Eddie Merrins - The Little Pro with a big idea, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
Eddie Merrins - The Little Pro with a big idea, Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

Eddie Merrins was only a small guy but he had really big ideas on the golf swing. A really nice concept that I use in my teaching everyday is this idea that most good players you see have really good control of their forearms.

Often the best players are quite powerful in their forearms as well. You look at guys like Paul Casey, like big Popeye forearms. He really muscles the ball out there.

So what we’re looking for in a good address position, once you’ve got your fundamentals right, is how the forearms can control where the club head is pointing or where the shaft is pointing. If my right forearm is on top, the club face could come back outside the line and shoot. If my right forearm rolls in too much, the face is open and can be too inside, too flat.

It’s the forearms that can control where the club is going to. Then the forearms control the length of the backswing. When my left forearm bends, I’m in trouble. So I’ve got to create width using that left forearm to push nice, and high, and wide, and away. Down through the impact position, this is where the right forearm really takes over and releases aggressively over the top.

Now you might consider that, yes, the club head has to hit the ball. Are we focused on the club head or are we focused on what controls the club head? I would rather, if you’re struggling to control the club head, particularly if you’re slicing the ball and cutting the ball, focus on what controls that which is actually your forearms.

So rotating the forearms nicely in your downswing, feeling like it’s a powerful move of your right hand coming over the top, releasing the club head through to target. That’s a nice powerful position.

Merrins was also quite keen on making sure the club will swing on plane which is something that I like to talk about as well. I’ve had the club head tracked back on the ball to target line. The butt end of the golf club tracks back on the ball to target line as well. Keeping everything down the ball to target line means you’ve got a nice square swing path and swing plane.

Down the target line, big rotation of your forearms, and again, now the butt end picks up the ball to target line, tracks all the way down through the target. So if you want to control the club head, consider what controls that. That’s going to be your forearms. If you get control of your forearms, ultimately, you get control of your golf ball.

 2013-01-21

Eddie Merrins was only a small guy but he had really big ideas on the golf swing. A really nice concept that I use in my teaching everyday is this idea that most good players you see have really good control of their forearms.

Often the best players are quite powerful in their forearms as well. You look at guys like Paul Casey, like big Popeye forearms. He really muscles the ball out there.

So what we’re looking for in a good address position, once you’ve got your fundamentals right, is how the forearms can control where the club head is pointing or where the shaft is pointing. If my right forearm is on top, the club face could come back outside the line and shoot. If my right forearm rolls in too much, the face is open and can be too inside, too flat.

It’s the forearms that can control where the club is going to. Then the forearms control the length of the backswing. When my left forearm bends, I’m in trouble. So I’ve got to create width using that left forearm to push nice, and high, and wide, and away. Down through the impact position, this is where the right forearm really takes over and releases aggressively over the top.

Now you might consider that, yes, the club head has to hit the ball. Are we focused on the club head or are we focused on what controls the club head? I would rather, if you’re struggling to control the club head, particularly if you’re slicing the ball and cutting the ball, focus on what controls that which is actually your forearms.

So rotating the forearms nicely in your downswing, feeling like it’s a powerful move of your right hand coming over the top, releasing the club head through to target. That’s a nice powerful position.

Merrins was also quite keen on making sure the club will swing on plane which is something that I like to talk about as well. I’ve had the club head tracked back on the ball to target line. The butt end of the golf club tracks back on the ball to target line as well. Keeping everything down the ball to target line means you’ve got a nice square swing path and swing plane.

Down the target line, big rotation of your forearms, and again, now the butt end picks up the ball to target line, tracks all the way down through the target. So if you want to control the club head, consider what controls that. That’s going to be your forearms. If you get control of your forearms, ultimately, you get control of your golf ball.