Tiger Woods had just won the Masters, his 15th major. So why, during his next major start at the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, was he hitting balls from such a messy spot on the driving range?

That’s because he was doing it on purpose.

Going through my phone last week, I came across this old video of Tiger hitting golf balls on the driving range, with a smattering of golf balls outside his right foot. I noted it at the time, and below is an updated explanation of what’s going on here:

Basically, Tiger is using those golf balls as a visual cue: a reminder not to let your hips slide too far outside the golf balls.

Visual cues are really effective because they help you swing a certain way without making it feel forced or restricted.

Tiger’s primary issue at the time was a balky back. At the time, Tiger talked a lot about how his lower back would cause him to slide his hips away from the ball too much, rather than turning and loading into his trail hip.

Why this works

This fault was a way of relieving pressure on his back, but cost him power and consistency. And as we know from recent 3D golf swing data, sliding away can be really problematic for golfers:

  • When you slide your hips away from the ball, you generally move your swing arc too far behind the ball, too, which can cause chunks and tops.
  • Sliding, as Tiger explains in that clip above, can also prevent you from turning.
  • On average, tour players move their hips about 1.5 inches away from the target on their takeaway, but have moved back to almost where they started by the top of the backswing.
  • By impact, tour players on average have moved their hips almost five inches towards the target.

All of which is to say: Basically, if your hips move too far away from the ball, they won’t make it back in time. Which is why Tiger’s drill is so handy. Don’t slide outside the golf balls, turn around them.