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Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Your Body Pivot with the Windmill Drill

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Understand how to pivot your body correctly for better swing alignment
  • Practice the Windmill Drill to maintain arm positioning during your swing
  • Develop a consistent body motion that improves contact with the golf ball

In this video, you'll learn the Windmill Drill to enhance your body pivot without the distraction of a golf club. This simple movement will help you regain control and direction in your swing mechanics.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.920
This drill is the windmill drill for your body pivot.

2
00:00:04.920 --> 00:00:10.320
So oftentimes golfers whether novice or if you've been playing for a while you

3
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:10.880
can lose

4
00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:14.280
the identity or you can lose the direction of your pivot.

5
00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:17.260
So what we're going to do here is we're going to work on the body motion

6
00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:18.840
without a club.

7
00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:22.300
So I'm going to put a golf ball in my normal ball position and then I'm going

8
00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:22.880
to drop my

9
00:00:22.880 --> 00:00:27.720
club and I'm going to bring my arms out to my sides just like this.

10
00:00:27.720 --> 00:00:33.610
Now the windmill in this case is going to involve my body pivoting so that my

11
00:00:33.610 --> 00:00:34.400
arms when they

12
00:00:34.400 --> 00:00:38.670
stay out to my sides, my left arm is going to point at the golf ball and then

13
00:00:38.670 --> 00:00:39.200
my right

14
00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.080
arm is going to point at the golf ball.

15
00:00:41.080 --> 00:00:45.860
And if you were to look at the keys here, the keys here are that my arms stay

16
00:00:45.860 --> 00:00:46.440
in line

17
00:00:46.440 --> 00:00:47.560
with my body.

18
00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:51.840
So I'm not just going like this, this would be just moving my shoulders.

19
00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:56.200
I want my shoulders to kind of get locked in place and then I'm going to use

20
00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:56.920
the angle

21
00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.530
of my pivot so that my shoulder and hand are pointing down to the golf ball and

22
00:01:00.530 --> 00:01:01.000
then my

23
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.040
shoulder and hand are pointing down at the golf ball.

24
00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:08.060
Just like if I was going like this up here but I'm going to be angled down at

25
00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:08.720
the golf

26
00:01:08.720 --> 00:01:09.820
ball.

27
00:01:09.820 --> 00:01:14.210
And because I'm angled down to the golf ball, the magic of how to do this

28
00:01:14.210 --> 00:01:15.280
correctly is I'm

29
00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.660
not just going to rotate, a lot of golfers rotate around, even though you get

30
00:01:19.660 --> 00:01:20.360
bent over

31
00:01:20.360 --> 00:01:24.400
into a good position, a lot of golfers rotate around a vertical axis.

32
00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:28.350
So that looks like if I had my arms out to my sides and I rotate around a

33
00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:30.380
vertical axis,

34
00:01:30.380 --> 00:01:35.560
you'll see that my belt stays parallel to the ground and my body is actually

35
00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:36.160
moving a

36
00:01:36.160 --> 00:01:40.280
lot off the ball and then a lot through the ball on the way through.

37
00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:44.260
So there's a lot of upper body variability that's going to give me contact

38
00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:44.920
issues and

39
00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:46.880
take away some power.

40
00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:52.820
Instead, if I do this correctly, when I make a backswing, the right hip is

41
00:01:52.820 --> 00:01:53.960
going to come

42
00:01:53.960 --> 00:01:57.390
up, the right shoulder is going to come up, the left shoulder and left hip are

43
00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:57.800
going

44
00:01:57.800 --> 00:01:58.880
to go down.

45
00:01:58.880 --> 00:02:03.800
So I'm basically turning around this angle just like so.

46
00:02:03.800 --> 00:02:08.420
And then I can get used to the rhythm of it of feeling like the hips lead the

47
00:02:08.420 --> 00:02:09.040
arms and

48
00:02:09.040 --> 00:02:11.580
kind of make the arms swing.

49
00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:16.000
So working on the backswing, right hip goes up, right shoulder goes up, working

50
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:16.400
on the

51
00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:20.980
way through, left hip goes up, left shoulder goes up, right hip goes down,

52
00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:22.040
right shoulder

53
00:02:22.040 --> 00:02:23.040
goes down.

