Joe Durant

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Jared Willerson

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What makes him statistically the best ball striker on tour?

He has finished inside the top 10 in ball striking 8 of the last 10 years. I've seen his swing on tv coverage a lot lately and was wondering what peoples opinion of his swing was.

Maybe a swing analysis is in order? I know he's done a lot of work with Ron Gring, so the analysis would be interesting.
 
golfbulldog

golfbulldog

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best ball striker...

I agree - he is good on stats and long enough to not be in the Fred Funk school of fairways hit ( ie. too short to make much difference to score).

A swing analysis from the boss/host would be great.

The trouble with "best ballstriker" stats is that they have to be interpreted in light of their course management style.

What i think we really mean is which guy wears away the least amount of clubface chrome... ie. he just hits it pure in the same spot each time AND has clubface control.

That guy may not be high on fairways hit (if he keeps hitting driver on the wrong holes! - he might just be stupid) but is what we think of as the best ballstriker.

I'm sure Joe Durant hits it pretty near sweetspot every time but clearly some pros don't.

What feature of swing ensures the sweetspot gets hit... ignore clubface angle for moment... is it straight plane line?
 
P

Perfect Impact

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It's hand / eye coordination: intention, aim, all handled by innate talent for the most part; obviously without flawed mechanics as regards plane confusions.
 
birdie_man

birdie_man

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I dunno GBDog...I'd just call a guy like that someone who hits it solid.

I've been thinking of this lately and I think ballstriking is:

Time after time....getting the ball to wind up where you want while hitting with power and hitting different shots.
 
Mr Inconsistent

Mr Inconsistent

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Yeah, hitting it solid is only about half the battle at most. I pretty much never mishit a shot and have a worn out circles on my irons but that doesn't mean I hit it straight, because I don't. I miss greens from 150 like it's my job, and hitting it solid is no consolation.
 
Mr Inconsistent

Mr Inconsistent

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Durant if I recall correctly has a pretty upright swing and really stays under the ball through impact into his followthough kind of like Nicklaus did. I have noticed a lot of guys with upright swings tend to stick iron shots close.
 
J

Jared Willerson

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I was looking at Durant's swing on another site and what I like about both his and Rich Beem's swing is how flat the left wrist is at the top and continues to flatten all the way to impact.

Those are probably my 2 favorite swings; Beem and Durant, but Neal Lancasters isn't too bad either.
 
golfbulldog

golfbulldog

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birdie_man said:
I dunno GBDog...I'd just call a guy like that someone who hits it solid.

I've been thinking of this lately and I think ballstriking is:

Time after time....getting the ball to wind up where you want while hitting with power and hitting different shots.
Click to expand...

Thats why I wrote sweetspot and clubface control.... and i should have added clubhead control and brain ( combination of self-knowledge, discipline to stick to shots within your skill level etc...)

trouble is if we try and learn why somebody is "best ballstriker" then you have to break down what elements of their mechanics AND brain produce this talent.

Is straight plane line the principle reason why top players hit the middle of the clubface every time?

You need to start with this point first, only then can you move onto clubface control because off-centred hits induce clubface twist itself.

Maybe, as mentioned above, his plane ( more upright) is one of his core strengths.

ps. do you distinguish between "best-ballstriker" and " best shotmaker"...?
 
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jrose

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Did I miss a swing analysis of Joe Durant in another thread? Would really like to hear what Brian or someone on staff thinks of his "action"
 
cmartingolf

cmartingolf

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Beem (College Teammate for four years) plays with a strong grip and closed clubface. Oddly, in college, he was a short hitter. Good touch and a really good putter. If he only putted the same now. We stay in touch and I played with him about five years ago. I was shocked at the cut he took and how solid he hit it. He's not a big guy and would loose to most chicks in an arm wrestling contest. He simply rears back and beats the snot out of the ball and drives it really straight!

Durant (never met the guy) plays with a Manzella neutral left land, possibly on the weakside. He actually has a noticably bowed left wrist at impact. Beemer is flat and turned. Durant is also a head rotator prior to impact ala Annika, Duval and many others out there.
 
J

Jared Willerson

Super Moderator
cmartingolf said:
Beem (College Teammate for four years) plays with a strong grip and closed clubface. Oddly, in college, he was a short hitter. Good touch and a really good putter. If he only putted the same now. We stay in touch and I played with him about five years ago. I was shocked at the cut he took and how solid he hit it. He's not a big guy and would loose to most chicks in an arm wrestling contest. He simply rears back and beats the snot out of the ball and drives it really straight!

Durant (never met the guy) plays with a Manzella neutral left land, possibly on the weakside. He actually has a noticably bowed left wrist at impact. Beemer is flat and turned. Durant is also a head rotator prior to impact ala Annika, Duval and many others out there.
Click to expand...

Thanks, very informative post. So is Beemer hyperflexible or anything? He hits about 290 and if he's not very strong he must be super flexible....right? I really like his swing.
 
W

wedgeplay

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I remember a Golfdigest article on Durant that he plays all iron shots with open clubface at address.He plays a fade.

Another site said this was recommended for HH and I tried it for a couple of months but didn't work real well for me.
 
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