Cobra Get Fast Go Low
Editor Mike Harris focuses on fitness and strategy next in his year-long
Throughout 2019, editor Mike Harris has immersed himself in a comprehensive ‘Get Fast, Go Low’ campaign with COBRA PUMA Golf, eager to get his faltering game back on track. Phases one and two saw a full driver-to-wedge custom-fitting followed by swing advice from the brand’s Youtube coach, Alex Elliott. In phase three, Mike focused on fitness, looking to build on the Theraband exercises Alex introduced in his lesson. “The stretching work with the Theraband has really helped,” Mike told Alex, “not in terms of scores yet, but I’m definitely hitting it further off the tee and am hitting my irons better as a result of improved flexibility.”
“The important thing about fitness is understanding that our bodies can limit how we’re able to swing the club,” Alex explained. “If you’ve got a shoulder injury, for example, it may limit your
ability to release the club. It’s about understanding what stretches and mobility exercises we can do to improve our bodies and how we swing. You don’t have to be like Brooks Koepka, but rather in the best physical shape for you so you can swing it your best. It’s understanding your body’s limitations and how you can improve things a little to find those marginal gains.” You can watch the exercises Mike and Alex tried on the Golf Monthly website or Youtube channel.
The pair then headed to the range at West Hill in Surrey for a swing check before venturing out for three holes so Alex could gauge how effectively Mike was managing his on-course thinking.
Swing check
Alex had adjusted Mike’s posture to be less on the heels and this was now much improved, as was the backswing, which was too much on the inside. The downswing remained an issue. “Mike was still a little out-to-in, mainly with an open face but sometimes with face matching path, leading to a pull,” Alex explained. “We worked on influencing path and face via an exaggerated drill in which I wanted Mike to feel he was dropping the club down more underneath the plane with a strong face. You then find the middle ground between this and what you’re currently doing. I then put an alignment stick a little ahead of Mike and asked him to start the ball right of it. This does the same thing but Mike can replicate this on the course using a blemish or divot.”
Course management
They then headed out, with Mike keen to see if Alex could shed any light on his occasional big numbers. You can watch all of Alex’s advice on Golf Monthly’s website or Youtube channel, but here are three pearls of strategy wisdom...
Honest risk assessment
On the tough par-4 3rd Mike drove it high and right leaving himself 260 yards out with a big tree in the way. He still felt he could keep it under the branches and also clear a stream further down to chase it close to the green, but Alex overruled! “You get a shot here, Mike. Yes, we might get it close to the green one in ten times, but eight times out of ten you could easily pop it out to the left, wedge it on, make your five for two and move on. Ask yourself realistically, how many times could you pull the shot off?” Mike did as requested, making bogey on a difficult hole. Damage limitation rather than unwise risk.
Thinking zone & game zone
On the 4th tee, Alex introduced Mike to the thinking zone and game zone, with all preparation done in the former behind an imaginary line. Alex advocated one practice swing using the exaggerated movement they’d worked on and one ‘for real’ practice swing before stepping into the game zone, taking one look at the target and pulling the trigger: “I’m not suggesting rushing, but the less time we spend over the ball, the better,” he told Mike.
Aim small, miss big
The par-5 5th has a generous fairway, which Alex flagged up as a potential danger: “The guys on tour sometimes hit their widest shots on wide fairways, whereas when they’ve got a high-tariff, narrow fairway it gives them something to hone in on.” Mike honed in on the fairway cut centre line, so when he then hit it a touch right, he was still ideally placed in the right of the fairway. Aiming small allows you to miss a little bigger.
* Check back soon to see how Mike is benefiting from the ‘COBRA Connect Powered by Arccos’ shot-tracking system built in to all of his clubs.