Andrew Rice Golf

Archive for the ‘Short Game’ Category

If you were fortunate enough yesterday to catch the Heritage playoff you might have noticed Luke Donald hit into a buried lie on the final playoff hole. It really was a beauty – way down in the sand. If you noticed how he went about playing the shot you would have seen him get the handle very low at address and keep the face open. This is a great way to get the ball close from this very challenging situation.

Now if only he’d have played for it to come out a little left (as it most often does!)……

Here are a few very interesting facts that I have learned with the help of TrackMan. TrackMan is a radar unit that measures both club delivery and the full trajectory of any golf shot – essentially it measures almost everything pertaining to a golf club striking a ball. This might shed some light on, or dispel, a few of golf’s oldest myths:

For PGA Tour golfers (please note that these are averages):

• All clubs, on average are struck with a descending blow from a PW (-5.0 degrees) to a driver (-1.3 degrees).
• Every club in the bag hits the ball at the same height – 30 yards.
• The average clubhead speed with the Driver is 112 mph; ball speed is 165 mph and carry distance is 269 yards.
• The average clubhead speed with an 8-iron is 87 mph; ball speed is 115 mph and carry distance is 160 yards.
• Clubhead speed increased by 2 mph from club to club.
• In conditions that eliminated any roll, an average PGA Tour player would hit a driver and a 5-wood 500 yards; a driver and a 7- iron 441 yards; and a driver and a PW 405 yards.
• The distance difference between each iron is 12 yards (8-iron 160 yards and 7-iron 172 yards).

For LPGA Tour golfers (please note these are averages):

• All clubs are on average struck with a descending blow other than the driver which is 3.0 degrees upward.
• Every club in the bag hits the ball the same height – 25 yards.
• The average clubhead speed with the driver is 94 mph; ball speed is 139 mph and carry distance is 220 yards.
• The average clubhead speed with an 8-iron is 74 mph; ball speed is 100 mph and carry distance is 130 yards.
• Clubhead speed increased by 2 mph from club to club.
• In conditions that eliminated any roll, an average LPGA Tour player would hit a driver and a 5-wood 405 yards; a driver and a 7- iron 361 yards; and a driver and a PW 327 yards.
• The distance difference between each iron is 11 yards (8-iron 130 yards and 7-iron 141 yards).

General information:

• Shot accuracy is primarily determined by a combination of face angle and swing path, with face angle being the dominant factor - approximately 80-85% on full shots.
• For putting, shot accuracy is also determined primarily by the face angle, but the softer the hit (as in chipping and putting) the greater the effect of clubface. In putting the face accounts for 95+% of where the ball goes.
• Face angle determines the launch direction while shot curvature/shape is determined by the swing path relative to the face angle – the opposite of what has been taught for years. Think of it this way: when a ball is struck with a descending blow, i.e. ball first, divot second, the attack angle is down, yet the ball goes up. The ball goes up due to the angle/loft of the face!
• The initial ball direction falls between the club face angle and club path.
• The further apart the club face and club path diverge from each other (basically – point in different directions) the more the ball’s spin axis tilts and the more curvature exists on the shot.
• By the way – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SIDE SPIN – it is merely back spin on an axis and the more the axis tilts, the more the ball flight curves.
• The only way to hit the outside of the ball is to have the face closed relative to the target line and to hit the inside of the ball the face must be open relative to the target line. Path plays very little role in what part of the ball we hit.
• The highest recorded clubhead speed on the PGA Tour in 2009 was Bubba Watson at 128 mph while the World Long Drive Champion, Jamie Sadlowski used a clubhead speed of 145 mph (418 yards!) to win. The average male golfer swings a driver somewhere between 82 and 90 mph.

Jamie Sadlowski

• A carry distance of 100 yards for ladies is equivalent to a carry distance of 130 yards for men; 200 yards for ladies is equivalent to 250 yards for men.
• A par four of 350 yards for ladies is equivalent to a par four of 430 yards for the men.
• The most important factor in increasing carry distance is clubhead speed. For every 1 mph you can add to your swing speed you stand to gain 3-4 yards.
• An increase of 1” in the length of a club can increase the clubhead speed by as much as 4 mph.
• The quality of the hit is very important as it relays clubhead speed into ball speed. Smash factor is the measurement of the quality of the hit and it is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. The maximum smash factor is 1.5 (e.g. 100 mph clubhead speed divided into 150 mph ball speed) and indicates an ideal strike on the ball. A smash factor of 1.5 is only attainable with a driver.
• The ball spends 1/2000th of a second on the clubface. That means it would take a scratch handicap golfer almost 28 rounds of even par golf to have the ball be on the clubface for one second!

