T-Time Podcast // Ep. 74: (Pt 1) 21 Death Moves in Golf with Justin Klemballa
Ever found yourself frozen over the golf ball, your mind buzzing with so many thoughts that your swing becomes stiff, and your shot goes wayward? That’s what Jim McLean calls a “Death Move”, and there are 21 of these moves that can completely wreck your golf swing! Jim writes about all 21 Death Moves in his book, "The 8-Step Swing".
In the first of this 3-part series, Justin Klemballa, who was mentored by McLean himself, discusses the first 7 of these 21 death moves in golf, starting with the paralysis of overthinking.
Identifying the Death Moves
When it comes to these death moves, there are no misconceptions. If you spot any of these moves in your golf swing, it's crucial to take immediate action to eliminate them. Klemballa likens these moves to poison or disease that infects your swing, requiring your entire swing to compensate for the damage caused.
While the moves are not presented in any particular order, Klemballa suggests filming your own swing at home with a face-on and down-the-line view. This way, as you listen to the series, you can analyze your swing and see if any of these death moves are present.
The First Seven Death Moves
1. Freezing Over the Golf Ball
Many players fall victim to this move by overwhelming themselves with an excessive number of thoughts and a checklist of things they need to do in their swing. As a result, tension builds up in their bodies, hindering their chances of swinging well.
When you freeze over the golf ball, you hold yourself back from fluid movement and allow tension to take over. The mental and physical buildup of tension only sets you up for failure before you even hit the ball. Klemballa compares freezing over the ball to excessive thinking, highlighting that even the best rounds of golf are often achieved without overly analyzing the swing. In fact, the most successful golfers tend to have just one swing thought, which can vary from round to round.
To break free from freezing over the ball, Klemballa suggests adopting good player mannerisms. These include incorporating movement before hitting the ball, such as a waggle (moving the club back and forth to feel its weight) and jostling the feet (shifting weight back and forth). Additionally, focusing more on the target rather than fixating on the golf ball helps maintain fluidity in the swing.
2. Moving Your Head Toward the Target
Moving your head towards the target during the golf swing is a death move that can sabotage your chances of success on the course. This move often leads to a reverse pivot, causing imbalance and instability in your swing. As Justin explains in the podcast, this inclination to lean towards the target can be observed during the backswing, where the golfer dips and tilts their head, ultimately compromising the flow of their swing.
"There's no good side to this move." - Justin Klemballa
To address this death move, Justin suggests a helpful practice drill utilizing your shadow as a guide. When you're at the driving range during early morning or late afternoon, take advantage of your long shadow. Face your shadow and focus on keeping your head relatively still as you swing back and through. By visually observing whether your head moves to the right or left of your shadow or stays relatively still, you can identify any excessive head movement toward the target.
This move is particularly common when using longer clubs, such as drivers, where golfers often try to generate more power by tilting towards the target. However, as Justin points out, this inclination only results in leaning back into the back foot and compromising balance. It's essential to recognize that moving your head towards the target offers no benefits to your swing and actively hinders your chances of success on the course.
3. Overextending in the Backswing
This occurs when golfers try to create width in their swing by disconnecting their upper left arm from their upper torso and reaching excessively in the backswing. This move intends to achieve a wide backswing, but it often leads to moving too much off the ball, compromising balance and stability.
When you overextend in the backswing, you create excessive movement and disconnection in your swing. It results in an "armsy" swing, where your arms are disconnected from your body and operate independently. As a consequence, your body lags behind, waiting for the arms to come back into sync, disrupting the overall rhythm and coordination of the swing. This disconnection can also cause the swing to become more upright, leading to a steeper club path.
To address this death move, Justin suggests a helpful drill used by renowned golf instructor Jim McLean. Simply tuck your shirt slightly underneath your left armpit during the backswing to maintain the connection between your upper left arm and upper torso. This subtle cue helps ensure that everything works together in harmony.
