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.
I was recently invited by Mark Crossfield to collaborate on a chipping video to help get our shared message across to as many golfers as possible. Being from England, you may not have heard of Mark over here in the US, but I'm sure that at some point you've watched some of his excellent YouTube videos. As you will see his information is almost as good as his manner and personality in front of the camera. Enjoy...
Get Mark's iPad App http://itunes.apple.com/app/id542855061 Get Mark's iPhone App http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/golf/id456035227 Get Mark's Android App https://market.android.com/details?id=com.golfonline.golfpro AskGolfGuru iPhone App https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/askgolfguru/id718764309?mt=8 AskGolfGuru iPad App https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/askgolfguru-hd/id718764399?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2 AskGolfGuru Android App https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.golfonline.golfpro_bluee&hl=en Like Mark Crossfield on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/askgolfguru Follow Mark/4golfonline on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/4golfonline http://www.andrewricegolf.com/ Chipping Angle Of Attack Featuring Andrew Rice with Mark Crossfield.
Here are two images I created for this article with the help of my new GoPro camera. The first one shows quite clearly how the hands are working for a steeper attack angle shot...
While this image shows the preferred approach with a shallow angle of attack and the handle elevating nicely through impact...
Notice how much more the hands elevate during the stroke for the shallow version than the steep version. I've believed it worked this way for a long time, but so nice to see clearly illustrated in the images above.
Here are the important things to remember:
Set up with the ball in the middle of your already narrow stance
Weight should be slightly favoring the front foot
As a result the hands are a touch in front of the ball
Not too much wrist action required
Land the plane on the runway under the ball (No CRASHING!)
You can create a shallow and smooth landing by continually rotating your shoulders through the strike
Thanks very much to Mark for the invite on this tip (and for doing the tidy video edits!) and to to you for watching. If you'd like to hear and learn more about my approach to chipping and pitching around the greens check out the Wedge Project.
Happy New Year and thank you all so much for your readership and support! I have so much more to share in 2015...
I must be honest and write that I did this test in the hopes of proving a few people wrong. Instead, I have proven myself wrong. With my research for the Wedge Project I put my "stake in the ground" on what I believed regarding milling on the clubface. All the tests I performed using TrackMan and various wedges always showed that a wedge without a milled face generated less spin (albeit slightly) than wedges with the fine "corduroy" look of milling between the grooves.
I looked up a person I believe to be very knowledgeable when it comes to equipment, Tom Wishon. I read all that he had to say on the matter of grooves and surface roughness and his findings aligned with the results I was seeing in my tests.
Based on what I had available to me I had done my homework and had placed my "stake in the sand" in favor of milling on the clubface. It just made sense to me. Until this....
David Neville and the crew from Vokey Wedgeshave been kind enough to let me have access to a few test wedges. They sent me six wedges of which I chose to use three for this test.
No grooves and no milling
No grooves and milling
All three wedges have the same grip, shaft (DG S200), length, grind (M) and a stated loft of 56 degrees. I did not check their weight, actual loft, lie angle or bounce measurements. I hit 60 shots off a mat (to eliminate ground interference) with the no groove, no milling club and 60 shots off a mat with the no groove, milled club. I then eliminated the 15 lowest spinning shots to leave the remaining 45 highest spinning shots with each club. I used slightly used ProV1X balls and attempted to carry each shot 50 yards. I wiped or cleaned the clubface between every 3rd or 4th shot. Here are the results:
Titleist SM4 TVD M 56 degree Chrome Fly Cut without Grooves or Milling
Titleist SM5 56.10 M 56 degree Raw Surface without Grooves/Milling Only
As you can see the club that had surface milling or roughness actually generated less spin - 6009 RPM to 6229 RPM. While the difference between the two is negligible and most golfers would have a hard time telling the difference between the ball flight of one versus the other (myself included), the result is significant to me in that I firmly believed the outcome would be reversed.
Keep in mind this is a test involving one golfer hitting a limited number of shots to one distance. The results might be a slightly different with multiple golfers at different distances, but I don't believe different enough to sway the outcome of this test.
I recently posted this quote by Martin Palmer on Twitter: "The secret to mastery in any field is to forever be a student." Today my "stake in the sand" moved - I was a student and I learned something. I think it is vital as a coach, or even as a golfer, to place your "stake in the sand" and firmly believe in a method, approach or theory. Stand by it and argue in its favor. That is, until you uncover sound evidence or reasoning against your viewpoint - then you pick up your stake, admit you were wrong and adjust your approach.
As a point of interest I wanted to see how a standard clubface might interact with the ball. I hit 25 shots (keeping the best 20) with the Titleist SM4 TVD M grind that has 17 standard grooves and a milled face. Here are those results:
Titleist SM4 TVD M 56 degree Black Oxide 17 Grooves with Surface Milling
As you can see this clubface with both grooves and surface roughness generated the highest spin rates of all three clubs. This leads me to believe that grooves play a larger, more important role on cleanly struck shots than I originally thought.
As I continue to learn and work towards providing my students with what I believe to be the best current information and knowledge available I know that I will continue to be wrong. The blessing is that each time I am wrong I will learn, adjust and be less wrong than I was before.
