The golf professionals Piers Ward and Andy Proudman, better known as MeAndMyGolf, know a thing or two about links golf.
They’re not only among the internet’s favourite golf swing experts, they also coach the DP World Tour and PGA Tour winner Aaron Rai who won the 2022 Scottish Open on the linksland of East Lothian at the Renaissance Club.
In this video for TaylorMade Golf the two reveal how to hit one of the most rewarding shots in links golf – the running draw.
“We’re on the 17th hole at Royal Birkdale,” says Ward, “which is a monster par-5 at 570 yards.
“We’ve got bunkers on the right hand side at 313 yards and mounds on the right and the left.
“It’s a slight dog leg round from the right to the left.
“So Andy, if we can get a low running draw from this tee we can get about 50 yards run on the fairway and make it a two shot par-5.”
Ward has set the task and now it is Proudman’s turns to put theory into practice.
“Yeah, it’s important to keep the ball low so it’s not effected by the wind,” he explains.
“I really want to get the ball down on the ground and running to get the most out of this shot.
“There’s two things I’m going to do to get the low draw,” he explains.
“The first thing I’m going to do is tee the golf ball a little lower than usual. This is going to help me get that slightly lower launch angle.
“The key to getting this low shot is creating a low dynamic loft on the club when we hit the golf ball.
“So what I want to do to help is, I’m going to move the ball position a little bit further back in my stance and in my golf swing I’m going to feel that the lead wrist is a little bowed at impact.”
It’s important to view the video at this stage. The back of the glove – and therefore the back of the hand – is angled down towards the ground.
“This is going to keep the loft off the club and get the ball coming out extremely low,” says Proudman.
“Now all I need to do now is bring the draw component into it.
“I’m going to aim the club at the target but aim my feet towards the right, with the ball position back, and to finish it all off I’ll abbreviate my finish to keep that golf ball low and running down that fairway.”
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