TrackMan at Berkeley Hall

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Berkeley Hall and Andrew Rice Golf are proud to announce the acquisition of a TrackMan radar unit.  TrackMan is golf’s leading instructional analysis and club fitting application and offers golf professionals and their clients exciting and innovative solutions to game and equipment improvement.
Facilities that currently utilize a TrackMan include Baltusrol, Islesworth and Augusta National.  Touring professional owners include British Open Champion Darren Clarke, Lucas Glover, Martin Kaymer and Dustin Johnson.  While all of golf's greatest instructors consult TrackMan in their teaching - they include Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter, Jim McLean and Sean Foley.
 
Here's how you too can benefit from this technology:
 
Thursday October 20th will be TrackMan Day at Berkeley Hall.  Starting at 9AM Andrew will offer a "Gain Ten Yards or It's Free" promotion.  Each session will be 20 minutes and the cost is $50.  Bring a seven iron and a driver to your session to start seeing what this new technology can do for your game. Oh yes, and if you don't gain 10 yards with your driver the session is free...! Call Andrew at (843)247-4688 to reserve your spot.
 
Ever wondered how far you should hit your driver?  Each week on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12-2PM Andrew will be offering club fitting on the TrackMan.  Each fitting session will last approximately an hour and you will leave knowing your equipment is taylor-made for you and your needs.  Fitting are billed at the same rate as lessons. 
Of course TrackMan will also be utilized in all lessons.  If you would like to understand and "quantify" your shots like never before come out to Berkeley Hall and get together with Andrew.
 To learn more about TrackMan please either go to their website or read this earlier article from my website... 
Wouldn't you like to hit the driver 25 yards longer? Don't you want to get back to enjoying the game?  Call today and book yourself a session on TrackMan to discover why golf’s leading authorities and professionals all choose this leading technology for swing and ball flight analysis.

Better Shots - Out of the Rough

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There seem to be so many different formulas when it comes to getting out of rough I thought I would share my philosophy in an attempt to simplify your approach.  It all really depends on the quality of the lie, because even in very long rough, it's still possible to get decent access to the back of the ball.

Here are a few examples:

In this situation the clubhead needs to get so far down into the thick grass that most of the velocity created in the swing will be dissipated.  The challenge here is not only getting the clubface on the ball, it is getting the ball over/through the grass in front of it.  I would always use a very lofted club here (9 iron max) and plan on getting the ball back in play.  Hit down more by moving the ball slightly back in your stance and thus steepening the angle of attack and do not be greedy here.

In this scenario the ball is perched on top of the longer grass and we're smiling.  Be careful though as this is a perfect lie for a flyer.  A flyer occurs when the grass does not slow the clubhead down through the hit and just enough of it gets caught between the ball and the face.  As this grass/matter fills the grooves at impact and gets trapped between the ball and the face, there is very little grip on the ball and as a result the ball launches closer to the dynamic/delivered loft (higher) and spins very little.  Ever heard of "high launch, low spin"? That's what we're looking for with our driver, but not with an 8 iron from 130 yards and explains why you airmailed the clubhouse from the 9th fairway last week.

With this type of lie also watch for hitting under the ball.  When it's perched on top of the grass like this try to view it as being on a high tee - an easy one to swing under!  Make your practice swings where you just brush the very top of grass and duplicate that during the actual shot.

This is a tough one - it doesn't look bad, yet the hard part is deciding which way it will come out.  It could be hot, yet it could also come out very soft and dead like the first example.  The best thing you can do here is take a few extra seconds to assess the lie and then commit fully to your decision.  Make the call and be committed.

When hitting out of very long grass (ankle/knee high) remember that the long blades of grass will get to the shaft and hosel first.  As they wrap around this lead part of the club it will slow down dramatically, causing the face to deloft and the toe of the club to close.  Notice how hard Phil Mickelson is working to keep the face from closing in the picture at the top of the page.  Having hit out of the fescue more than a few times at Atlantic Golf Club this summer I know this for a fact - take a lofted club, aim a little right, swing hard and don't ever be greedy.

