Hal Sutton Then, Hal Sutton Now

Over the past few years, Hal Sutton has elevated his game to a new level. After playing so poorly in the early 1990s to the point that he considered quitting, Hal has come back, and he may soon give Tiger a run for best-player-in-the-world honors.

So what did Hal do to turn his game around?
There have been a few things he’s done, and in fact, a couple of them are referenced in other tips on this site. But the most important change Hal made was the one he made to his backswing.There was an ESPN story in 1995 on Hal, soon after he began playing well again. He talked about what the major problem had been with his swing during his slump. He claimed that he was swinging the club too far to the inside on the backswing. He would roll the club around his body and the club would become very flat and "laid off" at the top of his swing. From that position, Hal faced two problems on the downswing:
He would severely pull the handle of the club down toward the ball, which would put himself in the "block" position... or
He would swing over the top, which is something the majority of high-handicappers do.

To correct this backswing problem, Hal kept the club in front of his body to start the swing. Instead of rolling the club around behind his body, he tried to keep the end of the grip pointing at his body as his club approached waist level. This carried over to a good position at the top of his swing and made his downswing much easier to execute properly.

By making this proper backswing, your club should feel "light" at the top because it will be supported by both of your arms. When the club gets laid off it feels very heavy, and doesn’t allow for maximum clubhead speed on the downswing. Also, having your arms in this powerful position at the top will allow for them to fall into the slot almost automatically on the downswing.

The following are a few quick tips you can take to the course to help you make the proper backswing:
Point the butt-end of the club at your right pant pocket as the club approaches waist level. You should be rotating your forearms clockwise slightly at this position as well. This will keep the clubface square.

Try to make your left elbow point toward the ground at the top of the swing.
Feel like your right arm stays above your left on the backswing. If you roll the club behind you, your left arm will be above your right arm

There are stories that Hal sometimes does the "split-hand drill" in his hotel room during tournament weeks. This is a drill where you separate your hands by a couple of inches and make backswing motions. It’s also called the "Ty Cobb" drill. It’s a great drill for keeping the club in front of your body and not allowing it to loop behind you.

So give these things a try and maybe you can find your game again, just like Hal Sutton did.

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