54
00:02:23.040 --> 00:02:26.980
This gets me into this really good follow through position where it looks like

55
00:02:26.980 --> 00:02:27.360
I just

56
00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:30.120
turned right around my spine angle.

57
00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.700
So this is a great drill for dialing in your body pivot or working on kind of

58
00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:35.600
simplifying

59
00:02:35.600 --> 00:02:37.680
your body pivot at home.

60
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.870
Once you have a good idea of this feeling of a body pivot, then I want you to

61
00:02:42.870 --> 00:02:43.520
try and

62
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:45.240
apply that to a 9-3.

63
00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:48.110
So now I'm just going to make a triangle with my arms where they're connected

64
00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:49.080
on my chest

65
00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:54.500
and now I'm going to raise my right hip and right shoulder in the backswing.

66
00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:58.720
And then on the way through, I'm going to raise my left hip and left shoulder.

67
00:02:58.720 --> 00:03:01.000
Now that one, I hit a little bit thin.

68
00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:02.520
I could feel on the way through.

69
00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:07.560
I didn't quite get that right shoulder down and that left hip up.

70
00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:11.640
So I'm going to do my windmill again.

71
00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:13.200
That was a little bit better follow through.

72
00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:16.600
If I drop the club and put the arms out of the sides, that's pretty close to

73
00:03:16.600 --> 00:03:17.160
pointing

74
00:03:17.160 --> 00:03:18.160
at the golf ball.

75
00:03:18.160 --> 00:03:21.870
If it's anywhere between pointing at the golf ball and let's say one to two

76
00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:22.600
feet out for

77
00:03:22.600 --> 00:03:26.200
a mid-iron, that's a pretty good model.

78
00:03:26.200 --> 00:03:30.550
Just make sure if you change clubs that you get set up so that as the clubs get

79
00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:31.200
longer,

80
00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:33.240
this windmill gets just a little bit flatter.

81
00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:37.250
So for the driver, it might look like this and with your wedge, it might look

82
00:03:37.250 --> 00:03:37.880
like that.

83
00:03:37.880 --> 00:03:41.800
But overall, this is going to help you train that centered pivot in an easy way

84
00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:42.440
at home.

Have questions?

Ask Mulligan for help

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Related topics
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Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Your Body Pivot with the Windmill Drill

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Understand how to pivot your body correctly for better swing alignment
  • Practice the Windmill Drill to maintain arm positioning during your swing
  • Develop a consistent body motion that improves contact with the golf ball

In this video, you'll learn the Windmill Drill to enhance your body pivot without the distraction of a golf club. This simple movement will help you regain control and direction in your swing mechanics.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.920
This drill is the windmill drill for your body pivot.

2
00:00:04.920 --> 00:00:10.320
So oftentimes golfers whether novice or if you've been playing for a while you

3
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:10.880
can lose

4
00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:14.280
the identity or you can lose the direction of your pivot.

5
00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:17.260
So what we're going to do here is we're going to work on the body motion

6
00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:18.840
without a club.

7
00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:22.300
So I'm going to put a golf ball in my normal ball position and then I'm going

8
00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:22.880
to drop my

9
00:00:22.880 --> 00:00:27.720
club and I'm going to bring my arms out to my sides just like this.

10
00:00:27.720 --> 00:00:33.610
Now the windmill in this case is going to involve my body pivoting so that my

11
00:00:33.610 --> 00:00:34.400
arms when they

12
00:00:34.400 --> 00:00:38.670
stay out to my sides, my left arm is going to point at the golf ball and then

13
00:00:38.670 --> 00:00:39.200
my right

14
00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.080
arm is going to point at the golf ball.

15
00:00:41.080 --> 00:00:45.860
And if you were to look at the keys here, the keys here are that my arms stay

16
00:00:45.860 --> 00:00:46.440
in line

17
00:00:46.440 --> 00:00:47.560
with my body.

18
00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:51.840
So I'm not just going like this, this would be just moving my shoulders.

19
00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:56.200
I want my shoulders to kind of get locked in place and then I'm going to use

20
00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:56.920
the angle

21
00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.530
of my pivot so that my shoulder and hand are pointing down to the golf ball and

22
00:01:00.530 --> 00:01:01.000
then my

23
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.040
shoulder and hand are pointing down at the golf ball.

24
00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:08.060
Just like if I was going like this up here but I'm going to be angled down at

25
00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:08.720
the golf

26
00:01:08.720 --> 00:01:09.820
ball.