Should you have had enough trouble getting out of the rough and you'd like to attend a sporting event or concert Click Here

Additional Resources: 

Hitting Out of the Rough | Golf Lesson | Golf Tips

Getting More Out of Your Driver

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I know that in the past I have made it known that it is okay to hit down on the ball with the driver.  This was primarily due to the fact that the PGA Tour average for attack angle (hitting up or down) was 1.3 degrees down.  I have since come to learn that the vast majority of us could greatly benefit from an upward strike with the big stick.

 

Research has shown that the most efficient way to strike the driver is to impact the ball from the inside and with an upward/ascending direction (the clubhead must travelling away from the ground).  This encourages a higher trajectory, reduces spin and leads to more roll once the ball comes back to earth. Ever heard of high launch, low spin? How can you incorporate these two important keys into your tee shots?

Let's start at address:  In order to move your swing plane to facilitate an in-to-out path drop your back foot and shoulder inside the target line - basically set up with a slightly closed stance. 

Face On Set Up

 Tee the ball high and make sure it is not too far back in your stance.  You should have a sense that you are behind the ball and are preparing to "swing uphill" as you get set.

 In the swing you will need to feel that you are staying behind the ball with your upper body as you aggressively drive the hips and weight over onto the front foot.  This is where the "uphill" sense comes from - as the hips drive the head stays back you create the body motion that allows for the clubhead to move up into the hit. I like to refer to this as body curve.

Believe it or not when you hit 5 degrees from the inside, coupled with 5 degrees up on the ball the clubhead is travelling straight at the target at impact (assuming you aligned correctly of course)!  A fantastic recipe for long and efficient tee shots.

If you cannot seem to get the sense or feel for hitting up on the ball it could well be that your are working your body incorrectly through impact.  It is very common for golfers with tight hips or general flexibility problems to overuse the upper body and try to muscle the hit with their arms.  This will always result in a downward, spinny strike on the ball.  You may also need to consult with a golf specific fitness trainer to help you become more physically able to get your body into the correct position.

Remember - this can be overdone! We are only looking for the clubhead to be moving a few degrees from the inside and a few degrees up so take it easy and go slowly.  I have had startling results this summer just by getting golfers to execute these two simple keys with the driver.  One golfer actually gained over 50 yards! I'm sure we could all benefit from a few extra yards....not to mention 50!

Understanding Swing Plane and Club Path

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There are important differences that occur at impact when a golfer hits either down or up on the ball (attack angle).  I have always espoused that golfers hit down on all clubs, the driver included, but my research with Trackman has convinced me otherwise.  The ball should be struck with a subtle downward blow with all shots off the ground (irons, hybrids and fairways), but the driver should ideally be hit with an upward strike for optimal trajectory and spin patterns.  I will attempt to explain the differences in the direction the clubhead travels (relative to the target line) as it moves both down, and up, into the ball.

Firstly, it is important to understand the difference between swing plane (also referred to as swing direction) and club path, because too many golfers believe they are one and the same.  Let's view swing plane as the hula hoop in the pictures below - it is the angle upon which the arc of the swing travels.  Club path is the direction the clubhead is travelling in, relative to the target line, at the moment of impact.

Hitting down on the Ball:

 

PGA Tour golfers hit down on a 7 iron with an average attack angle of slightly more than 4 degrees.  You should be able to tell to what degree you hit down on the ball simply by analyzing your divots - too much dirt being moved and you're more than likely 8 degrees down, no divots would mean a flat or neutral attack angle.

When a golfer hits down on the ball with a neutral swing plane (straight at the target) notice how the pencil (used to illustrate club path) points right of the target. The table's edge indicates the target line.

Hitting down...

Down with a neutral plane...

This means that with a straight plane/swing direction, when the clubhead travels down, it is also travelling from in to out relative to the target line.

