A new approach to understanding and improving your swing
As a golf instructor Jim Hardy is one of the best. Among his notable achievements, he is the originator of the “1-plane or 2-plane swing” philosophy that captured the attention of teaching professions when introduced ten years ago. Hardy is the type of teacher who wants the student to know not just the how, but the why and this is the theme of his latest book.
Hardy is not one to mince words as shown by the book’s title – “SOLID CONTACT: A Top Golf Coach’s Guide to Learning Your Swing DNA and Instantly Striking the Ball Better Than Ever.”
He believes if golfers have the proper knowledge they can take control of their own swings not just attempt to copy something someone says. What works for one golfer will not necessarily work for another for elementary reasons such as body type, degree of athleticism, flexibility, experience, etc.
In SOLID CONTACT, Hardy first explains that no two golf swings are the same (he likens golf swings to DNA strands) and that there is no universally right or wrong way to do it—there is just the way that works best for you. He then establishes the principle that every golf shot is the product of three actions: the swing, the swing’s impact and the impact’s resulting ball flight.
Each miss within those actions is either a plus or a minus. Hardy applies this plus and minus system then to the elements of the swing. Readers then are shown how to refer to the appropriate charts for what needs to be done to tailor their actions for an improved swing and therefore to shoot lower scores.
Sound simple doesn’t it and it is. However at the same time the golfer who wants to improve must be sure to study exactly what Hardy is saying about the parts of the swing as it applies to him and then adopt the proper compensations it in the proper way.
For example employing descriptive language, charts and line drawings, Hardy teaches the reader how to self-diagnose golf shots by answering three basic questions: What is the shape of the shot?, what is the shape of the divot? and what adjustments are needed to improve the swing…as I said simple.
SOLID CONTACT: A Top Golf Coach’s Guide to Learning Your Swing DNA and Instantly Striking the Ball Better Than Ever (Gotham Books, March 15, 2012, $27.50
