The putting principle

I thought I played quite well last Saturday; I did feature in the prizewinners. But nothing is as simple as it seems; the reality is: I putted well and scored well. When you hole several six footers that you would normally miss and lag a few long ones close enough to make, when you normally don't, it helps one's score immensely.

My preoccupation for several years has been on the long game, not the scoring (short) game. I am more interested in hitting good shots than scoring well, although I do enjoy keeping my handicap down to what I regard as a respectable level. Having said that, I have put in a bit of an effort on chipping, having realised that the chip and run is a real 'money shot' that many average players fail to master.

Anyway, while I did putt well, I also felt I hit the ball fairly well. This, I believe, was down to two main factors:

1. I have accepted that my natural swing favours a fade. I don't have the body type, flexibility, hand-eye coordination or maybe dedication to produce reliable, controllable draw shots. I simply don't turn enough on the backswing and I probably don't release actively enough to hit solid draws. The consequent loss of distance from fade spin (combined with the loss of distance from ageing) mean I need to focus on accuracy and consistency. Hitting a longer club into a green doesn't have to be a problem, in most situations, provided one can hit the ball consistently on target. And, by the way, the pause at the top (at transition) I am now employing is helping a lot with my balance and timing.

2. I now realise that my fundamentals (no sway, weight on front foot, no over-hitting) need to be supplemented when talking about iron shots by another fundamental, which I can only describe as a compressing of the feet and slight bend of the knees when commencing the downswing. This can be observed as the squatting move that many top players have made, especially when playing irons. The reason for it, the purpose, I believe, is to ensure that one doesn't lift up on the ball on the down or through swing, and so causing tops and thin shots. As with most things, it should be done in moderation. But done well, there is a feeling of groundedness and balance that makes solid contact (and compression of the ball) much easier.

As usual, it is hard to summarise these moves, or to do justice to the physical sensations involved. And golf is definitely an individual sport, in more ways than one. One person's method will not work for everyone, or even anyone else. The quest, my quest, is to try to identify some principles (that can be applied to all methods) and which, if followed, will be useful for everyone. I feel like I'm getting closer, but like an oasis in the desert, the prize seems to stay just out of reach.

Golf swing hobbyist

I recently came across this 'golf swing hobbyist' term in a blog discussion on the role of the right elbow in the (right hander) golf swing.

The fact that I was researching the role of the right elbow in the golf swing probably confirms that I am a classic golf swing hobbyist. It perhaps also explains why I am constantly tinkering with my golf swing (as hobbyists do) and failing to arrive at a method that I can truly call my own.

My goal over the past decade has been to find a set of fundamentals that apply to all golfers (not just me) and I have come up with several, including 'no swaying', 'weight on front foot at impact' and 'don't try to hit too hard' that I thought were pretty good. But sometimes one golfer's fundamental is another golfer's 'no-no'.

In many cases, these so called fundamentals are not causal actions at all, but merely observable re-actions or outcomes of some other action. Factors such as physique, fitness, flexibility and temprament all play a part. We are all different, or at least more different than the young professional golfers of today.

The upshot of this is that I have to admit that the search for swing fundamentals is a vexed one. Of course, there are some laws of physics that relate to the clubhead and ball spin, etc. that are useful to take into account when hitting a golf ball. For example, striking the ball before taking a divot is a widely accepted principle of good iron play. However, beyond these laws there are, as they say, many ways to skin a cat (and I love cats, incidentally).

Now, ignoring everything I've said earlier, I am going to try something different (well, try something I've tried before and forgotten about) when I tee it up tomorrow. I've been researching what Tommy Armour called 'the pause that refreshes'. This is the momentary pause at the top of the backswing prior to transitioning into the downswing.

There is some disagreement about the value of this pause, but I have periodically found it to be helpful in slowing down the swing, preventing rushing, casting and general over-hitting. Whether it will work tomorrow or ever again remains to be seen, but I'm giving it a try.

While I'm tinkering, I'll also be intending to keep my weight 60/40 or ever a little more on my front foot/side throughout my swing. This is the stack and tilt and Ross Duplessis method that I like quite a lot - because it limits swaying (don't mention fundamentals).

If this works out, I might even forget about trying to keep my right (rear) elbow close to my side on the downswing - and use a one-piece take-away, and use my shoulders to take the club back, and ...

It's good to have a hobby.

A Realisation

I started my round yesterday determined to try to adopt one of Paul Wilson's key moves to start the transition into the downswing. It took me about six or seven holes to realise that I don't need that kind of move. Any sort of key thought, other than the one I will outline below, seems to stop me from swing freely and, as it turns out, well.

It's not that I don't agree with Wilson about keeping the wrists free and flexible and maintaining a constant forward bend, I do, but I can't seem to adapt to any of the three methods he suggests for the transition - bring the knees together, straighten the front leg or turn the front hip.

My key thought, the one that seems to work best for me anyway, is even simpler than the Wilson ones. It is, in fact, in line with my previously discussed fundamentals - get the weight onto the front foot at impact.

This action - shifting the weight onto the front foot - is a natural, athletic, logical move for any action that involves propulsion of any object; a ball, a javelin, a skimming stone, or a golf club. The thing about it is that it is natural and automatic, there is no thought about what moves first or how the move is initiated - it just happens.

When I concentrate on making sure my weight shifts onto my front foot during the transition from backswing to downswing, I have absolutely no idea what sequence of moves is taking place. Did I move my front hip first, my knees or ? Did I push off my back foot? Did my shoulders move? Did my hands drop? No ... no idea. I do know, however, that it is not an 'over the top' move (shoulders and arms above the swing plane).

For me, this is the secret, to ignore technique, ignore mechanics, concentrate on the goal - get the weight on the front foot at impact. When I can do it, the club seems to accelerate sufficiently and find the plane consistently. When I do try to think about technique, or my arms, knees, shoulders, hands, whatever, my swing suffers.

Having said that this weight shifting is natural and a guaranteed swing fixer, I should say that I must stand by (and utilise) my two other keys, which are, I believe true fundamentals, as follows:

The weight shift cannot come at the expense of balance and stability over the ball; that is, you cannot afford to sway so much that the swing arc no longer coincides with the position of the ball. Swaying changes the bottom of the arc - so that the hit is too early or too late - causing fat or thin shots. In a way, this also relates to Wilson's constant forward bend, which is about not disrupting the vertical (angled) swing plane. If you notice most pros do not sway off the ball and, with a few exceptions, do not dip or lift up significantly during their swing. In any case, pros mould their swings hitting thousands of golf balls. The average golfer cannot afford the gross movements of the body that pros can get away with.

My other fundamental is about not trying to hit too hard. This is almost the first thing we are told as juniors or adults when learning the game, despite the occasional pro who says they were told to hit the ball hard first, then learn to control the ball. Trying to hit hard is almost always, for the average player, a recipe for disaster. Trying to swing freely and with good acceleration is a different thing. Swinging freely will not necessarily cause the lunging and swaying (and inconsistency) that is almost inevitable when average players try to hit too hard.

So my realisation this week has been that I should stick to my fundamentals of weight transfer, no sway and no over-hitting. I've abandoned the straight left arm and wrist as a fundamental; it is one of those mechanical / technical thoughts that might be OK for the practice tee, but is not worth the distraction when trying to play a round of golf.

Incidentally, when on Saturday I abandoned technical thinking and concentrated on the above fundamentals, I hit the ball beautifully, albeit a bit too late to save my score. Roll on the next game - high in hope, low in expectations. Hey, perhaps that's another fundamental?