2010 Pawleys Cup

The last golf event of the year is always one of my favorite times. First of all I love the golf course, which I believe is quite underrated and then there's the good food, bed, and company of the guys. I played well this year and want to recall a few things to tuck away into the winter so as to not forget them in the spring.

Most importantly the combination of aiming correctly and staying over the ball on my backswing by keeping my head in place produced shots that mostly started on-line. When my rhythm is good, which usually means I could see the shot I am about to play, then the contact was also good and the ball traveled the correct distance.

It is interesting how being open to the target line also makes it seem awkward to swing the club off the ball outside because that would cause the shot to start too far left. So it does the opposite which is encouraging a more inside path by turning my body and this keeps my arms closer to my body. Keeping my arms closer makes it easier to stay within my foundation/stance/feet and improves footwork and balance.....all good things for me.

I think I have been setting up closed for a long time and I was happy to correct this with good results at Pawleys Island.

a golf lesson

Today I had a golf lesson with a good friend and I had close to an hour driving from Blowing Rock to Banner Elk to talk with John about my golf swing, the golf swing and clear up some of the things which puzzle me about both. The last two times I have seen John he begins with telling my my shoulders are way closed to my target line. This is very exasperating to me because I know that you simply can not aim your shoulder to the right. Anyway I immediately started to be able to play shots which had a similarity. He had told me on the drive that my down swing tends to be body down and sliding forward and I should try and visualize my front swing as up and around. John has been a friend and has seen me swing since 1977 and his stylized visuals of my flaws are priceless. Anyway he showed me my move which is to an actual golf swing what a cartoon caricature is to a portrait, but it helped me "get" what he wanted me to try.

After about 30 minute of slight adjustments here and there I was playing some of the finest iron shots of my life. John was giving a lesson to a PGA touring professional and watched me out of his other eye so to speak, and gave me just the right amount of help to allow me to understand what he was trying to teach me.

It all starts by setting up correctly and my posture and grip felt particularly athletic and correct. If you are attempting to finish up and around you tend not to slouch over at address. One of the motions John made, which mimics my move, is to have the right arm go away from the body with the head diving down. The opposite of this is to keep the head high and in my case slightly turned toward the target as the club swing away. This limits the back swing and does not allow the clubface to close as much as it travels away from the ball. I also had a less wide stance and my right arm was on my chest and I did not allow it to separate from my body. The only way to achieve this is to make my back swing as a turn away with my shoulders. This produced a more matched up back and front swing. The most encouraging aspect was how solidly I was contacting the ball and how similar the trajectory was.....and the ball was flying far without much effort.

I was having the hardest time with the 50 yard shots and making my turn back and through with my arms on my chest and my hands quite neutral produced some fine short shots. They say golfers need the illusion of hope to survive and this lesson today sure gave me a needed dose of hope. It was so gratifying to realize I could still play shots of high quality and stay balanced!

golfing in beantown

Just finished 90 holes in Boston and the last shot I played was an 8 iron to an elevated green where you can't miss short....the wind was in my face and it was only 138 yards. one of my playing partners had selected a 9 iron and well I was just loathe to hit a 7 so I tried a hard 8. I hit the ground first and barely carried the ball over the water hazard. It was a hard way to finish. I really hadn't hit too many shots fat over the 5 rounds, but I really hate this shot as it has been a constant companion or torn over the years for me. I often contact the ground just a fraction behind the ball, and when I am off I hit well behind it. This is MY miss.

I went to the range just to play a few 8 irons to try and erase this memory of the fat one from my mind. Yeah I played some nice solid shots with my 8 iron but this morning I am still thinking about this shot. Here's what is in my mind about my swing and this shot.

When I am striving to create a swing which will "get it out there" I think my backswing is too fast and this makes it hard to match up my arms and my body to rotate through. a slower winding backswing is what will work better but it is hard to go back slower when it is in your mind that you need distance on the iron shot....it's counterintuitive!

Practicing getting to and holding a finish position and thinking more about my target and the front swing and less about the back swing is what I am after. I may have to get more fit to arrive at the finish position which will allow me to swing through the ball rather than at it.

Practicing turning my head thru ala David Duval will help me and I should practice this way.

