Refining the new swing

I'm still generally happy with the strong grip, body release swing I've been using for some weeks now. I'm not completely happy, however, and I explain why below.

It's been said that the strong grip - body release method should only be used by the athletic golfer, who has the ability to use their core, body rotation in an athletic, powerful way. I accept that not everyone has the ability to turn rapidly or athletically, but I don't think this approach must only be the province of the super strong or athletic, after all, Wacky Zack is not your power athlete, although he is very golf fit and flexible.

My take on this is that anyone with reasonable core fitness, with no big weight issue or injury problem can use their core well enough to apply this method. I've already discussed the method itself; suffice to say it is about a different and easier type of release (action through the hitting area) that largely removes the need to consciously rotate the arms or, as is often said, time the release with the hands.

I am having two main problems with this new grip and release method, as follows:

1. I am having a problem trusting that the strong grip will not produce big hooks and pulls. It is brilliant in terms of extra distance and better ball flight, but there is a tendency to block the ball because of this lack of trust, that is, a tendency to unconsciously keep the club face square to open in an attempt to reduce the risk of a big pull/hook.

2. By concentrating on the new grip and ball flight issues, I've been neglecting one of the fundamentals of the game, that is, that the ball must be struck with the weight on the front foot. If I was rotating as hard as I should, this might not be a problem, but I believe I am holding back because of the concern mentioned in 1. above, and consequently staying back on the back foot too often, causing very inconsistent results.

As for solutions, these are my thoughts:

Problem 1. is a difficult one. Trusting one's swing (and set up, etc.) is not an easy thing to do until it is grooved (if it ever can be). The unconscious mind is arguably stronger than the conscious mind and always will be, so the solution (trust) may not lie in trying to change the unchangeable.

Addressing Problem 2 is likely to produce better results. My solution here is to try to make sure I turn onto my front foot on all full shots. This is not so critical with pitches and chips, where the weight should be there already, but it is important to be conscious of this weight transfer on all other shots.

I believe this one conscious thought will give me a much better chance of overcoming the problem of lack of trust and start to produce much more consistent golf. Refinement is the name of the game.

An afterthought on putting (my other nemesis): adopting more of a 'pop stroke' has been my intention; I believe it is right for me. I simply need to make sure I don't hurry the stroke. That is, short backswing, but not hurried backswing. Let's see what happens.

Always something

My new strong grip for everything golf, except putting, is working well. Sometimes, I'm still fading my four iron more than I would like without knowing why. I can only think that perhaps I'm still holding the blade open and trying to steer the ball because I'm afraid of going left, I'm not really sure.

Anyway, I'm driving the ball better and generally hitting my fairway woods well - including the 4-wood I used for a hole-in-one last week. I've gained perhaps 20 meters in driving distance and am giving myself the chance of reaching more greens in regulation.

However, greens are where my trouble starts. I've lost count of the number of 3-putts I've had in past few weeks. A great putting round a few weeks ago has deteriorated into a litany of distance judgement errors, including the ten footers left short in the jaws. I'm also missing the easy 4 to 5 footers, and it's driving me mad.

I can't work out what's going on with my putting. Perhaps because I'm hitting more greens and giving myself more chances in general, and as a consequence I'm inadvertently putting more pressure on myself. Whatever the cause, it is becoming a big problem. I can't afford to be taking 38 or 39 putts per round playing off my current handicap.

So, I'm going to play on Saturday with an old putter, an old Ping that I used to love. It doesn't have the high fangled face insert that gives the soft feel when the ball is struck, you have to hit the ball a bit harder. It's also a blade putter, with a slight mallet back, only slight, but it's much closer to the putters I grew up with and played many a backyard round of golf with. These backyard rounds were when several 'holes in one' from thirty or forty feet were considered mandatory.

I'll persist with my strong grip and Zacky release and just hope that my old putting confidence returns before it's too late and they carry me off in a white jacket.

Mythbusting grips shock horror

Having finally found what I regard as the most efficient and effortless swing for me, I'm ready to start addressing some of the myths that I believe pervade the golf instruction industry.

Many of these myths may be found in the instruction provided by club teaching pros, television hosts and internet gurus, many of whom I have listened to attentively over a number of years, and most of whom truly believe in their own systems or methods, and who are well intentioned and not 'completely' commercially motivated.

Two of the first myths I would like to address relate to the grip (the hands, not the handle).

1. The Vardon grip, the most commonly taught grip, touted as the grip that reduces the tendency of the dominant right hand (right-handed golfers) to take over the swing. Now, this makes some sense for elite golfers who have problems with an overactive lower hand and therefore hooking the ball. This doesn't make sense for the average golfer who has rarely hooked a ball in their entire golfing life. The interlocking grip used by some players is a variation that works for some, but has some of the same limitations as the Vardon.

The ten finger grip, however, will be far more effective for golfers of average ability because it (a) re-asserts the power available in the right hand and helps the golfer close the club face at impact and (b) places the right hand (right handers) lower on the grip, providing greater stability and control of the club. Awareness and control of the club and club-face are critical for consistency of ball striking.

There are those who will argue that the ten finger grip is for children and arthritis sufferers, and that is true, but there are many other golfers who are using a Vardon grip because they have been told it is the norm and now subscribe to the myth that the right hand must be kept out of or minimised in the stroke. This makes no sense for the average golfer.

