Have you got the bottle to improve your swing?

Take a look at the first picture.

As you will clearly see I have placed the bottle just next to my right heel.

The idea now is to make your normal downswing motion, and miss the bottle.

But if you start with your “upper body” then you will tend to “fall back” at the point of impact - and wrongly knock the bottle over.

It is like the ball of the right foot “spinning” on the ground - as if it was trying to “stub out” a cigarette.

When this happens the heel kicks out, and knocks the bottle over.

Naturally when the golfer falls back at the point of impact, loss of direction/power is the name of the game.

In terms of direction, using a more lofted club will typically send the ball well to the left of target, and a less lofted one will send it flying the other way.

Now have a glance at the second picture.

As my downswing motion started correctly from “the ground up” my right heel simply lifts up, and completely misses the bottle.

This also means that the swing plane, and swing direction is working properly.

Another good sign that the downswing sequence is working correctly is, when the right shoulder is nearer to the target than the left one, at the end of the swing.

This is often referred to as a good “right side release” - if the upper body starts the downswing movement, both shoulders tend to be very level at the finish point.

So there we are, a simple little drill to test your “ bottle” for good golf. Good luck as always, trying it out before the next medal.

NEXT WEEK’ COLUMN: Scoopy Doo

This year’s Open Championships takes place at Royal Troon for the ninth time.

Here’s one for golf trivia buffs. The first two championships at Troon were won by England’s Arthur Havers in 1923 and South Africa’s Bobby Locke in 1950 but the six winners since then have all been Americans. How many can you name? Answer next week.