With Every Shot Counts Mark Broadie has written the most important golf book I have ever read. I say that because the book has done more to shape how I coach and deliver a golfer to their full potential than any technical manuscript before it.
Mark Broadie has done an exceptional job in sifting through the mountain of Shotlink data generated by the PGA Tour over the last decade. A Columbia Business School professor and avid golfer, Broadie is widely credited with coming up with strokes gained - a measurement of how much better or worse a golfer performs off the tee or from any given distance when compared with all other PGA Tour players.
The PGA Tour has been using strokes gained putting for a while now, but Broadie has also developed strokes gained driving for tee shots; strokes gained approach for shots of more than 100 yards; and strokes gained short game for shots of less than 100 yards, excluding putts. Add them together and you get total strokes gained.
From 2004-12 the top 10 players in total strokes gained were: Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson. A pretty impressive list and arguably the best players in the game over the last decade.
The author goes on to show how these proven golfers outperformed their counterparts - "Two-thirds of the strokes they gained were from shots outside of 100 yards and one-third was from inside 100 yards," Broadie said. "Putting accounted for just 15 percent of the scoring difference between the top 10 golfers in the world and the average PGA Tour pro."
Wow! I have quizzed many of my students over the past few weeks on how they would rank, in order of importance, the four primary areas that contribute to the standard of any golfer. I think one person (who had secretly read about the book and it's findings) got the order correct. Most of them had it completely backwards. It also shocked me how many ranked putting as the most important factor.
Here is the order: (followed by the player who gained the most strokes on their competitors over the last decade)
Approach shots outside 100 yards (Tiger Woods)
Driving (Bubba Watson)
Short game shots inside 100 yards (Steve Stricker)
Putting (Luke Donald)
To me this order is hugely important as it should influence the manner in which you go about improving. I have encouraged all my students to ramp up the amount of long iron, hybrid and driver practice they have been doing.
Essentially, good golfers are good because they hit it good.
The book also shows the importance of length and what an asset making the ball go a long way is. Bubba Watson has literally pummeled his competitors off the tee with brute power and speed. Now all of my competitive students work on speed sets to increase their clubhead speed as much as possible.
The book is filled with valuable nuggets for both the better and weekend golfer - far too many to mention in an article like this. It includes drills for putting and even ideas on how to approach challenging tee shots dependent on your ability. If you are an avid golfer or coach and you find that your progress has plateaued, do yourself a favor and go out and buy this book and commit to reading it twice. The second time with a highlighter in hand!
If you don't get anything from it call me and I'll refund you your money...
Here is a video I did with the help of TrackMan and a student of mine James Willis. This was actually the first time I had seen James pitch the ball and it was nice to see how quickly he hit better shots and improved the flight and spin rate of these important shots.
From 60 yards and in I like to see a dynamic loft of 40 degrees, a launch angle of less than 30 degrees, a spin rate higher than 6500 rpm and a slight draw shape.
Take a look to see how it's done...
For a deeper understanding of this shot and all wedge shots around the green you need to go HERE
I am very excited to announce the release of The Wedge Project. It has been a long time in the making and I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would when I departed on a simple research project almost four years ago. That idea, to learn more about that low launching, high spin pitch or chip shots that golfers would sometimes hit, has opened my eyes to what I now view as the "missing link" to short game instruction.
Thank you all so much for your patience as you have waited for me to get this "project" out to you. I am pleased with the product and know that everyone will benefit from the information presented. If you like/enjoy/appreciate what you see could I ask that you please share with your friends how they too might be able to purchase the video - unless of course you don't want them pitching/chipping any better.
Thank you for your support and readership and I am grateful for anything you could do to help get the word out. Please share your thoughts here and on Twitter using #wedgeproject
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Also, I hope you enjoy the new look of Andrew Rice Golf. We would love to hear your comments, both positive and constructive. If there is anything wrong or missing please shoot me a note and I'll work to get it taken care of ASAP.
Thanks again for everything - without you this site would not be possible.
I was recently invited to present at the Illinois PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit alongside Stan Utley and Chuck Cook. Besides it being a tremendous privilege for me the day was both educational and entertaining. I thought it would be beneficial to relay a few of the nuggets they shared during the course of the day.
The theme of Chuck's presentation revolved around what he teaches and why. His themes were:
a flat or bowed lead wrist
a straight plane line (similar to the "one-plane" look, but with the elbows staying in front of the chest like Jason Dufner)
lag is a major power source - use it, don't lose it!
A few important ideas he shared with the group were:
There has never been a swing method that has lasted
If the face is shut you need to outrun it with something
The weight moves where the hips are pointing
I don't like a lot of hip drive
Both feet should be flat on the ground at impact with irons
To make any golfer better, take their weakest element and turn it into a strength
Let juniors smash the ball with all they've got until they stop growing - then work on technique
Here is a swing by Jason Dufner, one of Chuck premier students - this swing seems to epitomize so much of what Chuck stressed as he spoke about the swing...
