Steve Stricker currently has the second round lead at the Memorial Golf Tournament after a hole-in-one on the 17th hole. Continued great play by Steve after loosing his tour card in 2004 and being voted PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year in 2006 begs the questions: Just what did Steve Stricker discover that turned his game around?
Sometime between 2002 and 2004 I decided to follow Steve for an entire round at the now defunct U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had heard about Steve since he was a high school player in Edgerton, WI. and I was curious to see a local player who had made it to the PGA tour. To my amazement, Steve proceeded to hit a duck hook off the first tee. I ended up following other players that day.
To break out of this slump, Steve spent the winters until his 2006 comeback in the practice trailer at the Cherokee Golf Club (friends of mine who hit balls there confirmed seeing him practice there). Just what did Steve Stricker learn in the practice trailer that turned his game around?
The common analysis of the duck hook (Steve must have been hitting a lot of these) is over-active hands in the hitting area. In the video commentary above by Wayne DeFrancesco and in a golf digest swing sequence (here) what Steve seemed to have learned was that you can hit the golf ball with enough power and with improved accuracy using a stiff-wristed action controlled by a big body turn (the swing thought might be "wrists firm, rotate"). I have tried this with mixed results (probably because I have trouble rotating without getting my hands stuck behind me). Firm wrists also seem to help putting and chipping, another area where Steve is strong.
Given Steve's continued good performance, it suggests we all try to firm up our wrist action a little and see what happens.
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