2. The other grip myth that I want to address is the Neutral grip. This is the old 'v's' pointing to the right ear (right handed golfers) or thereabout. This grip is touted as being the best for good for achieving good wrist break (leaving out the technical terminology) at the top of the swing in preparation for the downswing and release. This sounds fine, but the reality is that many average golfers have a tendency to open the club face during the backswing and more importantly a tendency to leave it too much open through impact. Elite golfers can manage any kind of grip because they know how to 'release' the club (the club face). That is, they know how to time the rotation of their arms, wrists and hands through impact. Average golfers cannot cannot release the club consistently.

The grip I advocate is a so called 'strong grip', and I don't mean 'firm' (the opposite of light). A strong grip is one in which the left hand (for right handers) is rotated behind the grip (clockwise from the golfer's perspective) so that four knuckles of the left hand are showing. The right hand (for right handers) simply fits into the forefinger/thumb gap as usual. It will be in a slightly strong position, but it is the left hand position that is the most crucial.

By gripping the club in this way, the club face, which incidentally should look and be square at set up, will naturally tend to close throughout the actual swing. Most importantly, the club face will tend to close, quite considerably, up to thirty or more degrees, through impact. Without going into the physics, this is what produces straight and drawn shots and is what the average player needs to achieve in order to avoid the common, habitual slice. The average player needs an automatic mechanism for closing the club face since they don't have the ability to consistently close it by conscious action.

Adjusting to such a grip is not easy at first because the occasional hand release that the golfer has been attempting to make for many years (though usually failing) will kick in and a gigantic hook will result. It takes time to realise that with a very strong grip the hands must be passive, that the release must be achieved simply through body rotation. This body rotation will vary in speed according to the ability and athleticism of the golfer, but the key is that the hands remain passive and that the golfer simply allows the club to swing freely through to the target.

There are a number of advantages of this kind of swing, including greater consistency (see Zack Johnson's record). It also offers much greater simplicity, with far less need to think about timing or, for that matter, the myriad of other do's and don'ts that tangle up many a golf swing. This grip also seems to place the golfer's upper body more behind the ball, but without the swaying that contributes to inconsistent ball contact.

In short, a strong grip seems to give the golfer more opportunity to focus on shot-making because s/he is no longer worried about whether the dreaded slice will come into play. The pin becomes a realistic target; avoiding trouble subsides as a major objective; and golf actually becomes more fun.

Combining a strong grip with a ten finger grip, gives the average, slice-battling, golfer a chance to make substantial improvements to her or his ball striking game, and with a minimum of effort. Trying to improve one's game by doing more of the same, year after year, but doing it better, is frighteningly reminiscent of the common definition of insanity: doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome.

Grip myths are made to be busted.

New grip and release update

It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged. During that time I've been experimenting with a new grip and release. The experiment, surprise, surprise, is proving very successful.

I should clarify grip and release.

The grip I am using is nothing more than a rather strong 3 to 4 knuckle grip (left hand rotated right, thumb more at the back of the shaft grip), with the lower right hand (right-hander) just slotted into the space created; not especially strong or weak.

The release refers to the way in which the torso, arms, wrists and hands, function on the downswing and through the hitting zone. I am using a body-oriented release, with very little conscious arm, wrist and hand action.

The effect of the strong grip (let's call it a strong grip - and I don't mean firmness of grip) is to predispose the club face to close fairly severely on the downswing. You can test the strength of the grip by taking hold in various positions and lifting the club to waist high. If the face closes without manipulation, the grip is strong. If the face stays square, the grip is neutral. And so forth for weak grips.

This predisposition for the club face to close without manipulation of the wrists or rotation of the arms is the key to a passive, or you could call it 'no nonsense' release of the club head. With a neutral or weak grip, the golfer needs to be far more conscious of releasing or rotating the club face closed at and through impact.

This is all very well, of course, but there are some difficulties and dangers in adopting this kind of grip and release, as I found out when I first tried it. Habits developed when using a weaker grip will have produced more active hands and arms, that is, the necessary movements to actively close the club face. Unless the arms, wrists and hands remain passive on the down swing, the tendency with a strong grip will be to hit low and left screamers - not conducive to good golf.

The learning process with the strong grip and passive is, however, relatively painless and quick. One of the main reasons for this is that the strong grip and body release takes a lot of the timing issues out of the picture. Somehow, the downswing seems simpler and more effortless and, assuming the no sway or lift principles are followed, contact with the ball seems crisper and cleaner. I'm still trying to work out why this is the case, but I'm not arguing with it.

I know that some advocates of the strong grip and body release have cautioned that players using this method need to be quite athletic and able to turn their body rapidly to avoid the smothers and lefts mentioned above. However, I don't think that there is necessarily much more speed or effort involved. As long as you turn through the ball and don't stall the body, the release works fine, and the ball goes straight.

Did I mention that this is one of the main reasons for adopting a strong grip and body release - a straighter ball flight - often a gentle draw, although subtle variations are always possible.

The other reason for adopting this approach, as far as I'm concerned, is a small but notice-able gain in distance, with woods and irons. This is no doubt partly due to elimination of the sliced ball, but also partly due to better ball contact.

In short, this approach is giving me far more confidence in my game. I am consistently shooting scores that are several below my typical or average score previously. I shot my best score ever last week and I'm now expecting to shoot close to that mark every round.

One final comment. I recommend this method for anyone who has been struggling with a slice their entire golfing life. It is definitely a way forward.

This is only about week 3 or 4 of the experiment, but the indications are that this method is a keeper.