Left swing plane for neutral path...

In order to neutralize the club path, the swing plane must actually be rotated to the left.  Thus, with a descending attack angle, in order to create a straight club path, the swing plane must be rotated to the left of the target line (for right handers).

Hitting up on the Ball:

 

Better drivers of the ball tend to hit up on the ball - anywhere from 1-5 degrees up.  This reduces the amount of spin on the ball and increases the launch angle - thus increasing both carry and roll distance.

When a golfer hits up on the ball with a neutral swing plane (straight at the target) notice how the pencil (club path) points left of the target. 

In this example, with a straight plane/swing direction, when the clubhead travels upward, it is also travelling from out to in relative to the target line. 

This out to in path can be neutralized by rotating the swing plane/direction to the right (for right handers).  Notice how the pencil (club path) is now straight.

So if somebody ever asks you if the swing with the driver and the irons is the same, just smile and say, "No, not really!"

Any thoughts?  Questions....

How to Hit Great Bunker Shots

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If you're intrested in improving your sand play, and who isn't, then check out my most recent video....

A few points to remember:

  • Aim your body slightly left (as a right hander) of the target line
  • The stance should be fairly wide - similar to that of a driver stance
  • The ball position should be forward of center
  • The weight should favor the front foot
  • Feel in a low posture - keep your butt close to the ground.  This will help with a shallow angle of attack
  • Your target is the sand - two to 6 inches behind the ball. Hit somewhere there and the club will pass safely under the ball
  • Control the distance with the length of your follow through. An unusual feel but try it, it really works.

Remember, you'll get more out of 15 minutes of bunker practice than you will out of practicing any other part of your game - so what are you waiting for....?

Chipping - Control Your Distance

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  This is an excellent drill to help simplify your approach to the shortgame. Using one method and changing the club to fit each situation you encounter is so much easier than trying to hit one club both high and low! If you focus on the landing spot for each shot around the green and, with the help of practice, learn how each mid to short iron makes the ball fly and roll out you will start to feel so much more confident. And we could all benefit from that!

Additional resources: 

Golf Tips For Chipping Distance Control

No More Slicing!

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If you are like the vast majority of golfers and you tend towards slicing or "power fading" the golf ball and I told you that with one simple change you could straighten out your shots and get a fair bit longer at the same time it would sound too good to be true wouldn't it? The great news is that it IS true.

If your shots are constantly fading or slicing then your clubface must be aiding in getting the ball to curve this way.  The most important factor in determining the clubface angle is the grip and if you're a slicer/fader then there is a very good chance your grip is weak - no matter how it "feels"!  A weak grip leads to active/flippy hands  through the hit and this takes away from a golfers ability to trap or compress the golf ball. You know the feel and sound when you hit one just right....that's what we're after!

As you grip the club in your normal fashion rotate the face down/closed from vertical 30 degrees and then set up to the ball. Keep in mind that 30 degrees is equivalent to one hour on a clock so don't over do this.  Be sure that all you have changed is the club position.  Now the face will feel very closed at address, and you need to work towards getting (and keeping) the face square at address without altering your grip.

 
Essentially you are making a grip change as you move from a weak position to a stronger one. After a little practice you should start to feel that you can at least keep the ball straight and if all is going well you might even notice a little extra distance.  The biggest challenge you face as you execute this drill is to overcome the sense of discomfort in the hands and arms at address. Relax, hang on and know that discomfort at this point is a good thing - a positive change is occuring.
 

Additional Resources:
 

How to Hit it Longer Than Ever

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Here are a few clues - do not swing harder or get a new driver or change your shafts!  Although all of those ideas might help, the best, and simplest, way to hit longer shots is to strike the ball better.  Plain and simple!

