Golf instruction - what is essential to the swing and what is merely style?
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Golf Instruction - What is essential to the swing and what is merely a matter of style? A page for everybody who loves golf! Here I will discuss the swing, architecture, equipment, players and the general state of the game.
If you struggle with heel strikes or worse yet the shanks, then this drill is for you. Swing too far from in to out? Too far from out to in? This drill is for you. It is, quite simply, the kind of drill that so many golfers should utilize as their staple practice drill whether they are warming up or just getting some solid practice in.
A few points to note:
You can use a club box, a 2x4 (be careful!) or a partially empty plastic water bottle laying on it’s side
Align the box at the target
Tee the ball up approximately 2” inside the box
Start off with shorter irons and work your way up to the bigger clubs
This is a super drill for everybody! Keep the box in your trunk or locker and use it fior a few shots every time you’re warming up or practicing as it will always serve to give you a clear indication of a fairly neutral strike and club path - bot good things.
Thanks so much for your readership and support in 2021. It has once again been a fairly challenging year, but I cannot be more grateful for my family, friends, students and the career path that I have chosen. Here’s to making 2022 your best year in golf yet!
TrackMandefines attack angle as the direction the club head is moving (up or down) at impact. How much the club head is traveling up or down is reported in degrees… 2º up or 6º down. You’re no doubt reading this in an effort to improve your golf and the purpose of this article and video is to share my experience pertaining to attack angle and how you can use this knowledge to upgrade the trajectory, shape and strike of your shots. Watch…
We need to be on the same page with a few important points in order for a better understanding to take place…
Club Delivery
a narrow downswing will typically encourage a steeper, more downward angle of attack
a wider downswing will typically promote a shallower, less downward angle of attack
Narrow Downswing
Wider Downswing
Club Path
an overly downward strike will move the club path more from in to out
an overly upward strike (driver typically) will move the club path more from out to in
Club Speed
a faster club speed allows for the golfer to hit down more and still maintain a functional flight
a slower club speed requires for the golfer to hit down less in order to maintain a functional flight
Keep in mind that hitting down does not make the ball go up! For more information on this point please watch this brief explanation.
Compression
please keep in mind that hitting down more does not equate to greater compression for ANY shot
please stop trying to decipher the meaning behind ANY divot
the only take away from divots is that if there is dirt flying everywhere when you practice, you MIGHT be hitting down too much - period!
There you have it. I hope that perhaps some of this insight will help you to better understand the details of YOUR golf swing and what you can work towards in order to improve the quality of your shots and your experience out on the golf course.
If you have a friend that might benefit from this article/video then please feel free to share it. Thanks for reading and for your support.
You may have heard me talk about how common it is to see golfers hit a tee shot with a fade (out-to-in club path) swing pattern, yet strike it off the toe for a baby draw or vice versa. The other day I was giving a lesson and a student hit a shot that was too interesting to not share. Here are the TrackMan details of the driver shot:
First a few basics:
Club path is primarily responsible for the curve of any shot
The direction of the club path relative to the target, out-to-in (fade pattern) or in-to-out (draw pattern), is what I refer to as a players swing pattern
Players that swing from in-to-out will tend to hit draws and players that swing from out-to-in will tend to hit fades
Where the ball is struck on the face of the driver (strike point) can drastically alter the effect of a players swing pattern on ball flight
Shots struck off the heel will tend tofade more or draw less and shots struck off the toe will tend to draw more or fade less
The player who hit the above shot has a fairly strong draw bias to his swing pattern and we are always working to neutralize his strong in-to-out club path as he tends to struggle with blocks and hooks. As you can tell from the above shot the club path (first highlighted yellow box) was strongly from in-to-out - 9.2 degrees to the right of the target. Well then why did the ball fly straight (spin axis 0.2)
The particular shot we're looking at was struck well off the heel (yellow circle) and essentially what happened was the draw bias of the swing pattern was cancelled out by the fade bias of the strike point. Notice how in the second yellow box above there's a closed face to path relationship, which should lead to a hook, but the ball flew straight - always a dead give away for a heel strike.
I've come up with a simple formula to help explain this:
A + B = C
Where A is the swing pattern, B is the strike point and C is the resultant ball flight. You see it's the combination of A and B that gives us the ball flight - not just A. Here's a video I did with TrackMan that might help to explain some of this more clearly:
TMU Master Andrew Rice takes us through what he calls "swing pattern versus strike pattern". Most avid golfers have a consistent swing pattern (club path) but it's usually their strike pattern (impact point) that causes differences in ball flight.