I am uncertain about hip turn and want to experiment with this in the coming weeks.

transition

the part of my golf swing which I have not ever focused on much but know it is there and inconsistent is my transition from the back swing to the front swing. here's what I believe happens on my poor shots; my club swing off the ball quickly and as my shoulders stop turning my hands & arms continue back. this causes the club to swing back too far and to have me sway or slide off the ball changing the bottom of my swing. my first move down is to move too laterally which separates the two parts of the body which must dance together to match up and contact the ball solidly. it is a good thing in some regard to have the body begin the down swing while the club is still swinging back but I have too much of this.

yesterday I felt a swing on the 18th hole where my back swing seemed to stop at the top and then my down swing was matched up and proceeded to the finish position without any adjustment at the ball. I thought of Jay Haas. A swing cadence of 1000 pause slightly & 2000.

I went to the range and did the practice drill of taking the club back to waist height and stopping and then turning back and thru......this allowed me to accomplish the front swing without any slide and finish on a solid left shoe in balance with this similar swing cadence.

I have thought about and noticed these last two weeks how hard it is for me to shift my weight to my left side/shoe and not fall back and I believe this entry explains why.

If the shift is rushed and not matched up then I do not stay in balance.

I remember a time at Keith Hills when I was trying to reverse pivot on my front swing and actually have my weight go back to my right foot on the downswing so as to not move too laterally. of course this was not actually happening but the feeling was helpful in making sure I didn't slide past the ball and leave my club stuck behind me. there was some of that sensation yesterday practicing.

weak grip in the bunker

claude harmon's insight and understanding of how to play bunker shots is well documented and I saw him hit plenty of bunker shots. I had taken a weaker left hand grip per his method but had my right hand on too strong so that I was squaring the club thru impact thus removing loft and bounce. by putting my rt. hand on very weak I regained the "thump" sound which is the sound of all really good bunker players. this sound assures you that the club with swing through consistently because the bounce keeps the club from going too deeply into the sand.

it also is a good feeling when playing these shots with this very weak grip that you can accelerate and the ball will not travel very far. this is particularly helpful on short ones.

don't stop

when you are playing well the swing feels and is a continuous motion and the ball is simply sitting there in the path of the motion. in february billy harmon said to me," on your good shots your body keeps going and on the bad ones you stop." I have been circling this notion and swing principle for years but have had some profound practice sessions these last two days which I want to try and explain.

of all the players I've known who have attempted to improve their swings john mcneely stands out as the one guy who really made a big change and improvement. it has to do with his body rotation thru the ball to arrive at a balanced finish where lots of speed thru has compressed his golf ball to produce higher quality shots than before he made the change. I asked him this week if when he was making this swing change years ago did he purposely turn his head thru towards the target sooner on the front swing to aid he body rotation and he answer was "oh yeah". so I believe this is noteworthy because I know keeping your head down too long impedes good body rotation thru.

before I write about the sensation of turning thru and not stopping to adjust the club face at impact I want to explore why we do often stop, lose speed and have to use our hands rather than our big muscles to square the club face at impact. fear, tension, being off balance or out of position all come to mind as the cause of stopping your body on the down swing.

it seems to me when you are connected to and fascinated with your target and have seen the ball flying towards the flag in your mind's eye your focus is out there and way past the ball so you do not tend to stop. but if you are up in your head thinking how to swing and have lost your connection to the target this predisposes you to stop.

when I think of players who swing freely and who's swing is one continuous motion players like fred couples and tom watson come to mind. I do not think enough has been said or written about this fundamental....maybe because it follows so many others in terms of cause and affect.

but the great ball striker from canada george knudsen recommended that we find and practice a finish form and in rehearsing your swing if you pay particular attention to the details of a proper finish and then try and arrive at that form after the swing is complete it help me not to stop because me swing feeling/thought is at the finish and past the ball.

my practice and insight came to me this way; I was working on my short shots and initiating the front swing by turning my hips out of the way.....I had taken a strong grip and the crease in my left wrist was pronounced. I thought of keeping this relationship between my hands and the club the same back & thru. to do this I had to turn my body and not stop.....I was able to do this more effectively when I visualized the butt end of the club pointing to my belly at the far end of my left side. I turned back and thru keeping this point the same.

after playing lots of short shots I tried this with a 7 iron with great success and a sensation I have rarely felt. the heel had speed thru and the toe didn't go deeper into the ground. I finished on balance and with my shoulders level and the ball flew the distance with little effort.

on all the shots I mis-hit my head did not stay steady....this is my key to whatever swing I make. to start the club back w/o moving my head down and back/under.

I had a finish form to swing into, and it had my left wrist the same as it is at address and my left shoe on the ground at the end of the swing.

this also allows me to focus on the left hand/side as the dominant part of my body.

lastly there was a tread of this session in my 2003 mid-am swing thought of creating a more together and pre-cocked grip.

shooting 82

yesterday I was looking forward to testing my game at the famous in these parts Linville Golf Club with friends who are members there and fine players. I had made 12 birdies in my two rounds this week at BRCC and was feeling really good about my game. Blowing Rock has 3 par fives and one par four which are reachable for me and so many of my birdies were two putts but still I was playing quite well.

