Avoiding early extension
Ganne and Rudolph make big swing changes during the winter. This year they spent a lot of time doing two drills to avoid early extension. This faulty swing pattern causes the arms and club to get stuck behind the body during the downswing and forces the torso to rise and elevate through impact.
“Girls in their formative years at impact tend to go up on their tippy toes and over time learn how to stay back,” she said. “Male pros are heavy in their left heel at impact.”
Rudolph is an advocate of using ground force to generate power. In the first drill, Ganne leans against an exercise ball and a wall.
The goal is to not let her rear end come off the line when she swings. The ball shouldn’t fall off the wall until after impact. “In the old days, her butt would come off of here really early,” Rudolph said. “I’m trying to get her to feel her left heel at impact. To do that, we start at the top of her swing to get her to feel the left heel.
“The sensation that I’m trying to instill in her is if someone was standing there and pulling on the left pocket at impact.”