When you're practicing driver you should always mark the face with some Dr. Scholl's Odor X foot spray. If you do that you will always get B (strike point) and C (ball flight) from any shot. Should you be practicing without a TrackMan you'll at least have a clear idea as to what your swing pattern is and can make well-informed adjustments if necessary.
Five years ago I thought I knew just about all there was to know about ball flight and teaching golf. Then I started using TrackMan and my, how very quickly my eyes were opened. I came to realize that I had a long way to go, not only in truly understanding ball flight, but in understanding golfers and what their tendencies might be.
I think it's important to understand that TrackMan will not teach anything - it is purely a measuring device. A tool that better allows the teacher to perform their job. It allows me to diagnose a golfer's problems more quickly and start making improvements without any doubt as to what is causing a golfer's poor shot pattern. Once the technology has helped me diagnose a problem I then start using it to inform me how my recommended changes are working - if at all. If those numbers are not improving I'll change my approach very quickly.
TrackMan has taught me so much about ball flight, but it has also opened my eyes to patterns that exist for almost all golfers. Here are a few nuggets that myself and fellow TrackMan users Martin Chuck, Jason Sutton, Tom Stickney have noticed over the years:
Strike Point:
Where you strike the ball on the face plays a far bigger role in determining the flight of the shot than what was previously believed
As a result heel and toe misses can lead people down a road of trying to fix something that isn't broken
Advice - Use Dr. Scholl's Odor X footspray to mark the face and get a better understanding of where you are striking the ball on the clubface.
Swing Appearance:
The two dimensional appearance of the swing on video is not what determines the flight of the ball (Swing direction vs 3D club path)
The look of a golf swing has very little to do with the message the clubhead relays to the golf ball
Better players have to swing way more left than they often feel in order to hit predictablefades
You do not have to roll your hands to hit draws
Advice - Don't get too caught up in the look. It's all about the physics at impact, so always go for function over form.
Angle of Attack:
The angle of attack is hugely important in determining the shape, distance and trajectory of any shot
Most golfers hit down too much while many of the best golfers tend to have a shallower strike on the ball
A positive or upwardangle of attack has a huge effect on tee shot distance for slower speed golfers
Advice - Almost all golfers should be working towards a shallower more "sweep-like" strike on the ball. With the driver you should learn to hit up as the gains are too great to ignore.
Shot Shape:
The clubface is primarily responsible for the launch of any shot
The loft of the face at impact (dynamic loft) will largely determine the launch angle of any shot
On full swings the launch angle is often lower than you might expect it to be
The clubpath is primarily responsible for the curvature of any shot
Advice - to hit draws (and most of us should) we need an in to outclubpath. To improve the launch you either need to change the loft of the club or improve the loft delivered at impact.
The Human Element:
It is all too rare to meet a man who hits the ball as far as they think they do
Or who swings the driver as fast as they think they do
Mention clubspeed to any golfer, male or female, and there's a 95% chance the next swing will be faster
While there are patterns, anything and everything is possible
Advice - check your ego at the door. You'll start shooting better scores when you plan to hit the ball the distance you're capable of hitting it.
TrackMan is a fanatstic tool - one that guides the teacher to what the problems are and then vets the quality of their solution. As a player I believe you will find it to be a feel machine. If you've had a first rate lesson you should leave with a clear understanding of what the problem was and the feel required to overcome it.
If you happen to be on Twitter please follow Martin Chuck, Jason Sutton and Tom Stickney - great guys, knowledgeable teachers and you won't regret it.
Thank you for reading and as always your thoughts and comments are appreciated.
I have never taught a predominant slicer that did not always have their clubpath travelling from out to in on a very consistent basis. I have never taught a predominant hooker that did not always have their clubpath travelling from in to out on a very consistent basis. In order to upgrade these golfers' ball flight we needed to improve their path first and then work to adjust the face to point somewhere between the path and the target line.
Here is an example of a lesson I might give to a golfer who predominantly fades/slices the golf ball:
I hope these two clips help you to better understand what it is you need to do to improve your ball flight and have more fun out on the golf course.