I played the first 3 holes well and on the par 5 4th going for the green in two pulled my 21 degree into the water and made 6. I then played 10 holes where I was really in a fog and hardly made a par. how can this be? how does this happen? golf seems so fragile and there's such a fine line between feeling comfortable and swinging and trying hard and striving. I had 2 or 3 three putts and missed every par putt I attempted. I played the last 4 one under to shoot 82! in reviewing my misses they were both left and right....not far off but not on line. my work on my pre-shot routine is far from complete as I felt like I was going thru my routine but had less connection to my target than is needed. the routine is still new and not automatic and instinctive yet.

back in BR I went to practice and again I was trying too hard and swinging too hard and losing my balance slightly even with an 8 iron. I did come back to what I have been working on which is positive rather than creating a whole new deal! I don't quite understand where to go this morning but the area of the swing I am curious about is the release on the front swing. when I am relaxed and in balance the club seems to square automatically but when I am struggling I seem to move ahead and flip to try and square the club up at impact. the swing left/ball throw/ tom watson secret are all on my mind as the club starting early to begin the release makes certain the club will not end up behind me and require me to stop my body and flip it quick thru impact.

I want to practice making a more relaxed swing today so that at the finish I am not out of breathe and working so hard. what a game this is!

pitching

practicing pitching today I discovered once again that my back swing is often too long and so I must take some of the power away on the front swing.....moving ahead or slowing down are two of the ways I do this and neither is a good thing! the challenge I face is the club often does not swing away from the ball smoothly or first. when I jump back or go off the ball quickly the club does go too far back. when my head turns under this also shuts the face and my arms get away from my body. today I had a secure rt. hand grip with my hands low and it felt easy to swing left and have the club slip under the ball. so practicing starting the club back first with my head staying steady is a big key for me. the front swing is "powered" by turning my left hip out of the way and the speed of this hip turn determines how far the ball will travel. I felt the way that tom watson looks with very dead hands.

mountain time

here in the n.c. mountains for almost 3 weeks. I love this time because it is cool enough to practice which seems impossible for me in chapel hill this time of year. last year I came here just after I shot 63 at finley and my expectations were so high I totally bombed during my time here. this year I want to learn from last and try and enjoy my time here.

I have a plan which includes or rather has at the top of the page, practice and become more natural with my pre-shot routine. I also want to find more balance at the end of my swing. And paying attention to my grip and hand position at address....stronger left hand/ weaker right and a lower hand position so that I can see a crease in my wrists at address.

In my last session with mike he was able to observe that with my head position turned towards the target and turning back w/o allowing the head to turn under&down my hips stay level and allow me to create speed thru because I do not have to stop and flip thru impact. think resistance and the davis love image of propelling the matches.

I felt the club swinging left and it seemed I could eliminate the left side. The heel felt ahead of the toe thru impact. the club felt up and closer to my body on my backswing and many of the swings seemed that my left wrist was the same at my finish as it was at the start. also the shots had a sameness to the trajectory and shape that was encouraging.

staying level

yesterday I had a lesson and felt I finally "got" a picture of my major swing flaw and the key/swing thought to help me minimize my flaw. I had discovered this key quite a few times in my journey but never stuck to it and incorporated the key into my swing motion in a way that it became part of my swing.

my normal swing has my head turning under and moving slightly down on my backswing.....what I never understood quite was how this off the ball move pushed my hips into a position where my right hip was too high and my right knee and hip were "dipped down" and lower as I competed my backswing. mike said my backswing was pretty classic stack&tilt. on my front swing I had to reverse this and if I wasn't able to time it I'd hit behind the ball or the oposite of flipping the club at and thru the ball....but no matter which I did I'd always have to "wait" to allow the club to catch up and square the blade thru impact. this waiting isn't a good thing as I lost speed and the ability to compress the ball....and it made it very hard to rotate my body around enough on my front swing.

the swing thought / key is simple = turn my head slightly towards the target at address. this gives me the feeling of being more over the ball at address/less behind it. as I turn back more slowly to wind the shoulders behind the ball I keep my head in this position and do not allow it to go down or turn under.....mike said this totally changed the way my hips turned making them more level so I could "go" on my front swing!....what I could feel was being more on top of the ball thru impact....feeling like the ball would not hook because I wasn't flipping thru impact as the result of my body stopping. I could also sense the club swinging left. I had the good feeling of the heel of the blade being slightly ahead of the toe at the strike. my missed shots were caused by a lack of rhythm and timing because this is new to me. and when I used my old front swing move of rushing up ahead with my lower body.

