Journey to the Worlds 2012 Unbroken Power Lines

My Journey to the 2012
World Long Drive Championship

What you are about to watch is the chronicle of my journey to the World Long Drive Championship. If you are not familiar with my Journey videos yet then what you are going to see is how I practice, train, and prepare for the biggest competition of the year. You will find something in every session that will help you practice better, train smarter, or compete better. Plus it is an interesting process, and one you could use to prepare for whatever your biggest event of the year will be.

I’ll be on the tee on October 18th, and the Finals will be broadcast on ESPN a week later on the 25th. Wish me luck!

I’ve already kicked off my training for the competition. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks working on fundamentals like Balance and Leverage. I’ve also been testing some new equipment – more on that in a bit.

I filmed a recent practice session where I focused on Core Connection to make sure my whole body was involved in the take-away, and that my arms stayed connected to my body during the downswing and finish. As you’ll see in the video, I then moved on to working on my Leverage position.

Just like Jack Nicklaus did every year to prepare for the season, I’m reviewing fundamentals. I don’t mind saying that I will be taking myself through my own training program – The 5 Keys To Distance. The whole program focuses on fundamentals, so I know I’ll be in technically sound shape to compete.

The core connection drill in the video is part of the advanced training section in the 5 Keys program. I particularly like to do this drill whenever my swing gets out of sync, or when I feel like my arms may be getting a little faster than the rest of my body. Right now I’m doing this drill to help with my take-away, and to help me make a bigger turn before my arms swing up to the top of the backswing.

Towards the end of doing the Core Connection drill, I then switch to working on rapid core turns. What that means is that the drill helps me make big core turn on the backswing, then I focus on turning my chest to the target as fast as possible. Since my upper arms are held tight against my chest with the towel squeeze, my arms can’t help but stay in good position. This helps me deliver more lag through the impact zone, and really helps me accelerate to the target after impact.

The next part of my practice focused on getting into and maintaining a good leverage position. I’m looking to feel my weight on the inside part of the ball of my right foot at the top of the backswing. From that position I can drive my shoulder to the target, making maximum use of the power in my core. And believe me, when I go up against bigger competitors at the Worlds, I’ll need to use all the power I have.