty of power made golf relatively easy for me. But as I got older and my body started to naturally change, so did my swing. Part of the change came from dealing with injuries, but I also started to overthink things. The game became a lot harder as I tried to achieve perfection. But now I know that you cant be perfect. Instead, you should develop a technique, believe in it, work on it, and go out and play the game your way. What I have worked on with David is based on efficiency and an understanding of how my own swing works, and I know what to look for if something goes wrong so I can quickly fix it. Trust me when I say that you cant play good golf if you are focusing on swing mechanics the whole timeyou have to simplify things. The goal is to be able to stand over the ball and know youre about to hit a solid shot, straight to your target. Thats the case now with my swing. Sure I hit some bad shots, as every player does, but I dont worry about losing my swing. I focus on my basics and just go out and play. Thats what Davids teaching is all about. Hes always looking for a simple approach to improve a players confidence and make the game more enjoyable.

Im sure many of you know my journey in professional golf has had its ups and downs. But David and I never gave up on fine-tuning my game, so that it held up to the scrutiny of a final round in a major. You might never reach that plateau, but I believe youll find your own level of success if you follow Davids advice in this book and give the A Swing a try. If you do, I know you will have less frustration and youll find it a lot easier to play consistent golf. Now go make some birdies!

M ICHELLE W IE

Ive been teaching this game for over forty years and have worked with golfers of all abilities. It doesnt matter whether Im coaching someone trying to win a major championship (Ive coached nineteen major championship winners), or someone that simply wants to break 100; for me the thrill has always been to see that golfer succeed. Thats why Ive developed a different approach to swinging the club. I call it the A Swing, as in the alternative swing. The A Swing follows sound scientific principles; while visually it does not appear that different from a traditional swing, it is a far easier way to hit the ball consistently. I created it out of empathy for golfers who have struggled to reach their goals with traditional swing techniques. In the ensuing chapters, I will detail what makes it work, how simple it is to learn, and why it might just be your key to playing consistently better golf. Before I get to that, let me further explain why I developed the A Swing.

I believe golf is the most difficult sport to master. You might for a while have the recipe to playing well, but it never seems to last. One day the swing feels smooth and effortlessthe ball is sweetly struck and the shots are consistent. The next day, the motion can feel awkward and laboredthe ball seems to go anywhere but where you intend. This fuels both the mystery and allure of golf; we are not sure what to expect. It happens to all golfersthe complexity of the game makes it tough to be consistent, especially at the recreational level. Why is this, and why do we put ourselves through this kind of stress playing the game? What keeps us coming back? I think its because it is so exhilarating to hit a well-struck golf shot, where the swing feels fluid and everything goes right. Despite the games numerous complexitiesfrom the physical requirements of the golf swing; to being in the right frame of mind; to the dizzying equipment options; to the ever-changing weather conditions; to the varying course layouts, grasses, and lies; to the sheer number of different shots that need to be learnedwe somehow, sometimes, find a way to execute good shots. Every time we tee it up, we live in hope that this happens. Why is the game so elusive, we often ask ourselves.

Most golfers have learned through experience that their times of hitting the ball consistently well are fleeting. These are soon replaced by the times of frustration at playing poorly. I think thats the real issue for most golfers. They know they can hit good shots and play well at times, but are so inconsistent they get frustrated, not knowing what theyre doing wrong, trying several fixes, and often going from bad to worse. Even if they do know what the problem is, they typically dont have enough time to fix it. The pros have the advantage that aside from their talent, they practice for dozens of hours every week, more than a thousand hours each year, working on repetition. Most everyone else who plays the game simply cannot afford that time commitment. And dont forget, even if amateurs do find the time for practice, a lot of it should be spent on the all-important short game.