As you may well know Stan's teaching focuses primarily on the shortgame and putting. Here are some of the important principles Stan shared in his presentation:
Putt with dead strength - he described "dead strength" as being similar to dropping your limp arm against your side
Let the putter drop and crash into the ball - I love saying it that way!
An important point in both chipping and putting is to put pressure on the ball
He is an advocate of wristy putting with soft, loose elbows
Where you strike the ball on the face vertically with the putter is very important
Finish the putting stroke with the putter low and the right shoulder high
Have the handle travel more slowly so the clubhead can travel faster
I really enjoyed so much of what Stan had to say as he seemed to be a proponent of so much of what I preach in both the shortgame and putting.
It was great to listen to these exemplary teachers, but the highlight of my day was being able to present my teaching approach to the Illinois PGA membership. Thanks to Nick Papadakes and all the staff at Olympia Fields CC for a very cool experience and I look forward to my next opportunity...
I have never watched a shortgame or wedge video where I agree 100% with everything that has been said. Here is Jason Dufner and I agree with everything he says in this brief video. I am not being arrogant, after all he is the PGA Champion, but I seldom go through an entire wedge presentation without hearing something I want to question. Really good stuff from Duf and his coach Chuck Cook....
I thought the following points were important: shallow angle of attack, quiet wrists, straight right arm
What do racing tires have in common with wedge play in golf? Read on because there might be a lot more to this than you might think.
It's all about traction or friction, or more simply put - grip. The more the tires grip the road, the faster the driver can go and the more our clubface grips the ball, the lower the flight and the more the ball spins. Let's look at how these tires work and see if we can draw a few parallels to how the specialized clubface on our wedges interact with the golf ball....
On a dry, sunny day day a race car will have tires that are wide, soft and completely grooveless. The tires are wide and grooveless in order to get as much rubber in contact with the road. Any grooves simply decrease the amount of traction the tire exerts on the road. They are softer than normal tires to increase traction. In rainy conditions the drivers will switch to tires with grooves (as seen above). The grooves on the tires channel water away from the road and thus allow the flat portion of the tire to grip the road cleanly. Grooves reduce the amount of rubber in contact with the road, thus reducing traction.
Club manufacturers now make their top tier wedges with a milled, legally grooved clubface. The milling on the clubface represents the softness of the racing tire as it allows the cover of the ball to settle into the mini grooves, even on these partial shots, and friction is increased. Our clubface needs grooves because we encounter many different lies during a round of golf. Many of those lies dictate that matter (grass/moisture) will be trapped between the face and the ball, greatly reducing friction. Grooves are not on the clubface for spin, but primarily as a channel to keep matter from being caught between the face and ball thus decreasing grip. Race car drivers have the luxury of changing tires for rainy conditions, while golfers do not have the luxury of changing their clubface for a variety of lies.
If we hit all our pitch or partial wedge shots off a tee using a premium ball and there was no way any grass or moisture could interrupt friction I actually believe a non-grooved, yet milled clubface would actually spin the ball as much or slightly more than the current grooved clubface designs. Good luck trying to convince your playing partners to go for that idea, but isn't it helpful to know how the clubface is really designed to interact with the cover of the ball?
A milled clubface will increase friction in a similar fashion that softer racing tires will, but those milling lines also wear out like a softer tire does. If you are a competitive golfer have a practice set and a tournament set of wedges. This way you'll always have that lower, spinning wedge shot when it matters most....
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!
We should all be looking to spin the ball around the greens. Which of the current crop of wedges will give us the best chance to do that? If you have read any of my previous research on wedges you will know that friction between the face and the ball plays a huge role, not only in generating spin, but also in lowering trajectory - both vitally important for control.
The most important part of the clubface of any wedge is not the grooves, but the texturing of the flat areas between the grooves. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of grooves is to channel "matter" away from being caught between the flat areas and the ball - they are not in place to create spin. When you look carefully at the flat areas between the grooves of your wedge you should see some fine milling which looks like corduroy to me. Most club manufacturers will mill the clubface of their premium wedges and it makes a massive difference to the control and ball flight.
The idea behind the test was to see which wedge generated the better grip between face and ball. I had four very new 58 degree wedges available for the test:
Titleist Vokey SM4 with a DG Spinner shaft - conforming grooves with standard mill pattern on face
Ping Gorge Tour with a DG Spinner shaft - conforming "gorge" grooves with standard mill pattern on face
Callaway X Series Jaws CC with a stock steel shaft - additional conforming grooves with no apparent milling on face
TaylorMade ATV with a KBS shaft - conforming grooves with two-way mill pattern on face
You may notice that the wedges had differing shafts - I obviously would have preferred to have had all the clubs built to the exact same specs, but that was not feasible for this test. Apologies to all Cleveland Golf fans - would love to have had a Cleveland wedge in the mix, but did not have a new version. I had four golf professionals each hit four shots with each wedge. All shots were hit off a mat in order to limit friction being interrupted by matter being caught between face and ball. Titleist ProV1 golf balls were used and each shot had to land somewhere between 40 and 60 yards (ideally at 50 yards). The clubface was cleaned often even though it never appeared to need it. The "normalize" feature on TrackMan was off.