Here is the heads up from Trackman, the premier radar technology for swing and ball flight analysis:
Generally speaking, to maximize ball speed (which translates directly into distance) it is more important to improve centerdness of impact than to increase club speed.  An off-center impact is less efficient in transferring energy from the club to the ball, thus some of the power of the club speed is lost, resulting in a lower initial ball speed and consequently less carry distance.
While increasing the velocity of the clubhead would increase distance, I'm sure we are all well aware what happens when we swing harder - perhaps increased speed, but far less control and very often a less centered hit.  This is where smash factor comes in.  Smash factor is a measurement where the ball speed is divided by the clubhead speed and essentially is the efficiency of the hit - how well was the energy of the swing transferred into the golf ball to make it go.  The more centered, or solid, the hit, the further it will go.  And, being aware that most of us do not have the ability to measure the smash factor of our shots it is important to be aware that if you want to hit it longer (and I've only ever met one person who didn't!) the direction one should take should be in search of a better hit and not necessarily a faster clubhead.
A few good drills and articles to improve the quality of your ball striking:

Impact Drill: How to Stop Scooping | Andrew Rice Golf

Hip Slide: Good or Bad? | Andrew Rice Golf

Hands Forward at Impact | Andrew Rice Golf

The moral of the story - focus on hitting it better and you'll hit it longer.  Now get to work.......

How To Stop Chunking the Ball!

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One of the most demoralizing, confidence sapping shots a golfer can hit is the dreaded chunk! Or fat! Or heavy shot! Whatever name it goes by, this unfortunate experience will deplete any measure of confidence you might have had. I have had quite a few of you come to me and ask for an article addressing this so here it is. While I have used pictures referring to pitching please know that all of the points mentioned below apply wholly to the full swing as well.

 I find that while there are many reasons as to why a golfer might be contacting the ground before the club gets to the ball the following four points are certainly the lead candidates....

Here the weight tends to get too far back in the backswing due to either lateral slide or sway in the upper body or just simply setting up with the weight too far back. As a result there is no time to get it forward by the time impact occurs and the club bottoms out before it gets to the ball.

  • An excellent drill to aid with this tendency is to practice the towel drill. It involves folding a towel and laying it on the ground 10-12 inches behind the ball. The towel encourages the weight to stay more centered at address and in the backswing, thus shifting the low point of the swing up to a few inches in front of the ball - which means ball first, divot second!

 In this situation the ball is simply placed too far forward in the stance. The more forward the ball is the more difficult it is get your weight in front - notice I said weight and not head - of the ball. If your stance tends to get too open then you very well could have the ball too far forward. In order to strike the ball first here you would need to really slide the upper body forward.

  • A good check point to make sure you're not doing this is to simply start your address by placing your feet together with the ball centered between them (as pictured). Now take a step with either foot and match the size of the step with the other foot - the ball is now in the correct position and you are fully capable of striking it before the ground.

 

In this example the ball position is good, the body pivots back correctly, but there is simply no unwind through the hit. The chest turns back and away from the target, but never gets around to it on the way through impact. As a result the onus of squaring the face is placed on the hand action (flipping) and any lag is lost. The hands early release and throw the clubhead into the ball at impact, often sticking the clubhead into the ground.

  • A feel to get that body moving is to make sure the chest clears aggressively through impact. David Leadbetter always said that an active body leads to passive hands and this is what you're after. Keep the body unwinding through the hit and you'll start to maintain your lag and compress the ball. 

Here the club approaches the ball too far from the inside - it is under the plane. This very often occurs due to a backswing that takes the arms and club too far to the inside. Due to the fact that the club is under plane, the tendency is for the hit to be too shallow. The club will often brush the turf before contact and create havoc with the clubface and your timing.

  • An excellent drill (see picture) to improve not only your ball striking, but also your directional control is to make use of an alignment rod that is pegged in the ground at the same angle as the shaft at address. The rod should be 2 feet outside your back foot and just under the shaft at address. Now make swings (slowly at first!) to get a sense for what you need to do to get the club on plane and really start striking the ball beautifully. 

