Acceleration

I wrote about this recently from my experience at Pine Needles and again I could feel this sensation of acceleration today.

My take away from The Sweetser in Asheville was this; I played lots of fine shots and drove the ball fairly long and straight, but my iron shots were often not going very far. The acceleration possible with a driver because the ball is on a tee and contacting the ball first not an issue is NOT the case with iron shots off the turf. This is especially true with the early bermuda fairways at the BFCC where the lies are extremely tight.

In a nutshell today I could sense the place, the sensation of where my arms and club would end up at the finish of my swing. The backswing seemed slow and connected and mostly a shoulder turn where my right knee stayed in place as I wound back. The front swing wasn't rushed or harried but felt like one continuous motion that didn't ever stop.

You always hear about the golf swing should be as if the ball is simply in the path of the swing, in the way and there's no sensation of a "hit". I could feel this today.

The backswing was shorter and I had more focus on out there/ the target / the front swing.

This is also something to explore with short shots and I played lots of fine short ones today with a slower and shorter back swing and more acceleration through.

N.C. Senior @ North Ridge

It's been awhile since I have written but I was playing in an event in Raleigh and have played lots of golf these past days. And I have hit lots of balls and practiced my short game as well. I was 15 over for 3 rounds and Paul Simson beat me by 30 which is humbling. My short game was really weak and I drove the ball amazingly well.

Yesterday at BR on the range I really felt my swing in a profound way.

By putting up upper arms on my chest and turned back slowly with my shoulders and hips I was able to stay over it and make my front swing with the left leg straightening left hip turning left. I was able to flight the ball lower and contact the ball first. and there was a comfort at being over the ball and not out of position on my back swing. What I also noticed was the loss of my spin angle on the downswing did not happen as frequently.

The keys here are

1. club and left arm one line with hands ahead....measuring how far to stand from the ball is key here and mimicking the impact position. I am prone to get my hands behind the ball and this set-up is different in that my left wrist is not low and cupped

2. left shoulder down and shoulders left and slightly open...again my tendency is to get my shoulders closed as I waggle and prepare to play the shot

3. hip turn get the club on plane and help me make a slower/tighter back swing

4. bend from the waist standing far enough from the ball

when I finished my practice I played ten of the best 50 yard shots of my life....arms on chest and slowly turning back with my hands doing nothing and the front swing simply being a straightening of my left leg and having my weight stay on/over my shoe.

Pronation / Supination

I have been practicing using my swing thoughts/feelings from April 24&25 with a slight adjustment. It is helpful on short shots to pronate my left arm off the ball. this allows the club to start first which helps me stay over the ball, and it also keeps the club face from closing on my backswing. when the club does close then I have to re-route and down-cock to square the blade making it quite hard to match up/ body with my hands and arms. My front swing is still a straightening o the left leg onto a solid left shoe.

With the shorter shots it helps to also rotate ( supinate ) my forearms/ club face back to the ball as my hips turn out of the way. By pronation and supination I am able to stay still/ quiet over the ball and maintain my balance and spine angle.

Practice April 24&25 Duke

I found a swing thought which really worked on Sunday. It is too bad when I "come" upon these breakthroughs in feeling and understanding that I do not figure out a way to remember them even though I am constantly writing about the journey that is the game. One of the amazing things which happens is I "let-go" and swing when these magical sessions occur. I am trying so much less and it is so much more fun because I am not working so hard, striving so......

I played with this swing thought before but couldn't find a recording of it in all the golf journal books on my shelf. Before writing it down I went back today to try it again and am more clear about the sensations and why it is a successful way for me to approach my swing. What would I say is the most important aspect of this swing? The focus on the front swing and finish position which results in better speed and compression with less effort. The miss goes right which I can live with as almost no balls go left.

The front swing is a straightening of the left leg with my left shoe gripping the ground for power, up into a finish onto a solid left shoe, a completely straight left leg and my head on top my my shoulder looking at the target being on balance. The relationship between my left wrist and the club are in a similar relationship as they were at the top of my back swing because there has not been any manipulation of the club face with my hands.

So what sets this front swing motion up, makes it possible? I'll start with the set up, the waggle and the backswing turn before I describe the front swing.

The Set-Up

I feel more over the ball with less knee bend and as straight a spine as I can achieve.

My left shoe is turned out and my feet are connected to the ground.

My chin is turned slightly towards the target

My left hand grip is strong and my hands are sorta low and ahead of the ball.

The clubface seems more open

Arms feel relaxed and hanging down

The Waggle

By slowly setting the club I rehearse the first part of the backswing where the club starts first without the clubface shutting going back

The way I am set up means I move the club a small bit and I am fully cocked/club parallel to the ground

The feeling is of pre-setting the angle so that all I have to do is turn back

The club seems to set out away from my body as I waggle because I have not turned at all to get the club to move inside....but that does happen later as I turn my hips alot!

There is something about this waggle which encourages me to swing left on the front swing.

The Back Swing

Is mostly about turning my hips and shoulders while staying within my footwork/foundation

My hands seems very passive and the backswing feels up and my hands under the shaft

The swing begins softly with my head staying in position. The opposite of a jump back to my right foot. I am relaxed and so my arms fold easily.

There is a definite end of the backswing and I am over the ball even though my club is all the way back

I sense enough leverage to change directions

The Front Swing

Again very passive hands as the club changes directions and drops into place

If I can trust and let go/ not tense up, there is lots of speed from centrifugal force

It seems like without the down-cock/squat from my old swing I have more time to rotate.