Here are the results:
ATV 7365 rpm average
Vokey 7210 rpm average
Gorge 7193 rpm average
Jaws 7163 rpm average
As you can see the ATV wedge led the way in generating the highest spin of the four - albeit by a slender 2%. If I was a betting man I would have bet the ATV would generate the most spin as I have always loved the two-way milling treatment on the face. I would also have placed the Jaws wedge at the bottom of the pack, as no matter how many groove edges come in contact with the ball, there is way more flat surface area contacting the ball and it should be milled.
If you do take one thing from this research let it be the following: A fresh wedge with a clean, milled clubface will allow you to generate more spin and a lower trajectory - both important factors in controlling your golf ball around the greens.
Thanks to Zack, Mark, Rick and Joe for your help with this article!
Ben Hogan once said that he despised any ball flight that curved from right to left (a draw!). Having been a chronic hooker of the ball in the early part of his career he knew what it was like to lose shots to the left. It wasn't until he found a way to overcome the dreaded flip through impact that the legend that is now Ben Hogan was created.
If you too struggle with untimely hooks and occasional blocks, you fully comprehend what Mr. Hogan had to overcome. Flippers have to rely on timing to make their shots go straight - the timing of the hand action through impact determines the outcome of each shot. And when impact between ball and face lasts for approximately 1/2000 of a second it's not that easy to be consistent - especially under pressure! The better you play, the greater your anxiety level, the less you control the timing of the flip - not a good recipe for low scores when it counts.
Having studied the swings of Hogan and Snead I found that when viewed from down the line it appears that the clubhead and ball seem to disperse aggressively post-impact. The clubhead moves quickly back inside the target line, while the ball launches straight. It almost appears as if they are trying to hit slices, yet the ball flight is very straight.
Watch the following video to get a sense of what to feel while doing the Anti-Flip Drill:
To practice the drill you will need the following:
Two alignment rods - one on the ground just outside the ball and another in the ground just inside the target line and 18-24 inches forward of the ball. Be sure that the one in the ground is leaning away from you (towards the target).
A 7 iron with the ball teed up so you can make sure it is in the same location relative to the rod in the ground each time.
Start small and slow, making sure you swing inside the rod with the clubhead and keep the face square to open thus launching the ball to the right of the rod.
Patience! Give it a few goes and you'll start to get the feel. Feel the clubhead and ball dispersing - one goes left and the other goes right. Remember that you have not been doing this "naturally" and that's why it feels so strange and "incorrect".
I recently stumbled onto an interesting tidbit whilst working with a young professional on his wedge game. It was early in the morning and we had been hitting beautiful 50 yard pitches the afternoon before and suddenly he could not get the ball to launch low enough with the spin rate he had been generating the day before. Now as you may know I've tested almost all there is to test in regards to a 50 yard wedge shot and of course I had looked into the effect of water interfering with thefriction between the face and the ball. One problem - I had tested a wet club striking a dry ball. My results from the earlier test showed very little difference in launch and spin when there was water involved and I had since adopted that belief.
As I watched the young pro struggle to lower his launch in the morning dew it came to me - there was a difference between a wet club striking a dry ball and a dry club striking a wet ball! I had to run the test again.
I had to be very careful with the test in that I needed to use the same club, my 54 degree sand wedge, in very controlled conditions, with golf balls that were consistent. I used brand new Titleist NXT Tour golf balls and made sure that I cleaned the grooves and clubface off between each shot. I attempted to hit each shot to carry 50 yards flat and hit eight shots for each portion of the test. I removed the two shots that had the lowest spin from each portion. With the help of my TrackMan here are the results:
Wet club and dry ball:
Launch angle was 27.8 degrees
Spin rate was 5463 rpm
Height was 26.5 feet
Dry club and wet ball:
Launch angle was 30.1 degrees
Spin rate was 5291 rpm
Height was 28.4 feet
Dry club and dry ball:
Launch angle was 25.4 degrees
Spin rate was 6603 rpm
Height was 21.2 feet
The interesting thing in looking at the trajectory chart is how much lower the dry club and dry ball (purple) shots flew. Clearly there was more friction between the face and ball which led to a lower launch with substantially more spin. The dry club and wet ball (yellow) sample flew the highest as the water on the ball greatly decreased friction which led to higher launch, due to slippage and thus decreased spin - certainly not the optimal shot.
The interesting thing when comparing the wet club/dry ball versus the dry club/wet ball results was that the spin and launch were better when the BALL was dry. This was due to the water being forced off the clubhead and into the groove channels during the motion of the swing. Not to mention that the air dried the face during the swing too.
Moral of the story - always clean the clubface (unless it has sand on it) and dry the club and ball when possible. If you happen to have an early morning tee time and you're a dew sweeper, don't plan on hitting any low spinners! The drier the ball and club, the better the friction and the better the quality of shots you will hit.
Please read my first two articles on wedges and pitching:
One of the most important aspects of great ball striking is compressing the golf ball. Now, we've all heard that statement and we know the feel of a purely struck shot, but what really is compression and how can we do a better job with it? Let's start by understanding the photograph below. This is a simulated shot where the clubface is just about to reach the back of the golf ball. The red line indicates where the loft or upward face angle is at impact and the blue line indicates the direction the clubhead is travelling during impact. The white line connecting the two represents the amount of compression "experienced" by the golf ball.