As many of you may be aware I have done a tremendous amount of research on pitching the last few years. My research continues and I wanted to share a few important truths regarding this often misunderstood stroke:
Great pitchers generally take very little divot, flight the ball low and create high spin rates
Lower trajectory shots are substantially easier to gauge than higher ones
When struck correctly lower trajectory shots will have more spin than higher lofted ones
Most golfers perform better when pitching with their second most lofted club (SW vs LW)
There are two controllable ways to stop a golf ball - high spin rate and a steep land angle
Thin shots have more spin than you might think
The quality of the clubface to ball interaction (friction) is primary in generating spin
The quality of the lie plays a big role in determining the clubface to ball interaction
The optimal lie for amazing pitches is a fairly tight, downgrain lie
Any moisture that gets between the face and ball will decrease friction and thus increase launch angle and reduce spin
Sand between the face and the ball will increase friction and thus lower launch angle and increase spin
When practicing it is important to keep a wet towel handy to clean the face after every few shots - don't use a tee
Older clubs with worn down grooves will never spin the ball as much as a fresh wedge (all else being equal)
Premium golf balls flight better and spin more than inexpensive golf balls
The optimal technique is based almost entirely around managing the club to ground interaction or angle of attack
Controlling what the handle does through impact is vital in managing the angle of attack
A club path that tracks from from in to out will most often lead to cleaner strikes and thus lower trajectory and more spin
Where a golfer seeks to add loft they also add effective bounce. Here the grind/shape of the sole, will play a bigger role
For stock. and thus lower flighted shots the bounce plays less of a role than you might imagine
I have found there to be a multitude of different, and somewhat unusual techniques that work well for certain individuals. My objective has been to find a pitching technique that works best for the majority of golfers. I have found a technique that fits the bill and I am able to explain it simply and vividly.
Please note that I will be producing a video on pitching that will be for available on my website in the Fall. I had previously indicated it would be available in the Summer, but I want to make sure I have the best product available for you, thus the delay. The video will explain all my findings including what I have found to be the optimal pitching technique...stay tuned!
The above TrackMan screenshot indicates a very typical pattern for the slicer - an overly inward club path (-15.2 degrees out to in) along with a clubface angle that is open/right of where the clubhead is travelling (9.9 degrees). This package results in shots that invariably launch left and curve aggressively right, often shaping across the target line. The end result is a far from optimal tee shot coupled with a healthy fear of any shot that leaks too far into right field!
The video below demonstrates what I did with the "owner" of the slice illustrated above. I have had tremendous success with this technique - primarily, I believe, because it taps into a golfer's instinct that screams - in order for my ball to not leak right I must swing as much to the left as possible. Essentially the drill gives the golfer a reason, something they've never had, to swing to the right. Take a look....
Tilt the face down 30 degrees (1 hour)
Take normal grip
Adjust shoulders and arms to square the face at address
Swing out to right field
After working on this drill for a while the golfer started to get comfortable and gain a measure of confidence that the ball actually would work back to the left. This is what happened...
As you can tell from the above numbers the golfer has hit this shot more 55 yards longer. Part of that (15 yards) is due to an increase in speed, but as you can see - this player is now swinging from in to out, is hitting far less down on the ball, has substantially less spin and were it not for a slight heel side strike this would have been even longer.
These screenshots were taken during the course of a standard one hour lesson. They indicate an average shot from the player before the change and after. The golfer hit shots that were worse and better than both examples shown. Unfortunately an increase of 55 yards is not normal, but every little bit helps...!
There is so much complex information out there regarding the Ball Flight Laws - a ten second Google search yields enough confusion to get my head spinning for a month. The "old" or "new" ball flight laws, Dr. Wiren, TrackMan.....who or what should you believe?
albert einstein
In light of Dr. Einstein's insightful quote I am going to give this touchy topic my best shot and try to keep it as simple as possible. Please don't check out! This is important information for any golfer to comprehend, so bear with me and you'll gain a far better understanding of why your golf ball reacts the way it does.
There are only four factors that influence ball flight when clean (not necessarily solid) contact is made between a golfball and a clubface.
They are:
Club Speed
The faster the clubhead travels the further and higher the ball will travel - generally with more spin. Compare a chip (slow speed) with a pitching wedge vs. a full swing (faster speed) with a pitching wedge...simple enough.
