Why the U.S. Women's Open champ is having a breakout year (and what you can learn from it)
October 2014
Winning the U.S. Open in June... it still
seems surreal. When I was growing up, I wanted to win that tournament
so badly, and now that I have, I'm still trying to come to grips with
the long road it took to get here. I've had incredible experiences this
season—it's been a real breakthrough for me. Besides winning the Open, I
won another LPGA Tour event (the Lotte Championship), finished second
in the season's first major (the Kraft Nabisco) and third in two other
events. So why now? Why, at age 24, almost nine years after I turned
pro, am I playing my best? Well, a lot has changed about my game and my
attitude toward golf. In talking to my coach, David Leadbetter, we
believe it's a combination of factors that has made the difference—five,
to be exact. We'd like to share those things here, in hopes that they
can do for you what they did for me. What I've learned from my
turnaround can be summed up in a quote from Winston Churchill: "A
pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the
opportunity in every difficulty."
1. I'M LOVING HITTING DRIVER
This year I'm really taking advantage of my length off the tee. I used
to pull out a fairway wood or hybrid on tight holes, but I've reached a
point where I don't care that I'm not going to be that player who hits
14 fairways. I'm going to be in the trees sometimes. But as long as my
drives go somewhat in the right direction, I'm good with that. And
besides, I'm not so bad out of the trees.
2. I'M PHYSICALLY STRONGER
I used to think I had strong legs, but when I started working with my
trainer, David Donatucci, we found that wasn't true. I was a long hitter
when I was young, but my lack of lower-body strength made me
inconsistent. So I really got focused on making my legs, glutes and hips
stronger, and now my swing is more stable. That means I can
consistently hit the ball hard. I don't have to force myself to get into
good positions. Now it comes naturally.
LEADBETTER: If you're going to hit it long, your lower body
has to help out. It needs to be stable when you take the club back, so
you can wind your upper body. And it has to provide support and leverage
the ground when you swing down to help generate clubhead speed. Golfers
should spend a good portion of their workouts strengthening the lower
body, specifically the quads and glutes, to improve their technique.
3. MY SWING IS EASIER TO REPEAT
When I was a kid, I had an extra-long swing like so many juniors do. But
a while back I sat down with David [Leadbetter] and told him my No. 1
goal was consistency. That led to shortening my swing, making it more
compact. I don't take the club back as far as I used to with my arms,
but I'm still making a full turn and generating a lot of torque. It's
much easier to control the ball when you don't have a long arm swing
that relies on timing. There's less chance I'll make a mistake and hit a
bad shot now that my swing is shorter.
LEADBETTER: Consistency comes from no wasted motion. A
three-quarter-length arm swing with a full upper-body turn will help you
hit the ball solidly time after time. The shortened swing also will
help you keep the club in front of your body coming down. That makes it
easier to square the clubface at impact and hit the ball on line.
4. MY PUTTING STYLE WORKS
I get a lot of comments about my putting posture. David likes to call it
"table-top putting," because I'm so bent over. I used to putt standing
tall, but I had a really hard time connecting to the ball. I couldn't
see the line as well or feel comfortable with my distance control. This
style puts me lower to the ground, so I can see the line. It also helps
eliminate any wrist action. I don't know if I'll keep doing it, but for
now it's working for me.
LEADBETTER: This is the one area of the game where you can be
individualistic. If an unconventional style or grip feels right, go with
it. No one ever criticized Jack Nicklaus for his hunched-over putting
stance. But whatever you choose, make sure to take the hands out of the
stroke. You want to rock your shoulders without independent hand
movement.
5. I GOT MY PASSION BACK
I love golf again. I can't wait to get out on the course and practice. I
remember a time when it was grind, grind, grind, and I didn't see any
results. Now I'm seeing results, and that's partly because of my
attitude. Plus, I know much more about my swing. The ball is doing what I
want it to do. That breeds confidence. Now when things go wrong, I know
why, and I can fix them. In other words, I can just play.
LEADBETTER: Whether you're fighting through an injury or have
had a spurt of bad play, it's easy to sour on the game. Remind yourself
why you started playing golf: You enjoy it. Draw on the swing thoughts
that worked when you were playing better, and try to stay upbeat. Your
game will come around.
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