Back To The Future

These Instant Fixes Have Stood The Test Of Time.

- Claude Harmon III

IN A LOT OF WAYS, golf has changed since my grandfather, Claude Harmon, was giving lessons in the 1960s and ’70s. Equipment is massively different, and athletes playing on the PGA Tour barely resemble the crowd Jack and Arnie were dominating during the Lyndon Johnson administration. But the lessons he shared in magazines such as Golf Digest and Sports Illustrated (that’s my grandfather and father, Butch, demonstrating the same tip on past covers of Golf Digest, left) are proof of an important point: Good fundamentals are timeless. Here are five I’m revisiting from one of my grandfather’s other articles, starting with this one (opposite page). He tended to hook the ball, so he liked to feel his hips sliding forward before rotating, which held off the clubface from shutting too quickly. To try it, make a backswing with the club in your lead hand only, and then push your hips with your other hand toward the target as you start the downswing. It’s also a great drill if you tend to hit off your back foot, as it trains you to shift forward in the downswing and strike the ball on a good angle of attack. —WITH MATTHEW RUDY

GRIP BASICS

HOLD THE CLUB IN THE FINGERS