US PGA tips: How you can relax like Tiger

Perfect balance: Tiger Woods shows how his game is in shape at Hazeltine yesterday

  Tiger Woods turned up the heat on the back nine yesterday to build a commanding lead of four strokes going into the weekend of the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine - the year's final major. At seven under par, we haven't seen him this relaxed, in control and so full of confidence for some time. His game looks better than ever.

Lee Westwood checks the biceps of Alvaro Quiros

We all know that a just small change in our swings, can feel like a massive upheaval, even though it may not be noticeable to the untrained eye. However, I would suggest that Tiger's swing has changed enough in two weeks that anyone could see the difference.

If you've watched him closely, as I have over the years, you will have seen him get out of position and hit the ball incredibly wide with a driver, both left and right.And you must have seen him finish his swing with only one hand on the club and spinning on his feet? But his game over the last two days has been measured and controlled. This is something that he searches for all the time and you may wonder how it can come and go so quickly for even the best player in the world?

The difference for him can be something as small as the ball position being one-quarter of an inch too far forward or back in his stance or his hands just a tad ahead or behind the ball at impact.

Mistakes like these will have a knock on effect and cause a player to have to 'work the club' through impact with their hands to compensate. As a result the timing can get out of sync and inconsistency becomes the result.

So far this week Tiger Woods has been swinging fantastically. The overall look to his swing is the same but overf the weekend watch two things from which you can learn and perhaps introduce into your own game.

*Notice the pace of his take-away from the ball and his transition from backswing to downswing.

*Another indication is the ease of the finish of his swing. His arms and body just arrive at the end together and look controlled.

Ross Fisher checks the lie of his ball at the 18th.

To test this, try this little experiment from the tee this weekend. Throw two balls as far down the fairway as you can - hold one tightly and one softly and see which one goes further! It's the same when hammering in a nail. See how well the action performs when you hold the hammer lightly as opposed to tightly. This is how effortless power and speed is created.

Tiger is in balance, relaxed and confident and I don't expect him to release his grip on the trophy, however firmly he's got one hand on it. But with the quality of field behind him, including Harrington, Fisher, Glover and Singh - we know that golf's a funny old game and confidence can leave as quickly as it arrives.

Andy Raitt is a former European Tour pro, attached to St Georges Hill Golf Club in surrey., He's the current leader of the PGA Southern Region order of merit.