Greetings Golfers,

Am writing this while watching the St. Louis – San Francisco playoff game. Last week after the Yankees beat the Orioles, I complained to a friend about the Yankees. He said “You have to tip your hat to the Yankees – they win every year.” Really? They have by far the highest payroll in baseball every year … must be a real challenge to win with an all-star team.

A good baseball swing is a lot like a good golf swing.

People are always telling me that their baseball/softball swing screws up their golf swing. Again, I want to say “really?” but I won’t/don’t. The golf swing is just the baseball swing going after a really low pitch.

Watch how major league hitters use their legs. Before the pitch, they’re moving around in the batter’s box. When the pitch is delivered, they pull in their outer leg to wind-up, then shift their weight forward by taking a step with the outer leg as they hit the ball with their hands.

Same with the golf swing – start your wind-up by shifting your weight to your back foot, then start your down swing by shifting your weight to your front foot as you hit the ball with your hands. Old-school golfers used to jump-start their golf swing by rocking their weight to their front foot so they could then rock back to their back foot. That move helped them wind-up with a natural rebound motion. Good baseball batters do the same thing with their outer leg.

If the St. Louis Cardinals win this playoff series, we’ll have a Tigers – Cardinals World Series. Am I the only one who remembers the 1968 Tigers – Cardinals World Series?

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com