ARDMORE, Pa. — Before each full-swing shot, U.S. Amateur semifinalist Carter Loflin places his trail hand at the very bottom of the grip, holding the golf club almost like you would a hockey stick. He takes one full practice swing with that grip, then takes his normal grip and quickly strikes. Loflin calls it a "split grip," and there's a very good reason he keeps repping it over and over again, both on the course and on the range.
After advancing to the semis on Friday, defeating Brandon Knight, 3 and 2, Loflin said the drill helps him because he's always struggled with a shut clubface at the top of the swing. "I'm super bowed," Loflin said. "I get across the line and I get really bowed. Across the line shut club face is like death for a drawer, and I like to move the ball right to left." RELATED: Everything you need to know about the U.S. Amateur semifinalists That he does. Sometimes too far left, something Loflin struggled with early in his match against Knight before he settled in after a clutch par chip-in at the fifth hole. After that, he began to stripe it, making four birdies en route to victory. The whole way, he repped the "split grip" before each shot.
The feel is something Loflin and his coach, Scott Hamilton, have been working really hard on in order to get more lofted at the top of the swing. "I don't know how it looks, but typically when I split grip like that, it makes my left wrist to have to open the club face sooner," Loflin said. "So I figure if I do enough of those and rep it on the course and on the range then maybe over time I believe in it a little bit. "Another thing, too, is it helps me feel like shallowing -- I get just one plane, so it helps me feel a little bit stronger too." RELATED: The truth about golf swing tempo