Archive for August, 2009

D Plane-How it Helps

August 31st, 2009
As was discussed in a previous blog the D Plane explains the ball flight. It will tell you or give a really good approximation on the shape of the face and the direction the face was moving during the collision with the ball. If we assume a solid strike we can make some pretty good generalizations.

Understanding the D Plane shows why the anatomy of a straight shot is the biggest eye opener for most. It helps explain why swinging way to the right can be more frustrating to good golfers than swinging to the left.

Understanding the D Plane helps us learn how to work the ball and curve it out of trouble.

The D Plane will help teach you how to aim based on your swing shape or tell you, that if you want to aim a certain way, what changes you need to make to your swing shape.

Here are two articles that are absolute must reads from Trackman. They are from their newsletter and very informative.

Secret of Straight Shot
Secret of Straight Shot II

These two articles are what you use the D Plane for. Once you understand what causes what then you can go see someone. They can teach you how to make the club do what you want.

If the teacher doesn’t know the two above articles, turn around and call someone else. There simply isn’t room for someone trying to be their best to be given information that isn’t real or doesn’t work.

I always have to know why. These kinds of articles and information explain the “why” to me and it helps me to help you. I will continue to dig into the depths of the science so I can simplify it for my students.

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Bunker Tips

August 27th, 2009
There are a few things to be aware of when dealing with the sand.

1) How your ball is sitting in the sand.

2) The type of sand.

3) The depth of the sand.

4) How you want the ball to react.

As with most shots in golf, the lie determines your options. This is very true in the bunker. Bad lies leave you very few options and good lies give you many more.

The type of sand has to do with texture and size of the particles. Fine sand reacts very differently than coarse sand. Coarse sand will make the ball come out more easily so be aware of that.

The depth of the sand is determined by your feet. As you “dig” in to take your stance, you’ll get a good idea of how much sand you are dealing with. Less sand requires more dig in the strike, and more sand requires more skim in the strike. Check here for how bounce effects how the sand wedge works.
The closer to the ball you enter the sand without hitting the ball the more spin you will get. The further away from the ball you enter the sand the more roll you will get assuming it was shallow enough to get the ball out.

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Bounce-How Much is Right for You?

August 24th, 2009
In a previous blog, I talked about what bounce is and how it is used. This one will discuss how much you should have.

In general, you should have one high bounce wedge and one low bounce wedge. It is best to have an option for all sand and turf types.

The wedge you use the most for chipping should be the one that fits your tendency. If you tend to be a front edge divot taking chipper, than your main wedge should be a higher bounce wedge. This will give you a little margin of error to prevent the chunk.

If you tend to sweep or hit the ground mid sole, than you would want your main wedge to be a low bounce wedge.

Generally, you’ll want to use your lower bounce wedge for high lofted shots so you can open the face with out the leading edge coming too far off the ground.

Keep up to date with wedge groove rules as they are a changing. The low spinning 40 yard shot will be gone soon.

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