27
00:01:09.820 --> 00:01:14.210
And because I'm angled down to the golf ball, the magic of how to do this

28
00:01:14.210 --> 00:01:15.280
correctly is I'm

29
00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.660
not just going to rotate, a lot of golfers rotate around, even though you get

30
00:01:19.660 --> 00:01:20.360
bent over

31
00:01:20.360 --> 00:01:24.400
into a good position, a lot of golfers rotate around a vertical axis.

32
00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:28.350
So that looks like if I had my arms out to my sides and I rotate around a

33
00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:30.380
vertical axis,

34
00:01:30.380 --> 00:01:35.560
you'll see that my belt stays parallel to the ground and my body is actually

35
00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:36.160
moving a

36
00:01:36.160 --> 00:01:40.280
lot off the ball and then a lot through the ball on the way through.

37
00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:44.260
So there's a lot of upper body variability that's going to give me contact

38
00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:44.920
issues and

39
00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:46.880
take away some power.

40
00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:52.820
Instead, if I do this correctly, when I make a backswing, the right hip is

41
00:01:52.820 --> 00:01:53.960
going to come

42
00:01:53.960 --> 00:01:57.390
up, the right shoulder is going to come up, the left shoulder and left hip are

43
00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:57.800
going

44
00:01:57.800 --> 00:01:58.880
to go down.

45
00:01:58.880 --> 00:02:03.800
So I'm basically turning around this angle just like so.

46
00:02:03.800 --> 00:02:08.420
And then I can get used to the rhythm of it of feeling like the hips lead the

47
00:02:08.420 --> 00:02:09.040
arms and

48
00:02:09.040 --> 00:02:11.580
kind of make the arms swing.

49
00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:16.000
So working on the backswing, right hip goes up, right shoulder goes up, working

50
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:16.400
on the

51
00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:20.980
way through, left hip goes up, left shoulder goes up, right hip goes down,

52
00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:22.040
right shoulder

53
00:02:22.040 --> 00:02:23.040
goes down.

54
00:02:23.040 --> 00:02:26.980
This gets me into this really good follow through position where it looks like

55
00:02:26.980 --> 00:02:27.360
I just

56
00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:30.120
turned right around my spine angle.

57
00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.700
So this is a great drill for dialing in your body pivot or working on kind of

58
00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:35.600
simplifying

59
00:02:35.600 --> 00:02:37.680
your body pivot at home.

60
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.870
Once you have a good idea of this feeling of a body pivot, then I want you to

61
00:02:42.870 --> 00:02:43.520
try and

62
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:45.240
apply that to a 9-3.

63
00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:48.110
So now I'm just going to make a triangle with my arms where they're connected

64
00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:49.080
on my chest

65
00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:54.500
and now I'm going to raise my right hip and right shoulder in the backswing.

66
00:02:54.500 --> 00:02:58.720
And then on the way through, I'm going to raise my left hip and left shoulder.

67
00:02:58.720 --> 00:03:01.000
Now that one, I hit a little bit thin.

68
00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:02.520
I could feel on the way through.

69
00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:07.560
I didn't quite get that right shoulder down and that left hip up.

70
00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:11.640
So I'm going to do my windmill again.

71
00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:13.200
That was a little bit better follow through.

72
00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:16.600
If I drop the club and put the arms out of the sides, that's pretty close to

73
00:03:16.600 --> 00:03:17.160
pointing

74
00:03:17.160 --> 00:03:18.160
at the golf ball.

75
00:03:18.160 --> 00:03:21.870
If it's anywhere between pointing at the golf ball and let's say one to two

76
00:03:21.870 --> 00:03:22.600
feet out for

77
00:03:22.600 --> 00:03:26.200
a mid-iron, that's a pretty good model.

78
00:03:26.200 --> 00:03:30.550
Just make sure if you change clubs that you get set up so that as the clubs get

79
00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:31.200
longer,

80
00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:33.240
this windmill gets just a little bit flatter.

81
00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:37.250
So for the driver, it might look like this and with your wedge, it might look

82
00:03:37.250 --> 00:03:37.880
like that.

83
00:03:37.880 --> 00:03:41.800
But overall, this is going to help you train that centered pivot in an easy way

84
00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:42.440
at home.

Have questions about this video?

Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.

Ask Mulligan
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
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