Golf Grip: Strong, Neutral or Weak?

The Vardon grip?  The interlock grip?  The ten-finger or baseball grip?  What is a strong grip? Does that mean I must hold the club tighter?  There seems to be so much confusion about what constitutes a good, functional grip that I thought I would address a few issues pertaining to our one and only connection with the club. I must first state that the grip is part of the "fundamentals' of golf.  Well, not really! While the grip and aim and set-up are important to your ability to hit a golf ball, the manner in which you grip the club is by no means fundamental - the grip is not integral.  I have seen far too many golfers with great grips hit poor golf shots and vice versa....

The club should be held primarily in the fingers with the hands kept close together.   I have no preference for the overlap, interlock or baseball type grips.   Success has been had with all of them!

A strong grip is one where both hands are rotated away from the target; a weak grip is one where both hands are rotated toward the target and a neutral grip falls somewhere in between.

I am a big fan of a strong grip. It encourages the ball to go further and the hands to lead the club head in to impact. When that happens there is less of a tendency to flip the club face closed.  If you are a hooker of the ball, believe it or not, but a stronger grip might just help you alleviate those dreaded left shots.  It is imperative for a golfer with a strong grip to have quiet hands through impact. Quiet hands are ultimately more consistent than active hands. The vast majority of the greatest golfers of all time employed a strong grip including  Patty Berg, the greatest woman golfer of all time, who had an exceedingly strong grip.

 

 

  The grip pictured above is non functional grip.  In this example the golfer is forced to flip their hands through impact in an effort to square the face - everything is based on timing.  This grip essentially promotes active hands through impact - just what we should be trying not to do. There was only one truly great golfer who used a weak grip (and certainly not to the extent illustrated in this photo) - Ben Hogan. It is important to remember that Hogan struggled in the early part of his career with hooking the ball and a weak grip was one of the factors he implemented to overcome that tendency.

Try to get your grip to fit into a range of acceptability; a range within which it can function.  And in my experience a strong grip is far more functional than a weak one.

Golf Impact Drills

In order for a golfer to improve their ball striking they must get into a better impact position.  Here are a few tried and trusted impact drills to help you get to where you need to be: (Use a seven or eight iron when a club is required in all of the drills below)

• The first drill is the down slope drill.  Simple enough!  Just watch for allowing your upper body to sneak down the hill as well - try to ensure your head remains over the ball.  At address, make sure you maintain a regular ball position.

• The impact bag drill.  Another fairly straightforward exercise here, but the benefit lies in the details.  When the club impacts the bag be sure to get the shaft to contact the upper part of the bag before the club head gets there.  This will ensure that the handle leads the clubhead.  Also, save your joints, club and impact bag by not whaling away at the bag too hard.  You just want a feel to carry over to the real deal.

• The 'hip press' drill.  This is a great drill that will give you a very good sense of body position at impact and also provide you with an amazing stretch.  If you slice or fade the ball this is for you! Set up to a ball without a club and your hands on your hips.  While maintaining your head position over the ball drive your hips as far toward the target as your body will allow.  Your back heel should come off the ground slightly as you feel the back leg straighten.  It will feel like you are pointing at the ground with the big toe on your back foot!  Hold for five seconds and release.  Afterwards try this with a club in your hands.

• The towel/line drill works wonders for compressing the ball and taking those ideal 'bacon strip' divots.  It ensures that the golfer shifts the weight onto the front foot at impact.  Practice as pictured, making sure the towel provides a slight amount of elevation and all the ensuing divots occur forward of the line of golf balls. 

To get a little more sizzle on your shots, irons or woods, try the above drills!

I look forward to the Open Championship tomorrow.  Golfweek has a great slideshow that captures the vibe.  The weather looks good and the rough looks brutal.

It seems that the two Scottish greats, Monty and Sandy Lyle are feuding over who should be Ryder Cup captain first and who cheated! Shame on ya wee laddies!

I look for Padraig and Rory to perform nicely! Here are the latest odds. 

Enjoy!

Thoughts on Sand Play

The greenside sand shot is unique to the game of golf in that it is the only shot we hit where we do not (or at least should not!) hit the golf ball.   Some people I know have hit their longest drives ever from a greenside bunker! Here are two simple things to keep in mind when extricating your ball from the sand:

• Set-up and aim to hit the sand before the ball.  Hover the club over the spot that you intend to impact.   When practicing, draw a line in the sand and see how many times you can impact the sand right on the line.  Avoid holding the clubhead over the ball at address for more consistent ground contact!
• In a regular golf shot we should be attempting to strike the ball first and the ground second.  This can only be done with a slightly descending blow and the weight on the golfers front foot.  Due to the fact that we only want all sand and no ball in the bunker there should be no forward weight shift into the hit.  Try to play sand shots with the back foot remaining fully planted and quiet throughout the swing.  The weight should remain where it was set at address. (Notice the post impact picture below) This will reduce those 'low heaters' out of greenside bunkers!