 Something to keep in mind is that no golfer should discard accuracy in search of distance as there should always be a balance between the two. It is, however, possible for just about any golfer to significantly increase their distance with only a marginal decrease in accuracy as a result of a sound, long-term plan coupled with commitment and discipline.

Interesting stuff – any thoughts or questions?

To hit it like a Tour player check THIS out!

 I always ask my students which is more important in putting: distance or direction? I am pleased to report that about 60-70% of them correctly side with distance. Think about it this way; are you more likely to hit a 30 footer 10 feet beyond/short or 10 feet wide of the cup? Hopefully your answer is beyond/short, because if it was wide you have serious additional issues.

Much of the information I read on putting today is directionally oriented; the arc of the stroke, face rotation and balancing, path and face and so on. Is this information correct and valid? Yes! I just don’t believe it should be the priority. Think about the last round of poor putting you had (hopefully you cannot remember!) – I can almost guarantee you it was due to poor distance control. When you practice focus on speed control as a priority and you must start to encounter better results. Good distance control comes from; a solid and centered strike where the appropriate amount of energy is transferred to the ball and a backstroke that closely matches the through stroke (most golfers are short back and long through!). Here are a few things that will help.

Watch the HD video lesson HERE

Drills and Teaching Aids that Work:

This is an excellent drill to help you acquire the feel of a solid strike: Gather a dozen balls in the center of a green and quickly and casually “hit” them back to a point off the side of the green — just like when you are clearing a putting green by hitting all the balls off the green with your putter.  Do not emphasize a target; don’t take time to set up; just pop the balls off the face of the putter. When done correctly, you should be able to feel how efficient the stroke is.  There should be a minimal amount of follow through, the strike should feel crisp, and the sound should be louder than what you are accustomed to. When I see a golfer struggling with the putter, they are almost always overemphasizing the “stroke” element and have lost the concept that there needs to be some impact or “hit.” The problem most often is that their motion is long, slow and overly mechanical.  You should be able to sense the ball compressing off the putter face.

The Pop Drill

An excellent training aid that conveys the feel of the correct strike on the ball in putting is the Ball of Steel from Eyelinegolf.com – each ball weighs 5x what a golf ball weighs and you had better transfer energy efficiently if you want to even have a chance of making a 3 footer with the ball steel. I have found it works really nicely when alternating between a real ball and a heavy ball, but be sure to stay within three feet. After using this teaching aid your putting stroke will be more compact and efficient and thus more consistent.

When putting key in on distance first and your results will improve dramatically – I guarantee it!

Ball of Steel product TOUR   

Ball Of Steel

To purchase the Ball of Steel click HERE (be sure to use the code IMPACTBOOK for a discount)

 

How to set up the Impact Drill

This is a version of a drill that I have presented many times, but each time I use it, it impresses upon me the importance of a proper strike on the golf ball. In using Trackman I have come to learn that the correct attack angle (an upward or downward hit) with an iron should be anywhere between 4 and 5 degrees down. If you have ever topped shots or alternated between thin and heavy strikes, you are more than likely getting scoopy through impact and this drill is right up your alley.

This drill will get you to do the following through impact:

• Get the weight shifted onto the front foot
• Lead the hands ahead of the clubhead
• Hit down on the ball
• Take divots in the right place – after the ball!

All you need is a small piece of one of those swim noodles that all the kids like to use in the pool. Secure the strip of noodle into the ground by pressing tees through the center as illustrated. It may take a little experimenting, but eventually you’ll find the appropriate distance to line the balls up from the noodle. Before long you should start to see a consistent line of divots occuring on the target side of the golf ball – a positive sign! If you find yourself hitting a few of the dreaded “hosel rockets” your grip is too weak; Essentially you now need to scoop the face in order to square the clubface through impact. Get it stronger!

Objective: Ball first, divot second

Some additional drills to help with impact:

• The Impact “Drag” Drill
• Hip Thrust Drill
• The Towel/Line Drill for Compression
• The Hip Slide and Why it is Important
• Golf’s #1 Impact Exercise

When it comes to the shortgame it is vital that the golfer strikes the ball and the ground on every shot – and preferably in that order! Golfers run into trouble when the club contacts the ground before the ball, particularly with a closing clubface as the leading edge will dig into the turf. There is no quicker way to deplete confidence than to start  alternating between bladed and heavy pitch shots.

A helpful drill is to practice hitting 40-60 yard pitch shots with an 8-iron. Try to get the ball up in the air, with a slight cut action and have it land softly. This will give you the sense of keeping the face open and using the bounce of the club correctly. It will also prevent the wrists from being overly active. A feeling to key in on is the sense of swinging to the inside after impact (as pictured below). Be sure to keep the face open or looking up while the club tracks to the inside as this will prevent the leading edge from digging.  This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite drills!