johnnymarlboro
New
Getting warmed up and finding your go to shot for the day so you have plenty of time to work on short game and putting.
That is, if you're actually concerned about breaking 80 more consistently.
The weight shift isn't dead.....Rocco and Brandt win.
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Getting warmed up and finding your go to shot for the day so you have plenty of time to work on short game and putting.
That is, if you're actually concerned about breaking 80 more consistently.
gmbtempe
New
If that were the case then why do a predominant amount of tour players curve the ball, one way or another, rather than just hit it straight?
Erik_K
New
Correct. If you actually go to a Tour Event and stand behind them (or out front way down the fairway), the ball does curve, but it's a gentle fade or draw. Unless they need to bend it around a tree or something, the ball is basically going pretty straight. When most amateurs are at the range and they want to play a draw, I think most people expect to start the ball 25 yards right of the target and then having swing left back to the pin. But from what I have seen, our friends on Tour have mini cuts/fades.
Erik
gmbtempe
New
So most of them have understood they need to swing left enough? I have not read that much anywhere before the past few years. Did they do it without knowing it?
Or they aim sufficiently left. You don't have to swing like Corey Freakin Pavin to start the ball on line.
faux_maestro
New
Intuition? Blind luck?
As has been said, most play very little curve unless needed. Think about the scale of what we are talking about. The swing happens in what, about a second? It takes very small fractions of a second to go from last parallel to first parallel on the other side. The scale of the club path and face between great, good, and disaster is maybe 1-3 degrees. All of this is happening at the end of a stick that is a yard or longer and is traveling at 90-120 mph. There is no such thing as less timing dependent, more consistent to hit a curve etc. How is it easier to get consistently zeroed out vs. consistently 1* right path and .5 degree open face? To hit it the same way every time you have to match these variables every time (or as close as humanly possible). How is one easier? You still have to get pretty darn close to the same numbers to hit consistent shots with the same curve OR straight. I'll take zeroed (or close to it) because it's a less glancing blow.
natep
New
Pretty much.
Somebody kinda old school, like maybe Toski or Flick, wrote a long time ago about how at tour events, the divots on the par 3 teeboxes all pointed left.
(I didn't read it myself, but someone else on this forum posted about it)
I have no idea how to alter your swing, however, I think the best thing that most 10 handicappers can do is improve their course management and not put themselves in a position to make doubles and triples (easier said then done). Learn the playable miss!!!
I prefer to draw the ball and hitting a straight shot is hard (but much easier with modern equipment).
softconsult
New
I just changed the handicap software and method for our large Seniors Golf League. Prior to doing so I did some basic research regarding the USGA methods. One thing that I found interesting is the Index which results in a handicap is designed in such a way that the player will only beat his handicap 20% of the time. A player should only beat his handicap by 3 shots in one out of 20 rounds. So a 10 doesn't represent normal, only a difficult to achieve potential.
Getting warmed up and finding your go to shot for the day so you have plenty of time to work on short game and putting.
I'm trying to learn how to hit the ball farther right now. Maybe I'll worry more about short game and putting a couple months from now......
Are there any good books out there that can help me manage my misses and improve my course management?
johnnymarlboro
New
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression you've carried your 10 handicap for as long as you've been tinkering with your swing? Now I'm certainly not suggesting that we as golfers shouldn't try to better our game, but isn't the point really to lower your scoring average? You've got enough clubhead speed to break 80 from the tips at most golf courses. Do you want to be better at golf, or just make your swing prettier? Maybe if you sharpen your short game and putting the rest of the game will get a little easier. Maybe you won't stress on those approaches and drives as much when you know you can get it up and down from all over.
They are short books, but I quite enjoyed "Raymond Floyd, The Elements of Scoring: A Master's Guide to the Art of Scoring Your Best When You're Not Playing Your Best" and "Tom Watson's Strategic Golf". I think they are worthwhile reads, especially for the player who is just starting to think about course management and how to determine the "smart play". Plus "Strategic Golf" has lots of pictures. I like books with pictures.
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mgranato
New
1. Learn what big hitters do. Not necessarliy what they say/feel they do, and not what someone else is observing they do - look at what they actually do with their club and body (LM #'s and 3D data). Learn what they do and what of that you can adapt to your swing/body. But for the love of God, don't foolishly try to copy thier swings. No point in trying to get Ferrari parts unless you have a Ferrari engine.
2. Quit listening to short hitters who have no idea what they are talking about. Cannot stress this one enough.
3. You must improve your ballistics. If you are trying to go from not long to longer, you MUST know what aspects of you launch conditions are hurting you and how they should be changed. There is only one way to know this information - TM or FS.
4. Find someone who uses a TM or FS. Avoid people who do not believe in either. Avoid people who do not believe in their benefit or how to teach with them.
5. Once you find a TM or FS, get your equipment optimized for hitting it longer. There are numerous sources for bad information on equipment. If someone believes that a 90mph swing can cause a driver to go dead - run. If someone believes a driver needs to be replaced every year because of COR loss - run. Find someone who knows what they are talking about and has experience in fitting players into the proper equipment.
There are more, but if you do just these five, I guarantee you will be hitting the ball longer than you thought you could.
Erik_K
New
I'd also (re)-stress the importance of hitting the center of the driver face. I thought Taylor Made did a study some years ago, way before it was popular to talk about gear effect and other launch monitor metrics, that compared two swings with different speeds. The slower hitter (with better contact) was compared to player with a higher swing speed, but didn't hit the ball in the center of the face as well. I want to say that, on average, the faster swinger had more distance but the player with a better quality strike got like 85% of the distance, and this was with a lower speed. So the takeaway is that you cannot downplay how important it is find the center of the face as best you can.
I also agree with Mike on the use of FS or TM coupled with an experienced fitter. Ideally a good comparison can be made between your old equipment and something newer (and presumably better). A good fitter should be able to take a lot of the guesswork out of the process and all metrics - launch conditions, distance, speed, and dispersion- should improve across the board.
Elements of Scoring - Ray Floyd
Smart Golf - Hale Irwin
For golf psychology: Fearless Golf (best golf psychology book by far IMO) & Rotella's stuff
You really need to figure out your miss under pressure and then work from there. If your miss is catastrophic most of the time under pressure, then there are significant issues in your swing that will take time to fix. I generally miss left. I can bring the ball back right to left in my sleep. Thus, I don't try to hit fades into pins tucked to the right with danger right. However, I generally favor moving the ball away from danger for a miss. For example, if there's ob left I might work the ball left to right (depending upon my game that day). I'm much more a one dimensional player and prefer to aim right and bring it back. I don't try to fight my release. I just let it happen and if the face is a little closed that's fine with me. That's how my mind/body works under pressure when it comes to timing. My "minds eye" likes right to left ballflight. I accept my limitations and time constraints. I hate catastrophic misses (ex. duck hook, smother hook, banana hook (all very different and only a hooker would know that)).
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faux_maestro
New
I second these recomendations.
I resemble that remark.
I agree. My miss is now usually a straight pull, rarely do I get a pull hook any more (though when I do they are spectacular).
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