Nick Piastowski
Brian Mogg wants to tell you about his college mate. Obviously, he was better than most; played college golf.
But about the left thumb of that righty.
If you look at it from Mogg’s point of view, it stayed around the 5 o’clock position – and it led to some unpleasant results.
“In the end he had to have total wrist surgery,” said Mogg, “because the level of pressure was so bad because the thumb was bent on his left hand.”
The GOLF Magazine Top 100 teacher was talking about a video that was recently posted on his Instagram page – which you can watch in full here – and the topic was not surprising. Ideally, Mogg said in the video, he’d like to see a left wrist bone over the grip, but he said players often struggle with thumb placement. Does it rest at that 5 o’clock position, the way a one-time college colleague used to put it? Or at 6? Or 7? It’s a subtle movement in the scheme of a good golf swing, but done wrong, Mogg says, it can lead to a poor swing.
In the video, he had a tip to help.
Hold with your left hand and hold the bit under your left index finger and your left thumb, at the point where those two fingers create a ‘V’ in your grip.
“Okay, so you take the tee,” Mogg said in the video, “you put it in there, and now you’re changing and keeping that pressure point there so that connection between the thumb and the index finger – that muscle right there, is really important on my clubface.
“If there is a gap there, it will break due to influence. You put that tee there, next thing you know, you’ll be able to maintain some safety at impact at high speed. “
Readers of this space know that I’m eager to see where my game is when I read a tip, and this tip made me feel different. I gave it to you. My grip looked good. The tee didn’t fall. (I’ll continue to work on ‘a handful’ of other things that need work, though.)
Let’s continue the conversation with Mogg. my partner, GOLF.com Instructional Editor Nick Dimengo, wrote in June of 2023 about how he had his first lesson with an instructor, and you can find that story by clicking here, or by scrolling quickly below.
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Whether you are a new player or have been in the game for decades, we all have our own golf habits. Of course, that doesn’t always mean they’re a good variety.
Unfortunately, I just discovered this during my very first golf lesson, when GOLF Top 100 teacher Brian Mogg broke down every aspect of my game, giving me the cold, hard truth to make me a better player.
Now, look, it wasn’t easy to be told that I’ve been playing golf wrong for the past 26 years. It blew my mind, and made me overthink everything I did, knowing that Mogg was watching me like a hawk as I tried to use the instructions during my first lesson.
But the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? Well, here’s how dealing with my bad golf habits during that lesson helped me cut strokes in my game.
Understanding my bad golf habits
In a previous article, I mentioned what my swing sequence has been like. For years, I’ve been blamed for having two bad shoulders from a moped accident in high school (seriously!). But after working with Mogg, he gave it to me frankly.
He actually told me it was an excuse, and the real reason I wasn’t always converted was sheer laziness – not a word I’ve ever associated with myself, but, hey, it was true!
I was making life difficult for myself by trying to use my arms more than using my core and hips to my advantage. This caused me to fall out of plane and open my clubface – that’s why I encountered many pieces, especially with my driver and fairway woods.
I was also holding the club incorrectly in my swing, starting with a weak grip. Mogg fixed this, changing it to a firmer grip, which helped to give more of a draw than fear to the piece.
The video above shows a little progress, as you hear Mogg say near the end, “Draw. Great, but where did football begin?”
Although that first attempt was not good, the next turn produced amazing results.
As the video below shows, I hit a pure 3-wood down the middle of the driving distance, reaching about 270 yards after roll. With immediate results, I knew it was time to stick to the tips Mogg gave me.
Once I knew what I was doing, it was time to go to work and implement the changes, which was not easy at first.
How tackling these golf habits has improved my game
After a lesson with Mogg, he just joined me for nine quick holes. No, he didn’t break morale as a golf instructor, which was both terrifying and helpful to clean up some of my bad golf habits.
In addition to adjusting the shift during my first lesson, he told me about a few other things that were adding unnecessary strokes to my scorecard.
Sets the setup
Are you left eyed or right eyed? If you don’t know, it’s worth finding out – because it can cause a lot of chaos when you’re laying.
In my case, Mogg discovered that I was left-eyed, which meant I had to keep that eye behind the ball. I had never done this before, which had a negative impact on my stroke.
Standard setup
As the picture below shows, Mogg took a picture and sent specific instructions on how to improve my normal setup.
At first I was leaning too much, which resulted in me trying to push the ball rather than hit the ball. The clubface of my putter was not swinging in pendulum, and I was so stressed that I blocked the path of the putter’s club through impact.
Instagram/Ndimego
By using the tips above, I have much better control of my putter. The tension in my hands is gone, and I can move more freely – which really helps me manage my distance.
Adjustment of the tee box
Whether you already knew this or not, one thing Mogg told me was to get my ball to one side when the flag was on. As basic as this seems, Mogg assured me that it would help put me in a better position in my work photography. It allows for some forgiveness when you hit a bad shot, and it also rewards you for your good shots.
Getting my trigger to shoot earlier
Throw away those swing thoughts and step up with confidence in your golf ball. Unfortunately, many novice players do the opposite, and instead let their mind run wild. I was guilty of this, overthinking my setup, my alignment, my angle of attack, and how I would react if I missed it.
Dear Nick, stop criticizing!
This is where the trigger shot is most important. Mogg told me it could be subtle – he tightens the strap on his glove as he approaches his shot, which locks him in and gets him into his shot.
I’ve started doing the same thing to get more comfortable before each shot, as I take a breath, stare down the middle of the fairway, swing the club in front of me to loosen my wrist, and confidently step up to hit the ball. No practice, no overthinking, just doing!
Creating a short game
Raise your hand if you always find yourself using some type of wedge when you’re near the green. Makes sense, right? A high lofted club provides some protection from bad shots, allowing the mishit to produce a good result.
But Mogg reminded me that not all shots are created equal.
How are lies? Is the ball buried? Is it above or below your feet? Do you need to run a little to get your chip in the hole, or is a flop shot necessary? These were all the things Mogg kept asking me during each hole, telling me to stop thinking about the next shot and be in the moment.
On one occasion, he told me to use a 5 iron when I was about 6 from the green, trying the chip-putt technique. I squeezed, opened the clubface, put the ball where he told me (about 18 inches in front of the green) and watched the ball roll to within four inches of the cup.
Look, I have a long way to go in realizing the consistent points I expect from myself. But as I’m working on breaking 80 for the first time at the end of this summer, I’m closer today than I was last week, having already shaved almost two strokes off my game. It required me to be honest with myself, and trust the process – because it won’t happen overnight.
Of course, my very first lesson was a complete crash course in golf instruction. But it led me to break some of the bad golf habits that were negatively impacting my scorecard.