The narrower the gap or closer the two lines are the more compression will be exerted onto the golf ball and assuming a decent strike and appropriate launch, the ball will travel further. TrackMan refers to this gap as spin loft and without being too detailed it is the difference between where the face points at impact and where the clubhead travels at impact.
Fredrik Tuxen - one of the founders of TrackMan refers to spin loft as compression itself. To get a better understanding of how the numbers work let me give you a few examples: Jack hits a 5 iron with the face pointing at 16 degrees and the clubhead moving 2 degrees down. Bob swings at the same speed as Jack with his 5 iron and he gets the face pointing 15 degrees up and the clubhead moving 6 degrees down. Jack has a spin loft of 18 and Bob has a spin loft of 21. Both shots are hit well, so which goes further? Jack's does because he has a narrower spin loft gap and thus compresses the ball more than Bob. What spin loft would create the maximum compression? Zero! However, as we will learn spin loft is in large part responsible for the amount of spin imparted on any shot and a golf ball needs some spin to keep it flying in the air. I have found that a spin loft of 11 is very good for a driver.
Some interesting points about compression or spin loft:
Hitting down will not increase your compression of the golf ball or the spin on the shot. Invariably this only leads to a shot where the face angle and the clubhead direction both move downward - there is no change in spin or increase in distance.
A higher spin loft increases spin and generally slows down ball speed.
If you have similar swing speed, but hit your shots far shorter than your playing partners - this is due to a lack of compression on your shots.
Shots with a lower spin loft will curve in the air more easily than shots with less compression. That's why it's easier to keep a 7 iron straighter than a driver.
Custom club fitting can help to improve your spin loft simply by delofting either your irons or driver.
Now that we really understand what true compression is we can start to look at methods to help us improve our own ball striking. There are two ways we can compress the ball better - deloft the face angle more at impact without hitting down any more or hit down less without increasing the the loft of the face during impact. Ideally we need to deloft the face without hitting down any more. Notice how in the Jack and Bob example I used above - Bob's face was delofted more than Jack's, yet he hit down more and this limited his ability to compress the ball.
To get a good sense of what is required:
Get in front of a mirror with a 7 iron.
Grip the club and facing the mirror get the clubhead about 3" off the ground two feet back from where the ball would be.
Now slowly glide the clubhead through impact while maintaining the 3" space between the clubhead and the ground noticing that as you go beyond impact how much your hands need to stay in front.
When you start hitting balls - start small and hit soft shots off of a tee.
There should be no ground contact, try to leave the tee in the ground and see how low you can hit these little 7 iron shots.
This is the feel you want! Delofting the face without slamming the club into the ground. And believe it or not this applies to the driver as well. I know it may sound strange and it took me a while to wrap my brain around this, but it is entirely possible to hit up on the ball with the handle/hands in front of the clubhead.
If you have gained something from this article please share it with a friend. Let's be honest, they could most probably do with the help....
While I am sure you have read most of what has been written on the USGA and R&A proposed ban on anchored putting I wanted to briefly share my take with you:
Professional Golf
I'm sure the primary objective of the two governing bodies was to eliminate anchoring from the major tours and I emphatically agree. I think the best golfers should be capable of freely swinging the club with their hands and arms.
Bifurcation and Growing the Game
Bifurcation means the splitting of a main body into two parts - and that's exactly what needs to be done with the rules of golf. There may be another sport, but I cannot think of one where the 'amateur' body governs the 'professional' body. From college football to baseball, there are different rules for the pros than the amateurs and that's the way it should be. The governing bodies should be growing the game and this ruling is going to eliminate so many ailing golfers from competing at any level or even playing the game. In 2016 there are going to be thousands of golfers who will turn down an invitation to their Member-Guest event due to the fact that they are simply incapable of putting the ball. I've seen golfers who twitch anchored putters - never mind a putter that's not attached - in 2016 they're out of golf! Come up with a ruling for professional golf and USGA/R&A events and let the rest of us just enjoy the game.
Loopholes
If you thought you had seen some strange putters and putting styles, you ain't seen nothing yet! As with anything, golfers who simply cannot putt will find ways to the job done in unique and quirky ways by the time 2016 rolls around. Ever seen anyone putt with both arms wrapped around the putter twice?
I like the idea of changing the ruling for the big guys, but don't punish everybody in order to achieve your goal...
This shot is an invaluable tool for all golfers. We all need the high, spinner out of a bunker every now and then don't we...? This one really works and is so simple to execute you simply must give it a try.
Here are the keys to remember:
Set up with the weight favoring the front foot about 70/30
The ball should also be well forward in your stance
The most important part is to keep your shoulders parallel to the sand - this will most often feel like your lead shoulder is lower than it has been in the past. Keeping the shoulders LEVEL is huge
With the shoulders being level the hands will actually be slightly behind the ball and the face set to open
Pick out a spot 2-3 inches behind the ball and stay aggressive - remember this ball's going up!
Now get out there and practice....and that's it really. Could it get any more simple?