Additional resources:

How can I stop hitting fat golf shots with my irons? | The Golf Nut

Using the Web to Improve Your Golf

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The web is the largest library on golf we have ever had available to us. It can be a tremendous resource as long as you either know where to look. Let's be frank, not all golf instruction or advice is what it should be. You can only benefit from certain advice if it is grounded in sound fundamentals. For example you would not want to copy this guys pre-shot routine.....  

......I don't think anybody would, but it was worth a laugh! The web is also chock full of golf entertainment. Whether it be the latest news, what type of grip Tiger just installed on his new driver, or just something funny like the swings above, here are a few suggestions:

For Golf Instruction:

There is way too much information out there to comprehend, but after a little research you'll figure out whose style you like. (Hopefully you like what you see here!)

 Shawn Clement on YouTube

Jeff Ritter on YouTube

Brian Manzella on YouTube

Lynn Blake on YouTube

John Graham's Blog

For Information and Community:

If you want to stay in touch with anything and everything that is happening in the world of golf, then you must become a regular at one of these sites....

Geoff Shackelford

Secret in the Dirt

The Sand Trap

Golf WRX

Fitness for Golf:

Yes, believe it or not you too could benefit from some of the information here....

Mike Pedersen Golf

Titleist Performance Institute

Golf Equipment:

You junkies are out there - everyday, wherever you might be - checking out all the latest from Japan or the winner's bag. Of course if you're doing that you more than likely know better than me where to look online....

Golf to Impress

The Shop Blog

Golf's Greatest Blogs:

These are the pros and they cover everything from news and tours, to players and equipment.

Hooked on Golf

The Waggle Room

Wei Under Par

I know you'll find something you like out there. Stay patient and keep looking. Please let me know of a tremendous "golf" site and I'll happily add it to my recommendations here.

Luke Donald's Buried Lie

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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!)......

Ever Considered an Online Lesson?

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With technology being what it is today it is very easy to stay in touch with a golf instructor that might be half way around the world. Most smartphones incorporate a video recording feature and some of the better footage of golf swings I have received have been emailed to me straight from a students' smartphone.

There are four simple steps required to have an online golf lesson with Andrew. Here's how:

1. Create a Video of Your Swing

2. Upload the Video for Sharing/Viewing

3. Pay for your Lesson via PayPal

4. Email me the Link to your Video for Analysis

Once all four steps are completed Andrew will let you know when your video has been evaluated. If you choose to have a phone consultation along with a video lesson Andrew will coordinate with you once the video lesson has been analyzed.

Online Lesson Pricing

Video analysis only – $50 Video analysis with 15 minute phone consultation – $80

Follow these steps to get the ball rolling:

  • Create A Video of Your Swing

Capture one swing from face on and another swing from down the line. Take care when recording your swing to ensure the best results for your online lesson. Use a tripod, or a friend with a very steady hand as a moving camera leads to moving reference lines in the analysis. Camera positioning is also important. The face on shot should be at 90 degrees to the target line and the down the line shot should place the ball between the target and the camera lens ie. shoot straight over the ball toward the target.

  • Upload Your Swing Video for Viewing

We have two ways you can upload videos to us, YouTube and V1 Software. Don't be intimidated, dive in - it's far easier than you might imagine!Here are instructions for both methods:

YouTube

A good way to publish your swing video for an online lesson is to upload it to YouTube. During the upload process, you can  select Public or Private for your video. Selecting Private will restrict viewing only to those that have the link.

You will need a YouTube account, so if you don’t already have one you will need to create one, which is a simple process and free of charge.

Here are the instructions from YouTube on uploading video. As you might imagine, there is also an instructional video on uploading to YouTube.

Once you have uploaded the video, check that it has been successful by clicking the link provided and watching the video.

V1 Golf Software

For use and upload with a PC you will need V1 Home 2.0 which is available free of charge HERE. Upload directions are included with your free download.