this also is relevant of 30 yard shots and I could feel so many times yesterday rushing ahead with my lower body and lowering the trajectory of the pitch......the head position and then swinging thru staying within my foundation/footwork is what I believe is the best thought to practice my swing with

so as I head to the mnts for lots of golf.....the 3 keys to explore and practice are;

1. continue to practice my pre-shot routine to make it more natural and automatic

2. use the head position described above

3. finish on balance and within my base/foundation by having good footwork and a stable lower body

Least Effort

yesterday was one of those practice sessions where it all seemed crystal clear to me....I was swinging without much effort.....my backswing seemed slow and winding and tghe front swing free and easy = let go....the events which led me to the session where a day before pitching chat with jim stayl who plays these shots beautifully.....he held my head and asked me to swing with a long left arm out to the right.....this is only possible from the correct set up of weight on my left foot to square my hips and the shaft ahead of my left leg so the club starts back inside....the key was telling me how soft and passive the hands must remain and that the shot was struck with the pivot of my hips turning to the left while remaining behind the ball.....he said my whole body was moving ahead and down

I played shot after shot and was able to slide me the club under the ball controlling the distance with the speed at which I made my hip pivot. jim also asked me to hold the club down the grip as my backswing was too long....by gripping down you automatically make a shorter swing....

the feeling was one of being soft and not trying

I know I also was able to start the club back without being full of anxiety and striving which allowed the club to start first with a swinging motion

I then tried this same idea with a 7 iron with amazing results....the ball was leaping off the club and traveling far with a sameness of shape and trajectory....if I let go and simply rotate around and initiate the front swing by turning my hips out of the way....and if there is a softness in my arms.....and I stay within my feet then centrifigal force gives speed without effort

I want to explore the eastern idea of the law of least effort as it applies to playing a golf shot

this was a session of true joy....of swinging....of allowing the shot to happen without exerting control...of letting go

remember this please

I wish I had read the post from February 24 before going to practice yesterday. I had the same experience where after just 5 minutes I had skulled and fatted so many shots I thought I'd have to quit. At the end of 90 minutes I was chipping and pitching like I really knew what I was doing, and my touch is always pretty good if my mind quiets down and the tension melts away.

I began trying to use the kevin compare method and I was standing up straight and well everything was going wrong.

I ended up with lots of bend from the waist which allows my arms to hang down freely and the backswing is initiated by the small pivot and knee movement. My hands feel very soft and neutral on the grip.

When I go "bad" I straighten up and as Johnny Miller says, " pop my belly out " which cause me to lose my spine angle and the bottom of my swing. And tense up and lose all my rhythm. The reverse of this is to make the motion which Tom Watson describes in his "the secret" you tube video. My right shoulder comes out and past the ball and the club swings to the left. Like I am playing a big cut. The club face stays constant and I do not scoop/add loft. And I tend to be able to contact the ball first. There was some acceleration too and the club stays lower to the ground as it goes through.

This is my motion and I will stay with it and practice it through the end of the season. I had a good pre-shot going where I make two practice swings with this motion feeling the finish place or form and then simply make the motion with the ball in the way maintaining spine angle and being as soft and rhythmic as possible.

practicing yesterday

I was excited to go to the course yesterday to practice my short game but had disastrous results in my first 15 minutes attempting short ones off the mats. I was unable to find the new found ability to use my small pivot to give these short shots the energy needed to fly the distance. Instead I was scooping and using my hands which caused me to come up and out of my posture and resulted in my body stopping at the ball. Even though I was aware of my mistake I could not right the ship and actually got worse and worse.

I left the mats and went to the small green with grass and tried to recover my relaxed motion from Sunday. It took 30 minutes but finally I was back. Here are a few things I learned in the process.

1. the slide forward rather than pivot around causes all sorts of issues and I almost need to feel like I have a reverse weight shift on the front swing to NOT move too much laterally.

2. I must practice to learn not to sway back and move the handle of the club too far and too quickly.

3. the tom watson grip helps me match-up and not use my hands to "hit" the ball.

Chipping

I finally read something which makes sense to me and when I tried it at the course there was a natural aspect to the application of the technique. I read parts of Stan Utley's book about the short game and his explanation of chipping seems compelling. The part of the technique which is appealing is that it is very much like the long swing AND the power of the shot comes from the pivot or body rotation rather than the hands or arms.