In my quest to better understand pitching, chipping, and more specifically the low spinning wedge shot I needed to watch different professional players hit a variety of shots and be able to track the data from each shot. My objective was to understand how friction or grip between the face and the ball influenced the launch angle, height and spin rate. I have named the measurement of this grip and it's influence on the golf ball - friction launch.
I need to explain some fairly detailed physics as to how I measure friction launch, so bear with me. The golf ball always launches somewhere between where the face is angled and where the clubhead is travelling - on both a vertical and horizontal plane. The ball also always launches closer to where the face is angled than where the clubhead is travelling. Where the ball launches between the face angle and the clubpath is primarily determined by club speed and friction between the face and ball. I needed to measure this friction in order to see how it effected the trajectory and spin on wedge shots.
With the help of Mark Reilly and Edoardo Molinari, we came up with the following formula to determine friction launch:
This formula informs us where the ball launches between the face and path. The percentage indicates how far below the face angle the ball launched. A friction launch of 0% indicates that there was absolutely no grip at impact and the ball launched in the direction the face was angled at impact. A friction launch of 50% would indicate that the ball launched directly between the face angle and the clubpath and the grip was exceedingly high. By the way - neither of these are possible under normal conditions. The smaller the percentage, the higher the launch and lower the spin and vice versa.
With all the various situations I tested I needed to keep certain factors constant in order to be able to detect why the trajectory and spin rate of each shot was altered. My constants were TrackMan - to record the data; the golf club - a Titleist Vokey SM4 54 degree wedge; and the distance of each shot studied - 50 yards. If any ball landed short of 40 yards or longer than 60 yards it's data was thrown out. The factors I controlled were the quality of the lie and playing surface, the grass and dirt in the grooves and on the face and the type of golf ball.
Here are the average results attained from three professional golfers hitting 10 shots each in 7 different situations:
1. Clubface packed with dirt and grass/ProV1/off lie board (to eliminate additional matter)
Edoardo Molinari was also kind enough to submit his TrackMan data to me from the 10 shots he hit with his 60 degree wedge and 10 more with his 56 degree wedge: (the following shots were hit with premium golfballs, off preferred lies and cleaning the clubface between each shot)
NOTE: After a few weeks of practice Edoardo has improved his 10 shot average with his 60 degree to a spin rate of 8700rpm and a Launch angle of 26.1 degrees! There is something to this...
The deductions I took from the above tests are as follows:
Shots out of the rough, first cut or even into the grain lies are always going to launch higher, spin less and as a result fall out the sky faster and roll more after landing - no matter how good you or your wedge is. There simply is too much 'matter' involved between face and ball to create optimal friction.
A wet clubface actually makes very little difference in determining how much friction, and thus spin, is imparted on the ball.
A premium golfball makes a noticeable difference with the wedges. Not only will it add distance off the tee, but it will also allow you to hit better and more predictable short shots.
If the rules allow you to tee the ball up - go ahead and do so. You increase your ability to place the clubface cleanly on the back of the golf ball.
Hitting pitch shots off mats is a fantasy world and can only increase the 'illusion of competence'. No bad lies, nothing between the face and the ball, minimal consequence to heavy shots...
For pitch shots, higher lofted clubs do not spin the ball significantly more than the next wedge down (60*vs56*). They do, however, get the ball to stop slightly faster due to a steeper landing angle.
Average friction launch for a 50 yard shot is around 25%. The lowest friction launch was out of the poorest lie (18%) and the best results came from an ideal fairway lie, a new and clean wedge along with a premium golfball (32%).
The quality of the lie is the most important factor in allowing a golfer to control the trajectory and spin of the wedge shot they are about to play.
Let's take a look at the factors that influence friction launch:
The Golf Club
The sharpness of the top edge of the groove will effect spin, yet most of the spin on a shot comes from the roughness of the area between the grooves.
In my opinion the wedges that provide the highest amount of spin are the models that have the roughest surface between the grooves - the new TaylorMade ATV and the Nike Vr Pro wedges seem to do an excellent job with 'between groove' treatment.
An excellent way to improve spin with your current wedges is to have the face sandblasted with normal aluminum oxide sand. This will provide a rougher, more 'grippy' texture to the face.
The number of groove edges that come into contact with the ball also effects backspin. In pushing the limit of the groove rules manufacturers can now put five grooves on the surface of the ball at impact versus the traditional three.
Grooves channel away some of the moisture and matter from rough that gets between the ball and face - but seldom all of it.
The grooves and face of your wedges should always be very clean - even when you're practicing. Keep a towel or brush handy to clean the club after every few shots.
If you are serious about competitive golf I would recommend having a tournament set of wedges and a set you use in practice. Every shot you hit wears down the face which reduces friction at impact.
In fact Gary Player would ensure that his caddie never cleaned his wedge after hitting a sand shot - the sand particles on the face helped to create more friction between the face and ball for his next shot.
Turf Type and the Quality of the Lie:
When you are into the grain you will often get grass caught between the ball and the face, thus reducing grip. A down grain shot will 'cut' very little grass and thus allow for clean contact and increased grip.