For use and upload with an iPhone, iPad, iTouch or Android phones purchase the app HERE. V1 Golf actually has the #1 sports analysis app in the world at the moment.

  • Payment via Paypal

We  only take payment via PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account go to www.PayPal.com and set one up. It is very easy and makes online payment for anything so much easier. Payment should be made to andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com

  • Contact Us with Your Lesson Request

Once your swing is uploaded uploaded, send us the link to the video along with your request for an online lesson and we'll get cracking.

Please also be sure to indicate your selection of video analysis or video analysis with phone consultation. Current turnaround for online lessons is 48-72 hours.

Should you have any questions about receiving an online lesson please shoot me a note to andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com and I'd be happy to to help.

Hands Forward at Impact

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One of the most important parts of a great impact is getting the hands in front of the clubhead or ball. This position encourages a delofted clubface and increased ball compression. Additionally, I have found that the hands appear to line up up with the lead thigh at impact for the vast majority of the top players in the game. There are a few factors that play a big role in your ability to get the hands forward at impact and compress the golf ball.

If you are tired of scooping at impact or a weak inconsistent strike then read on..... The primary factor is the quality of your grip.  The weaker the grip the further back the hands tend to start at address and the further back they are required to be at impact. I don't ever recall seeing a golfer with a weak grip (other than Ben Hogan) getting the hands far enough in front of the ball at impact. Think about it: if the grip is weak and the more forward the hands are, then the more open the face will be at impact.  Take a look how many Tour golfers have grips that appear to be stronger vs. weaker and they all have forward shaft lean at impact. Essentially a weak grip necessitates that the hands be further back than they should at impact (they must be back in order to square the clubface), and the more back the hands are, the poorer the strike and the weaker the trajectory will tend to be.

If you are currently the owner of a weak, or even neutral, grip try this:

  • As you prepare to take your grip, rotate the face 20-30 degrees closed
  • Now take your regular grip
  • At address make sure the face is square (this will rotate your hands and arms into a stronger position)

For some reason this method of strengthening your grip does not seem to be as uncomfortable as merely just rotating your hands on the club. Move the club instead. Give it a try.

A proper strong grip will enable you to lead the clubhead with the handle while maintaining a square clubface at impact and compress the ball - isn't that what we're after?

Here is a gallery containing almost 30 PGA Tour golfers from past and present. Take a look at where their hands are at impact:

[nggallery id=16]

Impact Drill: How to Stop Scooping

The Impact "Drag" Drill

An Athletic Impact Drill

Drive the Hips into Impact

Bounce - Book Review

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While not a book written specifically for or about golf, I found the information and evidence in this book invaluable as a coach. It certainly is a book that all golf coaches and aspiring golfers should read. With the book, author Matthew Syed challenges the idea that sports stars are "born with it" and provides evidence that they all achieved there success through hard work and dedication. From Mozart to Federer to Woods; the evidence suggests that their success has been attained the hard way - they earned it.

The book blows up the idea that talent gets people to the top. Instead it shows that through a combination of opportunities (in the right place at the right time), hard work and dedication anybody can achieve their dreams. I liked the idea of the “ten thousand hour rule” — the minimum time necessary for expertise in any complex task or sport. Syed also gave a great analogy about the "tip of the iceberg" - whereby people who see a great young athlete and attribute their success to purely God-given talent (the tip of the iceberg) versus looking at the body of work and dedication (the iceberg below the water) that has gone into supporting their performance.

A few quotes from the book:

There is an innate capacity for our bodies to bring into being, to the best of their ability, the optimistic scenarios in which we fervently believe.

Anne Harrington, Harvard University

...in order to become the greatest player of all time you have to embrace failure.

 

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Samuel Beckett, Worstword Ho

...the path to excellence is inordinately lenghty, requiring a minimum of ten thousand hours of lung busting effort to get to the summit.

 

The talent myth robs individuals of the incentive to transform themselves through effort....

 

...purposeful practice can enable countless individuals to realize untapped potential.