Clubface Orientation
Orientation is a fancy term that refers to where the clubface is angled. Keep in mind that the face angles both left or right or up or down - left or right being an open or closed face and the up/down variable (although hopefully never down) referring to the loft imparted at impact (dynamic loft). The face angle largely determines where the ball launches - left or right of the target and at what angle relative to the ground. A good general point to remember is clubface (for the most part) = launch.
Clubhead Direction
Once again the direction the clubhead travels relative to the target line at impact - left or right (clubpath) and up or down (attack angle) - plays a role in determining ball flight. A lesser role than the clubface, but a role nonetheless. A good general point to remember is clubpath (for the most part) = curve.
Centerdness of Contact
This is a big one and something the vast majority of teachers and golfers tend to underestimate. Most golfers strike the ball on the sweet spot far less frequently than they think . I often see golfers that swing for a draw, yet strike for a fade - in other words they have a clubpath that is in to out, yet hit the ball slightly out the heel which leads to a fade. An off center point of contact on the face leads to gear effect, which overrides or reduces the effect the face orientation and clubhead direction have on ball flight. This factor plays a bigger role than most realize - watch out for it. And the best way to do that - a spray of Dr. Scholl's foot powder.
impact point
Read an earlier article on centerdness of contact and a great article on the TrackMan blog illustrating the importance of center contact.
Here are a few simple factors to understand and remember:
The ball launches primarily in the direction of the face - varying degrees of up and either left or right.
Given a centered hit, clubpath leads to curve. With the curve being away from the clubpath.
Hitting down does not increase spin, and conversely, hitting up does not necessarily reduce spin.
Heel hits encourage fades or reduce hooks and toe hits encourage draws or reduce slices.
The more you hit down on the ball, the more you will swing in to out and the more you hit up on the ball the more you will swing out to in.
Now that you're finished reading shoot back up to the top and read again. This is vital information to assist with your understanding of of how your golf club "communicates" to your golf ball.
If you'd like to try out your new understanding of the Ball Flight Laws in southwest Florida check out this Fort Myers Golf Guide for a great course to play.
Thanks for reading and feel free to fire away with any questions you may have.....
I recently ran an interesting promotion where I offered golfers an opportunity to gain 10 yards if they participated in a twenty minute TrackMan session. The cost was $50 and if they didn't gain the yardage their session was free. This meant I had to be on my game and I had to make simple and effective upgrades to get paid...it's not often a golfer can take a lesson and only have to pay for the lesson if they see immediate results!
My reason for running the promotion was primarily to create interest and excitement in the new TrackMan unit and to give the Berkeley Hall membership a peek at what this technology can do for them.
I had eighteen golfers, eleven men and seven ladies sign up and I encouraged each of the participants to focus on the driver. In case a participant wanted to work with an iron I had them each bring their driver and a seven iron along.
When hitting the driver I try to get my students to have an attack angle of somewhere from 1 - 5 degrees up along with a club path of somewhere from 1 - 5 degrees from in to out. I prefer that most golfers hit out and up on the ball creating a high launch, low spin trajectory with the driver. We all could benefit from a few extra yards, no?
Here is a compilation of points of interest from the day:
The average swing speed for the men with the driver was 83.9mph. The top speed achieved was 96.1mph while the slowest was 70.1mph. Keep in mind that this event was promoted as a "distance" event and as a result the golfers who came out tended not be the longest of hitters.
The average speed for the ladies with the driver was 65.6mph with the top speed being 73.4mph and the slowest being 60.3mph.
Before any changes were made 11 out of the 18 golfers hit down on the ball at an average of 1.6 degrees with the driver. After the changes had been made the same 11 golfers averaged 0.6 degrees up on the ball. Not bad...
Before any changes were made 7 golfers (a surprisingly low number in my opinion!) hit from out to in at an average of 3.3 degrees with the big stick. This means that their club path was travelling 3.3 degrees left (for a right hander) of the target at impact. After adjusting, the same 7 golfers averaged 0.8 degrees from in to out - a very positive change.
Prior to any changes 4 golfers hit too much (in my opinion) from in to out at an average of 6.6 degrees. After the changes they averaged 2.2 degrees in to out - a far more respectable number.
Not every golfer gained yardage, although the majority did. A few golfers actually lost some clubhead speed while they were working on the changes which were primarily in the address position. It was interesting to note how some golfers adapted and changed easily while others had a tough time.
The golfers with slower swing speeds tended to be more efficient, something I had already noted from the PGA Tour stat on Total Driving Efficiency and as a result it was quite difficult to get them make the "required" yardage gains. They were quite close to optimal already...