Different turf types are thicker and stronger and thus, even at fairway height, support the ball enough to keep it up and away from the grass. This makes it easier to have a higher friction launch factor. If you've ever played off kikuyu grass you'll know what I mean.
When laying up on a par five understand the value of high friction launch - lay up in the fairway and don't be greedy.
The Swing
This is where I am now focusing my efforts. There does seem to be a method that DOES NOT involve a more open face, increased speed, higher launch or a cutting action that seems to produce a lower trajectory with a much higher spin rate. Stay tuned.....
For years golfers have asked me how to hit low, spinning wedge shots and I've never been able to give them a confident response. After the research I've put in over the past few weeks I can give them a certain answer - and perhaps even explain a few other interesting shots we encounter on the course.
In polling better golfers regarding what really good pitch shots look like, the response has almost unanimously been that they tend to be lower with more spin. Edoardo Molinari, the European Ryder Cup golfer and former US Amateur champion was kind enough to help with the research for this article and he stated,
I've watched Tiger, Mickelson and Ernie hit hundreds of 50 yds shots, I've played with them and they all seem to deloft the club without taking much divot.
Which I agree with by the way - the best pitchers always seem to have a knack for nipping the ball off the turf without much divot and then firing the ball in there low and spinning. The problem with this shot has always been how to hit it low, yet make it spin at the same time....
If you hit down on the ball you'll be able to hit it lower, but hitting down more only lowers height and does not, as is commonly believed, make the ball spin more. So that option is out. If we take a more lofted club to spin it more then we may get a little extra spin (although that's not a given), but now the shot will fly too high.
Here is where we need to get a little technical and talk about the forces and angles the club is imparting on the ball at impact. TrackMan uses a term spin loft and it refers to the vertical difference between where the clubhead is travelling at impact (attack angle) and where the clubface is angled at impact (dynamic loft). My research shows that good wedge players have a narrower spin loft (dynamic loft minus attack angle). Let's get a better understanding of these important factors:
Attack Angle (angle that indicates if the clubhead is travelling up or down, relative to the ground at impact)
In studying hundreds of 50 yard pitch shots on TrackMan over the last few weeks I have found that good pitchers tend to not take very large divots. Yes, they always contact the ground, but the club 'bruises' the turf more so than cuts it. This would indicate that the attack angle is shallow - it is down but not hugely so. Now hold on for the following part, because this should not change the way you think about a club striking a ball: my research shows that the attack angle should be shallow enough so that the sole of the club (bounce) actually makes contact with the grass/ground before the ball. And this occurs even on ideal hits.....
Dynamic Loft(the angle of the face/loft at impact)
Really good pitchers have the ability to deloft the club without hitting down more. This means that the hands are in front of the ball at impact and the loft on the clubface is often more than 10 degrees less than the static loft. For example in much of the testing a 54 degree wedge would apply 41-44 degrees of dynamic loft to the ball.
Spin Loft (dynamic loft - attack angle)
This is a very important factor as it contributes to, but does not solely determine, how much spin and loft each shot will have. If you hit a pitch shot with 42 degrees of dynamic loft and you have an attack angle of -3 degrees (the minus indicates a downward hit) your spin loft would be 45 degrees. Common wisdom indicates that a broader spin loft (eg. 50 degrees) would create more spin and height, yet my research indicates that when it comes to chipping and pitching a slightly narrower spin loft (without much downward hit), coupled with clean contact between ball and face increases the golfers ability to hit low spinning wedges. An easy way to narrow your spin loft with pitch shots is to take a lesser lofted club. My students have had tremendous results by using the lob wedge less and getting a little more accustomed to hitting a variety of shots with the pitching wedge.
Friction Launch (the amount of grip between face and ball and how that effects launch conditions)
This type of strike on the ball leads to a scenario where the friction between the face and the ball is far higher than normal. This increased friction leads to a lower launch and trajectory with a substantially higher spin rate. This grip between the ball and face is what I call 'friction launch' and just like the term spin loft it addresses the friction and launch of any shot.
As golfers we've all hit that pitch shot that comes off the face very low and the moment you strike the ball you know it's going to grab as soon as it hits the green. Your playing partners are yelling bite and as soon as the ball gets near the hole it comes to a screeching halt! You have just experienced high friction launch.
Please check back in a few days for the follow up post The Science Behind Superb Wedges: Part II where I'll discuss friction launch in detail and show the results of much of the research I've done.
To get a much better look at the data be sure to read Part II HERE
I had the opportunity to watch the 2010 British Open Champion and 2012 Masters Runner-Up Louis Oosthuizen play a few holes last summer and was very impressed with his putting prowess. Take a look at the following video to see what positive aspects from his stroke you might be able to incorporate into your game (please note that he has switched to cross handed, but the philosophy and approach are exactly the same):
At the course where I teach, a gentleman comes out to practice everyday at 3PM. He stands in the same spot and hits the same iron, to the same target for the same amount of time everyday. How much better is this golfer going to get? Not much, if you believe that everything you have done in golf up to this moment has led you to be the golfer you currently are. This golfer has always had the same practice routine and it has led him to be the player he currently is. If he wants to get better he must upgrade the input in order to upgrade the output (results).
