Posts Tagged ‘practice techniques’

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Gravity Torque

December 13th, 2009

Gravity Torque is a phrase coined by Damon Lucas.  Damon Lucas is a member of the Brian Manzella Academy and teaches at Lake Presidential in Marlboro, Maryland.

Basically, gravity torque is a torque on the clubhead which tends to encourage an open clubface.  It helps explain why so many people have such a hard time returning the club face to a square position.  So here’s how it works.  If you look at the club at the top of the backswing, the clubface will probably be somewhere between facing the sky and toe straight down.  We know that a ‘square’ clubface position is one where the face lays on the plane or is 90 degrees open to the plane.  A clubface that is toe down will be more than this. If you relax your grip at the top of the swing, you’ll notice that gravity pulls the clubface down to a toe down position.  Opening the club face the whole way.

For a majority of the downswing, gravity is acting upon the clubhead and the left arm in an opening manner.  For example, if you are watching a swing from down the line, any time the clubhead is further away from the target line than the grip, gravity is pulling on the head in an attempt to rotate open the left forearm.  Also, because the clubface is on the left side of vertical(while looking from down the line) gravity is also trying to rotate the face open.  Only if the face gets on the right side of vertical(while looking from down the line) will gravity aid in the closing process of the clubface.  This doesn’t usually occur until somewhere around when the club is parallel to the ground for the last time before impact.  If the clubface has not made it to right side of vertical by this point, consistently squaring the clubface will be a challenge.

It is for this reason that maintaining a feel of trying to get the clubface right of vertical(when looking from down the line) after the last time the club is parallel to the ground is critical for proper face closing and control.  I’ve mentioned many times how important it is to get a good feeling of where the clubhead is and how it feels.  Only through proper focus can one begin to learn how the weight of the clubhead and clubface are reacting with gravity.

Take some time and analyze this information with a club in your hands. You’ll quickly see what is being referenced here and how the pull of gravity works against you and works for you.  Here is a video companion for this topic.

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Jerry Tucker Short Game Test

December 8th, 2009

I had a couple requests asking for a way to evaluate the short game.  Here is a test that does just that.   It is called the Jerry Tucker Short Game Test. 

First, we start with wedge play.

The player will hit 5 shots from each of 5 distances; 30yds, 45yds, 60yds, 75yds and 90yds.  The shots should be hit from good fairway lies.  For the 30 and 40yd shot the player is trying to land the ball within a 6′ diameter circle and a 9′ diameter circle for 60, 75 and 90yd shots.  This is landing distance only with the flagstick in the middle of the circle.  The instructor will estimate and write down the distance from the stick the ball landed.  There is a possible 25 possible points with 1 point given for each shot landing in the zone.   The instructor will also determine the average distance from the hole for all 25 shots to create the Average Putt length(40 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  The points will be converted into a handicap which is averaged with the Average Putt length handicap to come up with the wedge play handicap.

For example: a zero handicap would be 13 points with an average of 8.5 feet Average Putt length.

 

Next is sand play.  5 shots from 3 distances this time and the flag should be place on the outer edge of the circle.  Smooth level lie should be used when conducting this test.  The three distances are 20 feet to a 4 foot diameter circle, 40 feet to a 6 foot diameter circle and 60 feet to an 8 foot diameter circle.  Remember, flag should be on outer edge of circle farthest from player.

Possible 15 points  with 1 point counting for each shot landing  in the zone(not ending in the zone).  Keep track of points and Average Putt length as described in the wedge play section(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  The points will be converted into a handicap which is averaged with the Average Putt length handicap to come up with the sand play handicap.

For example: a zero handicap would be 9 points with a 6 foot Average Putt length.

 

Pitching is next.  Drop 5 balls 50 feet from one of the holes giving them at least 20 feet of green to work with and another 5 balls to a hole 75 feet away with at least 25 feet of green to work with.  Ask them to play the ball as it lies and 1 point is awarded for each shot ending within 5 feet of the hole for the 50 footer and 7.5 feet for the 75 footer.  Keep track of points and compute Average Putt length for all 10 shots(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  Handicap determined as above.  Points handicap averaged with Average Putt length handicap.

For example: a zero handicap is 7 points and an Average Putt length of 6.5 feet.

 

Chipping.  Place 5 balls at 40 feet and 60 feet in various but good lies.  Use a 9 iron for the 40 footer and a 7 iron for the 60 footer.  1 point is awarded for shots ending within 4 feet for the 40 footer and 6 feet for the 60 footer.  Keep track of points and compute Average Putt length for all 10 shots(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  Handicap determined as above.  Points handicap averaged with Average Putt length handicap.