4. Avoiding the Open Club Face in the Backswing
For all the slicers out there who struggle with consistently slicing the golf ball, avoiding the death move of an open club face in the backswing is crucial. This move often occurs when golfers rotate their hands too much in a clockwise position during the backswing, causing the club face to open up excessively. Justin explains in the podcast that this leads to a state of recovery in the swing, making it challenging to make solid contact with the ball.
The misconception that rotating the club face open in the backswing will help square it at impact is a common belief among many golfers. However, this excessive rotation only results in an open club face early in the swing, putting the rest of the swing in a constant struggle to correct this openness. It often leads to an over-the-top motion or a slashing motion with the upper body and arms, further complicating the swing.
To avoid this death move and create a more consistent swing path, it's essential to focus on maintaining a similar angle between the club and the spine during the backswing. Rather than relying on excessive hand rotation, let the club, arms, and shoulders work together as one piece, like a synchronized unit, ensuring a smoother and more controlled swing.
5. The Powerless Backswing
This one stems from a misconception that originated from Jim McLean's book, "The X Factor." The idea behind it was to resist hip rotation in the backswing while turning the shoulders. However, many golfers took it to the extreme, resulting in a death move where the hips remain static, and the upper torso rotates with limited movement. This leads to an upright swing and a powerless backswing.
To unleash power in your swing, you need proper hip rotation. By keeping the hips stationary during the backswing, you lose the opportunity to generate energy and create a smooth, powerful motion. Golfers who fall victim to this death move often experience difficulty getting the club on a plane and struggle with consistency.
A fantastic drill to help you overcome this issue is called the "Right Hip Pocket Back." Imagine your right hip pocket moving straight back during the backswing, creating a gentle turn. This subtle movement allows the club to get into a better position and enables you to approach the ball from the inside for a more effective strike.
6. Getting the club into an extremely closed position.
Death move number six addresses the issue faced by golfers who struggle with hitting low left shots and cannot achieve the desired trajectory. This problem is often caused by a closed clubface. When the clubface remains closed throughout the swing, it leads to a state of recovery, requiring additional compensations to fix the swing. To avoid this death move, it's essential to maintain a square clubface at the proper angle during the backswing.
Many beginner female golfers, in particular, tend to incorrectly hinge their wrists and end up in an extremely flexed or bowed position, which closes the clubface. This positioning carries into the backswing, resulting in an excessively closed clubface at the top. Consequently, when they come through the ball, the lack of loft causes low shots that consistently veer left.
To rectify this issue, it may be necessary to practice the opposite extreme. If you have a closed clubface, experiment with starting to open the face slightly during the swing. Imagine your right hand attempting to catch raindrops, allowing the face to naturally open up. While this might feel like an overcorrection, it helps break the pattern of a closed clubface and brings you closer to a square position.
7. Taming the Clubface at the Top
This once again revolves around the clubface. This time, we tackle an issue that slicers often face—a clubface problem at the top of the swing. When the toe of the club points straight down, it indicates that the left wrist is extended and cupped, resulting in an excessively open clubface.
Understanding what the correct position should look like can be a challenge for many golfers. It's crucial to have a visual reference to refer to when working on your swing. Ideally, at the top of the swing, the clubface should be roughly on a 45-degree angle, neither pointing too far up towards the sky nor down towards the ground.
To tame the clubface and avoid this death move, focus on maintaining a square clubface position. A flat or slightly flexed left wrist can help ensure that the face remains in a more closed position. Although cupping the left wrist may provide a bit of extra backswing, it opens the clubface, leading to potential slicing issues.
Next episode, we are going to look into death moves 8-14. So stay tuned!
Connect with Our Guests
Justin Klemballa:
Instagram | Paradise Valley Country Club | Forest Highlands Golf Club
Connect with us on your favorite social platform:
Subscribe to our FREE Female Golfer Facebook Group:
First T Crew [Behind the Scenes of Women’s Golf]
Get in touch!
Instagram:
TikTok:
YouTube:
Website:
Be sure you are subscribed to our podcast to automatically receive the NEW episodes weekly!!!