Today I wanted to map out how you can make the best use of your already limited practice time. With the objective being scoring, I have focused our 60 minute session on driving, wedges and putting. Now, I understand that not everybody has 60 minutes to practice or a facility to practice where you can work on the shortgame or putting, but fitting the general ideas from this article into what you have available to you will start to move the needle in a positive direction. I am also assuming that you have stretched and warmed up prior to starting the clock...
First 20 Minutes - Technique and Driving
Spend the first 10 minutes working with a middle to short iron on any pertinent drills or feels you are trying to incorporate into your swing. You should be using an alignment aidand all shots should be directed towards one target.
The next 10 minutes should be spent hitting driver down various fairways you have created in your mind's eye (eg. between the red and blue flags). I recommend the 20 Ball Driver Drillwhere you try to hit as many balls as possible in play out of 20. Have a goal score in mind and try to write down what you score everytime you do this drill.
The Second 20 Minutes - Wedges and Shortgame
Spend the first 5 minutes in the sand. Take all your wedges and start with some shorter shots and work out to 30-40 yard shots. Make sure you even hit a few of those longer shots with your PW.
For the next 5 minutes I would practice chipping and bump and run type shots. Pour some balls out in close proximity to the green and starting with a 7 iron hit one shot to each of the holes on the green (4 or 5). Work this approach all the way through your most lofted wedge. The best part is that you have not hit the same shot twice - just like on the course.
In the final 10 minutes focus your attention on pitching. These shots could be from anywhere in the 20-90 yard range. As you hit these various shots do not hit the same shot more than twice in a row. Teach yourself to control the ball flight by changing clubs and rely on your feel more than anything. My favorite drill here is the Golf Ball Drill- it sounds strange, but all I do is hit a multitude of pitches to random golf balls lying out on the range. This way I am reacting to my target.
The Final 20 Minutes - Putting
You use the putter more than any other club in the bag and that's why it receives the most attention. I would like you to focus on two drills here - one that isolates shorter putts and another that encourages touch and feel.
The first drill is what I call the Jack Bauer Drill. Place tees 3 feet from the hole at N, S W and E and using three balls go around twice holing three putts from each point. You need to hole 24 (thus Jack Bauer!) consecutive putts in row. If this takes longer than 10 minutes quit and conquer it next time. Remember - practice is all about building confidence.
The second drill is called String and here you attempt to "string" together as many two putts from 40+ feet as possible. Compete with somebody if you can or simply try to establish your own personal best.
You can now head home knowing you have put in a solid hour of work on your game.
Around this time of the year I like to look back at the year and contemplate what I have learned as a teacher and coach that will make me better in the future. After much thought here is my list:
Golfers too often lose sight of the fact that the game is all about scoring. It's not about style, or aesthetics, or form - it's about function. And scoring is function. If any golfer can go out and hit the ball the same as they always have and shoot five strokes lower they are very happy. No, this is not something new to me, but as I get older and hopefully wiser, I see way too many golfers who miss this point. They are searching for a swing, a technique, a "holy grail" that will upgrade their game. The answer lies in driving, wedging, putting and a hefty dose of hard work - period!
Anybody can get better in twenty minutes. With the help of Trackman I have seen this time and time again. The challenge is taking "ownership" of the changes as this can only be done through practice. Through practice you get comfortable, you then begin to trust the changes, which in turn channel into confidence - the magic elixir of all sport.
The driver works much better when it strikes the ball with an upward hit. If a golfer swings at 100mph and strikes the ball with a 5 degree downward hit, they will be 28 yards shorter than a golfer who hits the ball with the same swing, but a 5 degree upward hit! The launch angle goes up, the spin goes down and boom, you're not even swinging any harder.
With an on plane swing, when the clubhead moves towards the ground the club path travels in to out and when it moves away from the ground it travels out to in. I know you're more than likely scratching your head over this one - watch the video and read the article and it'll make a ton more sense. This has been a game changer for me and I so wish I had knowledge of this information thirty years ago.
Modern golf technology can do wonders for your game. From the latest drivers to launch monitorsto pressure plates - there is new technology that can help you make real changes to almost any part of your game. Seek it out and take advantage...
It is possible for every golfer to get longer - yes, I said every golfer. Even you! Most of the gains can be made simply by learning how to deliver the driver to the ball more efficiently. If you could learn what it takes to hit the ball 15 yards further (which is about my average for male golfers after a TrackMan session!) you have now made the golf course you play 200 yards shorter. Where do I sign up for that....?
The weight transfer in the backswing is due to the swinging motion of the arms. There should be no conscious shift or lateral motion with the body. See the 84 degree secret...
Thanks for reading - I hope you have all learned at least something from my musings during 2011. If you remember one thing remember this: Nothing will ever take the place of hard work and heart - not talent, not finances, and certainly not coaching.
Oh, and if you haven't wrapped up your holiday shopping yet I have a smokin' deal for you. Buy one copy of It's All About Impact and I'll send you four - one for each member of your foursome.
I have big plans for upgrading the information and look of the site in 2012 so stick around and watch this space...
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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