Adequate Compression
- Thread starter wdking
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Trap it!
If you're not already, learn how to trap the ball. [media]http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif[/media]
Can anyone share how they improved their impact conditions and compression?
Thanks
If you're not already, learn how to trap the ball. [media]http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif[/media]
Richie3Jack
New
Is everyone satisfied with how they compress the ball? I'm not.
Can anyone share how they improved their impact conditions and compression?
Thanks
I'm not completely satisfied, but I've definitely improved it and I'm hitting the ball longer and more accurately with a better trajectory. I've had a small flip in my swing for years and it's still there, but it's greatly reduced.
First off, I highly recommend Brians Confessions of a Former Flipper. I think it's great for ANY golfer. I've been playing for 20 years and used to play mini-tours professionally about 10 years ago and have studied the swing quite a bit and Brian's CoFF opened my eyes to quite a few things.
Anyway, my problem wasn't so much impact, but THROUGH and AFTER impact. I surmised that my real problem was my thru pivot. And I believe that *pivot* is the most important part of the golf swing. THAT allows you to get into good impact positions. The history of golf has seen so many successful players with all sorts of swings like Furyk's taking the club outside and looping it in, or Jack's "Flying Right Elbow" or Chi Chi and Arnie looking like they were dodging a ball right after impact. However, for all of those different styles, every successful golfer has had a good pivot in their swing. I believe if you're aren't pivoting, you're casting and/or flipping. So to me:
good pivot = usually a good impact position
poor pivot = usually a poor impact position.
I noticed that I really didn't have very good hip rotation on the downswing. My hips were so slighly open at impact that they were for all intents and purposes practically square to the target line at impact. Watch the PGA Tour pros and most of them have the zipper facing almost or directly at the target. So that's what I concentrated on, doing whatever it takes to get the hips open enough so the zipper is facing (or nearly facing) the target at impact.
The one problem I noticed with this is a bit of an over the top move. So to correct that, I also began to work on the #4 accumulator (left arm and shoulder). It was a basic "connection" drill. Taking an old golf glove and putting it under my left arm pit and not letting the golf glove fall throughout the swing. So basically I would think to myself "get to the top of the swing and turn the zipper at the target and don't let the golf glove fall out of your armpit."
After awhile I noticed that while I hit the ball better on the range, I kill the ball on the indoor golf simulator. I then noticed that my swing thought on the indoor golf simulator was getting to the top of the swing and thinking "turn the zipper at the movie screen and stay connected." So now I try to visualize that when I'm on the range...turning my zipper "at the movie screen."
If I still struggle it's usually because I get too quick with my arms and hands, so I'll then think "turn the zipper at the screen and hold back your arms and hands just a little bit."
Basically I'm trying to get the feeling that I'm hitting the ball with my pivot instead of my arms and hands and when I swing it right, that's pretty much what it feels like.
Lastly, get an impact bag and make sure you know how to use it right. You need to line it up OUTSIDE of your left shoulder (if you're a righty). My game started to make huge leaps once I bought an impact bag.
3JACK
Richie3Jack
New
One more thing, hit LOTS of chip shots, pitch shots and punch shots. Brian has a great drill in his video where he tells the golfer to hit shots keeping their right thumb and right trigger finger off the golf club throughout the swing. I used this with the connection drill and if you do it, you cannot help but "hit the ball with your pivot."
3JACK
3JACK
I know what you mean, I just can't do it. How did you learn to trap it?
Thanks 3JACK:
I have all of Brian's videos, was a former flipper and still have some underplane issues. I also have an impact bag...and lots of other stuff. I hit little shots all the time into a net, full shots as well, almost every day. I have also been to a two day school with Brian here in NY.I suspect my pivot is not is good as it can be, so I'll try your zipper and stay connected suggestions.
Thanks again.
dashfan87
New
Awesome Awesome post... that cleared a LOT up in my mind, and help me visualise exactly what I need to be doing, you and I sound exactly the same.
question, when it would get really bad for you what would happen? would you hit alot of pulls? talking about your arms getting too fast...
