* BY MIKE BARGE * Mike Barge is the Director of Instruction at Hazeltine National GC and a Class A member of the PGA of America. ✗ ✔︎ TIPS FROM THE PROS Precluding Course Corrections Avoid the need for mid-swing fixes with the correct club head position on your takeaway. W hen making corrections in your golf swing, it's important to know where to look and what to feel. Too many of us make a mistake early in the backswing and then try to recover from there. With the time it takes to swing the club, the proper adjustments are nearly impossible. The most common mistake I see is the club head moving too far inside in the backswing. Two things can happen from there and both are bad. The club stays too far inside coming down, which causes pushed shots and hooks or the club reroutes too much to the outside and causes pulls and slices. Ideally, the club head needs to stay outside the hands during the first few 8 feet of the backswing. Watch how many tour players, especially recent PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, rehearse this move during their preshot routine. They realize the importance of this position and how it can simplify the downswing. Practice this in front of a mirror until it becomes a natural move. MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2022 mngolf.org PHOTOS: MATT SEEFELDThttp://www.mngolf.org