Idea: Right or Wrong?

[El Guapo]

Sorry for for my lack of brevity.

In a post recently Kevin Shields said,

"CLUBFACE is everything. I've had +4 to 36 handicaps on this thing and even if the numbers arent optimal, path doesnt change a whole lot (relatively speaking), especially with good players. Its the face that tends to be all over the map. My point is you can give someone anything that looks like a golf club and they can swing it somewhat the same way repetitively. Put a clubface on there and everything changes."

Then in another post Jim Kobylinski said that learning clubface control requires,

"Practice, practice, practice. It's a motor skill, it's like explaining how to go hit home runs."

Well I can hit a home run, and I can shoot a basketball, and I can throw a football. All those activities seem come naturally to me, but club face control seemed to be something I lacked. (No I don't lag the hosel, or flip at impact, I now have a dynamically sound swing) The club face can seem to point anywhere sometimes.

I thought long and hard about ways to practice club face control. I realized that in all those sports that seemed to come easily to me I am looking at my target while I'm performing the physical activity. That is not the same in golf. Of course I have a target, but I have to look back down at the ball while I swing, there is no target while I swing.

So I started using a target that I could look at. At the range I attempted to hit over an empty gatorade bottle about three feet in front of my ball on my target line. The results seemed amazing. My good shots became better, and my misses became tighter. I really believe this was because i had a target I could see.

I've brought this same process to the course by getting the Jack Nick-Loss intermediate target on the ground and trying to hit right over it. The results were equally great.

Anyway my question is, is this a great way to practice clubface control or is this just a placebo? Is this a good idea or just a teenager's misguided reasoning?

Thanks.

 

[Slicey McDuff]

What you are describing sounds like something I have seen on various videos, described slightly differently depending on the teller of the tale but all basically saying the same thing.

Don't hit THE BALL, swing THROUGH it to a point beyond it.

I have tried making the last step of my pre shot routine to be making an abbreviated swing "through the ball to a point about 1-2 feet beyond it" depending on the club.
Having that as my last action before taking the shot helped me get past a particular problem I was having with clubface control.

Watch out though, I developed a bit of a hook if I wasn't careful with it.

 

[El Guapo]

No, that's not essentially what I'm saying. At impact I try to have my club face point at that intermediate target so I can control the club face. This has nothing to do with that "Swing through the ball not at it" stuff. I'm saying by having a target I can actually see I can control impact better.

 

[vjsinger]

I would guess though that this may go south eventually...sounds like a good drill, but not for swinging that way always IMO. Only time will tell...Can you hit a baseball without looking at it? The ball IS your target, essentially is what Im saying.

 

[El Guapo]

I would guess though that this may go south eventually...sounds like a good drill, but not for swinging that way always IMO. Only time will tell...Can you hit a baseball without looking at it? The ball IS your target, essentially is what Im saying.

I know it may go south but it hasn't yet. I think it's a good drill but I'm not experienced enough to know. I don't know if you think I'm actually looking at the intermediate target. I'm looking at the ball but I see the intermediate target in my peripheral vision, I try to hit the ball over the intermediate target. Just like baseball, you're looking at the ball but in you're peripheral vision you see the gap you're attempting to hit it through. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[vjsinger]

Im not experienced at golf enough to know either, but in baseball I'm not looking at a gap or an "intermediate target"...I'm trying to pick up the seems on the ball and Im trying to smash the ball. Im sure someone will say something cool like well...Annika Sorenstam looks off the ball etc.etc. I guess my point is do what works for you for the longest period of time and gives you the most consistency when doing it. BTW...hows the BS pivot coming??

 

[El Guapo]

Im not experienced at golf enough to know either, but in baseball I'm not looking at a gap or an "intermediate target"...I'm trying to pick up the seems on the ball and Im trying to smash the ball. Im sure someone will say something cool like well...Annika Sorenstam looks off the ball etc.etc. I guess my point is do what works for you for the longest period of time and gives you the most consistency when doing it. BTW...hows the BS pivot coming??

Very nice thanks for asking.

 

[fronesis]

I don't think El Guapo's drill/swing thought is a placebo effect. I think he IS learning clubface control this way.

Most mid-handicappers and up, and surely most beginning players are just trying to make solid contact with the ball. If they hit a 4 iron square and it goes 180 yards in the air, they aren't going to be terribly upset that it was a bit offline.

On the other hand, most scratch golfers are not necessarily thinking about making good contact. They are thinking about where they want to hit the ball and how they want to work it.

I know that I am much better at controlling the clubface when I'm actively thinking about whether I'm playing the ball low or high or hitting a cut or a draw. And even if the shot shape is straight, it's important to focus on the target and on controlling the clubface to hit the ball at that target.

And I think baseball is both the right and the WRONG analogy. What MOST people do in golf is the same as in baseball: focus on the ball. But a good hit in baseball is mostly about making good contact, and whether it's a line drive to left or right field doesn't make any difference. Obviously, the same just isn't true for golf. If you've got an 8 iron in your hand, you want to hit it to within 10 or 20 feet left to right and that's at a LONG way off compared to how far one hits a baseball.

Finally, if intermediate target worked for Nicklaus, I'm not going to question it...

 

[niblick1]

Having a basic understanding of actual ball flight rules/d-plane concepts helps a lot, too, I think. It helps you understand the results you are seeing so you can make adjustments when you practice.

 

[El Guapo]

I just want to say thanks for all the feedback. This site has really improved my ball-striking dramatically. Today was our last round of district in golf. I shot a 76 in 25 mph wind, and advanced easily. I hit eleven greens. Five months ago, before i joined this forum, I would not have stood a chance. This forum helped a bunch. So thanks to everyone involved. This is truly a great site for learning golf.

P.S. My brother (Notorious B.E.N.) finished six strokes behind me and also advanced. He made a really clutch six footer on the last hole to advance.

 

[Brian Manzella]

I see nothing wrong with your little idea.

It may be influencing BOTH vectors of the D-Plane!

 

[coachwalls]

Have you ever taught this?

I see nothing wrong with your little idea.

It may be influencing BOTH vectors of the D-Plane!

Brian,

Could I effectively use this with some of my high school players? I have one player in mind that hits it a mile but he never knows where it is going to end up. He's about 6'5" and uses a lot of arms. We've been working on not flipping it and it's helping but his club face control is still really, really, poor.

 

[puttmaster]

I just want to say thanks for all the feedback. This site has really improved my ball-striking dramatically. Today was our last round of district in golf. I shot a 76 in 25 mph wind, and advanced easily. I hit eleven greens. Five months ago, before i joined this forum, I would not have stood a chance. This forum helped a bunch. So thanks to everyone involved. This is truly a great site for learning golf.

P.S. My brother (Notorious B.E.N.) finished six strokes behind me and also advanced. He made a really clutch six footer on the last hole to advance.

Fantastic! Congrats to both you and B.E.N. Great job!