Swing Methods and the Fifteen Second Flameout

Have you ever noticed how various swing fads seem to come and go?  It seems like just the other day that Bennett and Plummer's "Stack and Tilt" swing was the only way to hit a ball properly.  How about David Leadbetter?  When was the last time you heard from him or one of his players?  Do you remember Jimmy Ballard and "connection"? What about Jim Hardy and his "One Plane Swing"?  It boggles my mind how these methods pop up, become the hot item and then flare out almost as quickly as they arrived on the scene.  They all have one thing in common that led to their 'success';  a tour golfer who wins an event or two with this 'new and amazing swing' they just learned.  The golfer, feeling indebted to the teacher, proudly proclaims that they could not have achieved their success without this newly discovered way to swing.  Please!

Understand that most of these ideas are thought up by very intelligent and well educated golf teachers.  The problem I have with these methodologies, however,  is that they set their own style of swinging the club.  In other words, the club must be swung in a certain fashion for it to work or function correctly.  I say an emphatic, "Nonsense!" I do not claim to know everything about the golf swing, but I do know that every great player has a different swing that produces fantastic results - or they would not be great!  There cannot possibly be one 'correct' way to swing the club!            

 It's a classic case of putting form before function!  "If you swing this new and amazing way you will achieve desired results!"  The best players of all time have always had a knack of getting the club on the ball correctly and the game today is no different.  A feathery needed to be stuck the same way a ProV1X needs to be hit.  Well almost!  If every golfer out there could understand impact and physics that make the ball go in the right place AND the wrong place they would be far better off.  What difference is perfecting the wrist angle at position seven in the moveaway going to make in your game and ability to compress a golf ball!  Form will always follow function.  Just ask Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Raymond Floyd, Bobby Jones, Nancy Lopez, Walter Hagen, Bobby Locke.......

Function must be King when you work on your game.  Get the ball to sound, feel and fly like you want it to and you are a happy, and very good, golfer!

Things to Ponder:

• Watching the AT&T on Sunday looked like the King (Tiger) was taking his young Prince (Kim) out for a little schooling.
• Anyone got an over under on the number of days before Carolyn Bivens is out as the LPGA commissioner?
• Why when a golfer sets up with their body aiming left it is an 'open' stance and when their clubface is aiming right it is an 'open' face?  Blame the Scots and single malt whiskey for that one.
• I have a feeling Paddy Harrington will be back in contention at next weeks 'Open' Championship.
• A claim could be made that Phil has choked away both majors so far this year!?

Hey, thanks for reading and please tell your friends about this amazing new website that is the latest and greatest golf blog in the whole wide world!!

Pitching Common Sense

The most common pitching errors occur prior to the club starting the swing.  They are poor club selelction and an improper address position.

So many of the golfers that I teach have a 60 degree club or lob wedge in their bags and the vast majority of them are not qualified to benefit from it being part of their set.  It actually hurts their scores.  Most of the pain comes in the pitching department!

Golfers seem to be under the impression that if you have a shot that is shorter than the distance you hit your full lob wedge, then it surely must be a lob wedge!  Wrong!  Here are a few things to keep in mind when playing your next pitch shot:

• You more than likely have a PITCHING wedge in your bag - feel free to pitch with it!  It requires a lesser swing, has a flatter face, gets the ball to the hole more efficiently (not via the moon!) and will still spin the ball.  Practicing with your pitching wedge will open your eyes to this reality.  It just takes a little creativity and feel before you are off and running.  It is the perfect club if there is any wind, the greens are soft or the pin is anywhere from the center of the green and back.  It is for this reason that I will seldom pitch with anything more lofted than my 54 degree (I have a PW/48 degree, a 54 degree and a 60 degree) as the swing becomes too big and the margin of error too great.
• Your LW has the most loft in your bag, the sharpest leading edge in the bag and the highest potential for disaster in the bag, especially when travelling at high speeds! Reserve this club for the little specialty shots around the greens where the ball needs to stop in a hurry.  If you cannot think of the last time you saved a stroke with your lob wedge, then relegate it to fire poker or roach killer.  It more than likely will work better for you in those departments!  Shhh, I know multiple tour golfers who are currently poor pitchers who simply will not take the time to learn to hit these shots with the appropriate club!
• Keep in mind that whatever club you choose to hit most of your pitch shots with the stroke requires a descending hit on the ball.  The weight must be on the front foot in order for this to occur.  This impact position can be encouraged by setting up in a chipping type address position (see above picture) and allowing the speed of the body rotation to control the distance.  Keep in mind that pitching is a chipping set-up and motion with the addition of wrist action!  Hit down on the back of the ball and keep the follow through short and crisp.   