There are some interesting recent threads with posts from Jim K, Kevin Shields, and others, about the myth of trapping the ball against the ground and how the whole idea that you hear repeated so often that you need to trap the ball against the ground to compress is just baloney (as in "it doesn't really happen"). All of which is NOT the same as saying some people shouldn't learn to flip less. Just do a search on "trap."
Guitar Hero
New member
The word "Trap" is the problem. Most golf terms do not come close to what is happening. I would look at your impact conditions like where are you hitting the ball on the club face. Hitting the sweet spot will give you the feel of the so called "Trap". Get some club face stickers and work on hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the club. There is nothing like the feeling of a sweet spot hit. It is pure!
Yep, I agree it's a feel when you start to hit the ball better. I also think that if you hit shots with a ton of shaft lean (or maybe more downward strike too?), that you maybe hit the ball with a slightly different part of the face, and that might feel even better again, but it might not be what you can control and play with in your pattern.
Guitar Hero
New member
Try to hit shots using TRACKMAN or a high end golf simulator if you can. Then have Brian help you with the data.
Richie3Jack
New
I think I would just about hit everything under the sun. Essentially, I would time the flip (although I had a small flip, just enough to be noticed but not a big flip). When I was playing college golf, my coach was good at getting me to go to the range before a round and see how I was hitting the ball and then not fight the shot I was naturally hitting. So if I woke up out of bed than morning and was hitting draws, I would play for the draws. Then the next day if I was hitting fades, I'd play the fades. Other than that, I got by with my (usually) good chipping and putting.
My biggest problem has been trajectory. I usually get the ball too high. Partly because I'm 6'4" tall, but more because of the flip. But I still believe it was the lack of a quality pivot. I can't think of one somewhat successful golfer on the tour (past or present) that didn't at least have a quality pivot.
3JACK
dashfan87
New
ah, the reason I ask is because my demon is the pull, and not just any pull, a horrible pull...
and I am only 5'9"... so I don't balloon shots like you.
Richie3Jack
New
I get the pulls too. The frustrating thing is I get the pull with a small draw, but I absolutely K-I-L-L it. I would die to hit those shots at the target because they are hit perfectly off the sweetspot and have the ideal trajectory...just they are way left.
3JACK
dashfan87
New
yup, same deal with me. absolutly kill them, then they start right for me (lefty) and bend right too... right down to the short irons and wedges some days...
Jim Kobylinski
Super Moderator
This makes absolutely no sense; the ball will compress the same amount if hitting on the sweetspot no matter the attack angle used and thus "perceived feel" the golfer has.
I use to be guilty of this until i realized that those really "compressed" feeling shots didn't seem to go any further than those slightly less FEELING compressed shots where the divot was shallower. As Brian says the ball doesn't know; hit the ball on the sweetspot with as much swing speed needed to get the ball to go the distance you want assuming good launch conditions.
starretj
New
Jim, technically you are correct, but obviously these shots don't have the "proper launch conditions". Often they aren't terrible, but not just a good as they could be. Kind of like when Brian talked about trying to hit irons with no shaft lean on the Trackman. Technically, he compressed the ball the same, but the shot didn't have the launch conditions that were preferable. I would think that Brian wouldn't feel like he compressed the ball properly on these shots. I know that I would feel that way. When I am not compressing the ball properly I know that some part of my game that day will not be very good. A little too shallow and my wedges and short irons aren't very good, a little too steep and my long game suffers.
You mentioned that the more compressed shots didn't go any further, I agree, however, I tend to have a lot more distance control to my shots when I am hitting it properly and distance control is more important than just distance.
I was just trying to give a few ideas on what I struggle with in case the person who started this thread noticed the same tendencies in their swing.
Jim S.
Kevin Shields
Super Moderator
I think Brian made it very clear that the attack angle must be a certain amount down for each club to even have a chance to be hit solidly on the sweetspot.
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