Lots of shots today where my finish had my left hand and wrist in great position which indicates I have not saved/flipped thru impact.

Short Ones

I played lots of pitch shots with this same initiating the front swing by clearing my left hip and straightening my left leg. It allows the hands to remain soft and passive. Like the club is set and the swing is simply turning back and through while staying "still" or over the ball. I would like to practice turning my head through as the club swings through which helps the face remain open and helps me play the shot without breaking down of flipping at it.

Opening the club face and using the same pre-set waggle is helpful.

Keeping my spine angle is also very important

Like a rehearsal of club back then turn through.

Going to try it again tomorrow.

Solid Contact

Finding a consistent "bottom" of the swing arc is what leads a golfer to making solid contact with the ball. This "bottom" is the lowest point in the circle of the swing. I have always known this but am curious if there is a effective way to practice achieving this consistency?

If you practiced off of hard pan or sand then you would get the instant feedback whether of not the bottom of your swing way slightly ahead of the ball and therefore you contacted the ball first just ahead of the contact you made with the ground. There is also the chance of somehow making a line on the turf and lining the balls up there so you can see where the divots begin....which tells you the same thing.

My swing when timed correctly contacts the ball first but if I am slightly "off" then I do not have the consistency of a really good ball striker. So I want to try and describe the aspects of my swing which I can pay attention to in order to improve my solid contact. There's nothing better than solid contact and also you absolutely know when the shot looks great but you could feel that your club did not contact the ball first.

I was in Tennessee this week with John and he has tried lots of different ways to help me with this issue. If you can not make solid contact you can not control the trajectory of the ball and the distance your iron shots travel.

Here are the feedback keys for me as I practice making solid contact.

1. the sound.....there is an unmistakable sound the contact makes when the ball has been struck purely.

2. the divot shape and depth.....the divots should be shallow and square and the direction should be left of the target.

3. trajectory.....the ball should be lower and fly through the air with ballooning up usually to the right.

4. distance....when practicing the ball when struck solidly will travel farther and it is helpful to pick a target where I can see the ball land and compare one shot to the next.

On day two I had lots of success with the ball throw swing but it was impossible for me to find any rhythm with this swing on day 3 on the golf course.

Starting the club back slowing without jumping back and turning my head under is where it all starts for me. At the end of the round yesterday I felt like my hands were ahead of the ball with the toe up and open....with my arms on my chest I was able to keep the club a consistent length as I turned back and thru within the confines of my feet/shoes/foundation. That is what I will practice today.

Jim Furyk Grip

Can I find a way to chip and pitch where I stay relaxed and allow my natural instincts and athletic "touch" to shine through? It is early in the season and I am going to try a new grip to play short shots.

There is constant dialogue and the worry/anxiety when I am faced with particular wedge shots that I do not feel comfortable playing. I never know when I am going to feel this way and go weeks sometimes without any problem.

I have diagnosed my problems and issues to a fare-thee-well and often get worse when I practice because I get locked up in my head thinking. I almost always do better when I am playing to a target.

If you have lost your nerve putting or your hands are no longer soft on the grip in a way which produces a constant "roll" off the face of the putter making it impossible to get the correct distance and make putts, you have different fallbacks to reach for. There's a claw-grip, or left hand low, a long putter or watching the blade and even looking at the hole instead of the ball. But with chipping and pitching there has not been that much exploration other than a guy on tour named Chris Couch who plays short shots around the greens left hand low.

On Friday I tried using a weak and different right hand grip to soften my hands on the club and make my right hand less likely to spoil my short shots. This is not a silver bullet and must be practiced enough to get a feel for the distance but here's what I learned in just one practice session.

1. it was easier to accelerate and turn through

2. how much "power" comes from my right hand because when placed on the grip weaker/more on top and with the Jim Furyk's right hand grip, the ball comes off the clubface softer and the ball does not fly as far and therefore so much of my "power" has been coming from my right hand.

3. I was able to contact the ball first more easily

The double overlap grip take some power away and has the ball coming off softer and encourages me to turn through to face the target when playing short wedge shots. Now I must practice swinging the club off the ball without moving my head with a smooth and rythmic pace.

A Feeling on Sunday

Playing on Sunday I was in the usual early season form and was making my way around the course doing my best to keep my score respectable. We were playing a very long and wet course and I was often left with longer irons or hybrids into the greens. I turned in 37 missing a 10 foot birdie putt at the 9th and then double- bogied 10. My 4 iron shot at 12 hit the bank and went back in the water and I felt like the round could slip away and the only thing I'd be sure of was a long walk. But at the 14th I felt something on my drive and then again on my 3 wood second and this feeling is the essence of what I want to pursue in swinging, in my golf swing.

I felt solid over the ball and set up open or left. The club face seemed slightly open which automatically promotes the club swinging more up and inside. But the dominant feeling was of turning back without swaying off the ball.....so on the front swing there was more time/space to rotate around.

Think of it this way; if you sway back then the start of the downswing is used up moving back into position, but if you do not move off the ball then the time can be used to turn through. The other part of this feeling was my hands/grip felt solid on the club and there was less need to manipulate the face.

This feeling and set up and swing motion is exactly what is called for on shorter pitch shots where there isn't time to turn through and maintain the face position if you've swayed off the ball.