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Insight - Adjusting From A Life Of Hockey

Are Hockey Players Good at Golf? Fix 3 Swing Flaws

Are hockey players good at golf? They can be, but three familiar movement patterns may cause a sway, closed clubface, or upper-body lunge during the golf swing.

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Identify the swaying motion that affects your ball striking.
  • Understand how a closed club face impacts your swing mechanics.
  • Learn techniques to reduce upper body lunge during your swing.
Tyler Ferrell. Golf Digest Best Teachers in California, 2026-27. The only person named to both Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers in America and Best Golf Fitness Professionals lists. Author of The Stock Tour Swing.
Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000
This insight is adjusting from a life of hockey.

2
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.080
So, as I've been in Colorado here for a while, I've been working with more and

3
00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:10.000
more hockey players.

4
00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.560
They tend to have a pattern just like those tennis players, just like those

5
00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.000
baseball players tend to have a pattern.

6
00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:20.000
So, there's three major things that I see consistently with hockey players.

7
00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.990
It doesn't mean that you're going to see them with everyone, but if you're an

8
00:00:22.990 --> 00:00:24.000
ex hockey player

9
00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:28.000
and you struggle with these issues, hopefully this will help you understand why

10
00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:30.000
and give you some strategies to work on them.

11
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.690
So, the three major things that hockey players are going to do with the golf

12
00:00:33.690 --> 00:00:34.000
club

13
00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:38.000
is they are going to tend to sway a little bit off the ball.

14
00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.330
They're going to tend to keep the club face closed or restrict forearm rotation

15
00:00:42.330 --> 00:00:43.000
during the backswing,

16
00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:47.000
and they're going to tend to have a forward lunge of the upper body.

17
00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.000
So, these are three big movements that are helpful when I'm hitting a slap shot

18
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:51.000
,

19
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.000
but problematic when I'm swinging a golf club.

20
00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.000
So, the sway is essentially going to be this lateral movement

21
00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.000
and typically their initiation, which would be good with a hockey stick,

22
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:08.000
is going to be that closed face and they will have some of the most closed face

23
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000
of anybody who I've ever measured on 3D,

24
00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.000
but they'll tend to have closed face with a little bit of a sway

25
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:19.600
as opposed to rotating and kind of letting my upper body turn into my trail

26
00:01:19.600 --> 00:01:20.000
side.

27
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000
They tend to stay a little bit more lead side bent,

28
00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000
which by itself can make it problematic for hitting the driver

29
00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:33.000
unless I have this major jump on the way down, which a lot of them tend to do.

30
00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.220
The other one that I've seen more and more and from talking to one of my ex

31
00:01:38.220 --> 00:01:39.000
hockey players,

32
00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:42.000
he says that this is actually encouraged in hockey of the sports.

33
00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.000
This is one of the few that I never really played,

34
00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.610
but during the hockey slap shot, you're going to want to have your upper body

35
00:01:49.610 --> 00:01:50.000
drifting

36
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.000
towards the net during the entire time.

37
00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.000
You're not going to want to post up and go like so

38
00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:01.000
because you have the tendency to fan or swing over top of the puck.

39
00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.000
This upper body covering movement like so

40
00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:09.000
tends to let you hit behind it and then keep the blade close to the ice

41
00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.000
as it goes through the puck.

42
00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000
When it comes to golf, this can cause big time angle of attack issues

43
00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:21.000
as well as forcing you to cast both to hold off some of this face rotation

44
00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:25.000
and to shadow out the club from this steep upper body movement.

45
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000
They tend to struggle with what I think are some of the more annoying problems,

46
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:33.000
one of which being fat wedges.

47
00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:37.000
Because I'm taking it away closed and I'm forward lunging like so,

48
00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:41.000
I'll tend to fall into this early extension pattern late

49
00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:44.000
and get the path coming too much from the inside.

50
00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:49.370
Now with a hockey slap shot, I can hit behind it and that actually helps with a

51
00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:50.000
slap shot,

52
00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.000
but the problem is with a golf club, if I do that, if I come from the inside

53
00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.950
and have the club bottom out behind it, I'll typically get leading edge strikes

54
00:02:57.950 --> 00:02:58.000
,

55
00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:02.940
so I'm going to get laying side or I'm going to pull my arms in and I'm going

56
00:03:02.940 --> 00:03:04.000
to blade it.

57
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:10.000
So if you're working on getting out of hockey and becoming more of a golfer,

58
00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.000
one of the things that I would recommend is working on this stable pivot,

59
00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.000
which we teach during the backswing in the transition section,

60
00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:23.000
and then working on having a little bit more forearm rotation on the way back.

61
00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:31.970
By letting it open up kind of like so, it'll allow you to square it without

62
00:03:31.970 --> 00:03:33.000
using that forward lunge.

63
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:38.000
And that forward lunge can be great for iron play,

64
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.000
it can be great for a few specific shots, but typically hurts your wedges,

65
00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.090
typically hurts your driver, and so I think it's kind of one of those problems

66
00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:47.000
you want to get out of.

67
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.090
So if you're coming from hockey, you've got to learn to let the clubface rotate

68
00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:51.000
a little bit more,

69
00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:56.000
you've got to learn to stabilize your pivot, and usually you'll have to work on

70
00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:56.000
a little bit

71
00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.000
of this early extension pattern, but if you do, I promise you can find that

72
00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:02.000
this game is just as fun

73
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:07.000
and a lot less dangerous, something that you can do well into your older years.