Similarly, I found the ladies to generally be more efficient in transferring the energy they created to the ball than the men. I've also noticed that LPGA golfers also tend to be more efficient than their PGA Tour counterparts, particularly with the driver. The mantra seems to be "the more energy you create, the more likely you are to waste it!" It does not have to be that way though.
Every golfer who attended the event improved in an important area regarding how they deliver the club to the back of the ball. Quite a few golfers did not gain 10 yards, but they all left feeling like they had the knowledge and feel they needed in order to realize longer tee shots.
One lady had a fantastic golf swing with very efficient numbers, but, primarily due to her petite size, she was unable to generate much clubhead speed. She had an older, heavy driver with a 70 gram shaft and so I spent most of our time talking to her about whatequipment (lighter = faster) suited her best and what exercises (Momentus woosh) she could do to increase her speed with the driver. I'll be interested to see how she does with the new club.
Almost all the participants commented that while the "numbers overload" from TrackMan was overwhelming at first, once we had isolated a particular problem (attack angle, club path, spin axis etc.) it seemed very simple. They were able to key in on one area and get a feel for how much change was required in order to reach their goal - all without much in the way of complicated, positional swing changes.
The twenty minute time format worked well for the students and for me. They did not get overloaded with information and I had be concise and clear (for a change!) in what they needed to upgrade.
So, back to the question, "Can you get better in twenty minutes?" I would have to say an emphatic yes. With the right feedback mechanism, which TrackMan certainly is, and a simple approach, you can make fairly substantial changes in a short period of time. The important thing moving forward is that you practice the changes in order to gain a measure of comfort and confidence in them - and as we know, that takes more than twenty minutes.
There are important differences that occur at impact when a golfer hits either down or up on the ball (attack angle). I have always espoused that golfers hit down on all clubs, the driver included, but my research with Trackmanhas convinced me otherwise. The ball should be struck with a subtle downward blow with all shots off the ground (irons, hybrids and fairways), but the driver should ideally be hit with an upward strike for optimal trajectoryand spinpatterns. I will attempt to explain the differences in the direction the clubhead travels (relative to the target line) as it moves both down, and up, into the ball.
Firstly, it is important to understand the difference between swing plane(also referred to as swing direction) and club path, because too many golfers believe they are one and the same. Let's view swing plane as the hula hoop in the pictures below - it is the angle upon which the arc of the swing travels. Club pathis the direction the clubhead is travelling in, relative to the target line, at the moment of impact.
Hitting down on the Ball:
PGA Tour golfers hit down on a 7 iron with an average attack angle of slightly more than 4 degrees. You should be able to tell to what degree you hit down on the ball simply by analyzing your divots- too much dirt being moved and you're more than likely 8 degrees down, no divots would mean a flat or neutral attack angle.
When a golfer hits down on the ball with a neutral swing plane(straight at the target) notice how the pencil (used to illustrate club path) points right of the target. The table's edge indicates the target line.
Hitting down...
Down with a neutral plane...
This means that with a straight plane/swing direction, when the clubhead travels down, it is also travelling from in to out relative to the target line.
Left swing plane for neutral path...
In order to neutralize the club path, the swing planemust actually be rotated to the left. Thus, with a descending attack angle, in order to create a straight club path, the swing plane must be rotated to the left of the target line (for right handers).
Hitting up on the Ball:
Better drivers of the ball tend to hit up on the ball - anywhere from 1-5 degrees up. This reduces the amount of spin on the ball and increases the launch angle - thus increasing both carry and roll distance.
When a golfer hits up on the ball with a neutralswing plane (straight at the target) notice how the pencil (club path) points left of the target.
In this example, with a straight plane/swing direction, when the clubhead travels upward, it is also travelling fromout to in relative to the target line.
This out to in pathcan be neutralized by rotating the swing plane/direction to the right (for right handers). Notice how the pencil (club path) is now straight.
So if somebody ever asks you if the swing with the driver and the irons is the same, just smile and say, "No, not really!"
Any thoughts? Questions....
Andrew Rice Golf
Andrew Rice Golf. Providing golf instruction for all levels of golfers. Here you will find advice on golf instruction, golf course management and golf tips. Andrew Rice Golf is located at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort and Golf Club. Three-Day Golf School information may also be found here.
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