A highly recommended read. So good in fact that I am paying my sons to read portions of it. Now get to work!

Chicken Wing at Impact?

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Lee Westwood is an exceptional ball striker and a contender in almost every major championship.

The interesting part about Lee's swing, which I regard as somewhat unique, is his impact position. Is that a chicken wing? Surely that cannot be good? Remember that the only factor that matters is the physics (forces and angles) that the golf club imparts on the ball.

Retief Goosen is the another premier golfer who gets into this impact position, although to a much lesser degree. In looking at the top picture notice that the handle of the club is positioned in line with the lead thigh.  This is the key element. With the driver, the shaft should be vertical or leaning slightly forward, as in the Westwood image, but with irons there should be a few degrees of shaft lean. As a result the hands should once again be aligned with the lead thigh.

The moral of the story - get the club in a great position, relative to the ball, at impact and good things will happen - chicken wing and all.

Should your chicken wing not be quite as functional as the two players above here is a little help:

2011 Orlando PGA Golf Show

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I have recently returned from the 2011 Orlando PGA Golf Show and I wanted to share a few of my impressions with you. Firstly, if you are an avid golfer, you simply must make a plan to attend this show - it is literally the Disney World of golf! Talk to your golf professional, a friend in the biz, beg, steal, but find a way to get there. Plan on two full days (preferably Thursday and Friday) to soak it all up.

This year there seemed to be a positive vibe at the Show. All the major club companies were represented with Taylormade commanding a huge portion of the floor. My four high points of the Show were:

Swing Catalyst

 

Once again I have nominated this product as one of my highlights. It might be costly, but this machine dispenses invaluable information for any golf coach. It shows where a golfers weight is positioned throughout the swing, how much rotational force is being generated, all while synchronizing with video and either Trackman or Flightscope. Talk about an all in one package! This is the G5 of golf instruction technology.

Flightscope

 

The new and improved Flightscope X2 portable launch monitors do not offer anything groundbreaking relative to what Trackman has always offered, but where they crush the competition is price point - $11,000 vs $30,000+! The accuracy of the Flightscope has always been brought into question, however after meeting with them and seeing the new X2 in action I am sold. Not new technology, but definitely a new price point at which to consider the technology.

Nuun Hydration Tablets

Nuun tablets are optimal hydration and I believe the future of hydration in sports. The taste is light and refreshing and I really like the "green" aspect of this product - you carry your own Nuun waterbottle, fill it with water and add a tablet without loading up the landfills with plastic bottles from everything you drink on the golf course. The speed of absorbtion, electrolyte content and lack of carbohydrates (sugar!) is what sets this product apart. It tastes really good too.

Speed Woosh from Momentus

In an almost unnoticed about face by Momentus (which has always promoted heavy clubs) they are now promoting the Speed Woosh to increase your clubhead speed. Well what about all those heavy clubs I bought that are lying in my garage? Sorry, no good - at least if you want more speed! This device is great fun to swing and as an added bonus it works. It gets the fast twitch muscle fibers to fire and that can only help you add distance to your tee balls. I like it!

In additon to these four highlights I saw a little bit of everything - from six different types of golf tee designs to a device to keep your head still in the swing (it actually worked!) There were also the usual cast of golf celebs from Greg Norman to Hank Haney (hi Hank!) to Natalie and Paula. I also attended a few excellent seminars  by AMF and noted golf instructor Jeff Ritter. Jeff gave an inspirational talk on marketing golf instruction in the modern society.

After leaving the show I felt excited and enthusiastic about the future of our game. We seem to be turning the corner and I am really looking forward to 2011.

Thanks for reading and feel free to post your questions and comments.

Shaft Angle at Impact II

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Read the original post HERE After more research and some great input from several excellent instructors I have quite a bit to add to the previous post. There are even a few additional golfers I have found to add to the "zero" club (no change in handle position from address to impact) - there has been so much fantastic input that I just had to share it.