Try these simple keys for your pitching and you too will see the light!

Please visit the following golf blogs as they have some fantastic content:

• Geoff Shackelford
• Ball Out Blog
• Pink Diva Golf
• Armchair Golf Blog
• Golf Dash Blog

Thanks for reading and enjoy this great game we all love!

Two Shots for Sand Success

In order to be a great bunker player you need more than one shot.  How often have you found yourself in the sand, twenty feet from the hole, and you need to hit a high, soft, spinnning shot to have any chance of getting up and down?  Or found yourself sixty feet from the target and you now need a lower, running type bunker shot in order to reach the hole?  You need to learn these two shots!

The first shot is a high velocity, high trajectory, high spin shot.  It is most often struck with the most lofted club in the bag.  In this situation the ball needs to come to a screeching halt very soon after landing, due to the fact that you have very little green to play with.

Here is how to play the shot:

• Using your most lofted club, open the face as much as possible.  You should feel as if you could balance a glass of water on the face of the club at address - take note of the picture above.
• The velocity and speed in the swing is what gets the ball high and spinning, so even though this may be a short shot it requires an aggressive approach.  Hit it hard!
• Going through impact try to feel the hands scoop under the ball.  The club head releases under and thus the club face stays open through the hit. This is an important element to this shot as it allows the golfer to hit hard, yet when releasing the club properly, the ball goes up versus far.
• Practice this shot from good lies off of a slight up slope in the sand.  While hitting the shot as hard as you can try to see how high and short you can make the ball travel.

The other shot is a low velocity, low trajectory, low spin shot.  It should most often be played with the second most lofted club in the bag.  If you have an LW it would be the SW, or if you only have an SW then you should use the PW.  In this situation the shot needs to traverse a large portion of either flat or downhill green.  There is ample opportunity for the ball to roll like a putt!

Play the shot this way:

• Using a lesser lofted club the stance should be of average width and the ball position is still forward of center.
• The clubface remains open, yet to a lesser degree than the above shot.
• This shot is played almost in slow motion as there should be very little speed in the swing. I often call this the 'dump and run' shot, as it should just get out the bunker, land early on the green and roll to the hole as if it were a putt.
• The hands should be light throughout the swing and it is okay to actually roll the face a little through impact.  This serves to lower the shot further and causes the ball to release more.
• Do not attempt this shot when your ball is lying on an upslope! An upslope requires a more aggressive swing and that robs the ball of  its ability to stay low.
• Practice is vital for this shot as it tends to take a few tries before sensing the correct speed of the swing.

With a few minutes spent experimenting with the above suggestions in the sand you will soon start to lose some of the angst we have all experienced when stepping into a bunker.  Give it a try and please feel free to let me know your thoughts.

Additional Resources:

How to Hit Great Bunker Shots

Luke Donald's Buried Lie

The 84 Degree Secret Explained

The most interesting discovery I made when studying the top golfers of all-time for Its All About Impact was the 84 degree secret. It is uncanny how different all their swings are yet the vast majority of them find a way to obey this important element in the swing.

Please keep in mind that the 84 degree line is only important as it pertains to impact. It serves to position the weight correctly throughout the swing so that the body can easily glide into the proper impact position.

As you view the picture above picture a line running up this golfers right side (left as you view it).  The line forms an 84 degree angle off of vertical (90 degrees).  The line should run up the outside of the right leg, cut through a portion of the shoulder and just barely graze the side of the head. When studying swings I started to use this line to isolate body movement and quickly found it to be a good guide for the address position and as a player approached the top of the backswing.

At address the head should not break the line. I noticed with golfers who had too much tilt at address this was quite prevalent and they all had a difficult time assuming the proper impact position once they had started poorly.  Notice the picture below.

Another common fault was breaking the 84 degree line in the backswing with too much lateral motion. This fault very often originates with too much tilt at address. Try to feel centered over the ball throughout the backswing. Keep in mind that this can be done while still maintaining a sense of loading into the back side or leg.   Notice the picture below....