In the freezing cold yesterday a.m. I went to the practice green and chipped for 30 minutes before the frost delay lifted for us to tee off...... and here are the take aways;

1. I was so tense and contorted trying all my attempts to get back on track that I had zero rhythm or athleticism.

2. trying to stay still was further alienating me from my flow and rhythm

3. with just a little time practicing I was able to play many decent shots during my round yesterday

I observed Bob Stanger and Larry both excellent chippers and they use this technique to a degree.....the part which I could see was the pivot around the left legs and hip and the lack of scooping or hit cause by using the hands on the front-swing.

Utley asks me to stand on my left leg with my spine leaning left at address.....my arms hang down and there is very little tension in my hands and arms....the back swing is created my a slight pivot with my left knee going towards the ball and the right going back ever so slightly. He asks that the right elbow fold which I do not "get" yet but it is only possible if there's a lack of tension. The front-swing happens by pivoting back and turning yourself towards the target. If you are relaxed there is "lag" and the left wrist bows and the right wrist remains creased. The loft of the club creates the trajectory

an ace

It was a cold and wet day but the sunday game teed off after a 90 minute frost delay on Decemeber 27. I was playing well but the fairways were so wet and the chill such that I had already decided the day would be a 9 holer.

At the 5th hole I was between clubs and decided to play a 5 iron instead of a 4 and try drawing the ball to the back left pin placement. I did so by rehearsing a more inside backswing and level shoulder turn through the ball and played a fine shot that went past the flag and over the green as I caught it perfectly solid.

When I reached the par 3 8th hole I remembered the 5iron I had played a few holes back and again went with a 5 iron and played a draw. Again the contact was very solid and when I looked up it was headed right for the pin. The hole is uphill and you can not see the flag but as I watched the ball I saw the wind push it back towards the flag, keeping the shot from drawing to the left of the back left pin. All of a sudden I saw the pin shake and heard this awesome thud-like sound. It was as if there was a tangible connection from the target to me and it was real because I could see and hear it...pin moved and I heard it hit the flagstick.

Eric made the comment that the ball must have struck the flagstick down low and as we mounted the hill I considered what it would be like to find my ball in the cup for my third hole-in-one. I thought back to my first and second and realized it had been more than ten years since my last one in Scotland.

The good Doctor E, my friend Larry Eimers, made it to the cup first and raised his arms triumphantly and flashed me a smile I still remember. I felt this instant and very strong, " yeah baby!" before walking to the cup to view the ball and remove it. The thrill lasted a few minutes until I failed to get up and down on the last for birdie after two beautiful shots. In the days since I have remembered back to the instant I heard and saw the ball hit the flagstick and thought about this tangible, wonderful connection.

The number of aces one has is a weird thing. They say one of the game's greatest ball-strikers and someone known for precision, Ben Hogan, never made a hole-in-one. Sam Snead is reported to have had 37. I can only say this; earlier this year I thought to myself, " I sure would like to make another hole-in-one."

finally an ace

It was a cold and wet day but the sunday game teed off after a 90 minute frost delay on Decemeber 27. I was playing well but the fairways were so wet and the chill such that I had already decided the day would be a 9 holer.

At the 5th hole I was between clubs and decided to play a 5 iron instead of a 4 and try to draw the ball to the back left pin placement. I did so by rehearsing a more inside backswing and level shoulder turn through the ball and played a fine shot that went past the flag and over the green as I caught it perfectly solid.

When I reached the par 3 8th hole I remembered the 5iron I had played a few holes back and again went with a 5 iron and played a draw. Again the contact was very solid and when I looked up it was headed right for the pin. The hole is uphill and you can not see the flag but as I watched the ball I saw the wind push it back towards the flag, keeping the shot from drawing to the left of the back left pin. All of a sudden I saw the pin shake and heard this awesome thud-like sound. It was as if there was a tangible connection from the target to me and it was real because I could see it...pin moved and I heard it hit the flagstick.

Eric made the comment that the ball must have struck the flagstick down low and as we mounted the hill I considered what it would be like to find it in the cup for my third hole-in-one. I thought back to my first and second and realized it had been more than ten years since my last one in Scotland.

The good Doctor E, my friend Larry Eimers, made it to the cup first and raised his arms triumphantly and flashed me a smile I still remember. I felt this instant and strong, " yeah baby!" before walking to the cup to view the ball and remove it.

The number of aces one has is a weird thing. They say one of the games greatest ball-strikers and someone known for precision, Ben Hogan, never made a hole-in-one. Sam Snead is reported to have had 37. I can only say this; earlier this year I thought to myself, " I sure would like to make another hole-in-one."