74
00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:11.000
So good luck adjusting from a life of hockey into a life of golf.
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
Tyler Ferrell. Golf Digest Best Teachers in California, 2026-27. The only person named to both Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers in America and Best Golf Fitness Professionals lists. Author of The Stock Tour Swing.

Insight - Adjusting From A Life Of Hockey

Are Hockey Players Good at Golf? Fix 3 Swing Flaws

Are hockey players good at golf? They can be, but three familiar movement patterns may cause a sway, closed clubface, or upper-body lunge during the golf swing.

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Identify the swaying motion that affects your ball striking.
  • Understand how a closed club face impacts your swing mechanics.
  • Learn techniques to reduce upper body lunge during your swing.
Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000
This insight is adjusting from a life of hockey.

2
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.080
So, as I've been in Colorado here for a while, I've been working with more and

3
00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:10.000
more hockey players.

4
00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:13.560
They tend to have a pattern just like those tennis players, just like those

5
00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:15.000
baseball players tend to have a pattern.

6
00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:20.000
So, there's three major things that I see consistently with hockey players.

7
00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.990
It doesn't mean that you're going to see them with everyone, but if you're an

8
00:00:22.990 --> 00:00:24.000
ex hockey player

9
00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:28.000
and you struggle with these issues, hopefully this will help you understand why

10
00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:30.000
and give you some strategies to work on them.

11
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.690
So, the three major things that hockey players are going to do with the golf

12
00:00:33.690 --> 00:00:34.000
club

13
00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:38.000
is they are going to tend to sway a little bit off the ball.

14
00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.330
They're going to tend to keep the club face closed or restrict forearm rotation

15
00:00:42.330 --> 00:00:43.000
during the backswing,

16
00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:47.000
and they're going to tend to have a forward lunge of the upper body.

17
00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.000
So, these are three big movements that are helpful when I'm hitting a slap shot

18
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:51.000
,

19
00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:54.000
but problematic when I'm swinging a golf club.

20
00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.000
So, the sway is essentially going to be this lateral movement

21
00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.000
and typically their initiation, which would be good with a hockey stick,

22
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:08.000
is going to be that closed face and they will have some of the most closed face

23
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.000
of anybody who I've ever measured on 3D,

24
00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.000
but they'll tend to have closed face with a little bit of a sway

25
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:19.600
as opposed to rotating and kind of letting my upper body turn into my trail

26
00:01:19.600 --> 00:01:20.000
side.

27
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000
They tend to stay a little bit more lead side bent,

28
00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000
which by itself can make it problematic for hitting the driver

29
00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:33.000
unless I have this major jump on the way down, which a lot of them tend to do.

30
00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.220
The other one that I've seen more and more and from talking to one of my ex

31
00:01:38.220 --> 00:01:39.000
hockey players,

32
00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:42.000
he says that this is actually encouraged in hockey of the sports.

33
00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.000
This is one of the few that I never really played,

34
00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.610
but during the hockey slap shot, you're going to want to have your upper body

35
00:01:49.610 --> 00:01:50.000
drifting

36
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.000
towards the net during the entire time.

37
00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.000
You're not going to want to post up and go like so

38
00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:01.000
because you have the tendency to fan or swing over top of the puck.

39
00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.000
This upper body covering movement like so

40
00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:09.000
tends to let you hit behind it and then keep the blade close to the ice

41
00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:11.000
as it goes through the puck.

42
00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000
When it comes to golf, this can cause big time angle of attack issues

43
00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:21.000
as well as forcing you to cast both to hold off some of this face rotation

44
00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:25.000
and to shadow out the club from this steep upper body movement.

45
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000
They tend to struggle with what I think are some of the more annoying problems,

46
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:33.000
one of which being fat wedges.

47
00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:37.000
Because I'm taking it away closed and I'm forward lunging like so,

48
00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:41.000
I'll tend to fall into this early extension pattern late

49
00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:44.000
and get the path coming too much from the inside.

50
00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:49.370
Now with a hockey slap shot, I can hit behind it and that actually helps with a

51
00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:50.000
slap shot,

52
00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.000
but the problem is with a golf club, if I do that, if I come from the inside

53
00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.950
and have the club bottom out behind it, I'll typically get leading edge strikes

54
00:02:57.950 --> 00:02:58.000
,

55
00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:02.940
so I'm going to get laying side or I'm going to pull my arms in and I'm going

56
00:03:02.940 --> 00:03:04.000
to blade it.

57
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:10.000
So if you're working on getting out of hockey and becoming more of a golfer,

58
00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:13.000
one of the things that I would recommend is working on this stable pivot,

59
00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.000
which we teach during the backswing in the transition section,

60
00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:23.000
and then working on having a little bit more forearm rotation on the way back.

61
00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:31.970
By letting it open up kind of like so, it'll allow you to square it without

62
00:03:31.970 --> 00:03:33.000
using that forward lunge.

63
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:38.000
And that forward lunge can be great for iron play,

64
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.000
it can be great for a few specific shots, but typically hurts your wedges,

65
00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.090
typically hurts your driver, and so I think it's kind of one of those problems

66
00:03:46.090 --> 00:03:47.000
you want to get out of.

67
00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.090
So if you're coming from hockey, you've got to learn to let the clubface rotate

68
00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:51.000
a little bit more,

69
00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:56.000
you've got to learn to stabilize your pivot, and usually you'll have to work on

70
00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:56.000
a little bit

71
00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.000
of this early extension pattern, but if you do, I promise you can find that

72
00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:02.000
this game is just as fun

73
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:07.000
and a lot less dangerous, something that you can do well into your older years.

74
00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:11.000
So good luck adjusting from a life of hockey into a life of golf.
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.