I have found that an excellent drill that conveys the appropriate feel is the ball drill pictured below.  Position your back foot up against a wall and place a basketball or soccerball between your head and the wall.  Crossing your arms across your chest, pivot into your back side feeling the wind and torque in your core muscles.  Hold the position at the top to absorb the sense or feel you have. This is what the body should feel like when it is correctly positioned to compress the ball at impact!

A Great Impact Position = Compression

Tiger makes an Impact

We have all heard the sound of a properly struck golf shot: the ball squeezing off the face and fizzing toward the target with the divot flying and the ball penetrating the air with a seemingly single-minded purpose.  This is the sound of compression!   This is golf acoustics at it's finest.

The compression of a golf ball only comes from a well executed, subtle, downward blow on the golf ball.  A strike where the face is square and the path is straight.  The easiest way to achieve compression is by getting into a great impact position.  Here is how:

• Set up with the stance width fairly narrow and the lead eye over the ball.  The ball position should favor a little more back than forward.
• Remain fairly centered over the ball in the back swing.  Obey the 84 degree secret!
• Drive the weight (hips and thighs) onto the front foot without getting the head forward of where it started.  This is what I refer to as body curve!
• Trap the ball by leading with the handle into the hit.  The hands must beat the club head to impact.  With the weight comfortably favoring the front foot this creates the descending strike on the ball which in turn leads to compression!

   

                                     

 Notice the uncanny similarity between Vijay and Tom in the illustrations.  While they have each already impacted the ball it does appear that the handle of the club got beyond the ball prior to impact as they both achieve the appropriate amount of body curve.  

A recipe for compression!

                                                                                                                        

 A great strike on the ball is a necessity when you play a course like the players will face in the 2009 U.S Open at Bethpage Black.  The long and punishing test is designed to expose any ball striking flaws that may exist.

Here are a few U.S.Open notes:

• Newsday.com has some great up-to-the-minute news and photos - Long Island style!
• What does Hank Haney do while watching Tiger hit every single shot of the last two weeks?  I think he was in every picture I saw of Tiger.
• I find it interesting that there have already been four withdrawals.  If my game or body was not in top shape I think I'd stay home too!
• I predict a winning score of -5 and I predict someone in a red shirt will win!

Divotology

Divots are one of the greatest tools that golfers have available to help them analyze the physics they are imparting on the golf ball. 

Here are some simple pointers and facts about what your divots should look like: (speaking as a right hander)

• A post impact divot indicates a descending, downward blow on the back of the ball.  This is imperative for good ball striking. I encourage all golfers to take divots with all full swings off the ground other than the driver.
• A proper divot should begin just forward of where the ball touches the ground.
• The deepest point of a divot should be three inches forward of where the ball touches the ground.  Bobby Clampett in his book, The Impact Zone, states that it should be four inches, but that would mean the divot should be eight inches long and I haven't seen many good divots that are eight inches long.
• The optimal length of a divot is six inches, but this is often effected by turf conditions.
• There should be very little dirt showing in the divot, with just the 'green' or leaves being stripped from the stems of the grass.  Leave the roots behind so the grass can fill back in! Once again this can be effected by turf conditions.
• The correct line for a well struck straight shot should be slightly to the left of the target (for right handers).  This is due to the fact that the divot occurs after the hit and at that point the club has already started to move back to the inside.
• The entry and exit points should be square.  We want dollar bills, no trapezoids!

In the above picture notice how the tee has been pressed into the ground.  This indicates that the ball was struck prior to the start of the divot - just as it should be!  I also like the fact that the roots are still visible in the dirt.

Firstly, take divots! Secondly, work to refine them, so that they take on the correct shape and direction!  When that starts to happen, you are playing some special golf!

Choking, Putting and the US Open

One of the greatest choking hazards a golfer faces is a large lead with 18 or fewer holes to play.  And here's why; any golfer within 8 strokes of you has a legitimate shot at catching you!  When a golfer get's out in front they often start to play a different style of golf and we have all seen the results of this change - Norman in '96 Masters  (I could put multiple events for Norman here), Van de Velde in the '99 Open, Palmer with a 7 shot lead and 9 holes to go in the US Open at Olympic......

Jean van de Velde

(Did you know - Jean Van de Velde's ball crossed the burn 8 times on the 72nd hole of the '99 British Open!)