Jonathan Yarwood makes a great point in identifying the difference between irons and the driver:

I think that there has to be a raise of the shaft with a driver due to the nature of the sweeping hit off a tee. However, if you look at players like Pricey, the driver became their nemesis, as they got the plane too low to get it flying with the new equipment. Sergio struggles to flight the driver too. Trevino too at times. With a driver, some ’swing and freewheeling’ is required through the hit allowing the club to raise somewhat.

Mark Costaregni, my fellow teacher at Atlantic Golf Club in NY, and senior teacher with Jim McLean at Doral says:

I think you are spot on with this, we have studied shaft plane at address vs. impact and only a few return the handle on plane!!! Fulton Allem also returns it on plane. I remember some footage of Sergio actually UNDER with the handle!!! I believe this is a benchmark for pure greatness in striking. Also it seems the real power hitters tend to get the handle up at impact because of the leverage factor.

Thanks for the addition of Fulton Allem to the list Mark. Fulty has always been a fantastic ball striker and was a prolific winner in South Africa. At Doral they have a fantastic resource in that the best players in the world come to them every year and that leads to a superb bank of swings to analyze and evaluate. I would have to agree with you when you say "pure greatness in striking".

There were multiple questions regarding shaft droop or bowing and even some skepticism about whether any golfer could achieve the "zero" impact position - however the pictures don't lie. Here is what I have noticed:

  • The average shaft angle with a 7 iron at address is around 54 degrees; the average lie angle of a 7 iron is 63 degrees. That allows for 9 degrees of droop/bow in the shaft at impact even with the handle returning to the exact same position at impact - as a result golfers DO NOT need to lift/raise the handle in order to account for the curvature of the shaft.

  • I have found that the golfers who get the handle in the "zero" position (zero degrees of change from address to impact) through the hit tend to have what appears to be less droop/bow in their shaft. This is due to the fact that their hands/arms swing into the ball on a lower (more shallow) plane that more closely matches the plane the clubhead travels on. The lower the arm plane coming into impact, the less difference there is between the arm and clubhead plane and thus less droop/bow in the shaft.
  • Thus, the higher the hands are positioned through impact the more the shaft tends to curve downward.
  • That being said, if you can return the handle to its address position, you should not need to flatten your irons (unless they are too upright already!) due to the fact that the shaft will droop less.

The next time you are playing a "well worn" golf course take a look at the divot patterns on the range or a shortish par three.  Keeping in mind that most golfers are right handers, you'll see most of the divots are in the shape of a trapezoid. This is due to high hands and excessive droop in the shaft getting the toe further into the ground than the heel.

Here is an excellent drill to illustrate how any golfer can work towards achieving this ultimate impact position. If there ever was a drill that would make you hit it like Hogan, this is it.

Reed Howard, an fine young golfer illustrates how to perfectly execute this drill. Does this look like Ben Hogan or what?

A point to note: the line drawn on the photos of Moe Norman is not the original shaft plane line. The shaft plane line is drawn along the shaft at address. I am not sure what the yellow line in the photos represents, but it does act as a good reference point.

The select list of golfers who belong to the zero club are:

  • Moe Norman
  • Ben Hogan
  • Nick Price
  • Lee Trevino
  • Vijay Singh
  • Joe Durant
  • Carl Pettersson
  • Sergio Garcia

The golfers who are very close (within two degrees), but not quite there:

  • Trevor Immelman
  • Lucas Glover
  • DJ Trahan
  • Boo Weekley
  • Paula Creamer
  • Sean O'Hair

All very good ball strikers in their own right!

I have only ever personally witnessed two golfers "naturally" return the handle to its original position. They are - Lindsay Renolds and Michael Koulianos. Both superb ball strikers!

Try the drill - strive for zero - and know that if you get close to it you can only get better!

I really believe that if any golfer can work towards getting into a better position (zero!) at impact they can only improve their ball striking and increase the enjoyment they get from the game.

Keep working!