Carter Loflin’s ‘split grip’ drill, explained

Golf Digest

After hitting it great all summer, I got a small taste of pressure in my dad’s member-guest a few weeks back and bad habits started to creep in. Namely, dead pull hooks, which are hole-enders in match play. Closed clubface, coming over the top, all the bad things. At the U.S. Amateur on Friday, I noticed a funky pre-shot rehearsal Carter Loflin was doing before each shot where he placed his trail hand at the bottom of the grip, holding the club like a hockey stick. This is known as the “split grip” drill, one that Rory McIlroy has even used from time to time. I asked Loflin to explain it after he advanced to the semifinals on Friday, and it sounded like exactly what I needed at the member-guest. Oh, well (we wouldn’t have won, anyway).

This quirky pre-shot rehearsal worked wonders for Carter Loflin at the U.S. Amateur

If your clubface is too closed at the top, this drill should open you up.

By Christopher Powers

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Tod Leonard 

Brian Harman shared this brilliant thought about tour life on the bubble The former Open champion just narrowly made it into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, finishing the regular season at 65th in the standings. He’s projected to make a large leap thanks to rounds of 70, 64 and 69 in Memphis, though he’s still firmly on the bubble (51st in the FEC) to advance to the BMW next week. If he makes it there, he’ll be fighting just to get on the bubble of the Tour Championship next. As Harman put it Saturday, it’s no different than his life week-to-week on the PGA Tour.

Christopher Powers 

This is where it all went up in smoke for Logan Reilly. Up until the 12th hole on Saturday at the U.S. Amateur, nobody was having a better summer than Reilly. In June, the rising sophomore at Auburn made the clinching putt to help the Tigers win their second NCAA team title in three years. A few days later, he qualified for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. Then, this week at Merion, he reached the semifinals, setting up a match of hot hands against Jay Leng Jr., who has similarly had everything go his way of late. Leng led 2 up after 10, but Reilly closed the gap with a birdie to Leng's bogey at No. 11. Leng then found a divot with his drive off the 12th, while Reilly piped a drive dead center of the fairway, leaving a flip wedge in. Leng wound up hitting his second to about 15 feet, so Reilly went flag-hunting. Literally. What happened next was pure pain.

Christopher Powers 

An FSU teammate of Jack Whaley is not surprised by his U.S. Am run. Entering the week at 90th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Jack Whaley was hardly expected to make it to the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur at Merion. He barely did, surviving a 16-for-11 spots playoff. He’s since made it all the way to the final match on Sunday, a shock to everyone except those who have been paying close attention, like his Florida State teammate Drew Jones. Jones flew into Philadelphia Saturday to catch this Whaley run in action, and he said he’s not surprised at all that he’s playing so well at Merion. “The guy just peppers fairways,” Jones said.