For example: a zero handicap will score 8 points with an Average Putt length of 3 feet 3 inches.

 

Trouble Shots.  Try to select 5 short trouble shots with these recommendations.  1) 20 footer up against the fringe, 2) 40 footer off a bare lie, 3) 20 footer in a clumpy lie, 4) 40 footer from very heavy grass and 5) 75 footer opposite handed or backhanded as if up against a tree.  Points are awarded for shots that end within 15% of the total distance for first 4 shots and 20% of the total distance for the 75 footer.  Keep track of points and compute Average Putt length for all 5 shots(30 feet is the highest distance to be used for distance from stick).  Handicap determined as above.  Points handicap averaged with Average Putt length handicap.

For example: a zero handicap will score 3 points with an Average Putt length of 5.5 feet.

 

Short Putting.  4 putts from each of 5 lengths at the points of the compass on a slightly breaking pin position.  The lengths are 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 feet.  1 point is awarded for each putt holed.  Add up points for made putts out of a possible 20.

For example: a zero handicap scores 15 points.

 

Long Putting.  5 putts from 20 feet. 1 point is awarded for each putt made or comes to rest in the 17 inch safety zone.  Meduim difficulty putt.  Safety zone defined as a half circle with a 17 inch radius located on the far side of the hole.  Typical Pelz zone.   5 putts from 40 feet.  Difficult putt either downhill or sidehill within 3 feet of hole in any direction.  Lastly, 5 putts from 60 feet.  Level or slightly uphill within 3 feel of hole in any direction.  1 point is awarded for all putts made or ending within the zones.

For example:  a zero handicap scores 10 points.

Add up the total number of points and compute the toal Average Putt length from all the iron shots.  These numbers are converted to a handicap and averaged to get the players Short Game Handicap.  I won’t be posting the conversion chart but if anyone takes the test on their own and sends me the results, I’ll be happy to compute your handicap for you.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions.

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Learn How to Golf

September 19th, 2009
This year is the first year I have a beginner come to me and say he wanted to learn the form correct right from the beginning. He had tried the range a few times with no success and wanted to learn the right way. He bought 10 half hour lessons and we went to work.

He grabbed a 7 iron and we started with grip and the such. After those things we started working on how to hit the ground where you are looking. He had no desire to hit the ball. He wanted only to work on form.

It was the first time I had to convince a student to hit the ball. I knew this student would be a wonderful example of what I had always preached. If you could get someone from the beginning to learn how to create a good impact shape right from the beginning they would get good very quickly.

He has a full time job and practices during his lunch hour. We did a whole bunch of drills to get the shape of impact good. At his 8th lesson, I convinced him to take a full swing. After a couple shots he hits this super solid 150 yard 7 iron. High with a little draw. Nice divot after the ball and “the sound”. There’s a very particular sound to a solidly struck golf shot.

He looks at me and asks if that is what it should look like. I laugh and say yea. It was probably the 10th fullswing he’s made with me. I keep trying to convince him it is time to move on to some other clubs. He puts up a fight because he wants the form to be good before he adds new clubs and ideas.

He learned very quickly the power the ball has over him and the psychology of the swing. We started working on that during the 9th and 10th lesson.

Today we had our 12th lesson and we finally went over how the set-up and swing changes with the rest of the clubs. I love giving beginners lessons. I look forward to this particular lesson every week. If only he knew how many people would kill to hit just one shot like he did.

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Short Game Practice Tips

September 16th, 2009
Many good junior golfers struggle with being real precise with 80-30 shots. It’s a shot that you need to practice to know because it will be much less than a full swing.

My facility does not have a great area to practice this shot. I think it is very common with most practice facilities. They have a putting green, chipping green, bunker and range tee but not a designated area you can hit 30-80 yard shots into a real green.

I have to use my imagination to create an environment for player’s practicing this area. Really, all you need is a rangefinder and a little imagination. Usually, I will either set up a beach towel or a GolfRing at a particular distance out into the range.

You need to make sure you have something you can see hit so you can tell if the distance is correct. During a lesson, I actually stand out there and shout out the distance the ball went so they can get a feel for the distance.

Once the trackman arrives, I will be using it to work on this area. Trackman has a feature that will speak out loud the distance the ball flew. It uses the speaker on the laptop to voice the data it picks up. This will be a much more precise way to practice these shots.

Without this device, you will have to use towels or sheets or something like it. This is a dig it out of the dirt type of practice. You need to punch the clock and put the time in. I would say about 80% of your practice time should be spent on similar shots like this and the rest of the short game.

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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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