With a big lead the mind and approach tends to change and when that happens you are in big trouble.  Think of it this way - if you were competing in a one round event against all the players within 8 strokes of you, you could play relatively well, yet still lose to one or more of the players in that limited field by more than 8 strokes!  And that's without any change in approach!

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have a large lead (and I hope you do!) forget protecting and go out and play golf the way you played to get yourself in that position! Play the event as if it were a one round shootout and all the golfers are tied with you starting the round.  A golf tournament is a marathon; you can only play protective golf (and get away with it!) with three  or fewer holes to go.

A FURTHER UPDATE ON THE "RELEASE THE PUTTER" POST:

I thought the following two photographs might clarify the difference between a proper release of the putter and a non-release.

The Correct Release

No Release

I hope the above pictures help to clarify any confusion that there might have been.  The furthest point from the axis of a pendulum travels the furthest.

Let the putter head swing!

U.S. Open Notes:

• Tiger and Hank snuck out to Bethpage Black yesterday following El Tigre's amazing finish at the Memorial.  Just listening to the commentary gives you an idea of what it must be like to play in front of NY sports fans!
• Here is a great photo blog by Barton Silverman on Bethpage Black.  Gotta love the local flavor!
• This is an interesting article by John Branch about what it takes to play the Black.
• Golfweek has some great insight from the Columbus, Ohio Sectional qualifier.
• Jim McCabe writes a nice piece on what it's like to try to make it to the U.S. Open
• How about this:  Steve Marino (26), Charley Hoffman (20), Charles Howell III (28) and Kevin Na (13) all failed to qualify for the U.S. Open.  They are all in the top 30 on the money list and will be watching on TV just like you and me.....Crazy! So much for a world class field.
• Well done to former student Kyle Stanley on qualifying for the U.S. Open for the second year in a row!

If you are ever in the Hilton Head area and are looking to go and catch some fish please look up my friend Capt. Christiaan Pollitzer on the Bulldog.  I fished with him yesterday and we caught 6 cobia and a red snapper amongst various other denizons of the deep!  I actually invited friends to a cobia dinner before we even left the dock - the man is a fishing legend!

Release the Putter

A pendulum swings around a fixed point and in order to release the face of the putter correctly, so should your putting stroke.

Jim Hardy, the noted 'One-Plane' teacher, has gone on record as stating that the majority of great putters are invariably 'hookers' of the golf ball in their full swing.  They all release the putter face the same way they release their club face - aggresively! And when looking at a sampling of the greatest of all time; Faxon, Crenshaw, Locke (as in Bobby!), George Archer and Ballesteros;  I certainly can concur with his reasoning.  Of course Jack and Tiger aren't too bad but let's just stick with the formula for now!

In order for the face to release the stroke needs to work like a pendulum.  Notice in the pictures of Tiger Woods above how the butt end of the putter in each frame points at the same spot on his torso.  So often I see golfers, in an attempt to not use their wrists, push the hands through the stroke, thus discouraging the wrists, hands and face to release freely.  This leads not only to poor direction and ball striking, but most importantly decreased distance control.

An excellent little teaching aid to overcome this common flaw is the Perfect Pendulum.  This device attaches to your own putter and telescopes up into your belly. (Unless your belly happens to telescope into it!)  Once it's anchored make a few strokes to get a sense of the putter head swinging beyond the hands into the follow through.  It ensures a correct release.

I love simple teaching aids that convey the correct feel while using your own club and this one takes care of everything for you!

Here are a few keys to remember:

• Assume your normal address position and note where the butt end of the putter points.
• As you stroke try to sense the butt end pointing at the same spot on your upper body.  This should be maintainted from address to the back of the stroke and on into the follow through.
• Feel the putter head SWING to either side of your center.
• A light, soft grip will aid in the putter face releasing freely.
• Roll a few putts with your dominant hand only to feel the correct rhythm of the stroke.

For better distance and direction (is there anything else?) with your putting try these ideas.  They will help!

Things to Ponder:

• John Daly's career can be marked by either upward or downward trends.  Over the past few years the lows are lower and the highs are not quite where they once were.  He is clearly on an upward trend at the moment, I just hope he has the sense to survive the next low.
• I have had a few responses to my All-time Heart List.  After reconsideration, I must add Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods to the list.  Tom Watson is waiting in the wings.
• Why do Davis Love and Ben Crane have to qualify for the British Open?  They are both in the top 60 players in the world and are both having relatively good seasons.
• It's about time Vijay Singh has showed up again on a leaderboard!  Where has he been?

Thanks for reading and please feel free to make abusive comments about the author.